How Communalism Divides the Nation? Dictate to Chant ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ as an Example!

satheeshmankulamk@outlook.com (Ram Puniyani)
April 10, 2016

Today in India the gulf between religious communities is widening at a rapid pace. The ‘Hate other ideologies’ abound and are percolating down to the social levels at dangerous pace. As such India is a plural, multi-religious society, where diverse people have been living together for centuries. The Ganga Jamuna Tehjeeb, the mixed culture present in our society gets manifested in its food habits, dressing pattern, celebrations, festivals and religious traditions. These show how over a period of centuries the people of different communities have been adopting to each other in the spirit of ‘Vasudhaiv Kutumbakan’ (Whole World is my family) and ‘Love thy Neighbor’. While ethnic strife was there; the violence in the name of religions, Hindu-Muslim-Christian was conspicuous by its absence. The sectarian strife: Shaiv-Vaishnav, Shia-Sunni was there but the social scenario was by and large marked by amity. The highest points of these interactions can be seen in the traditions like Bhakti, Sufi and even the coming into fore of a new religion Sikhism and a new language: Urdu.B1sRQxkCEAARCQp

The problem begins with the British colonial period when the rulers adopt the policy of ‘divide and rule’ and in pursuing that policy they introduce communal historiography where the focus of history becomes Kings’ religion and selective picking up of points related to temple destructions, forcible conversion, taxation policies and atrocities on women, become the ground for spreading hatred. This hatred is the foundation on which violence is based. India comes to become a nation through its struggle against colonial powers and during the formation of this nation large sections of population are included in the newly forming India on the grounds of Liberty, Equality Fraternity. The Indian nationalist streams reject the British presentation of communal historiography and base their understanding on National historiography, one of the manifestations of which comes in Gandhi’s Hind Swaraj, where he talks of inclusive character of different rulers of the past, cutting across the religious boundaries.

In contrast to Gandhi-Indian nationalists, the communalists take up the divisive communal history and adopt it to suit their narrow goals of Muslim Nation or Hindu nation. The Muslim League presents the case as if India (rather sub continent) was being ruled by Muslims so British should hand over power to Muslims. Hindu Mahasabha-RSS presented the ideology of this land being a Hindu Nation from times immemorial. Here the pattern of production, hunter society, nomadic society, agricultural society with kingdoms and the then society with changes of Industrialization are glossed over and a lineage of present Hindu society with hunter-nomadic communities is presented to claim the ruler ship, as being the original inhabitants of the land. Hindu kings-Hindu society is presented as an ideal, trouble free society which gets problems due to Muslim invasion, so need to bring back Hindu nation becomes the agenda of Hindu Mahasabha-RSS.

These communal streams, the one’s vouching for Muslim nation or Hindu nation, had no interest in the problems of ‘people’, the dalits, adivasis, women or workers. Their focus was the interests of lineages of earlier rulers, the landlords, Kings in whose times the birth based hierarchies, operating at political, social and gender level were the basic hallmarks of society. They began a double ideological battle. On one hand to demonize the kings of ‘other’ religion-glorify the rulers of their own religion and two to present the birth based hierarchies in a glorified manner.

Their social reach was limited but they started spreading their version of History and promoting the hatred for other community. This was at a time when National movement was uniting the people cutting across the boundaries o religion, caste, region and gender. The communalists took up emotive issues, music before the mosque, pig-cow in their sacred place, creating nuisance when others have religious festivals and so on. The hatred forms the basis of violence and consequently polarization in the society. While we have seen the intensification of this polarization during last few decades, we have also seen a gradual rise in the intensity of hatred against some and insecurity among those who are being made the object of hate around many issues. Be it cow slaughter, temple destructions, forcible conversion, ‘our women’ being subjected to atrocity, global terror and what have you. Now a new emotive issue has been thrown up very recently, its fresh from the Bakery, so can serve a good example of understanding the anatomy of construction of object ‘Hate’ , demonization of the ‘other’.

