(Courtesy: Briat Simha)
As the campaigning for the Indian parliamentary elections heats up, Varun Gandhi, a 28-years old candidate of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), has been taken into custody under the National Security Act. His misdeed: making fiery speeches supposedly inciting communal disharmony. That this has happened in the alleged largest functioning democracy in the world is remarkable; that the protagonist is a scion of the Gandhi clan, son of Menaka and the late Sanjay Gandhi and nephew of the Indian Congress Party leader Sonia Gandhi, adds another angle to the story.
Freedom of speech is a basic pillar of democracy. What the young Gandhi exercised was this freedom. In the recently concluded American presidential elections, strong words were exchanged among of the candidates. Radio show hosts were criticized for inflammatory and racist remarks. But no one was hustled into prison. The reason, of course, is that none of these remarks threatened the national security of the United States. That Varun Gandhi's remarks may have threatened the national security of India indicates the fragility of the Indian strain of democracy.
India has made spectacular gains recently in the economic sector. It is also a country where at least a quarter of its billion plus population is mired in abject poverty. Social indicators, especially those on health, do not reflect the political lead that India tries to take in the sub-continent. As a more telling illustration, the Gandhi family - that of Jawaharlal Nehru's daughter Indira Gandhi (not Mahatma Gandhi) - has become almost the "royal family" of India. That the oldest political party of India, the Congress, is currently headed by a woman of Italian birth says much for the awesome clout of the Gandhi name. Sonia just happened to be the wife of the pilot-turned-politician, the late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, who in turn may never have had to give up flying if his younger brother, Sanjay Gandhi, had not died in an aircraft mishap. Varun Gandhi is the son of this very same Sanjay.
Varun Gandhi's arrest has its political overtones. The BJP is challenging the Congress to lead the next government of India, which will almost surely be a coalition government. BJP has gained its fame, and has actually ruled India once, as a pro-Hindu party. It is today trying to downplay its Hindu origins to court non-Hindu votes. Varun Gandhi's speeches should not have come as a surprise to anyone. "Theocracy", something that most people believe ended when the Pope lost political power, is alive and well. The numerous Islamic states testify to this, as does the state of Israel. In this state of affairs, Hinduism is unique in that it does not accept converts. So with other religions on a conversion spree, Hindus will gradually have the least adherents. That the BJP should try to downplay its pro-Hindu roots and is almost disowning Varun Gandhi today illustrates this inherent hesitation among Hindus to stand up for Hinduism, that most tolerant of religion which is now facing extinction because of that very tolerance.
Another case in point: about three years ago, Nepal - then the only Hindu kingdom on earth - was declared secular by a motley crew of polticians, without so much as a peep from the people. While the Maoists have been logically blamed for this, the real culprits were the proselytizing grpups from Western donor countries who have made Nepal their conversion laboratory. While its Hindu population, comprising about 65% of the total, remained silent - or perhaps, tolerant! - Nepal lost its Hindu identity with a simple government ordnance.
Therefore, for Varun Gandhi to exercise his right to freedom of speech in the cause of Hindutsva is novel and laudatory. That his country is so insecure that it cannot allow him this freedom is a separate matter. All Hindus, especially those who have remained silent and docile so far, must view this imcident as a young Hindu stalwart's fight for his freedom, his beliefs and his religion!
The time has come for Hindus to stand for their rights and beliefs. This is not an exhortation to violence. Peaceful action is best. The symbol of universal peace, Gautam Buddha, was born a Hindu. Let us not be afraid, however, to fight if that is the only resort left us by our opponents. Let us not forget the Mahabharata and the Bhagvad Geeta when Lord Krishna himself, incarnation of Vishnu, went to battle to defend justice and righteousness.
5 comments:
Very true indeed. Hats off to Birat Simha for this timely piece! How is it sensible to keep quiet (and tolerant) when our very history, tradition, culture and identity are being attacked and eroded in the name of "secularism"? Why should we Hindus, who don’t believe in nor practice conversion, sit quietly as others come and do it in our lands? Did the propounders of "freedom" and "democracy" stand idly by when their beliefs were threatened by Nazism, Fascism, and Communism? Have they stood idly by when their way of life is threatened by "terrorism"? The deepest belief that the Western world--the propounders of "freedom"--holds is NOT to tolerate those who don't believe in it. And they've killed, tortured, maimed, massacred, slaughtered and destroyed their opponents if necessary. This is no exaggeration. History is witness!
