We have just watched on television some excerpts from the Press Conference (without any press!) held by our Chief of Defence Staff – General Bipin Rawat, along with the serving Chiefs from the Army, the Navy and the Air Force. 

Since then, we have received several calls and messages from friends and colleagues who shared their disappointment, surprise, even shock, at the nature of the remarks made by our senior most military leader on national television. We are witnessing this at a time when the nation and our people are facing one of the most critical situations since partition. This is a matter of concern, especially for me as one of the senior most former Naval Chiefs alive today. The situation brought on by the Corona Virus pandemic has undoubtedly hit countries and peoples across the globe in various ways – economic, social, psychological, political and several dimensions too many to name. But my concern here is with how this might impact our country and our people.

Let me first of all commend the CDS and Chiefs of Staff for having taken the initiative of addressing a Press Conference on the subject of COVID 19 and the role of our Armed Forces in these circumstances. When the first notification about talking to the press popped up on our phones and computer screens, around 4:45 to 5 pm, we were full of anticipation. I was sure that our top Brass would announce some additional plans by the Armed Forces to meet the current challenge.  This would include relief, rehabilitation and assistance in handling and managing the huge exodus taking place across the country.

I had addressed two letters to the Prime Minister, copied to the RM, as also the CDS and Heads of the three Services. My first letter was dated March 27, and the second one on April 14, Ambedkar Jayanthi. I had suggested in both letters that the considerable resources of the Armed Forces might be tapped in a number of ways to deal with the unprecedented situation, brought on by the manner in which Lockdown was announced and executed. I had specifically mentioned the organizing and running of Community Kitchens and food distribution in the first letter. By the time of my second letter, the situation with respect to the farm and migrant workers and large numbers walking home for thousands of miles had grown much worse.  

My letter had flagged the fact that from all accounts, there was more than enough rice and wheat available in our reserves with the FCI, and that these should be released without further delay to feed our people. Some reports that sanction had been given by the Cabinet to diverting grains for the manufacture of ethanol and hand sanitizers was truly alarming!

Given the continuing and open targeting of some sections, like care givers, doctors and nurses etc, and our Muslim citizens, especially after the Tablighi Markaz incident, I had requested the Honorable Prime Minister that a signal from him was urgently required in order to put a halt to this deplorable and avoidable communal colour being added to a tragic health pandemic.

So, it was indeed with a deep sense of dismay and disappointment that we watched the rather prosaic address by the CDS, thanking the ‘Corona Warriors’ and Citizens for ‘being disciplined’ and keeping people safe. The speech went on to details of how Tri service  appreciation for the above would take the form of a series of events on May 3 – like fly pasts and helicopter showering of petals by the Indian Air Force ; illumination of Indian Naval ships  in harbours; and band performances in hospitals and other venues by the Indian Army.  For most of us from the Armed Forces, these events are usually conducted to celebrate victories – and in this case we are far from that day.

As has been pointed out by many, here were the top Brass of our Armed Forces who could have marshalled and provided the best facilities, equipment, PPEs and much more for the same ‘warriors’ on whom they would now be spending vast amounts of money by way of the ‘flying machines’, fuel and flowers, for organizing all of the above events outlined by the CDS! That there was not even a token reference to the grim situation being faced by lakhs of  migrant workers on May Day, who were hungry, jobless and desperate to get home , many of them choosing to walk and some of them dying along the way, is a sad indication of the insensitivity of our privileged to the trauma and travails of the vast masses who toil to keep the wheels of our system going.

My immediate concern however is to address the role that the Armed Forces of our country could and should be playing at a time of national crisis which is no less than a war scenario. Indeed, we are using military terminology of this being a ‘war’ against the Corona Virus. I have long held the view that while we in the Armed Forces maybe soldiers, sailors and airmen, we are fundamentally citizens of this country. Though our basic rights are held in suspension while in active service – the fact that we exercise our political right of universal franchise by casting our vote during elections, also emphasizes our responsibility and duty to safeguard the well-being of our people. Let us not forget that ensuring justice and equality for all as promised in our Constitution, is the primary goal and objective that we should be striving for.

I wish to briefly examine the content, the tone and the impact of the statement made by the CDS to the Press this evening – two days before the end of this phase of the Lockdown, and literally some minutes before the announcement from the Ministry of Home Affairs announcing a further two week extension to the Lockdown.

Frankly as a former serviceman, it would have gone down extremely well had each of the service chiefs used this opportunity to inform the public of the many innovative and commendable steps they have already carried out in each service with respect to ‘the war’ against COVID 19.

