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.

Also Read:

Standing Truth on its Head: Ambedkar and BJP agenda

Striving to Promote Democracy: Values of the Constitution

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.

The post Standing Truth on its Head: Ambedkar and BJP agenda appeared first on SabrangIndia.

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 post Striving to Promote Democracy: Values of the Constitution appeared first on SabrangIndia.

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.

Also Read:

Attempts to Undermine Gandhi’s Contribution to Freedom Movement: Musings on Gandhi’s Martyrdom Day

When did India Get Independence?

Does Babasaheb’s Ideology Match With Hindu Nationalist Politics?

The post Hindu festivals and sectarian nationalist politics appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Even ancient Indian history, a golden period for them, was manipulated to show the Aryans, their ancestors were the indigenous people of this land. Coming to the freedom movement they first focused on Nehru, the colossus who articulated and practiced secularism in India. He was aware that practicing secularism in India is not easy as large sections of Indian society are in the grip of blind religiosity. He was the one to see the threat of majortarian (Hindu) communalism and equated it to fascism. He said minority communalism was at worst separatist. His mentor Gandhi, though murdered by the one who was trained by RSS and was working for Hindu Mahasabha, could not be demonized easily. Gandhi’s place in the global arena and in the heart of Indian people was at its peak.

Now as the communal right wing feels it is on firm feet, its ideologues are beginning the exercise of over projecting some of his shortcomings and undermining his contribution to freedom. This 30^th January 2025 as the nation was paying tributes to the father of the nation many portals were relaying videos to propagate that Gandhi’s was just one of the efforts in India getting freedom. In various podcasts and social media channels they are propagating that Gandhi’s efforts had just a marginal effect on the British leaving India.

From the last few years glorification of Godse in the form of Twitter storms for ‘Mahatma Godse Amar Rahen’ (Long Live Godse) have been witnessed painfully. Ilk of Poonam Prasun Pandey have been enacting shooting of Gandhi’s effigy and then blood dripping from it have been a common site. Observing national mourning on 30^th January by siren being sounded at 11 AM on 30 January for two-minute silence has been muted. This year the Maharashtra state circular on two-minute silence at 11 AM, did not mention even the name of Gandhi.

As we observed the Gandhi Martyrdom Day on this 30^th January many of these irritants flashed to our minds. He was given the honorific Mahatma by none other than Guru Ravindra Nath Tagore. It is propagated that Gandhi-Congress ignored Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose. The fact is that Bose and Congress had some differences on strategy but the core agenda of freedom from British rule remained the same. It was Netaji who addressed Gandhi as ‘father of the Nation’. He also named one of his battalions of Azad Hind Fauz (Free India Army) as Gandhi battalion. It was Gandhi-Congress who fought the cases of prisoners of Fauz by forming a committee with top lawyers like Bhulabhai Desai, Kailashnath Katju and Jawaharlal Nehru.

Also, the propaganda that Gandhi did not do anything to save Bhagat Singh’s hanging is being instilled into the social common sense. They hide the fact that it was Gandhi who wrote to Lord Irwin to cancel Bhagat Singh’s hanging. Irwin showed his inability to accept this request as all British officers in Punjab had threatened to resign if Gandhi’s request was accepted. Most interestingly Bhagat Singh requests his father Kishan Singh to support ‘General’ of the Freedom movement (Gandhi), which his father did by working for Congress.

The attempt to undermine Gandhi comes in the form of nit-picking the three major movements which Gandhi launched. The non-cooperation movement of 1920 which was the first real attempt to involve the average people in the struggle against British, as per them was ineffective as it was withdrawn due to the Chauri Chaura incident, where the crowd had burnt to the police station killing many policemen. Also, they allege that Gandhi’s support for Khilafat was demoralizing, as it related to supporting the restoration of the Ottoman Empire in Turkey. Let’s remember it was this move which brought in Muslims in large numbers into the vortex of popular anti-British struggle. Also, Mappila (Moplah) rebellion is supposed to have been an aggressive move by Muslims against Hindus. The fact is this rebellion was a rebellion of poor Muslim farmers against Janmis (Landlords, who were mostly Hindus), and the British authorities were protecting the interests of landlords.