RSS Sarsanghchalak, Mohan Bhagawat (March 2016) gives a statement on his own that ‘the time has come to ask the new generation to chant ‘Bharat mata ki Jai’ ‘ (BMKJ). This acts like letting loose the cat among the pigeons. For being ‘politically correct’, he later says that nobody should be forced to chant this slogan. As if on a cue, while it was not necessary to respond to this unwarranted, communal intervention by Bhagwat, Asaduddin Owaisi supplements the game by saying that he will not chant this slogan even if a knife is put on his throat. At the same time he says that he has no problem in saying Jai Hind. In the talk shows which follow the RSS-BJP spokespersons deliberately begin the story with Owaisi, forgetting the statement by Bhagawat. In a holier than thou spirit Javed Akhatar chants the same slogan thrice to win the kudus from the sectarian and many other elements.

To take the story further, and this shows how such emotive issues are constructed, Congress-NCP, trying to play the role of B team of Hindutva, against the prevalent laws of the land, asks for suspension of Waris Pathan (Owaisi party) who refuses to chant the slogan; from Maharashtra Assembly. Communal politics of RSS combine has a good back up in these so called secular parties like Congress-NCP so to say. Then steps in Devendra Fadanvis, Maharashtra Chief Minster, one brought up on the ideology of Hindu nationalism: RSS. This gentleman has been brought up more on ‘Bunch of thoughts’ of Golwalkar rather than the values of Indian Constitution. He does not want to know about the values of Indian Constitution despite being a Chief Minster. Taking further his mentor Bhagwat’s statement he asserts that those who do not chant this slogan (BMKJ) have no right to live in India! So India of 125 Crore has now has an ideology and its soldiers are out to maul the Indian Constitution. To take the matters to the streets and community comes in RSS fellow traveler, Baba Ramdev. He picks up from Owaisi and blurts, ‘If no law would have cut the heads of those who don’t say Bharat Mata Ki Jia’

While many of these worthies now will be trying and explaining their outpourings towards and acceptable language, the damage has been done. The communal force is now equipped with one more weapon to consolidate its social and electoral base. My earlier article on the topic explains as to how BMKJ can be a voluntary for those who want to chant it and it is equally OK if someone does not chant it. With Ramdev’s statement one more emotive issue has been constructed ‘successfully’. Celebrations may be on among those who want to distract the attention from the problems of Bharat Mata of Jawaharlal Nehru (125 crore people of India), the problems of dalit students (Rohith Vemula) the problems of University autonomy, (Kanhaiya Kumar), the problems of farmers suicide, the rising prices, lack of employment generation and what have you.

It’s time that the India wakes up to realize the game of communal forces and vow not to fall prey to their machinations around such slogans or other emotive issues which are manufactured by them on regular basis and are pulling us back on the scale of Indian nationalism.

Comments

kr
 - 
Friday, 29 Jul 2016

U can see only his creation not creator

pk
 - 
Monday, 11 Apr 2016

WORSHIP THE CREATOR NOT HIS CREATION

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Ram Puniyani
March 8,2020

They say ‘history repeats itself first as a tragedy and then as a farce’. In case of India, communal violence not only keeps repeating itself, the pattern of the tragedy keeps changing every next time. Some features of the violence are constant, but they are under the wraps mostly. The same can be said about the Delhi violence (February 2020). The interpretations, the causative factors are very discernible, but those who are generally the perpetrators have a knack of shifting the blame on the victim community or those who stand for the victims.

As the carnage began presumably in the aftermath of statement of Kapil Mishra of BJP, which was given in front of a top police official, in which he threatened to get the roads emptied. The roots of violence were sown earlier. The interpretations given by the Hindu Nationalist camp is that the riot is due to the changing demographic profile of the area with Muslims increasing in number in those areas, and coming up of Shaheen Bagh which was presented was like ‘Mini Pakistan’. As per them the policies of BJP in matters of triple talaq, Article 370 and CAA, NPR, NRC has unnerved the ‘radical’ elements and so this violence.

As such before coming to the observations of the activists and scholars of communal violence in India, we can in brief say that violence, in which nearly 46 people have died, include one from police and another from intelligence. Majority victims are Muslims. The violence started right under the nose of the police and the ruling party. From the videos and other eye accounts, police not only looked the other way around, at places it assisted those attacking the innocent victims and burning and looting selective shops. Home minister, Amit Shah, was nowhere on the scene. For first three days the rioters had free run. After the paramilitary force was brought in; the violence simmered and slowly reduced in intensity. The state AAP Government, which in a way is the byproduct of RSS supported Anna Hazare movement, was busy reading Hanuman Chalisa and praying at Rajghat with eyes closed to the mayhem going in parts of Delhi.

