Hindutva: a liberating or confining force?

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>Hindutva: a liberating or confining force?

>By MV Kamath >january 23, 2003 >Publication: Samachar.com >

>http://www.samachar.com/features/230103-features.html > >Tectonic changes are

taking place quietly in Hindu >society and hardly anyone seems to be aware of

the >phenomenon. Verbal battles are being fought in the >media and dire

consequences are being predicted should >Hindutva win out in the end. Hindutva

is equated with >fanaticism, roguery, assault on minorities, political

>shortsightedness, majority dominance and every evil >under the sun. Predicting

doomsday one columnist wants >to know whether anyone is thinking of the price

India >will have to pay if the VHP's version of Hindutva were >to become the

dominant philosophy of the ruling >coalition at the Centre. According to him

should this >version get adopted first, India will forsake all the >benefits,

domestic an international, of being a >secular democracy. Second, it will lose

its moral >right to hold on to Kashmir. Third it will lose the >high moral

ground vis-a-vis Islamic fundamentalists. >Fourth, it will also lose ground in

the tribal, >predominantly Christian, North East. The question is >asked: ``If

minority-bashing becomes an accepted mode >of political mobilisation, then why

should they want >to remain a part of India?'' > >Fifth, India will be

catapulted from among the ranks >of the modern states into those of the

atavistic and >ultimately rogue states. The question is asked: ``Does >the BJP

want India to join them?''. >Thee rhetorical answer is thereafter given which

goes >like this: ``India will slowly become a pariah. Some >early flyers have

appeared. Non-NRI tourists, >especially the hightend ones, have almost

completely >stopped com-ing in. Foreign investors are showing no >interest

whatever in the non-IT service sector.'' > >And then is predicted the ultimate

disaster: >``Hindutva offers a future of economic stagnation with >no jobs for

its youth, global isolation and unending >internal war. Since all these

problems will arise from >the unresolved contractions of the north, one day, in

>the not too instant future, the south will secede from >the country. That will

mean still more war. > >In the end Bharatvarsha will be re-established in the

>north and Hindutva will, like the Sikhs in Punjab, at >last have a truncated

homeland''. So boys, goes the >argument, give up Hindutva, stick to secularism

and >then all will be well: tourists in the millions will >come to visit us.

Jobs will be available for every >adult man and woman. Internal contradictions

will >cease. Foreign money will keep pouring in billions. >Industries will rise

and India will become the darling >of every foreign investor. The New York

Times, The >Times (London), Die Welt, Le Monte, Izvestia not to >speak of every

leading paper in the world will sing >hosannahs to Indian democracy and the

streets of >Mumbai will be paved with gold. There will be no more >Godhras, no

more attacks on Akhshardham Temple, no >killings of innocent Muslim girls

because they are >allergic to wearing burkhas, no cross-border >terrorism. And

peace and goodwill will reign in India >and unity will be the watch-word. >

>The secularism as our wise columnists see it is most >seductive. It is

wonderful to scare people out of >their wits. Secularism is wisdom, Hindutva is

madness. >Secularism is a sign of maturity, Hindutva is a sign >of intellectual

adolescence. But no one has stopped to >ask: ``What have we had all these fifty

odd years of >independence? Hindutva? Why has there been a >stagnation in

tourist traffic in India? Are we to >attribute it to Nehru's brand of

secularism? Why did >India's economic growth crawl for almost four decades?

>Because we professed secularism? Why has the world >been hostile towards us

for half a century? Because we >were guided by secular principles? Our

secularists >have no answer. Nor would they like to be told that >the Togadias

do not represent the BJP and that even >Narendra Modi has said for the record

that he is >entirely in favour of the concept of Hindutva as >proposed by Prime

Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee. But >why, in Heaven's name, are people suddenly

conscious >of Hindutva? The matter has been talked about for some >years now

soon after L K. Advani mooted the concept. > >It did not take off for years.