Furthermore, in my humble opinion, at a time when all our resources are fully stretched, we could have better utilized the money that will be spent on the events detailed above, towards assisting those most in need at this time, to reach their homes safely and thus minimize the pressures on them. Imagine the visibility and interaction with the personnel from the Armed Forces – and the building of relationships between civil and military.

Finally, let me say why I have felt impelled to pen these few words on this issue today.

I mean no disrespect to my colleagues in uniform who are in the ‘hot seat’ today. However, having ‘been there’ and ‘done that’ so to speak, I believe it is important to point out that we, as senior veterans, have a bounden responsibility to act as “conscience keepers” at times like the ones we are experiencing today. I continue to take positions on several issues which may or may not be to the liking of the regime of the day. There are several letter and articles by me available in the public domain. I am against India having gone Nuclear; I am also strongly in favour of building strong relations with all our neighbours in the region. Taking a view that is different or dissenting, does not mean that I disrespect those in high office. Rather I see this as part of my right and responsibility as a loyal citizen in a democracy, and a core element of my “Constitutional Dharma”. 

Looking back over my career of over 45 years in the Indian Navy there are several instances where I have been faced with tough decisions of a personal ethics and conscience versus political expediency. To illustrate what I mean – let me share just three examples:

• In 1984, when I was commanding the Eastern Fleet based in Vizag, my wife, who was in Delhi, got deeply involved with the relief, rehabilitation and reporting on the problems and challenges of the victims of the 1984 Pogrom against the Sikhs. She asked me if testifying before a Commission of Enquiry would adversely affect my career, which was advice she was given by several of our well-meaning friends in the Navy. I told her that she should follow her conscience and not worry about my career. 

•  In 1990, our eldest daughter asked for our blessings to marry the young man whom she had got to know while studying in the USA. The young man in question was Muslim and of Pakistani origin. We had always respected our daughters’ views and decisions – and so we said she should go ahead. I was then Commander in Chief Eastern Naval Command – again based in Vizag. I informed my Defence Minister – Dr Raja Ramanna, and my Prime Minister – Shri VP Singh. Both were unanimous in their view that who my daughter married had nothing to do with my track record in the service – and formally gave permission for us to travel to the US for her wedding in Chicago. Most people thought I was throwing away my chances of being selected for the top job. But I was clear that our daughter’s happiness was important. To our surprise and delight my name was announced as the next Naval Chief in October 1990.

• In 1992, during the build up to the Ram Mandir issue in Ayodhya, I advised both the Raksha Mantri, and others present that I feared the Babri Masjid would be demolished if we did not take prompt action. But neither the political leadership nor even the late Dr Abdul Kalam – Scientific Advisor and a wonderful colleague – were prepared to take a stand. I did my duty and gave my honest advice – but alas the rest is history.

•  I do believe that the Indian Armed Forces can and must play a role in Nation Building. In 1980, as part of my course at the NDC – National Defence College – my Individual Thesis as a Commodore, was on the Subject “THE ROLE OF THE MILITARY IN INDIA’S NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT”. It was increasingly clear to me, that if we were to indeed work to fulfill the promise of our Constitution and the Directive Principles, it would mean finding the right balance between Defence and Development. There was never any doubt in my mind that the term National Security could only be realized if we all worked to achieve Human Security. For me, Human security is the well-being of the last woman, man and child – regardless of religion, caste, class, gender, ethnicity, or community.

In conclusion:

Before assuming office as Naval Chief in November 1990, I visited Rajghat to pay my respects to the Father of the Nation, prior to the monument of the Unknown Soldier at India Gate as per the then existing tradition. The words inscribed at Gandhiji’s Samadhi have always inspired me. His mission was to wipe away every tear from every eye – and to do so he advocated that we should “Think of the poorest person you have ever seen, and ask if your next act will be of any use to him”.  It is my hope that all of us who serve our country, in or out of uniform, will always keep this principle uppermost, and have the courage to stick by his or her conscience, regardless of what the political establishment of the day might decree.

                                                                                      Jai Hind

*The author Admiral L Ramdas, PVSM, AVSM, VrC, VSM, ADC served as Chief of Naval Staff of the Indian Navy from 1990 to 1993.

 Related:

Ex-Indian Navy Chief Ramdas says Gen Rawat wrong in making political comments

Ex-Navy Chief approaches EC over Yogi Adityanath’s “Modiji ki Sena” remark

Reclaiming the republic 

The post Mayday, Mayday, Mayday! appeared first on SabrangIndia.

The People of India have given sufficient publicity to the Preamble of the Constitution in the run up to and actually on, Republic Day. This must now be moved forward by achieving greater traction in a number of ways. Here are a few suggested next steps.