Communal violence is the sore point of Indian society. It did begin during colonial period due to British policy of ‘Divide and Rule’. At root cause was the communal view of looking at history and pro active British acts to sow the seeds of Hindu-Muslim divide. At other level the administrative and police the British were fairly neutral. On one hand was the national movement, uniting the people and creating and strengthening the fraternal feeling among all Indians. On the other were Muslim Communalists (Muslim League) and Hindu Communalists (Hindu Mahasabha, RSS) who assisted the British goal of ‘divide and rule’ promoting hatred between the communities. After partition the first major change was the change in attitude of police and administration which started tilting against Muslims. Major studies by Dr. Asghar Ali Engineer, Paul Brass and Omar Khalidi demonstrated that anti Muslim bias is discernible in during and after the riots.

Now the partisan role of police has been visible all through. Sri Krishna Commission report brought forth this fact; as did the research of the Ex DIG of UP police Dr. V.N.Rai. Dr. Rai’s studies also concluded that no communal violence can go on beyond 24 hours unless state administration is complicit in the carnage. In one of the violence, investigation of which was done by concerned Citizen’s team (Dhule, 2013) this author observed that police itself went on to undertake the rampage against Muslims and Muslim properties.

General observation about riots is that violence sounds to be spontaneous, as the Home Minister is pointing out, but as such it is well planned act. Again the violence is orchestrated in such a way that it seems Muslims have begun the riots. Who casts the First stone? To this scholars point out that the carnage is so organized that the encircled community is forced to throw the first stone. At places the pretext is made that ‘they’ (minorities) have thrown the first stone.

The pretexts against minorities are propagated, in Gujarat violence Godhra train burning, in Kandhamal the murder of Swami Laxamannand and now Shaheen bagh! The Hindu Muslim violence began as riots. But it is no more a riot, two sides are not involved. It is plain and simple anti Minority violence, in which some from the majority are also the victims.

This violence is possible as the ‘Hate against this minority’ is now more or less structural. The deeper Hate against Muslims and partly against Christians; has been cultivated since long and Hindu nationalist politics, right from its Shakhas to the social media have been put to use for spreading Hatred. The prevalent deeper hate has been supplanted this time by multiple utterances from BJP leaders, Modi (Can be recognized by clothes), Shah (press EVM machine button so hard that current is felt in Shaheen Bagh), Anurag Thakur (Goli (bullet) Maro) Yogi Aditya Nath (If Boli (Words)Do not work Goli will) and Parvesh Varma (They will be out to rape).

The incidental observation of the whole tragedy is the coming to surface of true colors of AAP, which not only kept mum as the carnage was peaking but also went on to praise the role of police in the whole episode. With Delhi carnage “Goli Maro” seems to be becoming the central slogan of Hindu nationalists. Delhi’s this violence has been the first one in which those getting killed are more due to bullets than by swords or knifes! Leader’s slogans do not go in vain! Courts the protectors of our Constitution seem to be of little help as if one of them like Murlidhar Rao gives the verdict to file against hate mongers, he is immediately transferred.

And lastly let’s recall the academic study of Yale University. It concludes; BJP gains in electoral strength after every riot’. In India the grip of communalism is increasing frighteningly. Efforts are needed to combat Hate and Hate mongers.

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Ram Puniyani
February 13,2020

Forthcoming Census and RSS campaign

Currently massive protests are going on against NPR, NCR and CAA. At the same time we are going to begin the process of decadal census in 2021. Already RSS is active in promoting NPR, NCR and CAA. At the same time RSS wants that Adivasis should register themselves as Hindus rather than ticking the column of ‘Others’. As per their spokesperson in the 2011 census many Adivasis groups ticked that column because of which the population of Hindus came down to by 0.7 percent point to come down to 79.8 %. This has sent signals to this Hindu nationalist organization and is planning to ensures that Adivasis tick the column of Hindus in this census.

