The Idea of Indian Nationhood is under Threat

The trigger for this BlogSpot is a close friend’s disagreement with my apprehension that the very idea of Indian Nationhood is under threat. He argues that it is a canard being spread by those opposed to Modi Ji, and he buttresses his argument by asking whether I saw lynchings or mayhem in the streets during my stay in India last year. No, I didn’t see that. However, an undercurrent of polarization and intolerance was certainly palpable compared with my previous visits, as were intimidation by Right-wing trolls and brazen muscle-power by its cadres and supporters.

Undoubtedly, there was also a sharp divide in all sections, even among the so-called intelligentsia, on the sharp pro or anti-Modi binary - nothing in between. More glaring was the wily masking of the forceful Hindutva rhetoric with the subtle, yet potent Nationalism label. Of course, the ploy was to define Nationalism ad lib and exploit it for everything, as and when required to shore up the original goals.

It was also clearly discernible how the original shrill ‘persecuted Hindus’ Narrative was toned down by embracing other emotive issues. One would recall how almost two years before the 2014 polls, social media was deluged with tales of atrocities against Hindus over the centuries, about the demographic invasion through prolific procreation by Muslims and Christians, love jihad, questions as to why terrorists worldwide are only from a particular religion, while ignoring the fact none was from the 172 million Muslims in India, and charges of Muslim appeasement. PM Manmohan Singh was denigrated in the vilest of terms, but the most abusive posts were directed against the Nehru-Gandhi family, with even attempts to trace their Muslim origins several generations back.

While the strategy worked and Modi was elected with a sweeping majority, much to the dismay of the Right-wing ideologues, BJP polled only 31% of the popular vote. Clearly, most Indians rejected the aggressive Hindutva stance, and hence a course correction was warranted. Then started a concerted image-building campaign by highlighting the softer nation-building agenda of the RSS (it even tried to snare Pranab Mukherjee). Hordes of ‘motivational speakers’ including many Veterans were hired to influence impressionable minds in schools and colleges. Numerous ‘right’-minded experts on economy etc and military experts filled TV panels on friendly channels to sing praises of the regime’s measures – even demonetization. Opposing views were shouted down, trolled or labeled anti-National.

How can I assert all this so definitively, you would ask? Contrary to popular belief that Right-wing strategy is formulated in Nagpur, a substantive role is played by the Hindutva organizations and ideologues among expatriates, especially those based in USA. More importantly, the financing of IT companies that control the trolls, the legions of motivational speakers, opinion makers and experts, and all other components of the campaign is taken care of by the deep pockets here. And tongues loosen up when single malts go down. Let us leave it at that.

Let us get back to the question as to why I feel the very idea of Indian Nationhood is under threat. Notwithstanding all the tactical flip-flops of the BJP (Mandir, go-raksha, NRC, polarization, and now Nationalism, soft rashtrawad etc) due to the electoral dynamic, the core agenda remains the same. It is no secret that the RSS has always been unhappy with the secular basis of our Nation, as enshrined in the Constitution. The ultimate goal remains the same – Hindu Rashtra – attained either de jure through Constitutional amendment or de facto through muscular intimidation, ghar wapsi, or Goebellsian indoctrination till the remaining Hindus fall in line.    

Religious polarization is dangerous. Once the genie is released, there is no turning back from the hell it creates. Recall how our parents used to say that when the Hindu Mahasabha and RSS on one side and the Muslim League on the other, first introduced their communal rhetoric in the 1930s, most people dismissed it as mere jockeying for positions by the politicians. How it turned into the communal holocaust of Partition was quite unexpected. Who suffered? Not the politicians on either side, who got plum positions. It was millions of innocent people caught in the communal frenzy.

I, as an infant, was one of those millions. My mother and I caught near fatal diseases during that ordeal. My father, the scion of one of the richest families in the entire district, started as a railway coolie carting coal in wheel-barrows at eight annas a day. He rebuilt his life and retired as a very senior Govt official. Same is the story of millions of others affected by the Partition. And yet, not once did my parents teach us to hate Muslims. All they said that it was a tragedy triggered by politicians, but foolishly gulped by gullible ordinary people who ended up paying the price.

Who paid the price for the communal polarization in Punjab in the 1980s, or in the Babri Masjid riots and the Gujarat carnage of 2002? Surely, in the 21^st Century India, we the people cannot fall prey to the games politicians play for their own selfish ends. Let me ask another question. Why is it that you would find hardly any religious bigot among all those actually suffered during Partition or other upheavals? Why most of the Hindutva zealots are from those States, which were not directly affected? For them whipping communal frenzy is more a chauvinistic bravado than any genuine religiosity. They seem to seek an adrenalin rush from a communal riot as tamashbeen, as if it were a WWF fight.

Finally, as to the question why I should not be unduly apprehensive since I did not see mayhem on the streets. Such a complacent attitude can be disastrous. The British realized it in 1857 when the bubble burst, or the entire Indian subcontinent when it was overtaken by communal frenzy in 1947, and which madness culminated in Gandhi Ji’s assassination. Early in 1984, did we foresee the traumatic events that would follow later that year? It was ultimately the exceptional maturity and wisdom of the Sikh community that brought back Punjab from the brink, and saved our Nation from unraveling.

Let us not, therefore, forget the lessons from History. Communal and caste polarization is a clear and present danger, which is recklessly being fanned by politicians. There is immense pent up anger and frustration not just because of the hate-mongering environment, but also from real problems of unemployment and farm distress.  It is like a tinder box, which even a small spark can set off. Mayhem on the streets will surely follow. It is imperative that we citizens emphatically defeat the selfish politicians’ divisive agenda. 

BETTER TO BE SAFE THAN SORRY.