As far as Civil disobedience of 1930 the counter is that it just led to Gandhi–Irwin Pact. This pact was a major step in furtherance of the pressure by Indian freedom Struggle. The accusation is that the Salt March did not lead to abolition of the salt tax which it aimed at. The fact is people could produce salt after this, its illegality was lifted.

As far as the 1942 ‘Do or Die’, ‘British Quit India’, it is true that as Gandhi and the major leaders of Congress were arrested; the movement did take a violent turn. The point is, it created a huge awareness about getting freedom from the British, it came as a culmination of the long process of creating mass consciousness which began picking up after the 1920’s Non-Cooperation movement.

There is no denial that revolutionaries, Bhagat Singh and his likes, Subhash Bose’s Azad Hind Fauz and revolt of Naval ratings, were valuable add-ons to the whole process of rising consciousness among people towards longing for freedom and cementing the bonds of Indian-ness. Gandhi’s contribution is monumental as it created the fraternity, Indian-ness among the people. As Surendranath Bannerjee very aptly described it as “India: nation in the making”.

These were twin aspects of the freedom movement. One was to struggle against the British and two to ‘build a Nation: India’ through this. Gandhi understood that bringing people together is the core of the process of getting freedom. A Recent flourishing attempt by Right wing communalists totally ignores the process of people, masses waking up and constituting India, as a nation. This was the greatest endeavours for which Gandhi is really the ‘Father of the Nation’.

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When did India Get Independence?

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The post Attempts to Undermine Gandhi’s Contribution to Freedom Movement: Musings on Gandhi’s Martyrdom Day appeared first on SabrangIndia.

The directive principle of promoting scientific temper was being followed till late, though with lots of lacunae. Despite the massive tragedy of India’s partition and migration of lakhs of Hindus and Muslims across the border and terrible violence, the country was steered towards improvement in the basic necessities like, hunger, health, education and employment. This was the foundation which Indian leaders firmly planted in the country. The communal groups while doing their work behind the curtain and sometimes orchestrating violence still were a marginal force till 1980. The firmness in promoting social justice was appreciable, but it still could not eradicate the caste system and there was a deep-rooted bias against the Dalits.

The other major flaw was the spread of misconceptions against religious minorities, mainly Muslims, and later Christians who were also drawn into the orbit of ‘Hate and consequent’ violence. After the Shah Bano fiasco the communal forces made big strides on the pretext of appeasement of minorities (particularly Muslims). The implementation of the Mandal Commission report giving 26% of reservations to OBC’s was used as an occasion for Hindu nationalists to show their deeper designs. They pushed forward the issue of Ram Temple being underneath Babri Masjid and so Ram Temple should be built there. On this issue massive mobilization of Hindus was done. The social perceptions about Ram temple being underneath the mosque was articulated and spread far and wide by the vast network of RSS Shakhas and its affiliates. This led to the demolition of Babri mosque and orchestration of violence against Muslims, particularly in Mumbai, Surat and Bhopal.

This massive violence was to be followed by carnage in Gujarat (2002), Delhi (2019), UP (2013) and Kandhamal (2008). In Keonjhar Orissa Father Stains was burnt by Rajendra Pal (Dara Singh) of Bajrang dal and massive anti-Christian violence was unleashed in Kandhamal later. The issues of Holy Cow, beef eating and love jihad and innumerable other jihads have been floated and the intimidated Muslims are forced to live under tremendous fear. Muslim ghettos are the order of the day in many cities. Post communal violence the phenomenon which was observed was that in these areas, where the violence had taken place, BJP became stronger in the electoral arena. A sense of fear is also building up among sections of Christian community.

This trajectory from the beginning, where democratic values, pluralism were to be the core of the country, was gradually undermined. Last ten years in particular have seen the worst situation with the rule of BJP. Though nominally this rule has been under the cover of NDA, it is BJP and its agenda of Hindu Rashtra which has been ruling the roost. This period has seen the state institutions like ED, IT, Intelligence agencies, Election Commission and to some extent judiciary, have been internally fallen prey to the influence of Hindu Right and this has weakened the values of our Constitution to no end.