1. Lawmakers, members of the judiciary, and police and others involved in maintaining law and order, must also reaffirm the oath to serve all the people, as mentioned in the Preamble to the Constitution. This should apply to all parties at the centre and in the states.

2. Likewise, all Government servants and all others in the system, as heads of institutions , departments etc, both in central and state services, must also read out the Preamble , and re-affirm their commitment to tender honest advice; not be partisan to any political party; and work for the welfare of the people.

3. This is also a good time to urge all elected representatives, government servants and citizens to read the Preamble in conjunction with Article 51 A of the Constitution, which lists basic fundamental duties and reminds us of so much that still needs to be done.

4. These steps are being suggested as an appropriate and meaningful way in which the extraordinary examples of non violent protest by the students and the people across the country can be publicly recognized and acknowledged. Hopefully this will help to ensure that an effective connection between the ‘public servant’ and the ‘Public’ be built for continuing interaction and dialogue in the future.

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So Why Am I filing a Writ Petition and PIL on the Judge Loya case? How and Why am I concerned?

The post Personal Testimony of Admiral Ramdas on Judge Loya’s case appeared first on SabrangIndia.

My Dear Prime Minister,

I am constrained to write to you, because of the recent developments in Jammu and Kashmir, the attack on our air station in Pathankot , and now in Uri, where we have lost precious lives not to mention the many injured.

The lack of response by India to the latest attack, has clearly been due in large measure, to the sobering effect of nuclear weapons possessed by both sides. India, by conducting the nuclear tests in 1998, was largely responsible for escalating the nuclear arms race in the region. It appears that this might have left us with little choice but to step back after the Uri attack. Needless to say my own views against nuclear weapons are well known, and I do strongly believe that by overtly announcing our nuclear weapons capability we have lost the conventional advantage over Pakistan that we had for all these years.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, national security needs to be discussed in some detail with not only the Chief of the Army Staff , the National Security Adviser and the members of the CCSA (Cabinet Committee on Security Affairs,) but equally importantly, also with the heads of the Navy and the Air Force. Should we decide to go to war, or should the Pakistanis chose to escalate the levels, preparatory work, advice and the engagement of all the three service Chiefs are essential. We should be prepared for all contingencies and this is ultimately a task for the Military leadership.

However, to revert to the overall question of Indo-­‐Pak relations, one of the major causes of the continuing hostility between Pakistan and India, has been the inability to resolve the Kashmir issue. Over the years successive Indian governments since 1948 have failed to find a solution for Kashmir. Recent events, including the violence and unrest in the valley, has further reinforced what many have been saying, that there can be no military solution to the Kashmir problem. Peace can only be restored through a dialogue leading to a political solution.

Till now unfortunately we appear to have resorted to inflexible, half baked and knee jerk reactions -­‐ as was evident in the approach adopted by the recent visit of the all party delegation of members of Parliament. It is increasingly clear that in order to regain the trust of the people of Kashmir, India needs to be imaginative and demonstrate our willingness to find a political solution which will be acceptable to all parties concerned.

This would mean revisiting the promises made at the time of the accession of Jammu and Kashmir to India. Further, this could also mean a flexible response towards restoring autonomy as promised. To achieve this we need to be open to discuss matters with all the groups in Kashmir. We are all aware of the resolution passed by the J&K assembly in 2004 demanding autonomy, but it fell on deaf ears, since the Congress Government of the day did nothing to take this matter forward . You will agree with me sir that restoring the trust deficit is crucial for peace in South Asia.

By way of my credentials in writing to you on this matter, in addition to having headed the Indian Navy, and seen active service in the 1971 Bangla Desh war, I have been giving much serious thought to the overall issues concerning the development, and security of our region, even whilst in service. Contrary to a popularly held view among many of our senior service and other officials, three and half wars with Pakistan have shown me that wars and military actions have not found us the answers to the intractable problems of our region.

This is what has prompted my active engagement in seeking solutions which would reduce hostility, contribute to better neighbourhood management, and in the long run and help the people of our region to lead a better quality of life.

Whilst heading the service in 1992, we in the Indian Navy organized a seminar entitled “Challenges and Opportunities in the Indian Ocean in the 21st Century”, designed to bring together the littoral seafaring nations of the region in a conversation about maritime heritage and joint efforts to combat threats. Participants unanimously supported the suggestion I made that we must change the Indian Ocean from an area of conflict to one of cooperation. I had also advocated setting up of an Indian Ocean Panchayat , which would resolve conflicts between states peacefully. Recent initiatives taken by your Government and the Indian Navy, have built on this.