As such RSS has a very clever attitude in defining the term Hindu. The first formulation was by Savakakar who said that all those who regard the land east of Indus as their Holy land and Father land are Hindus. This left out Muslims and Christians, and brought all others in the ambit of Hindu fold. From the decade of 1980s due to electoral compulsions they have been trying to articulate that all those who are living in India are Hindus. Murli Manohar Joshi stated that Muslims are Ahmadiya Hindus and Christians are Christi Hindus. Recently there was a controversy when they restated that Sikhs are not a separate religion but are a sect of Hinduism. Many Sikh organizations stood up to say that Sikhism is a religion by itself and recalled the book of Kahan Singh Nabha, “Hum Hindu Nahin”

As far as Adivasis are concerned in contrast to what is being planned by Hindu nationalist RSS, many Adivasis groups have been meeting from last couple of years to demand just the contrary. As per them there should be a column where they can tick their identity of Adivasis.  There are active campaigns among Adivasis groups to uphold their Adivasi identity in Census. As per them in the first census which was conducted in Independent India, the column, Aborigines, was there, which was later removed forcing them to club themselves with other religions.

After 1951 in addition to Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, Christian, Jain and Buddha, the column ‘others’ was also there which was removed in 2011. Even during British period if you look at the censuses of the British era (from 1871 to 1931); there was provision for tribes to choose Aborigine as an option. There are nearly 83 religious practices being followed by Adivasis. Few major of these are Sarna, Gondi, Punem, Adi, and Koya. What they share in common is that they are animists, worship nature and spirit of ancestors; do not have priestly class or Holy Scriptures and Gods and Goddesses characteristic of the broad Hindu pantheon.

RSS as per its political agenda of Hindu Nation regards them as Vanvasi. They pontificate that they have been part of Hindu society who were driven away to forests to escape the forcible conversion being done by the Muslim invaders. This concoction is contrary to the interpretations based on the studies from population genetics. The Hindu nationalist argues that Aryans have been the original inhabitants of the country from where they spread to other parts of the World. The book by Tony Joseph, ‘Early Indians’ tells us that away from the race theory, we are all mixed up. The first inhabitants in our land were the ones who emigrated from South Asia over Sixty thousand years ago.

The Indo-Aryans came here nearly three thousand years ago and they pushed the aborigines to the forests and hills and that’s what constitutes the Adivasi community of India.

Hindu Nationalists like all the nationalists who construct their nationalism around their religion claim to be the most original inhabitants of the land, and their interpretations of past are molded according to that. RSS right from beginning has not been using the word Adivasi, it calls them Vanvasi. As per its agenda it wants them to be part of Hindu fold, despite Adivasis themselves saying that they are not Hindus, they have beliefs and practices which are far away from Hinduism in whatever form.

To enhance its political reach from the decades of 1980s in particular its work in Adivasis areas has been intensified. While ‘Vanvasis Kalyan Ashram’, part of RSS Combine which was formed much earlier, it was in the decades of 1980s that their work was jacked up by sending more Pracharaks in Adivasi areas. We see that in Gujarat, Dangs and nearby area, Swami Aseemanand, in MP, centered around Jhabua-the followers of Asaram Bapu and in Orissa Swami Laxmananad stationed them. They saw Christian missionaries working in the field of education and health as an obstacle to Hinduization of Adivasis. Their propaganda against Christian missionaries led to the ghastly murder of Pastor Graham Stains. It was this propaganda which led to anti Christian violence in various forms, the most horrific being the Kandhamal violence of 2008.

In order to culturally co-opt them into the fold of Hinduism they began series of religious congregations, Kumbhs. Shabri Kumbh in Dangs and many other Adivasis predominant areas created an atmosphere of fear, Adivasis were asked to be part of it, saffron flags were distributed and they were made to put it in their houses. Two religious icons were popularized in these areas, one was Shabri and other was Hanuman. To cap it all, Ekal Vidyalayas, started spreading RSS’s interpretation of history in these areas. The other angle of the whole thing is that Adivasis are living in the areas rich in minerals, which the BJP supporter Corporate World wants to take over.

World over aborigines have similar pattern. They are animists and what they practice is a culture as such. Many have converted to other religions out of their choice for sure, but finally in these matters what is important is the self perception. Hemant Soren the Chief Minister of Jharkhand pointed out that “Adivasis are not Hindus. ”Keeping that in mind; the column of Aborigines needs to find its place in our census forms.

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Ram Puniyani
May 2,2020

India has tragically witnessed the phenomenon of lynching becoming dominant during last few years. It was particularly around the issue of Holy Cow-Beef, that lynchings became more prevalent and two communities had to face the brunt of it, Muslims and dalits. The IndiaSpend data showed the rise of the incidents from 2014 and that close to 90% of victims were Muslims or dalits. Some notorious cases of lynchings were the one of Akhlaq, Junaid, Alimuddin Ansari, the beatings of dalits in Una. At another level it is during this period that the noted social worker Swami Agnivesh was also subjected to humiliating beating in the public. The communal color in India by now is so strong that many events, even before the details are known, are looked at from the communal color and false social noises start even before real facts are known.