The increasing poverty, income disparity, worsening of education and health is extremely disturbing. The minorities are being relegated to second class citizenship. The political representation of Muslims has fallen dismally. There is not a single MP from ruling BJP and no Muslim minister in the Cabinet. Scientific temper, the part of our directive principles of Constitution, has gone for a toss. The top academic institutions are organizing lectures on producing something like ‘Master race’ (Garbh Sanskar knowledge). Various such centres have come up dishing out such advice. Even IIT Madras director praised the use of cow urine as a panacea for many diseases. The rise of Babas dishing out all round wisdom is a worrying phenomenon. Many such Babas are promoted indirectly by the state.

The values of the Constitution are being mauled subtly, with the claims that India got real Independence not on 15^th August 1947 but on 22^nd January 2024 when Ram Temple was inaugurated. The claims that the Constitution does not conform to our Civilizational principles is picking up and demand to scrap the acts like ‘Freedom of Places of Worship’ (1991) are becoming stronger by the day. This act states that the status of old places of worship will be retained as was on 15^th August 1947.

In this dismal scenario, where is the hope? The atmosphere of relief began partly with ‘Bharat Jodo’ and ‘Bharat Jodo nyay yatras’. (Unite India for Justice) There is a growing realization amongst a large section of the population that the party which promotes and uses religion for political goals is the real danger to our democracy and our Constitution. This rising awareness is running parallel to many political parties trying to form INDIA coalition.

To add on to these multiple campaigns to promote harmony and amity are being undertaken by social groups. Many of the social groups which have massively contributed to the rights of people are coming together as platforms to raise the popular awareness about dangers of misconceptions being promoted by communal parties and its parent organization. They are also trying to spread awareness about the real meaning of Constitutional morality and what it should mean for the country. The general awareness about these issues in the society is very heart-warming. These novel efforts which aim to promote fraternity and other core values of the Constitution are moving in the positive direction.

Our neighbouring countries which have followed ‘fundamentalism-communalism’ have been in a dismal condition. The communal forces are trying to push us in that direction. Need is to reinforce the values of our Constitution today with greater vigour.

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

Also Read:

When did India Get Independence?

Does Babasaheb’s Ideology Match With Hindu Nationalist Politics?

The post Between Hope and Despair: 75 Years of Indian Republic appeared first on SabrangIndia.

To cap it all now the new date has been thrown up for the real freedom of the country by none other than RSS Sarsanghchalak, Mohan Bhagwat. While addressing in Indore he stated that 22 January 2024 was the day when we got Independence, “the date should be celebrated as “Pratishtha Dwadashi” as the true independence of India, which had faced “parachakra” (enemy attack) for several centuries, was established on this day. The ideals and life values presented by Lord Ram, Krishna, and Shiva are included in the “self of India” and it is not at all that these are the Gods of only those people who worship them, he said.

Bhagwat further said that the invaders destroyed the temples of the country so that the “self” of India also perishes. Projecting Ram Temple Pran Pratishta (Life installation) as the panacea of all our social problems he further added, “I used to ask those people that despite talking about socialism after independence in 1947, giving slogans of ‘Garibi Hatao’ (eradicate poverty) and worrying about people’s livelihood all the time, where did India stand in the 1980s and where have countries like Israel and Japan reached?” The RSS chief said he used to tell these people that “India’s livelihood path goes through the entrance of Ram temple and they should keep this in mind.”

Bhagawat’s constructs are taking the story further and he wants to legitimize the criminal act of demolishing the Babri Mosque. Overarching the diverse cultural and religious traditions he wants to present only Lord Rama as the sole cultural symbol of this country. Even in the broad spectrum of Hinduism there are Lord Shiva, Lord Shrikrishna, Goddess Kali among others. Then we have the glorious traditions of Lord Mahavir, Gautam Buddha, Nanak and Kabir as the part of the great canvass, which India is.

While the population genetics studies clearly show that Aryans were also the migrants, before them there were other natives here. And diverse people coming here can either be seen merely as aggressors walking the path of ways of Kingdoms. Chola Kings ruled in Srilanka, or Alexander tried his best to win over India. Different dynasties and people like Shaka, Hun, Ghulams, Khalji and Mughal rules  were ‘part’ of the subcontinent. This is seen by sectarians as an attack on ‘our’ civilization while those who struggled for Independence of India from the British saw it as an intermixing of historical process; leading to the foundational diversity of the country. Jawaharlal Nehru most aptly describes it as, “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.”