In the post retirement years, my efforts to explore several independent civil society initiatives for peace, democracy and greater people to people contact, has led to my engagement with the PIPFPD (Pakistan India Peoples Forum for Peace and Democracy), and other initiatives on Nuclear Disarmament. In 2004 these efforts were recognized by the award of the Magsaysay Award for Peace, jointly to myself and my colleague Mr I A Rehman from Pakistan .

All our efforts however finally end in a kind of deadlock around the unresolved and complex question of Kashmir. I had often shared this with your distinguished predecessor Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee, and his NSA, the late Shri Brajesh Misra, both of whom were open to the idea of pursuing the path of dialogue whilst remaining tough diplomatically.

To regain trust of the people in Kashmir requires sincere, genuine and long term solutions which will also make the people, especially the youth , feel that they are a valued part of our society. Meeting violence with more violence has never solved issues. If I might venture to suggest – we should also initiate an open discussion regarding a gradual withdrawal of military presence in some key areas – which could also include a discussion on AFSPA(Armed Forces Special Powers Act).

I am sure that you as Prime Minister will seriously consider some of these suggestions, emanating as they do from one of the senior most former Service Chiefs. I would also like to commend you for not being influenced by those who impulsively and irresponsibly have advocated using the nuclear option – this, in my view, would be a catastrophic path to follow for many good reasons.

In conclusion I would like to say that I have been part of several Track II and other peace initiatives – including visiting both Kashmir and Pakistan over the years. Regardless of the calibrated response we must make to the impunity of the latest attacks on Uri, we need to keep the doors open for dialogue with the people of Jammu and Kashmir, as also with Pakistan. Although I am 83 years old, I am still active, and quite ready to volunteer for any such initiative.

With regards
Yours sincerely
Admiral L. Ramdas

Admiral L Ramdas is former Chief of Naval Staff of the Indian Navy
 

The post Former Navy Chief’s Open Letter To Modi: War Is Not A Solution! appeared first on SabrangIndia.

This is perhaps because we are attempting to do the impossible: trying to capture in the space of an article a much larger canvas. At one level we have been overtaken by earth shattering global events that are dictating predictable reactions post Paris. The global ‘war on terror’ is back with a fury which is both primitive and dangerous as it ignores the complex and layered, reality and history, of the Wests’ engagement with countries of the Middle East.

Coming closer home, within this broader canvas, we are trying to situate and analyse the equally complex picture of events and trends in our own country – the political upheavals, the cultural and ideological battles; and above all the sense of [deliberately manufactured?] growing intolerance. In all this atmosphere of gloom, if there is one event which restores one’s faith in the intrinsic wisdom, good sense and secular roots of our people, it has been the election results from Bihar where people have delivered a resounding verdict of NO to communal politics.

We note the symbiotic relationship between the global, the regional and the national scenarios. The seeming ease with which corporate, military, economic and political interests are able to cynically exploit race, ethnicities, linguistic and religious differences into violence of such a scale, it would certainly have Gandhi, Martin Luther King and Mandela turning in their graves. It is as if there is an unwritten sanction for violent responses, enhanced a hundred times because of the fearsome way in which such an extent of modern science, technology and finance has been converted into a terrifying dance of death and destruction. An eye for an eye indeed – and we are all rapidly turning blind.

Unfortunately the media is playing its own powerful and not necessarily or always ethical or constructive role in all of this. Today – be it print, electronic and especially the very recent phenomena of social media – it is compulsively caught up in a race to be the first to bring the sound bytes, the shocking, heartbreaking and provocative visuals, i.e. in short BREAKING NEWS. Here too, the march of technology has been a double edged weapon which we must use with care and caution. But given the varying compulsions at play, there is lesser time for dialogue, thought or reflection about the consequences of those actions.

The Role of Watchdogs in Civil Society
So what is the significance of an agency like Communalism Combat which completes 22 years of existence despite all odds about which enough has been said and written. Interestingly there is a shared history and synergy between CC and our move from a typical urban, services environment into a totally unfamiliar and tough rural reality – completing 22 years this September.

For many of us, coming from the experience of some decades of work in civil society and peoples’ movements, it has been increasingly apparent that we have moved far away from many of the original values, principles and concepts about the nature of our society and polity as was enshrined in the Constitution of India. The politics of vote banks, especially the cynical cultivation of religious and sectarian groups for electoral purposes, was started by Congress soon after the heady days of independence and then taken to further lethal practices by many political parties – national and regional. What we term as “communalisation” has been happening over a period of time. Indira Gandhi’s assassination followed by the pogrom against Sikhs represented the tragic consequences of communal politics played in the Punjab.

