INDIA: DECONSTRUCTING HINDUTVA
By Elizabeth Kendal
World
Evangelical Alliance Religious Liberty Commission (WEA RLC)
Wednesday, July 7, 2004
AUSTRALIA (ANS) -- India’s
new Congress-led government has begun the process of digging up the
Hindutva foundations laid by its predecessors, the right-wing Hindu
nationalist BJP. Congress is actively working to restore India’s former
foundations as a politically secular state with religious freedom and
opportunities for all. The Hindutva “idol” (or dream of a Hindu state)
was a work in progress and it is still craved by many in the Hindutva
camp. The deconstruction of Hindutva will not be without its opponents
and challenges. Even since the BJP election defeat, the RSS has been
actively advancing its attack on Christianity through the setting up of
armed militias called “Raksha Sena” (Defense Army) that are being
trained and sent out specifically to prevent conversions to
Christianity.
RECONSTRUCTING HISTORY
In November 2001 Congress politician Arjun Singh accused the BJP of
“Talibanising” the education system. The BJP government had
commissioned Hindu nationalist scholars to “saffronise” India’s history
texts by filling them with Hindu nationalist delusions and religious
bigotry all presented as historic fact. Through the texts the BJP
sought to change the perception of Indian culture from an ethnic and
religious melting pot which developed through mass migrations and trade
links, to one that is unique, historically Hindu, superior and
resistant to foreign invasion.
The BJP’s revised history texts credit Hindus with “lighting the lamp
of Chinese culture” and the commissioning and design of India’s
greatest pieces of Islamic architecture, including the Taj Mahal. The
texts denigrate Muslims and blame Christians for the partition of
India, alleging that missionaries are actively “fostering anti-national
tendencies”.
Randeep Ramesh reports from Delhi for the Guardian (26 June 2004),
“India's new government is poised to rewrite the history taught to the
nation's schoolchildren after a panel of eminent historians recommended
scrapping textbooks written by scholars hand-picked by the previous
Hindu nationalist administration.
“Hundreds of thousands of textbooks are likely to be scrapped by the
National Council of Educational Research and Training, the central
government body that sets the national curriculum for students up to
18.
“The move, one of the first made by the new Congress led government,
will strongly signal a departure from the programme of its
predecessor.”
Ramesh reports, “The three-member panel of historians examining the
‘inadequacies’ of history textbooks recommended the ‘discontinuation’
of their use in the national syllabus. After submitting a report to
India's education minister, Professor S Settar, a distinguished
historian of ancient India, told reporters: ‘We found it not advisable
to continue (with these books).’
“The government will decide early next month to what extent it will
accept the academics' verdict, but as it has stressed that it will seek
to reach out to minorities, it is expected to implement Prof Settar's
report in full. … Many on the Hindu right are furious that their
revisionist interpretation of history is now being revised, blaming the
influence of ‘leftists and Marxists’.” (Link 1)
PROTECTING AND ADVANCING MINORITIES
Immediately upon winning the elections in May 2004, the Congress, via
its new Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, vowed to actively pursue social
harmony and protect religious minorities. "We are the most tolerant
civilization and we cannot divide people on the basis of religion and
race," Singh said. (AFP 21 May 2004)
The government is now working on a new law to protect religious
minorities from communal violence. The BBC reports, “Interior minister
Shivraj Patil told reporters the law would combat communal violence -
and would target those who instigated, abetted or funded unrest. ‘We
will definitely not tolerate it,’ PTI (Press Trust of India) news
agency quoted him as saying.”(Link 2)
While inaugurating a conference on 'Minority Welfare and Education',
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh confirmed that his government will
establish a commission to enhance welfare, education and employment for
minorities.
The Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC) released to the Press an
open letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, thanking the government
for this commitment. In that letter, GCIC Convener Sajan K George said,
“We are thankful to you for your resolve to empower the minority
community to bring parity in private and public employment
opportunities and partake in the fruits of our democracy and involve in
nation building for a better future. We are thankful to you for your
concern for the minorities and your determination to introduce minority
development measures focusing on backward sections among the religious
minorities. Your attempts to address the emotional needs of the
minorities will go a long way in bringing harmony and peace.”
HINDUTVA IS NOT DEAD
The BJP may have lost power, but Hindutva is not dead. Promoters of
Hindu nationalism will oppose and challenge the government, possibly
through communal violence designed to test the government’s resolve.
AsiaNews reports (26 May 2004), “The extremist Hindutva Rashtriya
Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) movement and its frontal organization Dharma
Jagran Vibhag (religious awakening department) have announced the
decision to establish groups of armed youth, called Raksha Sena, in
every village of the Central Indian tribal state Chhatisgarh, in order
to stop conversions to Christianity.
“At the meeting of the founding of the Reksha Sena, Judeo declared:
‘The operations of the Ghar Wapsi will continue, notwithstanding the
problems that might come,’ referring to the fall of the Hindu BJP
government. Judeo communicated that the movement had already
'succeeded' to force some Christian religious sisters to give up their
white habits and exchange them for saffron saris, the typical Hindu
clothing. He also confirmed that the movement had forced some
Christians to ‘do a rethink’.
“He then invited the soldiers of the newly established Reksha Sena to
‘move into the interior parts of the country to check religious
conversions to Christianity’.”(Link 3)
On 30 June 2004 the South China Morning Post reported that the BJP was
struggling to understand the election loss. Days earlier the BJP held a
meeting in the Mumbai hotel to discuss the issues. Political analyst
Neerja Chowdhury said the election loss had plunged the BJP into an
identity crisis.
Amrit Dhillon reported for SCMP, “What emerged from the meeting was a
determination to revert to the hardcore Hindu nationalist ideology
(known as hindutva) that originally won the party a mass following
among the middle class.
“While in power, though, the constraints of office and the need to
manage diverse allies prompted the BJP to dilute its aggressive
nationalism. …Now, in defeat, the party has reverted to its hardline
ideas and fallen back into the arms of its Hindu nationalist affiliates
who had always mourned its fall from doctrinal grace. From now on,
these affiliates will play a big role in determining the party's
agenda. ‘We cannot afford to dilute our ideological moorings,’ said
former deputy prime minister Lal Krishna Advani.”
Hindutva may have lost is national appeal, but militant Hindu
nationalists have not lost their ability or willingness to inflict
suffering upon the Church. The new government will need every ounce of
resolve it can muster to prove to Hindu militants that liberty and
justice will prevail and violence against religious minorities will not
be tolerated.
Links
1) Indian experts recommend scrapping textbooks revised by last govt.
25 June 2004 - http://www.guardian.co.uk/india/story/0,12559,1247694,00.html
2) India plans law on communal unrest. 4 July 2004,
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/low/south_asia/3864605.stm
3) Paramilitary Hindu group to restrict Christian conversions
26 May 2004. http://www.asianews.it/view.php?l=en&art=862
Elizabeth Kendal is the Principal Researcher and
Writer for the World Evangelical Alliance Religious Liberty Commission
(WEA RLC) www.worldevangelical.org/rlc.html.
This article was initially written for the World Evangelical Alliance
Religious Liberty News & Analysis mailing list.
Elizabeth can be contacted by e-mail at rl-research@crossnet.org.au.
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