Still their concern is worth giving a serious thought. The Hindu nationalism has been entrenching itself not only through electoral politics but also through its infiltration in various organs of state, its control over media and a big section of social media.

Yadav lays “the fault for the rise of the offending nationalism in India today at the doorstep of what he thinks of as a secularized, internationalist, modernist ethos that was cultivated
in post-Independence India, which eschewed all nationalism, thereby creating a “nationalism” vacuum that is now filled by the Hindutva conception of the nation.” Palshikar “closes the argument by tracing this nationalism to elements within the national movement more than a century earlier.”

Bilgrami, to begin with appreciates the Indian ethos by stating that “For centuries, Indian society has been characterized by an unselfconscious pluralism of religions and cultures. Today’s European-style nationalism, by contrast, manufactures division and calls it unity. And commenting on Palshikar’s views on its roots during freedom struggle, he says “No doubt there were antecedents to such attitudes during the freedom struggle but they were marginalized by the dominance of Gandhi and Nehru and though this certainly left unresolved
questions, these do not amount to the roots of current Hindutva nationalism.”

There are some more points which need to be taken into account while understanding the situation in India and the rising threat of Hindu nationalism. While in Europe the Sovereignty passed on from Monarchs/Kings to the Modern centralized state. The rise of such states had to deal with divergent groups in the society which lead to the concept of secularism.

In India we had a colonial state which usurped sovereignty of most of the Kings into the colonial state. This colonial state had to give way to the Indian state after Independence. This Indian state had its guidelines in the Indian constitution, which was “inclusive without othering” (Yadav’s phrase). India did walk this path and theoretically this is still the path of Indian nationalism. Hindu Nationalism is drawing a bigger line which in a way is narrow, European style but unlike Europe where language, religion and culture were the root of division and nationalism (mainly language), in India it was only religion which was the foundation of Hindu and Muslim Nationalism, also called communalism.

With the introduction of modern Industries, education, means of transport and communication roots of Indian nationalism started emerging. The supporting aspects of this nationalism were the social movements breaking the shackles of hierarchy. Movements led by Narayan Meghaji Lokhande, Com. Singarvelu organized the workers. Jotiba Phule, Savitribai Phule, Ambedkar and Periyar struggled for social equality, an important ingredient of Indian nationalism. Gandhi and Nehru contributed to the leading of people’s movement against colonial rule; this movement not only was aimed at changing the sovereignty from British to Indian elected representatives but also meant to be totally inclusive.

Right with the development of this Indian Nationalism; the feudal elements laid the foundation of trends which culminated in the formation of Muslim and Hindu nationalism. These trends articulated that religion is the basis of nationalism. They got support from Rajas, Nawabs (Kings) and elite sections which occupied a place on the higher pedestal of prevailing but declining social structure. Their rise in due course led to Muslim League, Hindu Mahasabha, and RSS. This did help the British to pursue the policy of ‘divide and rule’ for the British and later to partition of India.

Talking of India and Hindu nationalism, it had already become a force to reckon with and kept the European style nationalism of Germany and Italy as its role models. Its training of Swayamsevaks and Pracharaks spread their message far and wide through word of mouth. Immediately after we got Independence Hindu Nationalism’s strength was clear. It’s (ex) Pracharak Nathuram Godse pumped three bullets into the chest of the leader of anti-colonial movement, the biggest advocate of Indian Nationalism, Mahatma Gandhi.

RSS was not the only vehicle of Hindu nationalism. There was Hindu Mahasabaha and some elements of Hindu nationalism also entered the Indian National Congress. Nehru had realized this threat to Indian nationalism but could not weed it  out due to many reasons, the major one being the persistence of landlordism in the country. This was reflected in the heightened religiosity in society.

Hindu nationalism obviously stood for status quo of caste and gender relationships. Its appeal to certain sections of society became clear when a bill for cow slaughter was demanded and thousands of Sadhus gathered in the parliament. In1980s its influence started becoming obvious, when the response to Yatras and religiosity started going through the roof. On the pretext of the Shah Bano case the appeasement bogey worked and the Ram Mandir campaign opened the floodgates for the rise of Hindu nationalism.

Vocal articulation of Indian nationalism has been muted for some decades. The Right wing wants to present Nationalism itself as Hindu nationalism. Is there a hope for Indian nationalism becoming the main one today? Yes there is. We saw a glimpse of this during the last few years. The ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ and ‘Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra’ have shown that the space which was undermined by the assertion of European style nationalism, Hindu Nationalism can be retrieved. The articulation of issues of Dalits, women, Adivasis, workers and minorities along with the movements for their demands can be the foundation. The appeal of our Constitution is very deep among the people. These twin movements, along with reaching the values of Indian constitution far and wide will be the two legs on which Indian Nationalism can be retrieved from the ground in times to come.

The post Understanding the growth of European-style nationalism in India appeared first on SabrangIndia.

This is not all. The violence in the name of ‘cow slaughter’ by vigilantes, ‘love jihad’ killings targeting inter-faith relationships and marriages have added to the fire of anti-minority hatred. The enactment of the Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019 (CAA2019) has added to the woes of the Muslim community. Finally, the attacks on scattered prayer meetings of Christians on the pretext that these meetings are meant for conversions has kept up anti minority hate  and is getting intensified during the last few decades.

There is a gross violation of the rights of minorities and violation of the ‘Freedom of Religion’ in various forms. ‘Freedom of Religion’ acts have been implemented recklessly in various states. These laws as such are a big hurdle for the practice of one’s religion. This suppression of practice of religion added on with the hate against minorities has led to the total intimidation of religious minorities. We also witnessed the hateful rhetoric used during the 2024 national elections, the ongoing demolition of Muslim homes and the government’s renewed push to implement the Citizenship Amendment Act 2019 (CAA 2019)—a law that, especially when coupled with the National Register of Citizens (NRC), risks rendering millions of Muslims stateless and without legal protection.

This image of India being created by the acts by the BJP Government and Hindutva politics has had an adverse effect on India’s international image and standing. Attempts are on to mask up this image which reflects India’s falling position on various indices’ related to freedom and democracy. How does the Government and ruling ideological outfit of RSS deal with this reality? To begin with, India at official level does not recognise any of the agencies monitoring rankings related to human rights in particular. The government states that this is interference in the ‘internal matters’ of our country. The same Government shouts itself hoarse when the atrocities on Hindus take place in neighbouring countries. To raise concern about these atrocities is valid but the Government displays double standards on this.