We have truly reached the nadir in terms of public discourse and tolerance of differing points of view.

For many of those intimately involved with relief, rehabilitation after the carnage against the Sikhs, this was the first real eye opener to the ugly face of the state and its leadership. It was also to bring home to a large number of citizens the dangers of the relative ease with which it was possible to manipulate mob frenzy and anger around issues of religion, caste and community. The first large scale civil society mobilisation around the issue of communalisation began already in 1984 as can be seen in the brief overview of the Sampradayikta Virodhi Andolan below.

“A Brief History of the Sampradayikta Virodhi Andolan (1984-1993)
 
1.  The Sampradayikta Virodhi Andolan (SVA), or Movement Against Communalism, was founded by some of the activists working in the relief camps in Delhi in November 1984. Its original concept was to engage in systematic activity designed to pre-empt communal violence, rather than merely react to its consequences. One of the first acts of the group was to help organise (along with certain political groups and unions outside the established left parties), a protest demonstration on November 24, 1984. Participants still consider this one of the most memorable demonstrations in Delhi in many years, despite the abstention of the national Opposition. Students and professors; butchers and auto-rickshaw drivers; workers, political activists, women's groups, all took part with great enthusiasm in a march lasting nearly four hours, and comprising some four to five thousand people. Citizens belonging to virtually every national community were present. ‘Bhai-bhai’ slogans were not raised – the focus was quite simply, the demand for punishment to the guilty. Significantly, the demonstration was given little or no coverage in the media, barring an editorial page article in The Statesman some days later that stated that “thousands of Sikhs” had marched in Delhi crying for vengeance – a classic case of distortion.
 
In 1986 we submitted a memorandum to the National Integration Council, which focussed on the need to implement the criminal law with respect to the Delhi carnage. This document we believe, is the only public statement drawing attention to the communal nature of the Rajiv Gandhi-Longowal accord of 1985 for its presumption that the Akali Party had the natural right to take up the matter of the massacre of Sikhs in Delhi.
 
We argued that the government was constitutionally bound to identify and punish the guilty, regardless of the religious affiliation of the victims, and that the investigation of the allegation of conspiracy (as undertaken in the Accord) was a red herring which left this duty unattended. The SVA's predictions in this matter have unfortunately, been proven correct.
 
An important aside especially important to record in view of vicious abuse and accusations of treason directed at the Admiral following the open letter that he recently wrote to the President and the Prime Minister (Vijayadashmi, 2015).

***NB Admiral Ramdas was very much still in service, and was commanding the Eastern Fleet based in Visakhapatnam at the time. It was Lalita Ramdas who was living in Delhi, and who was  deeply involved in justice and reparation, post 1984 pogrom, over a nearly three year period. It was a full time commitment, along with hundreds of young and old people from very different social and political backgrounds. Under the umbrella of Nagrik Ekta Manch, we co-ordinated work in Nanaksar, Farsh Bazaar and other relief camps. Volunteers sat up night after night, collating first person testimonies from survivors. We interacted with the police and Delhi administration demanding that FIRs be registered, and necessary action be taken.

Our reports became part of the seminal report published by the People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) and the People’s Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR), Who are the Guilty? And several of us testified before the Justice Ranganath Mishra Commission.

We remember vividly the conversation that preceded the decision that Lalita would testify before the commission – especially since advice from the admiral’s colleagues was that this would go against Ramu’s service career. His position and words to his wife were clear and unambiguous. “You must follow your conscience. If your conscience tells you to testify, just go ahead. And if that affects my service career – that’s too bad. I am ready to put in my papers at any time.”

Interrogation, Dissent and Democracy
Across print, web journals and social media, it has been a shock for us to be at the receiving end of such ill-informed and vicious attacks – where it is clear that it is not dissent that has been manufactured as was famously said recently by a senior minister in the government. These are personal, slanderous attacks which are carefully manufactured, synchronised and propagated through the network of both the party and others who call the shots. We have truly reached the nadir in terms of public discourse and tolerance of differing points of view.

The blind loyalty to an individual, a political party and an ideology has been deliberately bred and encouraged over the decades – a natural feature of our continuing feudal mindsets. Political parties are encouraging caste, community and religion based identity politics in today’s India. And it is for this reason that any discussion on combating communalism must also be located within a rigorous critique of what is understood by democracy and democratic governance.

The true value of what the initiatives like Communalism Combat represent can be best evaluated when examined within the political and social contexts of the time. Just as much as 1984 provided a kind of watershed experience for citizens; the events leading up to the demolition of the Babri Masjid in 1993 was to alter the discourse on communal politics as encouraged by the BJP. This entire narrative was reinforced and underpinned ever more strongly by the members of the extended sangh parivar.