How come people have >suddenly come to be aware of it? Many reasons are

>adduced. The constant reference to secularism by the >Congress and the Leftist

parties started to become an >irritations, especially considering that at no

time >have these organisations been particularly clean >especially at election

times. The masses can be conned >for some time but in the end they come to see

through >Congress manipulations. In the second place for far >too long had they

been told to suppress their natural >feelings and sentiments. The average Hindu

has nothing >against the minorities and as Ashutosh Varshney has >noted in his

excellent survey of civil conflict, riots >have largely been an urban

phe-nomenon, and that too, >under special cir-cumstances. > >But time and time

again they had been exhorted to >remain `secular' which they understood as

meaning >suppression of their innermost religious feelings. >These feelings can

be suppressed only that long but >over the years the average Hindu has been

feeling that >he has been taken for a ride, that it was all right >for a Muslim

to be a stern Muslim, for a Christian to >be a Christian but all wrong for a

Hindu to be a >Hindu. > >For years the revolt against secularism has been

>brewing with no one being any the wiser for it. It >started to explode during

the agitation for the >take-over of the Ram Janmabhoomi site. There is no >need

really speaking for the agitation. The demand of >the Hindus very well, say one

section of the Hindus >could have been politely, wisely, met and there the

>matter would have happily ended. As has been noted by >Dr Rafiq Zakaria, the

Babri Masjid was a Shia mosque >and the All-India Shia Conference had shown

>willingness to have the mosque relocated at another >site. But the mosque and

its surrounding land had been >taken over by the Sunnis who showed lamentable

lack of >understanding of the Hindu psyche. > >Worse, the so-called secularists

kept egging them on >to take an unbending stance. The resolute should have >been

anticipated. Even political Hindus who wouldn't >have hurt a fly came to the

conclusion that something >is basically wrong with the secularism as practised

by >the Congress and the Left-leaning parties. > >The Congress secularism aptly

described as >``pseudo-secularism'' stood exposed. Since then there >has been no

turning back. Godhra was something waiting >to happen. It merely confirmed

gathering Hindu opinion >that there has to be a stop to the enternal pandering

>to the Muslim electorate. What subsequently happened >was an explosion of

long-pent up feelings. > >No Narendra Modi, no L. K. Advani, no Sonia Gandhi,

no >intervention of Armed Forces could have controlled the >ire of a frustrated

people. Is this a temporary >phenomenon of no major consequence? Will the anger

and >frustration fritter away in the months to come? >That seems highly

unlikely. The huge outflow of >support shown by Mumbai's citizens when they of

>foregathered at Shivaji Park recently to hear Narendra >Modi is an indication

of not only how deep is the >support to Hindutva howsoever defined among

ordinary >people but of a qualitative change in their thinking. >The

pseudo-secularists may, like the columnist quoted >above, rant and rave but the

turn-over to Hindutva >seems irreversible. A giant has been awakened. Hindus

>across the country, irrespective of caste, creed, >community, language, even

political affiliation have >been roused. The tide of anger cannot be turned.

This >is an entirely new development, unforeseen but now, it >seems,

inevitable. Those who voted for the Bharatiya >Janata Party in the Gujarat

elections came from all >classes of society, including, much to the shock of

>our pseudo-secularists, tribals as well. > >There are many who wonder whether

the BJP's electoral >success in Gujarat can be replicated elsewhere. That >is

an open question. Madhya Pradesh, for instance, or, >for that matter the three

other states which will be >holding assembly elections in a short while, is no

>Gujarat. They cannot be. But that does not mean that >people feel differently.

The feeling of revulsion >against secularism is so deep that it is

>unbe-lievable. What is happening today is something >that was unthinkable a

decade ago. It is Hinduism not >just Hindutva resurgent. This resur-gence needs

to be >understood and properly canalised, not condemned or >laughed at. And this

also be said: the more i is >belittled and besmerched, the more it is going to

>thrive. > >Our pseudo-secularists do not know what force they are

>confronting, let alone understand its significance. >Never in the past has

Hinduism been united. That is >happening now, right in front of our eyes. It is

not >going to brook any insult and it is there to stay. >Significantly it is a

force with a very positive >content. It is by no means anti-minority. That

>supercilious charge made by ignoramuses cannot >withstand scrutiny even for a

will turn out to be. >Hindutva is going to release forces that will take >India

to the pinnacle of glory. Those with petty minds >will continue to cavil. But

they cannot stop >Hindutva's momentum which, like a mighty or oceanic >wave

will sweep everything before it. There have >rarely been instances of Hindu

resurgence in the past. >We are seeing one now in action. And it is dazzling.

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