To add up to the strategy of undermining the deteriorating condition of Indian minorities, now Mr. Ram Madhav, leader of RSS-BJP, in an article argues that this way of looking at violation of religious freedom is through a ‘Eurocentric lens’. In an endorsing way he presents the report of a US based think tank, “Changing the conversation about religious freedom: An integral human development approach”. As per this report “a crucial component of overall human flourishing and sustainable development has to be based on Integral Humanism”. He comments that religious freedom should not just be treated as relating to Human Rights. (I.E. June 14). This is a clever ploy to undermine the freedom of religion in the country.

As per Madhav invading Mughal armies ‘persecuted Hindus’. He puts the blame of Partition exclusively on Muslim League. In contrast to Madhav’s understanding the leader of India’s freedom movement, Gandhi saw diverse religions rooted in India and thriving with harmony. On similar lines Nehru saw our civilisation as a syncretic one. He writes “She (Bharat Mata) was like some ancient palimpsest on which layer upon layer of thought and reverie had been inscribed, and yet no succeeding layer had completely hidden or erased what had been written previously.”  

Madhav tells us about the concept of ‘Integral Humanism’ which was first propounded by Jacques Maritain in 1936. He was a Catholic Christian and has been appreciated by the highest priests of the Church. As per Madhav his concept of Integral Humanism argued to rise above religions to secure not only the material but ethical, moral and spiritual well-being of individuals. Articulating this in the context of Catholic Christianity, it might have aimed to oppose those who were trying to opt for non-Catholic sects of Christianity. He also argued for “The freedom which Christian democracy seeks to promote…”

In India this phrase was presented by BJP leader Deendayal Upadhaya, who also had an RSS background. He was part of a political outfit which is working for Hindu Nation. This ideology regards that India was enslaved by Muslim kings and then the British. This political ideology attributes many ills of Hindu society to atrocities of Muslim king in particular. The fact is that many of the ills regarding caste-Varna and gender hierarchy are mentioned in the earlier tomes regarded holy by Hindus. They are also unmindful of the fact that the administration of Muslim kings was full of upper caste Hindus at various levels.

In the four major lectures given by Upadhyay 1965 the ideology of ‘Integral Humanism’ was presented. This ideology argues against the federal structure of India and calls for ‘Dharma Raj’. As per him the Dharma is above parliament. It does argue for the predetermined role of Individual, i.e. subtly upholding caste-Varna system. It stands for status quo in society. Maritain advocated ‘Christian democracy’ while Upadhyay is part of the agenda of ‘Hindu Nation’. BJP has adopted ‘Integral Humanism’ as its ruling ideology.

The results of the Integral Humanism, which claims to be above religions, in practice adopts the values of Brahminical Hinduism and is raking up issues of temples (demolition of mosques), holy Cow (Lynching) Love Jihad and conversions as the core part of its agenda.

Integral Humanism is being put forward to undermine the values of Indian Constitution, rights of minorities, low caste and women in the present times. It may be a more sophisticated name for the agenda of Hindu Rashtra, something totally in opposition to the Indian Constitution.  

Related:

Right wing’s assault on mosques intensifies: UP Court to hear petition on Budaun’s Shamsi Shahi Mosque amid growing trend of similar targeting of minority shrines

Uttarakhand High Court orders security, condemns hate speech over Uttarkashi Mosque

Supreme Court urges UP government to maintain peace and harmony in Sambhal, prohibits the trial court from taking any further steps till January

The post Undermining religious freedom: Proffering ‘integral humanism’ as a right wing defence appeared first on SabrangIndia.

While acts of terror have been defined, defining terrorism is not easy and no such definition could be articulated even by the UN bodies working on this. As far as India is concerned it has been witnessing regular killings in Kashmir by the insane acts of brain washed Muslim youth. India saw the 26/11 2008 attack in Mumbai in which nearly 200 people lost their lives. Very interestingly Hemant Karkare, the then Anti-Terrorist Squad chief of Maharashtra was killed during this attack.

Parallel to this we also witnessed the acts of terror beginning in Nanded (2006) and later four major places, Malegaon, Ajmer, Mecca Masjid (Hyderabad) and Samjhuata Express. For Malegaon related blast, NIA is demanding death penalty for Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, BJP MP, whose motor cycle was the instrument used in Malegaon. Along with her Lt Col Purohit is also being tried and other names which came into picture were those of Swami Aseemanand, Major (retd) Upadhyay and many those who had affiliation to Hindutva politics.

As India faces these acts of terror, it is imperative that we give a serious thought to the root of global terror and its impact on India. While the security measures undertaken at the moment are being questioned as earlier Pulwama and now Pahalgam terror attacks have shown chinks in our armour, there are some deeper issues which India needs to collaborate with global agencies in eradicating some of these.

At one level the terrorist groups which are affecting India, have bases in Pakistan. The plight of Pakistan is pathetic as it is not only an agency of acts of terror; it is also the victim of this dastardly phenomenon. The present terror acts are taking place in Kashmir. The major actors involved in this tragedy in Kashmir are offshoots of terror groups, which came up in the aftermath of the American project of countering the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan.

As the US was in no position to take on the Russian army’s presence in Afghanistan, it promoted Madrassas in Pakistan which gave training to Muslim youth; Taliban and its later clones was the result. Mahmood Mamdani in his well-researched book, ‘Good Muslim Bad Muslim’, tells us how the syllabus of these Madras’s was prepared in Washington. Communists were presented as Kafirs. Killing Kafirs was propagated as the goal and in the achievement of this goal, even if one loses life, Jannat was assured. America spent eight thousand million dollars in these madrassas and provided them with 7000 tons of armaments, which included the latest stinger missiles.

The same phenomenon of terror, promotion of which was the imperialist ambitions of America in controlling the oil wealth of West Asia, did assume dangerous proportions creating havoc in the region. Just to remind it was this era when Huntington’s ‘Clash of Civilizations’ thesis was ruling the roost. To the global good fortune, Kofi Annan the UN Secretary General appointed a high level committee to examine ‘Clash of Civilization’ in particular.