It is with remarkable insight that both Teesta and Javed – two far sighted journalists – could look ahead into a future which most of us discarded, realise the kind of horrors that were likely to surface, and who then went on to make it their life’s mission to perform the function of efficient and committed watchdogs to anticipate and eventually to book and prosecute those who were guilty of the most unspeakable crimes against humanity. This requires the courage of conviction to act according to the diktats of one’s conscience.

From the Archives of Communalism Combat
In the course of charting the focus for this article, we spent time visiting the archives of Communalism Combat – at least those that have been uploaded from 1998 to 2012. It is a veritable store-house of important milestones – especially in this period between the genocide of 1984 – to the genocide of 2002. While majoritarian communal behaviour comes in for considerable scrutiny CC has not spared minority communal patterns of behaviour. The range and span of essays and reports from some of the finest minds provide a critical source and access to serious analysis and perspectives which help in contextualising both historically and ideologically, the course of events which have brought us to where we are today.

In particular it is most important to understand the thin but critical dividing line between religious fundamentalism and communalism.
 
The Contradictions About Conversions
Rajeev Dhavan, in a former issue of CC terms India’s anti conversion legislation as one which has caused lasting damage and endless repercussions.
“India’s present controversies over ‘conversions’ have little meaning outside the politics of Hindutva. An anxious and vindictive sangh parivar’s stance – that no conversions of Hindus should take place – is clearly that conversions out of Hinduism are bad but reconversions back into Hinduism are welcome. What is flaunted as a policy against all conversions has been tailored to suit Hindutva’s needs. There are therefore clear contradictions in the Hindutva standpoint. According to this view, conversions must stop but reconversions are to be encouraged. People should move into Hinduism but not out of Hinduism.

The sangh parivar’s stance on conversion and reconversion is mired in communal fundamentalism. No argument on conversion exists in a vacuum, and the sangh parivar’s policies on conversion are also part of a communal policy of persecution of Christians and Muslims. Unlike fundamentalism which consists of a diehard belief in one’s own faith, communalism goes further to pursue a policy of persecution towards other faiths through legal and illegal coercive methods. Fundamentalism and communalism may feed each other. A fundamentalist is entitled to cling to his orthodoxy but a communalist is as menacing as his persecution. Proselytism is not communal per se. Many faiths claim to seek to convert others, just as present-day Hindus seek to ‘reconvert’ non-Hindus.”

Not only has this theme of conversions and Ghar Wapsi been widely used by the present regime, today in 2015 we find ourselves at a moment where those who were guilty in 1984 have been displaced and replaced, without being punished, by those who were responsible for and who turned a blind eye towards the guilty of 2002. And it is this party and this power which is presiding over the destinies of the people of India today as they continue to target Muslims and to a lesser extent, Christians, for not being the true inheritors of the soul of India.

Singling Out The Muslim in India
Quoting from a January 1998 issue of Communalism Combat:
“Similarly, the hatred directed at Indian Muslims by a certain political tendency has tended to produce a post-facto justification for the two-nation theory of Jinnah upon which the Partition was based. In turn, that hatred appeared to those possessed by it as a consequence of the “separatism” of Muslims in general and retribution for the pain and trauma suffered by Hindu and Sikh refugees in 1947. Who is to blame? This is a question fraught with ambivalence. But for those who have succumbed to communal ideology, it is a very simple question indeed, and the easy answer is always – They…”

And again in 2012 they point out:
“The sangh parivar is not just a sick organisation suffering from a blind and incurable hatred of Muslims and Christians. It is far worse than that. There is a method in the murder and mayhem that it promotes and perpetrates, which clearly points to an evil genius at work.

‘Go Back to Pakistan’
Recent statements by many levels of functionaries – both of the party and the parivar – have pointedly asked all those who criticise either the party, the prime minister, or the sangh and its policies, to “go to Pakistan”. This reveals a frightening mindset which has been systematically propagated, refined, polished and presented in increasingly sophisticated forms over several decades. At the level of the mobs and the lumpen elements, it manifests itself in blind fury which will not stop at brutal violence that we have seen time and again. It is dangerous because it is also marketed and sold as defending the faith and the nation.

We are also seeing that this product in its modernised version, has found traction with large numbers of urban, educated, middle class – NRIs and  upwardly mobile youth – seduced by the same rhetoric of this being the essence of India, and herein lies the protection and the promotion of both religion and nationalism. The message is brilliant, while also frightening in its simplicity – the essential soul of India is Hindu; Hindutva is the sword arm which will restore India to its glory and deserved place in the sun; all those who would live here, especially those who follow the book like Muslims and Christians, can only do so under terms dictated by the majority. By extension of this logic, the creation of a Hindu Rashtra is our political goal.