As per RSS chief the aggressors wanted to demolish our soul by demolishing our temples. The temple destructions in Medieval and late early India were purely for the sake of power and wealth. The earlier attacks and conversions of Jain and Buddha places of worship were due to reaction from Brahminism. To demonize particularly the Muslim rulers, this formulation of temple destructions and many other myths have been propped up. Two examples will suffice while Aurangzeb destroyed nearly 12 temples; he also gave donations to nearly hundred Hindu temples. The eleventh century ruler of Kashmir, Raja Harshdev, appointed a special officer to uproot the idols of Gods and Goddesses, which were made of Gold and Silver or studded with diamonds and rubies.

Bhagwat and his ilk see the country through a narrow Brahminical prism. It was during the colonial period that Indian boundaries emerged. It was the colonial period which was a period of slavery. The previous conquers who ruled settled here and became a part of our national and cultural life. The British ‘Policy of Divide and rule’ planted the notion of earlier rulers being the plunderers and temple destroyers. The previous rulers who ruled did not take away our wealth outside, while the British plunder project led to impoverishment of India. The slavery was imposed by the British and the struggle against them was the freedom movement which culminated in Independence on 15th August 1947, with our Constitution being implemented on 26 January 1950.

Those deviating from this date are the followers of nationalism under the garb of religion, who are uncomfortable with the values of Liberty, Equality and Fraternity of the Constitution which emerged from the freedom struggle.

He needs to introspect what the countries like Japan and Israel achieved through demolishing old holy places and building the one’s of their religion. He also needs to know that after the Ram Temple movement has picked up India’s growth and unity has seen a downward trend. There is a consistent fall in the various indices related to health, nutrition, educational status with increase in poverty levels.

The massive foundations for economic, educational, scientific and industrial prosperity were laid much before the divisive politics of Ram Temple got a boost in the decades of 1980 and 1990s. Bhagwat’s statement totally ignores the massive anti colonial movement. The reason for this is that those who stood for Hindu and Muslim nationalism were not the part of it. In a way his statement is a great insult to all those who sacrificed their live for the freedom of the country from the clutches of colonialism, the period of our slavery.

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

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Vijayan also pointed out that Guru’s life and work is very relevant today as violence is being orchestrated by instigating religious sentiments. Guru was not merely a religious leader, he was a great humanist. His critics are also criticizing Vijayan that during his tenure as Chief Minister Hindus are being troubled. They give the example of Sabrimala where the ruling party decided to support the Supreme Court ruling of entry of even menstrual age women to the sacred temple. BJP spokespersons are up against Vijayan for insulting Sanatan Dharma in this instance also.

The debate around Sanatan seems to have come to the fore for the second time. First it came up when Dayanidhi Stalin spoke against Sanatan. BJP-RSS is stating that Santan can’t just be reduced to caste and Chaturvarnya. Incidentally in 2022, Kerala had submitted a float for republic day parade. It displayed Narayan Guru. The jury from the Defence ministry stated that the Kerala float should display Shankarachaya from Kaladi rather than Guru. This was a major reason for rejecting the float.

As such Sanantan stands for eternal and has been used for Buddhism, Jainism and Hinduism. Hindu is a religion, which has no single prophet or no single holy book. Word Hindu does not find mention in its holy scriptures. It has two major streams, Brahmanism and Shramanism. Brahmanism is based on graded inequality and patriarchal values. Ambedkar renounced this Hinduism as he felt that Hinduism is dominated by Brahmanical values. The Shramanic traditions include Nath, Ajivikas, Tantra, Bhakti traditions which are away from the values of inequality.

Today in popular parlance Sanatan Dharma and Hindu dharma are interchangeable. Some of the ideologues claim that Hinduism is not a religion but a way of life based on Dharma. As per them Dharma is not the same as religion. As such Sanatan Dharma stands for primarily Varna system, caste inequality and sticking to these traditions. Dharma is best understood as religiously ordained duties. What is being opposed by social reformers is rejection of a religion which is based on inequality.