This committee came out with a report “Alliance of Civilizations” which concluded that the World has progressed due to the alliance of Civilizations. This report did not get projections from various quarters. The Islamophobia planted by the acts of terror and the negative role of American media was so intense that at places copies of the Koran were burnt.

The terror phenomenon turned into Frankenstein’s monster. While it played its negative role at multiple levels, it turned into destruction recklessly and Pakistan has also been a victim of this phenomenon. One recalls the Ex-Prime Minister of Pakistan, Benazir Bhutto was killed in one such attack by the terror groups. GTI (Global Terror Index) is a composite measure made up of four indicators: incidents, fatalities, injuries and hostages. To measure the impact of terrorism, a five-year weighted average is applied. In this Pakistan is 2^nd and India 14^th . Meaning the acts of terror have tormented Pakistan much more than India.

No wonder that the victims of terrorism are more in Pakistan, as it is the madrassas in Pakistan where the training was given. While India has to ensure that no acts of terror take place in India, there is also a need to understand that this cancer of terror sown by imperialist ambitions for control over oil can be eradicated by cooperation at global level.

“…Pakistan—a country repeatedly labelled as the “global exporter of terror”—has been appointed to chair the United Nations Security Council’s Taliban Sanctions Committee in 2025. Simultaneously, it will serve as vice-chair of the Council’s Counter-Terrorism Committee.” Surely this tells a complex tale.

There are many factors controlling the policies of Pakistan, the emerging angle of China is yet another of these. While Pakistan needs to be held accountable, there is also a need to ensure that it is brought to the discussion table to get rid of this scourge. To prevent terror attacks in India all steps in promoting democracy in Kashmir are the need of the hour.

We are at present facing multiple dilemmas. The progress of Kashmir is static despite its vast potential. Pakistan needs to engage at multiple levels to ensure the eradication of the cancerous growth of terrorist violence. At a subtle level there is a propaganda associating Islam, Muslims with the phenomenon of terror. This understanding lacks a deeper understanding of the peculiar circumstances in which the American designs to control over West Asian oil resources has operated and led to the present impasse. Symptomatic countering of this dastardly phenomenon needs to be added on with the deeper analysis of the global scenario where dominant American policies have played a ruinous role in promoting this phenomenon and is now washing its hands off it.

The writer is a human rights activist, who taught at IIT Bombay. The views are personal.

The post Defeating Terror: A complex rigmarole appeared first on SabrangIndia.

While Modi took credit for the same and the Army spokesperson elaborated that there was a request from Pakistan authorities for cessation of hostilities and India responded in the affirmative to bring a halt to the potential bloodbath of more Army personnel and civilians on both sides.

The government decided to tell the Indian side of the story by sending various all-party delegations abroad. Many MPs from Opposition parties were included. One such was the delegation to the US headed by Congress MP Shashi Tharoor. What type of brief these delegations were given becomes clear from the statement of Tharoor in the US.

Tharoor, a former diplomat, stated in the US that, “while the intent behind the Pahalgam terror attack was to divide people, it brought people together in India, irrespective of their religion or any other divide…There was an extraordinary amount of togetherness cutting across religious and other divides that people have tried to provoke. The message is very clear that there was a malignant intent… “.

Have all the delegations been given a brief like this? This narrative clearly has lots of truth in it, as all Indians, including Hindus and Muslims, came together to condemn the dastardly act in Pahalgam. Kashmir.

However, still lurking under all this is the continued hate being spread against Muslims. Even before the Pahalgam tragedy, the hate directed against Muslims was rising. After this tragedy, this hate manufactured against Muslims is peaking further. In an article last week, I did give a partial list of hate actions against this hapless community. These events have been chronicled by the Centre for Study of Society and Secularism, Mumbai.

Another article comments that “Even as India mourned lives lost in the terrorist attack, a coordinated campaign unfolded, offline and online, with one message: that Muslims were a threat to Hindus, that a similar fate awaited all Hindus, and that Muslims needed to be punished through violence and boycotts.

The most disturbing of these was the arrest of Ashoka University Professor Ali Khan Mahmudabad, who heads the political science department there. In a very pertinent post he stated,” “I am very happy to see so many right wing commentators applauding Colonel Sofiya Qureshi,” adding that “they should also demand that the victims of mob lynching, arbitrary demolitions [of houses], others who are victims of the BJP’s hate mongering be protected as Indian citizens”. Several rights groups have pointed out that there has been a rise in violence and hate speech against Muslims in India in the past decade.”

Following this there were complaints against the Professor by the Haryana State Women’s Commission “that Mr Mahmudabad’s social media posts had “disparaged” the two women defence officers and “undermined their role” in the armed forces.”  It is beyond one’s comprehension as to how this post disparaged the women defence officers or undermined their role in the Indian Army?

The other complaint was filed by a ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) youth activist. Ali Khan was arrested based on these complaints and approached the Supreme Court, granting him provisional bail. The apex also gave a judgment that asked him not to write on this matter and to deposit his passport.

The SC judgment stated that Ali Khan’s post is “dog whistling” and that it may transmit contentious messages subtly. We know “dog-whistling” is the most used label for coded speech that carries contentious meaning indirectly. The judge doubted the time and motivation behind the posts though granting interim bail was very gratifying.

Even Vijay Shah, a BJP leader and minister in the Madhya Pradesh government, who commented that Sofiya Qureshi is the “sister of terrorists” was heavily reprimanded by the court. This remark by a BJP leader was the most hateful comment possible against the outstanding Army officer. As such, this was clear ‘dog whistling’ by Shah. While the court rejected his apology, his arrest has been put on hold.

What is a dog whistle? Prof Ali Khan’s post is not a dog whistle to be sure. It is an expression of the anguish of the minority community. On the contrary, it is Shah whose dog whistle borders on open articulation of hate. Prof Ali Khan, in a sensitive manner, has shown us the mirror as to how the nation is treating its minorities. Shah has shown openly as to how every occasion is used to sow hatred against the minorities.

A Professor from a minority community should not be taken to task for talking about bulldozers and lynching which has become part of India’s ‘new normal’ and, despite the court’s disapproval of bulldozers, state governments many a times have resorted to its use.

Also, two satirists, Neha Singh Rathore and Madri Kakoti, the former a singer and the latter known as Dr Medusa online, were booked for their social media posts critical of the Modi government in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack.