The concerted attacks on the country’s minorities have been possible thanks to the failure of the custodians of law to fulfil their primary obligation of protecting the life and property of all citizens, irrespective of community, caste or gender.

Analysts have consistently pointed out that the foundations of project ‘Hindu Rashtra’ were indeed laid several decades ago – and in many ways Babri Masjid followed by Gujarat were part of the trial run whereby the religious-cultural units were either deployed by the political leadership, or the members of the parivar/sangh were the ones who set the agenda and drove the political engine.

Communalism Combat from October 1998 carries an unforgettable headline¸ Welcome to Hindu Rashtra http://www.sabrang.com/cc/comold/octob98/edit.htm)

“Over forty incidents, of arson, assault, loot, demolition (remember the ‘kar sevaks’ in Ayodhya?) and forcible evictions have taken place in the past six months in Gujarat, the land of Gandhi’s birth. The targets: the state’s Christians and Muslims. 
As a social activist from Gujarat put it, "lived fascism is a grim reality in Gujarat today." Those who are putting up a brave resistance in Gujarat today experience a chilling isolation from the rest of the country.

The concerted attacks on the country’s minorities have been possible thanks to the failure of the custodians of law to fulfil their primary obligation of protecting the life and property of all citizens, irrespective of community, caste or gender. The murderers and assailants have functioned with utter impunity before the guardians of the law, either browbeating the administration into inaction or engineering complicity from within its ranks. This bodes ill for the health of Indian democracy.”

This graphic account of the modus operandi of the foot soldiers of the sangh parivar should be borne in mind as we switch gears to move fast forward to the overwhelming victory of the BJP in the general elections of 2014 – and the mounting evidence of a number of similar attacks on minorities in the past eighteen months since the BJP government came to power. The agenda is clear, put in place in all key positions from national to local, those who are loyalists of RSS and the Sangh Parivar – and they will take forward the Project of intimidation of the minorities and dalits, as also building the edifice of a Hindu Rashtra.

Public memory is notoriously short – and once again we are reminded by this quote in CC by the novelist Milan Kundera, when he wrote, “The struggle for power is the struggle of memory against forgetting.”

To make people forget, the template of popular memory requires reworking. The circumstances are propitious – the BJP is in power again and Rajnath Singh is the Home Minister. LK Advani has metamorphosed into a voice of moderation, even an elderly statesman.
From Personal to Political

In the final analysis, the measure of any effort to confront, interrogate and combat the kind of elements and forces we have tried to describe above will be the extent and intensity to which these are experienced at the personal level. Our earliest contributions to Communalism Combat, one was titled SLEEPING WITH THE ENEMY, and the other THE FIRE NEXT TIME described in detail some challenging and tough situations and decisions made at a personal level – which in turn has influenced so many of the public or political decisions we have taken.

To make people forget, the template of popular memory requires reworking. The circumstances are propitious – the BJP is in power again and Rajnath Singh is the Home Minister. LK Advani has metamorphosed into a voice of moderation, even an elderly statesman.

A Letter to Our Leaders From a Former Head of service
Here are a few extracts from a recent open letter from Admiral Ramdas as a former head of service, sent to the President and the Prime Minister of India.  This letter clearly resonated with large numbers, it was translated into several languages – and we have received calls and messages of appreciation from across the world.

“It is with a heavy heart, that I write this open letter to you at a time when our beloved country and people are facing severe challenges and threats to our shared heritage.

I have served in the Armed Forces of India – joining soon after Independence as a 14 year old, to end up 45 years later Chief of the Indian Navy [1990 to 1993] I have witnessed many transitions in India – from the horrors of partition in 1947 to the very different world of digital connectivity that we see today. 

Today, as a veteran in my eighties, I am forced to hang my head in shame as I witness a series of incidents and assaults on our fellow citizens, especially minorities and dalits. Our armed forces which I have had the honour to serve for 45 years, have been an exemplar of India’s secular ethos. Be it in ships and submarines, or in planes and battle formations, we do not discriminate on the basis of caste or religion – we train, we fight, we live, we eat and we die together.”

It appears that certain communities are being singled out for special attention – for instance Muslims.

There seems to be a systematic and well orchestrated attempt to impose a majoritarian single point agenda of creating a Hindu Rashtra in India – led by the RSS and their network of groups, which is disturbing to say the least.

Most shocking of all is the fact there has been no unambiguous condemnation of such actions and behaviour by those at the helm of affairs in the country.