If we take the example of Ambedkar himself, he regarded Buddha, Kabir and Jotirao Phule as his Gurus. What matters to him is rejection of inequality of caste and gender. In medieval India the saints Kabir, Tukaram, Namdeo, Narsi Mehta and their likes harped on opposition to the caste system and some of them had to face attacks from upper caste rulers. As such Narayan Guru comes in as a great social reformer against the caste system and transcends religious divides. No wonder the present ruling Government, guided by Brahminical Hinduism, can’t accept the float from Kerala which shows Narayan Guru.

Narayan Guru was a deeply humane person. During the course of his growing up he went into a deeper engagement with spiritualism and the practice of Yoga. During the course of his philosophical journey in 1888, he visited Aruvippuram where he went in meditation. It is during his stay there, that he took a rock from the river, consecrated it and called it as an idol of Shiva. This place since then has been known as Aruvippuram Shiva Temple. This act later came to be known as Aruvipuram Pratishta. It created a lot of social commotion and opposition especially from amongst the upper caste Brahmins.

They did not accept Guru’s right to consecrate the idol. He replied to them “This is not a Brahmin Shiva but an Ezhava Shiva”. This quote of his later became very famous and has been used against casteism. To fight against casteism he committed his life. His steps were a big practical means in challenging the deep set caste system. The revolutionary understanding of Guru was ‘one caste, one religion, one God’.

He goes much beyond the caste and religious divides to proclaim, single humanity. Later on he went on to open the school, which was open even to low castes, quite on the line of what Joti rao Phule did in Maharashtra. Like the principles of Ambedkar’s Kalaram Temple movement he went on to build temples which were open to all the castes.

The recent suggestion of Swami Satchitanand supported by Pinarayi Vijyan also argues that a bare torso may be medically bad as it may transmit diseases. There are many practices which need to change with time. One recalls that women did not have the right to cover their breasts. There was a breast tax if women covered the top. It was Tipu Sultan, when he annexed Kerala, when he abolished breast tax and women gained their dignity as they were permitted to cover their breasts.

Temples are a part of our community life. Such changes in dress code have to accompany the changes in social patterns. The opposition to this is like putting the clock back. The politics in the name of religion at most of the places is against the social changes and change in political values. Kerala also shows many contrasts in diverse fields. It was here that on one hand the Acharya from Kaladi Shankar countered the Buddhists in debate. The Buddhists argued on materialist ground to focus on the issues of this world, while roughly speaking Shankar tried to argue the World is an illusion supporting the idealist philosophy.

At present times in India, Kerala included, we need to follow the path of Saints like Narayan Guru and Kabir, whose humane values gave a direction of amity to the society. The conservative ‘status quo’ in most matters retards social progress.

The author is the president of the Centre for the Study of Society and Secularism. The views are personal.

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They go on to quote Ambedkar that Swami Shraddhanand was the “the greatest and most sincere champion of the Untouchables”. They ignore the fact that that same Swami was involved in Shuddhi, ‘Conversion of Muslims to Hinduism’. This is what annoyed the Muslim clerics.

On this Shuddhi, Ambedkar responded, “If the Hindu society desires to survive, it must think not of adding to its numbers but increasing its solidarity and that means the abolition of caste. The abolition of castes is the real sangathan of the Hindus, and when sangathan is achieved by abolishing castes, shuddhi will be unnecessary.” This was parallel and opposite to Tanzim by Tablighi Jamaat, which was trying to convert Hindus into Islam. Though Shraddhanand later became part of the Indian National Congress, he was also part of Hindu Sangthan, a part of the revitalised Hindu Mahasabha committed to establishing a Hindu Nation.

New constructs are now being floated that Ambedkar and Savarkar are two sides of the same coin. True that Savarkar started the Patit Pavan temple that allows entry of Dalits into temples. As per Babasaheb, this will create a separate temple where only Dalits will visit. “An editorial in the April 12, 1929 issue of “Bahishkrit Bharat” states that Ambedkar had opposed the construction of the Patit Pawan temple from the very beginning. He believed that these temples would later be called temples for the untouchables.” However, Ambedkar did appreciate Savarkar’s efforts. Though he felt they were irrelevant.