In a way, what Vijay Shah has done is largely condoned by his party, no suspension, no expulsion and no arrest. The open hate against minorities from the top BJP leadership to down below is not only quietly accepted, it also acts as a stepping stone for their political career.

Just to recall in the prelude to the 2019 Delhi communal violence, those calling for peace and harmony, such as Umar Khalid, Sharjil Imam and others are rotting in jail for over five years, their cases not even coming up for hearing, while a Union minister of state, Anurag Thakur, got promoted to full Cabinet rank after he made the people shout ‘Goli Maro…’ slogans’.

The norms of our civility and the Constitution are being slowly eroded by politics that wears the clothes of religion. What democracy needs is the likes of Ali Khan, Umar Khalid, Neha Singh Rathore and Himanshi Narwal, who, in a truthful manner, are calling for peace and also showing a mirror to our society.

The writer is a human rights activist, who taught at IIT Bombay. The views are personal.

The post Pahalgam Tragedy: Indian delegations abroad appeared first on SabrangIndia.

All references to Delhi Sultanate and Mughal rulers have been deleted from the S^tandard VII text book. In addition, in all other text books –wherever there are references to Muslim rule—has been deleted. What also stands deleted is the reference to Post-Mumbai (92-93 violence), post-Gujarat violence (2002), the references to Nathuram Godse being a trained pracharak of RSS, the ban on RSS in the aftermath of Gandhi murder (January 30, 1948),  among others. While the Kumbh Mela finds a place, deaths by stampede and other related tragedies like the Delhi station stampede have no place.

All this began during the Covid period when the pretext offered was reducing the burden on the students and followed by ‘rationalization’ which meant deletion of these portions which caused discomfort to the Hindu Nationalist ideology.

For the political purpose of demonisation of Muslims and spreading hate against them, Mughals have been presented as the  major villains in our history. Some earlier kings like Allauddin Khilji have also been on the hammer for the Hindutva narrative. Until now, the demonisation of Muslims was structured around the selective narrative of ‘temple destruction by Muslim kings’, propaganda which has been contested by rational historians. The spread of Islam by Muslims Kings using the sword was another part of this. This version is totally off the mark as conversions to Islam took place a century earlier, due to social interactions with Muslim Arab traders to begin with. In later years, many from the depressed castes embraced Islam to escape the tyranny of the caste system.

The ideology of Hindutva has gone to the extent of presenting this period as a dark period when a ‘Holocaust against Hindus’ took place. No doubt the era of Kingdoms is full of war for political reasons. Kings always wanted to expand their regime and in the process many people were killed. To call it holocaust is totally off the mark. Their (Hindutva) narrative actually takes off from the Communal Historiography introduced by the British to pursue the policy of ‘divide and rule’. In this; all the motives of Kings are related to religion and kings are presented as the symbol of the entire religious community.

Hindu communal historiography has taken this several steps further, by claiming that Muslims and Christians were ‘foreigners’ who have tormented Hindus. Muslim communal historiography presented the other side of the coin where Muslims are portrayed as perpetual rulers and Hindus as subjugated subjects. This presents Muslims as the logical rulers of this land.

The later trajectory of this logic did assist the British to divide our composite land into India and Pakistan. Savarkar articulated that there are two nations in this country, and Jinnah went on to demand a separate country for Muslims, Pakistan. Pakistan fell into the trap of Muslim communalism right from the word go and as far its textbooks are concerned they presented the beginning of Pakistan with Mohammad bin Kasim, only in the eighth century. Today their history books have totally deleted any reference to Hindu rulers. The hate which the Muslim communalism spread against the Hindus peaked with their school texts removing all the references to Hindu Kings and culture.

In a way India; during the last three decades has been walking on the footprints of Pakistan. The mirror image of Pakistan’s trajectory is being copied, down to the last comma. This point was highlighted by Pakistan’s poet Fahmida Riyaz. In the aftermath of Babri demolition she wrote “Arre Tum bhi Ham Jaise Nikale, Ab Tak Kahan Chhupe the bhai’ (Ohh! you have also turned out like us, where were you hiding so far).

Prior to Hindutva ideology coming to total control of Indian education, the RSS shakhas were spreading the communal version of society through multiple mechanisms like its Shakha bauddhis, Ekal Vidyalays, Shishu Mandirs. In due course mainstream media and social media also came to its service.

As such culture is a continuously evolving process. During the period of History under the hammer of Hindutva, serious social changes took place. Apart from the architecture, the food habits, dress and literature, the synthesis in the field of religion, the noble traditions of Bhakti and Sufi tradition developed. It was during this period that Sikhism came and flourished.

Now this political ideology may have to change the track. With Muslim rulers out of the way how will they demonise the Muslims now? Newer techniques may be on the way to substitute Aurangzeb or Babar; as now they will be defunct!

History is very central to the concept of Nationalism. Erich Fromm points out that ‘History is to Nationalism what poppy is to the opium addict’. Since BJP came to power as NDA in 1998, the major thing they did was what is called “saffronization of education”. Here history has been presented the narrative of glorious and brave Hindu Kings versus evil and aggressive Muslim kings. The charge has been that so far History has been written by Left Historians, who focused on Delhi rulers and who were pro Muslim. The point is that text books did present the details of particular dynasties depending on the historical length of their rule.

The history books in the decades of 1980s had a good deal of presentation of Hindu as well as Muslim kings. The narration was not revolving just around religion but the holistic view of communities was presented: trade, culture, literature among others.

Still it is true that ruler, ‘King centric history’ is not what we need to build our future. We need to focus on diverse sections of society, Dalits, women, adivasis and artisans who do not find much place in such narratives.

Related:

2025 NCERT Textbooks: Mughals, Delhi Sultanate out; ‘sacred geography’, Maha Kumbh in

Mughals Won’t Disappear From History Just Because Sangh Wishes so: Irfan Habib

The post Mughals deleted from curriculum: history as political tool appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Kashmiri porters carried the tourists to safe places and opened their houses and masjids for the guests. Kashmir observed a ‘bandh’ and many processions were taken out, raising slogans of ‘Hindu Muslim Unity’, while across the country, Muslims and other groups took out candle marches and offered condolences for the martyrs.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was due to visit Kashmir during that time but just a few days prior to the visit, he cancelled his trip. At the time of the tragedy, he was in a Gulf country. He cut short his trip and headed back home, and rather than going to Kashmir, went to Bihar to attend a rally, from where he gave a powerful warning to terrorists. The message that terrorists were Muslims and the victims were Hindus was the undercurrent of the whole narrative that was circulated.

