Daily Times

Vanayak Damodar Savarkar must be a very happy man today, if only he were alive. India is ambitiously embarked upon the path of Hindutva —Savarkar’sbigoted doctrine that envisages a Hindu Rashtraor Hindu nation.The SanghParivar, a confederation of terrorist Hindu nationalist organisations, is at the vanguard of this movement. This dogma is spreading across Indian society like an epidemic. RSS and its political arm the BJP, along with their sister organizations in the Sangh have taken it upon themselves to purify India of all non-Hindu creeds.

BJP’s rise to power and popularity in 2014has provided a strong impetus to the Hindutva movement. RSS now pulls the strings of government from its headquarters in Nagpur.It not only shapes India’s internal policy according to the dictates of Hindutva, but also guides matters of foreign policy. Critics have denounced their schemes as ‘Saffronisation’ — since the Saffron colour is generally associated with Hindus.

The cardinal element in this so-called Saffronisationprocess is the complete ideological restructuring of the country’s education system.Handpicked radicals have been appointed to important educational positions in the country. These fanatics have reinvented the Indian history taught in schools and colleges.The curricula are being injected with information which is factually incorrect and deliberately aimed at creating communal polarisation. Absurdities such as “Hindus invented the Space Shuttle thousands of years ago, motorcars existed in Vedic times and television was first mentioned in the Mahabharata” have seeped into the textbooks. Moreover, Muslim rulers of the sub-continent are denounced and denigrated while some books have also eulogised Adolf Hitler. In this way, a bizarrely nationalist and dreadfully militant Hindu identity is being carved out.

RSS terrorists are also running training camps across the country where followers are imbued with the ideology of Hindutva and taught combat skills, including the use of weapons. Small children are also enlisted as RSS volunteers in these camps. Besides, separate camps for girls have been established.Students are indoctrinated with scornful stereotypes about religious minorities in general and Muslims in particular. Minorities are portrayed as barbarians and students are obliged to undertake military training in order to defend their faith against the presumed onslaught of these so-called barbarians.

Terrorists in Pakistan may seek to exploit Hindu terrorism in India to incite violence against Pakistan’s Hindu community. Therefore, it is important for the Muslims in Pakistan to resist their propaganda and stick to the tenets of Islam that preach tolerance

The outcome of all this is violence. Muslims have borne the brunt of RSS and BJP attacks, which are becoming increasingly frequent. The Prime Minister Narendra Modi, himself a RSS stalwart, stands accused of encouraging violence against Muslims during the Gujrat riots of2002, when he was the state’s Chief Minister. Not surprisingly,there is a popular BJP slogan:Musalmaanke do hi sthaan. Qabristaanya Pakistan! (A Muslim has only two abodes: Graveyard or Pakistan).

“Gharwapsi” is another RSS scheme designed to purge India of its minorities and make it a Hindu-only civilization. This involves forced conversions of Muslims and Christians to Hinduism. The underlying theory is that all people in India were innately Hindus, some of whom wrongfully converted to Islam and Christianity. Now they must return home, back to the folds of Hinduism.

The ultimate dream of the Sangh Parivar is Akhund Bharat— a Hindu India whose territory includes Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Bangladesh. No wonder India has bullied Nepal, fought wars with Pakistan, supported LTTE in Sri Lanka, and until recently engaged in a border dispute with Bangladesh. Spies like Commander Kulbushan Jadav of the Indian Navy are also a manifestation of the Hindutva doctrine, which seeks to destabilise India’s neighbours.

The Sangh Parivarremains the fiercest protagonist of Hindutva but it is not its only torchbearer. Congress, too, pursues Hindu nationalism under the guise of secularism. The Sachar Committee’s report is a strong testament to the policy of neglect and persecution of Indian Muslims under all Indian governments. The report categorised Muslims among the scheduled castes and scheduled tribes in terms of backwardness.The plight of Christians has been highlighted in many other findings. Yet, no government has ever undertaken any serious reforms to redress the miseries of minority communities.

Luckily, it is unlikely that the SanghParivar’s dream of a Hindu Rashtra will materialise anytime soon. However, what is absolutely certain is that India — along with the rest of the region — is becoming increasingly polarized on religious grounds.The effects of growing religious terrorism in India, in the form of Hindutva, are likely to spill over into neighbouring countries. Terrorists in Pakistan may seek to exploit Hindu terrorism in India to incite violence against Pakistan’s Hindu community.Therefore, it is important for the Muslims in Pakistan to resist their propaganda and profess the tenets of Islam that preach tolerance towards other faiths.

The writer is an independent researcher in public policy and international politics. He can be reached at moneeb.barlas@gmail.com

Published in Daily Times, June 13^th 2018.