These are some points that are being raised by Hindutva ideologues. They go hyper while describing Ambedkar’s relations with Congress. Some of them argue that after the death of Gandhi and Patel, Nehru became authoritarian and ignored the Opposition. BJP leader and Union Home Minister Amit Shah said that Ambedkar resigned from the Nehru cabinet due to “differences” with Nehru on the issue of Article 370, foreign policy and on the condition of SC/STs (Scheduled Castes/Tribes).

The crux of the issue is that the major reason for Ambedkar resigning from the cabinet was his disappointment with the shabby treatment given to the Hindu Code Bill. A huge opposition and meetings against the Bill were organised by RSS. Their volunteers demonstrated in front of Parliament. The peak of this was the massive protest in Ramlila Maidan on December 11, 1949, in which effigies of Ambedkar and Nehru were burnt.

Opposing the Hindu Code Bill, The Organiser (mouthpiece of the RSS), December 7, 1949, wrote: “We oppose the Hindu Code Bill. We oppose it because it is a derogatory measure based on alien and immoral principles. It is not a Hindu Code Bill. It is anything but Hindu.” The result of this aggressive campaign by RSS on the Hindu Code Bill was that it had to be delayed and diluted. This was the painful moment for Babasaheb, that led him to resign.

The question of Manusmriti, the Chaturvarnya, was a crucial part of the differences between Ambedkar and Savarkar to BJP. While on December 25, 1927, Babasaheb burnt the Manusmriti, the second sarsanghchalak of RSS, M.S. Golwalkar went on to write eulogies on Manusmriti.

Savarakar also detailed his support to Chaturvarnya and praised Manusmiriti: “Manusmriti is that scripture which is most worshipable after Vedas for our Hindu Nation and which from ancient times has become the basis of our culture-customs, thought and practice. This book for centuries has codified the spiritual and divine march of our nation. Even today the rules which are followed by crores of Hindus in their lives and practice are based on Manusmriti. Today Manusmriti is Hindu Law. That is fundamental.” And “The worst [thing] about the new Constitution of Bharat is that there is nothing Bharatiya about it… [T]here is no trace of ancient Bharatiya constitutional laws, institutions, nomenclature and phraseology in it”.

The central point of difference that Ambedkar had with the Hindutva ideology is being pushed under the carpet. On October 13, 1935, Ambedkar spoke in a meeting in Yeola near Nasik, dropping a ‘bombshell’ when he said, “I will not die as a person who calls himself a Hindu!” As per him, this religion has no place for liberty, compassion and equality. In the revised edition of his book, Thoughts on Pakistan, he opposed the formation of Islamic Pakistan as that may pave the way for Hindu Raj or Rashtra and that will be a “big calamity” for its people.

As he declared this, there were many pressures on him to embrace Sikhism or Islam. Dr. Moonje from Hindu Mahasabha struck a pact with Ambedkar that if he avoided conversion to Islam, Hindu Mahasabha would not oppose his move. Babasaheb’s own deeper studies led him to choose Buddhism.

Today, the BJP is trying to project that they have “honoured” Babasaheb by erecting his statues, raising an International Museum in his memory and other symbolic things. These are identity-related issues, while the crux of Babasaheb’s values remains undermined. When the Mandal Commission (on reservations) was implemented, the BJP resorted to kamandal (Hindutva) politics. As veteran BJP leader L K Advani was arrested during his Rath Yatra (as a part of kamandal politics), BJP, which was part of the parties supporting V P Singh’s government, withdrew its support and the government fell.

Congress, along with Hindu Mahasabha, opposed Ambedkar in Lok Sabha elections. Yet, it was Congress again that ensured that he was made a Rajya Sabha member. He was made a member of the Interim Government and also Chairman of the drafting committee of the Indian Constitution.

BJP’s anxiety to prove that Ambedkar was part of Hindutva politics is, therefore, a pure concoction to derive legitimacy from the memory of a person who stood totally against their very ideology of a Hindu Nation.

What an irony, that those who stood/stand for a Hindu Nation are today trying to project Ambedkar, who was opposed to Hindu Rashtra and wanted to have democratic, secular republic, as a part of their ideological parivar!