Thereafter, there was escalation of tension and hostilities between India and Pakistan, and a ceasefire was declared by US President Donald Trump, while the Modi government has a different interpretation of the ceasefire. Meanwhile, ‘godi media’ had a field day spreading hate with different television channels reporting India winning over different cities of Pakistan while sitting in their plush studios. The TV media fell to unimaginable lows, further smashing the ethics of journalism long abandoned by them.

The worst outcome of all this has been the increase in hate against Muslims. Islamophobia is gripping the country with increasing intensity. In Latur, a Muslim was reportedly labelled a Pakistani and beaten black and blue. Humiliated by this, he allegedly died by suicide. Kashmiri students in a hostel in Uttarakhand were thrown out in the middle of the night and had to stay put in front of the Dehradun airport.

The worst of this was seen when Vijay Shah, a minister in Bharatiya Janata Party’s Madhya Pradesh government, indirectly referred to Colonel Sofiya Qureshi, one of the spokespersons of the Indian Army, as a ‘sister of terrorists’. For the sake of face-saving, he did apologise for this but now the MP High Court has called for an FIR against him.

Mithila Raut, who works with Centre for Study of Society and Secularism, Mumbai, in an article in Dainik Loksatta (Marathi) enumerates the number of hate incidents, as reported in the newspapers. As per her article, there have been many anti-Muslim incidents after the Pahalgam attack. In one such shocking incident in Uttar Pradesh, in Shamli’s Toda village, one Sarafaraz was attacked by one Govind, who is said to have stated that “you have killed our 26; we will kill your 26!” In Punjab’s Dera Bassi in the Universal Group of Institutes, Kashmiri students were allegedly attacked in the hostel.

One Shabbir Dhar, a Kashmiri vendor, living in Uttarakhand’s Mussoorie and selling shawls, was attacked along with his shop assistant as “revenge for Pahalgam”. He, and many other Kashmiri vendors, were threatened not to come back again. In Haryana’s Rohtak, in Kharawar village, Muslim residents were allegedly threatened and asked to leave the village by May 2.

These are some of the incidents that have been culled out from newspapers. How the atmosphere of hate has intensified is very clear from these incidents. The atmosphere in society has been gradually worsening. The Hindu Right-wing has already created an atmosphere against Muslims. Initially, this was created by use of medieval history, where the training in Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) shakhas, the ‘godi media’ and social media created an “enemy image” of Muslims.

The formation of Pakistan gave another major pretext to those practicing communal politics to assert that it had been formed by Muslims. This is a totally distorted version of the account of history, as the formation of Pakistan was a combination of three factors — the British policy of ‘divide and rule’, Muslim communalism and Hindu communalism. The ‘Two Nation Theory’ was first articulated by Hindutva idealogue Vinayak Damodar Savarkar.

After the formation of Pakistan, the propaganda was that Partition took place due to Muslims, and this became an additional reason for spreading hate. As such, it was the formation of two States simultaneously, India and Pakistan. Pakistan was to be in Muslim-majority areas.

The add-on to the anti-Muslim propaganda came from the complex Kashmir issue. The exodus of Kashmiri pandits in 1990 was yet again used against Muslims. Exodus of pandits happened when the V P Singh government supported by BJP was ruling at Centre and the pro-BJP Jagmohan was the Governor of Kashmir. Ignoring all that, the anti-Muslim angle in pandits’ emigration became the central point around which hate against Muslims was unleashed.

So, step by step, more issues have been used to torment Indian Muslims. The voices of amity have been muted and every occasion now is turned into adding to the prevalent hate against Muslims, to vitiate the hate used by RSS-BJP to intensify its agenda of a Hindu nation.

Pahalgam and Diplomacy

The issue of Pahalgam has also brought to fore the change in the nature of Indian diplomacy. As per the Shimla Agreement (1971) between Indira Gandhi and Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, the India-Pakistan issues were to be sorted out in a bilateral manner, without mediation from any third party. With Trump dominating the scene now, and Modi unable to confront him, the equations seem to be changing. Globally, not many countries came to side with India.

The core point is to solve the Kashmir issue based on former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s Doctrine of ‘Insaniyat, Kashmiryat and Jamhooriyat’ (Humanism, Democracy). We need to live in peace with our neighbours, as Vajpayee again said: “Friends can change, but not neighbours.”

The reflections of ‘Hate Pakistan’, as is the wont of the Hindu Right-wing, supplemented by the loud-mouthed and hate- spewing Indian ‘godi media’, reflects badly on Indian Muslims. It vitiates the possibility of an amicable atmosphere at home.

The intensification of communal problems due to the Pahalgam tragedy needs to be grasped and war- and -hate- mongers have to be negated for peace and prosperity of our country. So far, ‘Pakistani’ was the main abuse for Muslims, ‘Kashmiri’ seems to have been added to the hate list.

The writer is a human rights activist, who taught at IIT Bombay. The views are personal.

Courtesy: Newsclick

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Now seven decades after the tragedy on one hand we see the plight of Pakistan, sliding down on the scale of democracy, social wellbeing and progress. India which began well and strove on the path of pluralism and development is seeing the resurgence of the ‘Two Nation theory’ in the form of strengthening the communal forces which are sharpening their politics to achieve Hindu Nation. Ambedkar in his book on Partition warned that formation of Pakistan will be the worst tragedy as it may pave the way for Hindu Raj. How true was he! The attempts of Gandhi, Maulana Azad and Congress to prevent the tragedy failed to counter the British Policy of ‘Divide and rule’ greatly assisted by the ideology and politics of Communal forces of that time, Muslim League on one hand and Hindu Mahasabha-RSS on the other.

The Partition debate, the underlying two nation theory keeps surfacing time and over again in both the countries. Sectarian Nationalisms, Muslim and Hindu both, keep blaming each other for this tragedy. They undermine the deep roots of tragedy in the declining sections of society, the feudal forces, assisted by the clergy on both sides. As both these sectarian streams were on the forefront of spreading Hate, against the ‘other’ community, the communal violence went on intensifying and the figures like Gandhi, Maulana Azad could not prevent the ghastly events which followed.