I do not need to point out to the top leadership today, that this is playing with fire in a nation where minorities – especially Muslims and Christians, as also dalits and adivasis, are already feeling discriminated and marginalised.

The violence visited upon vulnerable sections reinforces the image of India as an imperfect democracy where all forms of dissent are discouraged and human rights trampled upon with impunity.

The Prime Minister and his ministers in the government are sworn in by the President of India, and they take an oath pledging to uphold the Indian Constitution.T heir failure to do so, as evidenced in the foregoing, is a serious matter and does not augur well either for national security or national integrity. The Central and State Governments must act swiftly, unequivocally condemn all such incidents and ensure that justice will be done and the guilty are punished. 

The violence visited upon vulnerable sections reinforces the image of India as an imperfect democracy where all forms of dissent are discouraged and human rights trampled upon with impunity.

It is our bounden duty that the elected Government of this nation must honour the rights of every citizen of this land as amply spelled out in the Preamble of the Constitution and further elaborated in the Directive Principles of State Policy. As Supreme Commander and the Chief Executive – this is what you must ensure and implement by all the powers vested in you by the people of India.

If we do not stem the rot now – it might be too late. Indeed we the people of India look to you to take all steps necessary to restore faith in our democracy and in the promise of bringing dignity, fraternity and equality to each of our citizens.
 
—  Admiral Ramdas
 
And in conclusion – as we also dealt with a barrage of abuse and accusations of treasonable conduct, with demands that not just we, but the family needed to be publicly hung, here is what Lalita Ramdas wrote and sent out on social media summing up where we are coming from.
“Is the soul and idea of India just Hindu? Says who? And which history- or religious text tells us that?

For me, and for many like me, it is the layered magnificence of five thousand years which has placed in its core for all manner of -isms ……..animism – for the five elements we have always revered; for tribal deities of the original inhabitants; for Buddha and Mahavira; for the Vedas and the Upanishads and million other interpretations and practice of Hinduism, for Zoroastrianism, Christianity, and Judaism, for Islam, for Sikhism and Bahais – for socialism, secularism, and even capitalism; for believers and non believers, for atheists and agnostics – for dark skinned and fair and lovely – for sufis and dervishes – for devis and devatas – for gods and goddesses – for the many languages and dialects, for all the versions of the Ramayana – for LGBTs – and ardha narishwara, for the most bewildering expressions and creativity and fusion in art, architecture, food, our textiles, our music our poetry and literature and languages… for debate, and argument and dissent and as many opinions as there are people.

We worship rivers, mountains, and animals, the sun, the moon, the wind and fire… we worship learning, we worship people, but do not tell us to worship only in one way.

And as for Hindutva ? There is no such thing – except for a ‘manufactured’ and ugly distortion of all that was wise and good in one of the many many faiths of our fore mothers and fore fathers!

My mother in law – a devout Tamil Brahmin – accepted me, a girl whom her son decided to marry – even though according to the hierarchy of caste – I came from a Bangle seller Naidu clan! She did not care about her daughter in law being an OBC – she was my best friend and ally – and she had no problems in cooking beef in the one and only pressure cooker in her tiny kitchen for their beloved dog – sammy!

It was her who convinced my own cosmopolitan mother [and widely travelled Naval wife], that it was fine to bring in a Muslim daughter in law into the family. Her gutsy stance helped another cousin in his decision to marry the beauteous Nargis from Orissa.

Years later these intrepid ladies happily welcomed their Muslim – Pakistani/American son in law into the family with arathi and mithai and slokas!

And as time went by, and our daughters and their cousins, studied and travelled – we now have a mini UN community in the family – a burly African American Baptist who has a PIO card which our Pakistani/American son in law can never get! Another niece is married to a Sri Lankan Tamil – and yet another to a wonderful, brilliant young man from the UK. The next generation is already making choices – from Kashmiri pandit to a Dutch-New Zealander!

Our children speak in many tongues and are at home in many countries – but they all come back happily to India and feel comfortably at home. This is the genuine Ghar Wapsi – the glory and the wonder that is India – let no one take this away.

So who were the original dwellers?  Our forest dwellers who are under siege like never before – victims of unrelenting corporate development – the adivasis – and they were never Hindus – until they were forcibly inducted into the fold.

Let us celebrate, not desecrate and distort, this marvellous diversity – this creative anarchy – possibly not to be found anywhere else on this planet except this South Asian land mass.

Good people are agonising today at what is happening, and it is time for each one of us to speak out and speak up about the ugly face of our country which seems to be on the rising. 

This and only this can be the way forward – and yes the idea of India in its magnificent diversity – will surely overcome and survive.                
 

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