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

Courtesy: Newsclick

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For Cow vigilantes Modi had given a statement that murder in the name of cow is not acceptable, and just a few hours later a Muslim man was done to death on this issue. Apart from the phenomenon which is continuing. “Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said that the significance of love, harmony, and brotherhood is central to the teachings of Lord Christ. He also urged people to strengthen these values.” Just a couple of days later the vigilante groups and even Bajrang Dal groups attacked a person in Ahmedabad who had dressed as Santa Clause and was distributing gifts. A video is going viral where two men dressed as Santa Claus being beaten up by hooligans at the Kankaria Carnival in Ahmedabad. This probably is the first year where people dressed as Santa Clause are being hauled up.

Already we had seen that Carol Singers were beaten up and since BJP came to power Carol singing has been stopped in Rashtrapati Bhavan. Bajrang Dal has also issued warnings to Hindus for their attending Christmas parties. How come these acts at the time of Christmas are seeing a new low currently?

Recently we also saw the claims on mosques that there was such a temple so it must be dug up a la Babri Masjid style. Seeing the spate of such made up claims, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat himself said that we should not keep looking for Shivling under every mosque. It is amazing that the claim is made, and dispute created in Kashi where a fountain looking structure is claimed to be a Shivling and demand for converting the mosque into a temple boosted. After the Sambhal claims, the violence followed.

Probably shaken by this and the feeling that the Supreme Leader of the supra political outfit felt it will bring loss of face for ‘RSS Combine’ and so he gave a sane looking call, “The Ram Temple was about faith, and Hindus wanted it built. But raising disputes about new sites out of hate is unacceptable,” he said. “Some people think they can become leaders of Hindus by creating new controversies. How is this allowed?”

And lo and behold most of the fringe organizations of Hindutva politics are coming forward to oppose it. One knows that RSS is a strict disciplinarian organization, and its members do not violate the commands of its leader. So who are these Senas, Dharma Sansads springing up by a dozen and going against the appeal of Bhagwat?

To cap it all, RSS’s unofficial mouth piece Organizer itself came forward to articulate the fringe elements’ demands and wrote that “Temple restorations are a quest for our identity! (TOI Dec 27, 2024). It also claims that temple restorations are for our national identity and to seek civilizational justice.

How come the hate is so pervasive that it is crossing the limits set by its own leaders? Is it that the leaders like Prime Minister Modi want the actions leading to hate to continue, as it strengthens their politics? If not then why are the perpetrators of violence are enjoying impunity? Why does the whole system from spreaders of hate speech, to those responsible for maintaining law and order and even to some extent even the judiciary have a soft corner for these criminal elements.

Having enjoyed the impunity for destroying Babri Mosques and lynching in the name of cow/beef or on killings and torture on the charge of ‘love-jihad’, now they know they can get away with their illegal acts. They feel that law may be bent to ensure that they are exonerated.

The phenomenon of Organiser opposing Bhagwat arouses curiosity. Is there a split within RSS on the issue? Bhagawat trying to talk peace and harmony and the managers of Organiser feeling that the path of Hate and violence should be pursued to its fullest depth.

There is another aspect which needs to be understood. When such phenomenon’s are unleashed for political benefits, initially the leaders congratulate themselves for their success in the electoral arena. From top to bottom diverse elements spring up and as Mr. Bhagawat said some of them ape for higher political position and influence. They are the one’s continuing their earlier political roots of which were sown by their leaders. One recalls that previous top RSS leader K. Sudarshan, who later became RSS Chief, was on the stage when Babri mosque was being demolished. This has been a classical case of crime and no punishment.

All the guilty of this dastardly crime of Babri demolition were finally given ‘not guilty’ chit and the judge who did this for the communal politics, got a plum job after his retirement.

As they say, ‘as you sow, so you reap’, the demolition of Babri process as a whole tells us that it was not just a spreading of fake narratives of temple destructions, and many myths against Muslims. The result is there for us to see, where even the Supreme authority of RSS is not being listened to. The anti-Christian campaign is just a continuation of the decade’s old propaganda against Christians that they are converting by force, fraud and allurement.

The likes of Bhagwat and Modi are witnessing right in front of their eyes that the Genie can be unleashed from the bottle, but to put it back is a task, which is close to impossible.

Related:

75 Years Down the Line, Whither Indian Constitution?

Promoting love or instilling hate and fear

Restating the agenda of Hindu Rashtra: RSS chief sets the tone for BJP politics

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