While each communal stream, Hindu and Muslim have their own versions of this event, the holistic picture can be unearthed by seeing the picture through the movement and ideology of emerging Indian Nationalism and its opposition by the declining sections of Landlords and clergy on both sides.

This debate has once again come to the surface with Pakistan’s General Aim Munir. While addressing the Overseas Pakistani Convention in Islamabad, in presence of the top political leaders of the country, he eulogized the “two Nation theory”. He went on to pay tributes to the people who worked for the formation of Pakistan. Seeing one side of the picture he stated, “Our religion is different, our customs are different, our traditions are different, our thoughts are different, our ambitions are different — that’s where the foundation of the two-nation theory was laid. We are two nations; we are not one nation,”

This in contrast to the understanding particularly of Gandhi and Nehru who saw the two major communities and other smaller religious communities as interacting with each other and creating a unique syncretic culture where each component has contributed to the emergence of celebratory Indian culture. Common celebration of festivals at social level and contributions of people to all aspects of Indian culture by people of diverse religions, the unique Bhakti and Sufi traditions being the highest form of these interactions. Gandhi summed it up in his unique, Ishwar Allah Tero Naam, and Nehru articulating it as Ganga Jamuni Tehjeeb.

Two Nation theory was not a sudden articulation. As the National movement started emerging from amongst the sections of society associated with Modern Education, industries, and communication, Indian Nationalism towered over all other fissiparous ideologies. As pointed out, the other sections not associating with it and hanging on the feudal and pre-modern values threw up Muslim league on one side and Hindu Mahasabha on the other. They were exclusionist and veered round propagating the caste and gender hierarchy, standing opposed to education for Dalits and women.

The British subtly supported these trends as these were helpful for them in suppressing the National movement. One talked of Islamic Nation and the other of the Hindu Nation. Immediately after the formation of Indian National Congress the opposition to this came up in the form of Rajas and Nawabs pledging their loyalty to British rulers. Gradually these parallel streams emerged and Muslim League was formed in 1906. This was encouraged by the British. On the other side Punjab Hindu Sabha came in 1909, Hindu Mahasabha in 1915 and RSS in 1925. Both these criticized Gandhi to the hilt. Formally Two Nation theory was articulated by Vinayak Damodar Savarkar and that became the guiding light of Hindu Nationalism. Muslim nationalism started talking of Pakistan by 1930 and strongly articulated in 1940 BY Jinnah in 1940.

Today RSS ideologues (BJP leaders and RSS leader, Ram Madhav: Decoding General, IE 19 April 2025) are presenting as if ‘Two Nation theory’ was only the making of Muslims through Muslim League. They underplay the great role of Allah Baksh, Maualana Azad and Khan Abdul Gaffer Khan who were opposed to the demand of Pakistan’s. Pakistan which was formed on the ‘Two nation theory’ just after 25 years of existence broke down into Bangladesh and Pakistan. That was the grave of “Two Nation Theory” Their abysmal condition is very obvious today.

While in India Hindu Nationalism was quietly being nurtured in the silent manner, its first dangerous manifestation came when RSS trained Godse put three bullets in the bare chest of Father of the nation. Its further starkly visible form came up the decade of 1980 with the most divisive campaign for demolishing Babri Masjid.

A Pakistani poet Fahmida Riyaz at this point wrote Arre Tum bhi Hum Jaise Nikle, Ab tak Kahan chhupe the bhai. (Oh you have turned out to be like us, where were you hiding so far!). After this the attacks on the concept of secularism, inclusive politics and values of Indian Constitution were intensified and now the emotive issues have taken the centre state. The product of “Two Nation theory” Pakistan, is in the grip of Mullahs-army and has been servile to America. The other component of “Two Nation Theory”, Hindu Nation has also more or less occupied the centre stage in India. Values and outcome of Nationalism on both sides of the divide are same, only form is different. The Criticism of ‘two Nation theory’ and attributing it only to Muslims and Muslims is half the truth!

Disclaimer: The views expressed here are the author’s personal views, and do not necessarily represent the views of Sabrangindia.

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The post Composite Indian Nationalism or ‘Two Nation Theory’ appeared first on SabrangIndia.

While paying lip service to Ambedkar, RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat equated him to RSS Founder K.B. Hedgewar, “Both dedicated their lives to social progress and held a common aspiration for nation’s growth”. Now what is common between Ambedkar’s dream of social equality, democratic, federalism, abolition of caste and RSS founder’s vision of a Hindu nation, based on the ancient holy books upholding caste system and patriarchy? These are polar opposites. But as paying tribute to Babasaheb has become mandatory for all for electoral compulsions, Bhagwat has to stretch things to pull Babasaheb in the ambit of list of their icons.

Not to be left behind, Narendra Modi, the Prime Minister of India went on to criticise the Indian National Congress “Congress has become the destroyer of Constitutions. Dr Ambedkar wanted to bring in equality… Babasaheb wanted every poor, every backward to be able to live with dignity and with their heads held high, to have dreams and complete them…Congress has always treated SCs, STs, and OBCs as second-class citizens.”

In a way Narendra Modi is distorting the facts. It is true that Ambedkar was critical of Congress and Gandhi at various occasions; still it was Congress and Gandhi with whom he interacted maximally to achieve his goal of social equality in particular. Gandhi is much criticized for betraying the cause of Dalits. ‘Poona Pact’ has come under severe criticism, but all said and done this was the most practical step towards affirmative action for Dalits. Gandhi was so touched by Ambedkar’s positions that he understood the ills of caste in a deeper way and made eradication of untouchability as his major mission for the next two years. Going from village to village, ensuring that Dalits are permitted entry into the temples and are able to draw water from the village wells. This also became the mission for many Congress workers.