This is not to say that we too should do the same. But if they are so militant about preserving and spreading their beliefs and way of life, why are we so reluctant to protect our own? This is not a call to arms nor an attempt to spread xenophobia. But we do need to wake up to the fact that we’re allowing foreigners to dictate our destinies. Secularism is a worthy ideal. But it is unfair to Hindus who do not believe nor practice proselytization. Even more so when most of us Nepalis are uninformed, naive and poor, while the proselytizers are rich and powerful. The declaration of secularism in Nepal is an insidious assault maneuvered through the medium of a few spineless and opportunistic Bahunists! Another reason to vehemently oppose this change. The question of Nepal’s religious identity is up to the Nepali people to decide via a free and fair referendum, not up to a handful of Bahunists who’d sell their mothers to get to power.
Rather than dancing to the seductive tunes of insidious plotters and proselytizers, it's time for Hindus to draw inspiration from our own history and scriptures as Birat Simha aptly points out. Our best guides to action right now are not the Western ideals (not that there is anything wrong with them), but it’s time to look to our own ideals handed down to us in scriptures and philosophies that sprung in our own lands. It is certainly time to reopen, reexamine, relearn and relive the lessons of our timeless epics such as the Geeta. We can’t sound our own death-knell in the name of secularism, democracy, modernization and so forth. And if the situation demands that we stand up and fight, then so we must.
Let’s harbor no illusions. We can't count on the BJP, and even less so on the Indian masses to stand up for Hindutva. They're too busy imitating, first the British and now the Americans (their erstwhile masters and current idols!) But Nepalis needn’t follow our weak cousins in the south. We better wake up soon to today’s reality and challenge: it is up to us to protect our own land and heritage! Nobody else will do it for us. And time is certainly not on our side! Let’s hear more from people like Birat.
What?
Hindus in India as second class citizens? The pigs have started flying.
India is not just made up of Hindus. It is home to Sikhism, Jainism (where both religions originated), Islam (the largest Islamic population after Indonesia), Christianity (which has been around for 2000 years), Judaism (which too has been around for a 1000 some years), Zoroastrianism (which has been around for over 500 years) and of course, Buddhism (where it flourished for 1000 years before its reign declined due to Islamic invasions). In other words, India is a complexly diverse country and painting it as a "Hindu" country gives injustice to the other, equally established faiths of the country.
Thus, Hindutva policies seek to divide those of other faiths in a India far more complex than what Hindutva policies seek to portray. But No, I do NOT believe in staunch secularism, like in France where they have forced Muslim girls to take off their headscarves in universities.
All I am saying is that there should be an equidistant, or rather, neutral relationships in a democratic country. YES, I believe that treating Varun Gandhi like that was a overdone.
The ones who cannot safegurad his identity is doomed to be erased from the face of the earth.
Praise the writer for stating the fact.
Satyajeet ji,
Thank you for your endorsement and detailed comment.
Indians can praise their "secularism" till they are blue in the face, but the ground realities are very different in our Nepal.
माओबादीले सरकार चलाउन नजान्ने कुरा त अब प्रष्ट नै भइसकेको छ। अर्धशिक्षित नेताहरु जम्मा गरेर अशिक्षित जनता माथि आफ्नो नीति लाद्ने कोशिस बाहेक माओबादीले अरु केही गर्न सकेको छैन। एकातिर आफुलाई सच्चा communist भन्ने, अनि अर्को तिर भने चर्च र धर्म दलाल NGO हरुबाट आफ्नो खल्ती भर्दै देशको धर्म-संस्कृती माथि खुलै खेलबाड गर्ने माओबादी नेताहरुको चलन नै भइसकेको छ। कडा भाषण गर्न सक्छन भन्दैमा सरकार चलाउन सक्छन भन्ने होइन रैछ भन्ने त अब सबैलाई खुलस्त नै भइसकेकोछ। यस्तो अवस्थामा सरकारमा हेरफेर गरे राम्रै हुने हो। अब अहिलेको भन्दा हालत बिग्रन नै के बाँकि छ र। माओबादीले फेरि जङ्गल पस्छौं भनेर धम्की देलान्, त्यसलाई पनि once-and-for-all अवसर दिएरै हेरौ न, हैन?
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