Nothing can exemplify this more than the tragic lynching of two sadhus and their driver in Gadchinal village, near Palghar, a city nearly 110 Kilomenters from Mumbai. As the news of this tragedy spread the BJP leaders immediately started blaming Muslim minority for the crime. Nalin Kohli in an Interview to a German Channel said so. Not to be left behind Sambit Patra, the BJP spokesperson launched a tirade  against the liberals-seculars for their silence on the issue. As the matter stands the truth comes out that those sadhus were travelling to Surat from Kandivli area of Mumbai. It is a period of lockdown and they did not have the permission so they were avoiding the highway travel and going through interior routes. On this route was a village Gadchinale, an Adivasi dominated village where this tragedy took place.

During the lockdown period due to Corona virus the economic and social deprivation of poor people is extreme. Many rumors are floating there. In this village the rumor doing rounds was that a gang of chid lifters is roaming in different guises. Thats what these Sadhus were taken to be. Since the victims were Hindus and culprits are deliberately presumed to be from the other community. One recalls that to trigger the Mumbai violence in 1992-93 the incidence of murder of two Mathadi workers (HIndus) and burning of Bane family (Hindu) in Jogeshwari area of Mumbai, both these were false, these incidents were used as the pretext for the attack on the minorities.

In this case not only BJP leaders, the RSS itself also  jumped into fray along with Sadhu Samaj. A vicious atmosphere started building up. 

As the incident took place, Palghar case dominated the usual media channels and large sections of social media. The Government of Maharashtra (Shiv Sena+NCP+Congress) stood on the solid ground of truthfulness and arrested nearly 100 culprits, none of them being a Muslim. Interestingly the local body of the village is controlled by BJP and the chief of this body Chitra Chowdhari is a BJP leader. While the Maharashtra Government is standing on the solid ground of the facts of the case, it has also given the warning that those spreading falsehoods will not be spared.

The cruelty of those taking law into their hands is shocking. During the last few years taking law into the hands of the mobs is becoming close to normal. The real reasons are many. One of this being the lack of proper punishment to those who indulge in such dastardly acts. Not only that many of them are in the good books of the ruling establishment and many of them are honored despite their despicable role in such incidents. One recalls that in case of Mohammad Ikhlaq lynching, one of the accused died in the police custoy due to incidentlal disease. Then Union Central Minister Mahesh Sharma landed up to drape his body in tricolor. In another such case of Alimuddin Ansari, when eight of the accused got bail, the Union Minister Jayant Sinha garlanded them. What message it sends down the line?

The other factors contributing to the rise in intensity of violence is the overall social frustration due to life generally becoming more difficult. The rule of BJP has also encouraged intolerance, where people with differing opinions are looked down upon and called anti- Hindu, Anti National etc. Swami Agnivesh who criticised the blind faith, the statements like ‘plastic surgery in ancient India, or divine nature of Barfani Baba in Amarnath was humiliated in public.

The core issue is the dominance of sectarian mindset promoted by the ruling party and its parent organization the RSS. They are waiting to jump at any event which can be given communal color or where the minorities can be demonized. Few news channels, who are playing the role of loud speakers of divisive politics are adding salt to the wounds. The degree of Hate spread in the society has further taken the aid of innumerable social media networks to spread the false hoods down to all the sections of society.

The need for law against lynching needs to be brought in. All those participating in such dastardly violence need to be punished. Before that the whole atmosphere of Hate mongering and feeling that those talking law into their hands can get away with it, needs to be countered strongly. While a prompt police action against such incidents is the need of the hour, those who have made spreading hate as their business need to realize that no country can progress without the feeling of fraternity. Demonizing weaker sections may give them higher TRP, but it is also undermining our path of peace and progress.

Respect for Indian Constitution and rule of law needs to be restored. The fact check mechanisms like AltNews need to be activated much more. And lastly one must applaud the steps taken by the Government of Maharashtra to ensure that justice is done and Hate spreading is  checked right in its tracks.

Comments

Amar Akbar Antony
 - 
Wednesday, 24 Jun 2020

Beautiful article. We need people like you- the need of the hour.

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