This is the time when BJP ideology founders were singing praises for the values of the caste system and arguing that it is this system which has given stability to Hindu society! Ambedkars yeoman service to the nation was recognized by the national leaders and they were keen that Ambedkar should be part of the Constituent Assembly, In her biography ‘BABASAHEB: My Life with Dr. Ambedkar’, Savita Ambedkar quotes correspondence between Dr. Rajendra Prasad, President of Constituent Assembly, Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru, the Prime Minister-elect, Sardar Patel, the Home Minister, G. Mavalankar, Speaker and BG Kher, the CM of Bombay state to stress how all the top Congress leaders were extremely keen to have her husband elected to the Constituent Assembly unopposed. For instance Patel wrote to Mavalankar on July 5, 1947: ‘Dr Ambedkar’s nomination has been sent to PM. I hope there would be no contest and he would be returned unopposed so that he could come here on the 14th.’ “

Congress ensured that Babasaheb won the seat for Constituent Assembly and made its Chairman. The participation and Contribution of Babasaheb, well supported by Congress, yielded the fruit in the form of the Indian Constitution. On the contrary Organiser, the mouthpiece of RSS, the father organization of BJP, came out heavily saying that this Constitution has nothing Indian about it. The ideological mentor cum fellow traveller of RSS, Savakar was against it saying the “Manusmriti is the Constitution for India.”

Same way Ambedkar handled the responsibility of drafting the Hindu Code Bill, with Nehru standing behind him. The Code was opposed by some elements within but mainly by the ideologues of Hindu Nationalism, who went on to burn the effigy of Ambedkar on 12 December 1949. While RSS-BJP are upholding the Brahmanical version of Hinduism Babasaheb had already declared that I was born a Hindu but I will not die a Hindu.

Similarly as RSS was talking of Hindu Rashtra, Babasaheb in revised edition of the book on Pakistan, opposed it on the ground that this may pave the way for Hindu Raj which will be the biggest tragedy for us. BJP’s Hindu nationalist ideology is deeply opposed to Babasaheb’s dream of Annihilation of caste and has been deeply opposed by Modi’s ideology. Modi’s parent organization RSS has floated Samajik Samrasta Manch, which talks about harmony among caste rather than its annihilation.

Currently some ideologues are arguing that since annihilation is not easy, so let us resort to strengthening sub caste identities to get them more privileges! This will be a disaster for the values of our Fraternity, the core principle of Indian Constitution. RSS is also trying to wean sections of Dalits by co-option and social engineering. RSS organizations are also inventing icons of sub communities among Dalits and giving them values of patriarchy, and caste hierarchy along with Anti Muslim slant.

One could see the response of BJP to implementation of Mandal Commission, which was a major step towards social justice. In response, BJP did not oppose it for electoral calculations but instead intensified their Ram Temple campaign. The way BJP is floating the identity issues and derailing the path of social justice is highly despicable. At the same time through various manoeuvres it has also succeeded in turning a section of deprived youth as its foot soldiers who dance in front of mosques with naked swords.

On the top of that it is Rahul Gandhi of Congress who brought to fore the implementation of the Constitution as the major path for social and economic justice. Putting the blame on the plight of Dalits/OBC and neglect of Babasaheb by Congress is like putting the truth on its head! At the same time it is putting the blame of one’s own doings on others.

Disclaimer: The views expressed here are the author’s personal views, and do not necessarily represent the views of Sabrangindia.

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This rising pattern of authoritarianism of ruling dispensation from last one decade was the major factor in the coming together of most of the opposition parties coming together to form INDIA coalition, despite many inner contradictions. The overall impact of the coalition, with Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo and Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra and the social groups forming the platforms like Eddulu Karnataka and Bharat Jodo Abhiyan impacted the Lok Sabha results and the target of BJP to cross 400 seats in Lok Sabha was quashed.

It is true that the progression of the INDIA alliance did not go in the desired direction of forming an ongoing platform for state elections. This was one of the reasons for the set back to the INDIA alliance partners in Maharashtra and Haryana election. The added cause was the renewed attempt by all RSS affiliates to work for BJP. This is nothing new but probably during Lok Sabha elections J.P. Nadda’s statement that BJP does not need the help of RSS as it is now capable of winning on its own.

It seems the important need of INDIA alliance to strengthen itself post Lok Sabha elections has been ignored with many constituents declaring their aloofness from this and the biggest opposition party, the Congress not having taken any major initiative. It is worthwhile to note that the CPI (M), the ideologically strong component of this alliance is having second thoughts on the issue as its Acting General Secretary Prakash Karat stated that “The opposition INDIA bloc was formed for the Lok Sabha elections and not state polls… and called for a broader platform of secular opposition parties.

He also said the alliance should be looked at with a broader perspective so that it would not be stifled solely by electoral politics. This is paraphrased by many left leaning intellectuals who are saying that BJP is not exactly a fascist party, Like “Patanaik reasons that while neoliberal capitalism generates a “fascist presence” – manifesting in right-wing authoritarian movements, xenophobia, ultra-nationalism, and eroded democratic norms – it does not necessarily recreate the conditions for full-fledged “fascist states” like in the 1930s.”

While many terms have been used for the rising politics of Hindutva Nationalism, Neo Fascism, proto Fascism and Fundamentalism, the point is that no political phenomenon repeats itself in the same way. Today Hindutva nationalism has many features close to that of Fascism, which was the initial inspiration for the founders of RSS particularly M.S. Golwalkar, who in his “We or Our Nationhood” said “To keep up the purity of the Race and its culture, Germany shocked the world by her purging the country of the Semitic Races — the Jews. Race pride at its highest has been manifested here. Germany has also shown how well-nigh impossible it is for Races and cultures, having differences going to the root, to be assimilated into one united whole, a good lesson for us in Hindusthan to learn and profit by.”

We in India are witnessing many of the traits of fascism, like the Golden past, aspiration for Akhand Bharat, targeting minorities presenting them as enemies of the nation, authoritarianism, promoting big business, stifling the freedom of expression and dominating the social thinking. Here we are witnessing the intolerance to freedom of expression as recently witnessed in the case of Tushar Gandhi, great grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, saying that “…the RSS is poison. They are trying to destroy the soul of the country. We should be fearful about that because if the soul is lost, everything is lost.” Tushar Gandhi was asked to apologize and to take back his words. He did neither, and now he is facing death threats.

With the vast spread of RSS and hundreds of its organization, thousands of its pracharaks and lakhs of its activists, it is threatening the idea of India which emerged from the Freedom Movement. The values of the freedom movement got expression in our Constitution, which is based on the equal right of all the citizens and is inclusive to the core. RSS did plant its ideology, which is opposed to the values of freedom movement and Indian Constitution, through its vastly growing network.

It initially created hatred for Muslims by abusing history, as witnessed currently in Maharashtra where demands for uprooting the tomb of Aurnagzeb is priority number one for the ruling BJP. Currently it is also targeting the major leader of the freedom movement, Mahatma Gandhi by propagating that he had no role in getting us freedom, many of its social media posts going to the extent that Gandhi sabotaged our freedom movement.

The list is long. What is to be done today? Karat is right that a broader secular platform has to be created. The INDIA coalition was precisely the first step in this journey. The need is to strengthen this alliance much further. The rough edges in the coalition need to be sorted out and Karat’s party with over million members can play a major role in boosting this alliance further, despite some contradictions among the coalition partners. For bigger reasons, small sacrifices by the constituents; is mandatory.

To back this up the social groups also need to continue their great work done in the wake of 2024 Lok Sabha elections, which the National Secular Coalition can initiate. The exact characterization of the present regime, Fascist or having elements of fascism or whatever the strategy in India should be a broader platform, with more energy and dynamism, which we witnessed on the eve of 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

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The recently held Kumbh was a mega spectacle, which became more of a national event rather than a religious gathering. One major change for this year’s Kumbh is its heavy marketing as a cultural and developmental showcase. It was labelled as “The Greatest Show on Earth” for Hinduism. On such occasions organizing the stay, cleanliness, and transport for the devotees is a mandatory function of the state. This time what was witnessed that state got fully involved in the process of organizing the event itself and the associates of ruling party, like VHP, Dharma Sansads (Religious Parliaments) and individual Sants/sadhus took the lead and initiatives in propagating the components of Hindu nationalist agenda and ‘Hate for Muslims’ at this congregation.

While the religious spiritual significance of the event is highly appreciated by the devotees, giving it a political colour was very significant this time around in the Kumbh. It is not the first time that Kumbh was organized. This time the occasion became the ground for enhancing Hindutva agenda. The State Government, while was inadequate in the management of the crowds, it had advertised and invited the devotees in large numbers for quite some time. Crores must have been invested for inviting the devotees.

The event was marked by a boycott of Muslim traders from setting up their shops, and stalls. The reasons given were multiple, one fake one being stated by Swami Avimukteshwaranand that Muslims spit in the food, so were kept away.  Many such misleading videos are doing rounds in the social media also. It is another matter that Muslims opened their Masjids and organized food for the desperate victims of stampede. One recalls that during the Mughal period, to make the Kumbh more comfortable for devotees, many Ghats (River banks for bathing) and toilets were built by them. According to historian Heramb Chaturvedi, Akbar had appointed two of his officers to look after the arrangements of the Kumbh.

The whole area was full of hoardings of Narendra Modi and Yogi Adityanath. This time around a large area was reserved for VIPs, leading to stampedes in which a large number of deaths occurred. The arrangement for transport was poor and this got reflected in the death due to stampede at New Delhi Railway station.

One upstart Swami, Dhirendra Shastri, whom Mr. Narendra Modi calls his younger brother, merrily said that those who died due to stampede are the recipients of Moksha. The water quality reached abysmal low level with E. coli and high excreta content. To all the criticism about water quality and deaths the Chief Minister commented that pigs are seeing the dirt, and vultures are counting the dead!

VHP used it as a golden occasion with its Margdarshak Mandal meetings. Their speeches were full of venom for Muslims. The usual propaganda about Muslims relating to population increase, infiltrators from BanglaDesh, Cow protection was repeated at various meetings ad nauseam. The Hate spreaders like Sadhvi Ritambhara, Praveen Togadia, and Yati Narsingnanand Sarswati were having a field day with their speeches laced with Hate. They were having large audiences. BJP has successfully made use of Sadhus for its political agenda and got publicity at state expense.

One such saffron clad reiterated the demand for Kashi and Mathura and claimed that such 1860 temples have been ‘researched’, which need to be restored. Demand for closure of Madrassas and converting English schools to Gurukuls to create a Hindu World was also articulated.

In a book Published in 2024, Irfan Engineer and Neha Dabhade draw our attention to the use of religious festivals as occasions to instigate violence. Our festivals have been pleasant social occasions, cutting across religious lines. Now the trend is to take out a process during Hindu festivals, pass-through Muslims areas, change the green flag on the mosque to saffron flag, and dance with sword in hand. At the same time hateful slogans against Muslims in the air. In this book the author duo points out Ram Navami festival in particular in 2022-2023. The violence covered in the book related to Howrah and Hooghly (2023), Sambahji Nagar (2023), Vadodara (2023), Biharsharif and Sasaram 2023, Khargone (2022), Himmat Nagar and Khambat (2022) and Lohardagga (2022).

Engineer concludes “Even a small Group of Hindu nationalists masquerading as ‘religious procession’ could insist on passing through minority inhabited areas and provoke some youth using political and abusive slogans and playing violent songs and music, hoping that in reaction, a stone would be thrown at them. The state would do the rest by arresting a large number of members of a minority and demolishing their homes and properties within days without any judicial procedure.”

At another level this right-wing politics has also brought up and promoted a goddess Shabri and Lord Hanuman in Adivasi areas. As anti-Christian violence picked the Adivasi areas during the last three decades, these areas saw an intense attempt by Vanavasi Kalyan Ashram and Vishwa Hindu Prishad (RSS progeny) to promote Shabri. Shabri Kumbh was held near Dangs in Gujarat. A Shabri Temple has been erected in these areas. That time Swami Aseemanand of VHP was working in this area. He was the one; who later was accused by Maharashtra ATS for being the part of conspiracy of bomb blasts in Malegaon, Ajmer and Mecca Masjid.

Why were Shabri and Hanuman picked up to be promoted in these areas? Shabri was the poor woman who did not have enough food to offer to her Lord (Ram). So, she offered berries after first taking the taste of these before offering. Contrast is clear in city areas we have Durga, Laxmi and Sarswati to worship, while for Adivasi areas it is Shabri. Similarly, Lord Hanuman (Devotee of Lord Ram) has been popularized In Adivasi areas. Quite interesting!

Hindutva politics’ impact on our festivals reflects a lot about their politics. The way some of these are being weaponized, or the way Kumbh has been made a ground for anti-Muslim rhetoric or the way Shabri and Hanuman are popularized in Adivasi areas is worth pondering over.

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Does Babasaheb’s Ideology Match With Hindu Nationalist Politics?

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