Hindutva – Page 5

Promoting Prejudice, Poisoning Minds – Parivar’s intrusions into education

January 15, 2015 by Nasheman

Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Oct 2014, claimed that the Mahabharat’s story of Karna, who was “not born of his mother’s womb”, was evidence of the fact that “genetic science” was prevalent at the time in India. In this file photo he is seen addressing the inaugural function of 102nd Indian Science Congress in Mumbai.

by Praful Bidwai

If there’s one thing that the 102nd Indian Science Congress, held in Mumbai, will be remembered for, it’s the outrageous claims made at it about the achievements of science in ancient India, including the assertion that Indians between 7000 and 6000 BC knew how to make airplanes that could undertake “interplanetary travel”, and fly backwards and sideways, as well as forwards!

Similarly, Indians had invented differential calculus, knew about viruses and developed advanced techniques of plastic surgery—well before anyone else. These claims confuse mythology with science, concoct history, and are based on pure fantasies of insecure ultra-nationalists who assert that ancient India’s accomplishments in the arts or sciences put even the modern era to shame.

The claim about airplanes was demolished 40 years ago by Indian Institute of Science-Bangalore aeronautical engineers in scientific journals. Yet, such claims are now made with brazen confidence. This speaks to the power of example, one set by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, no less, when he cited the mythical figures of Ganesha and Karna as proof that Indians knew about genetics, in-vitro fertilisation and complex surgery thousands of years ago!

Such self-glorification and myth-making can only make India the laughing stock of the world, but is an integral part of the Sangh Parivar’s distinct self-identity and obscurantist agenda. Its impact is now becoming visible in the Parivar’s Long March through the Institutions of the State.

Led by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, and enabled by the Bharatiya Janata Party’s government, Parivar activists are reshaping, changing, and subverting institutions, especially in education and culture. Their aim is to influence their working to reflect the Sangh’s specific brand of “cultural nationalism” by promoting Hindutva icons, engineering long-term changes in programmes and priorities, and making key appointments of personnel who will loyally execute such changes.

The imposition of observing Christmas Day as “good governance” day on Central educational institutions—including thousands of schools, 45 Central universities, the elite Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs)—was only one step in that direction.

The latest move is the award of National Research Professorships to Sangh sympathisers: Kannada novelist SL Bhyrappa, Mumbai-based economics lecturer Ashok Modak and Hindi journalist/writer Suryakant Bali. Such Professorships were held in the past by physicists CV Raman and Satyendranath Bose, musician Ravi Shankar, writer Mahashweta Devi and sociologist Andre Beteille.

Bhyrappa is an accomplished and successful novelist, but he controversially accuses Tipu Sultan of being a religious fanatic! According to former BJP functionary Sudheendra Kulkarni, who doesn’t hide his pro-Sangh bias, Bhyrappa nurtures a “fevered hatred of Indian Muslims”. Modak isn’t a distinguished scholar. And Bali’s claim to academic distinction is unknown, but the launch of his last book was attended by human resource development minister Smriti Irani and RSS joint general secretary Krishna Gopal. Both Bhyrappa and Bali had endorsed Mr Modi as PM-candidate.

The larger Sangh agenda includes substantive changes both in the content of education and appointments in prestigious institutions. Ms Irani has announced that the government will soon formulate a whole new education policy. It has appointed pro-Hindutva or pro-BJP individuals to head the apex-level Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR), the renowned Indian Institute of Advanced Study (IIAS) at Shimla, and Banaras Hindu University (BHU), established in 1916.

This sends out an unmistakable signal about the shape of things to come in other Central universities including Jawaharlal Nehru University, the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR), some of the IITs and IIMs, and the Central Board of Secondary Education, among other institutions where new appointments to top posts or councils/governing bodies are due soon.

An even stronger signal emanates from the manner in which Parvin Sinclair, the upright and independent-minded director of the National Council for Educational Research and Training (NCERT), was ousted more than two years before her term ended, aborting at the last stage the improvement and updating of the National Curriculum Framework-2005, which she had initiated.

The NCF was itself the product of a long, broad consultative process of “de-saffronisation”, which led to the production of NCERT’s widely acclaimed, secular-liberal, pedagogically vastly superior, school textbooks, adopted by many state textbook boards and schools.

On May 22, even before Mr Modi was sworn in, the RSS-affiliated Shiksha Sanskriti Utthan Nyas run by Dinanath Batra (he, of book-pulping fame) demanded a “total” overhaul of the education system and rewriting of textbooks so they inculcate “patriotism”, reflect “Indian tradition, social consciousness… and spiritualism”, and help build a “strong and vibrant India”.

Mr Batra insisted that Ms Irani reconstitute the NCERT. When Dr Sinclair refused to toe Ms Irani’s line on the NCF and other issues, she was reportedly falsely charged with financial irregularities, not allowed to defend herself fully, and asked to resign.

Another recent Irani casualty is IIT-Delhi director RK Sheogaonkar who resigned in protest against her blatant interference in the institute’s affairs. The faculty has strongly supported Dr Sheogaonkar.

There has been no similar purge in other institutions so far. But the government has used three other methods to favour the Parivar: appointing RSS functionaries or sympathisers to high academic positions although they manifestly lack scholarly competence, leave alone distinction; nominating mediocrities who are BJP fellow-travellers to major institutions; and co-opting appointees of the previous regime by striking questionable deals with them which benefit the Parivar.

The appointment of Girish Chandra Tripathi as BHU vice-chancellor, a post held earlier by luminaries like S Radhakrishnan and Acharya Narendra Dev, falls in the first category. Mr Tripathi, a longstanding hardcore prant (province)-level RSS official, was earlier a professor of economics at Allahabad university. But going by a google-scholar search and other available biographical entries, he has published no books or papers, at least recently.

According to a former colleague of his, Mr Tripathi “probably never taught a full 50-minute class”. But he has shrewdly played Uttar Pradesh-style Brahmin politics as a loyalist and understudy of Giridhar Malaviya, Madan Mohan Malaviya’s manipulative pro-RSS grandson and a former judge.

Mr Malaviya famously nominated Mr Modi as the BJP’s Lok Sabha candidate from Varanasi. He also headed the search-cum-selection committee that recommended Mr Tripathi, his own acolyte, for the VC’s post—a blatant conflict of interest!

The appointment of Y Sudershan Rao, a singularly undistinguished historian close to a spiritual guru (who mediated with the RSS-BJP on his behalf), as ICHR chairman is a similar, if somewhat less sordid, story. Prof Rao rails against Western and Marxist scholars and defends the caste system. He wants to prove the historicity of the Mahabharata and the Ramayana.

Prof Rao emphasises the relevance of the Puranas: “The ICHR has to play a catalyst role in taking to people their history” through the epics. According to distinguished historian Romila Thapar, Prof Rao fails to distinguish between epics and historical texts. He has published no articles on the epics, or on Ayodhya as Rama’s birthplace, in peer-reviewed journals.

One of Prof Rao’s first actions was to invite a Belgium-based, rabidly pro-Hindutva scholar, SN Balagangadhara, to deliver the Maulana Azad Memorial Lecture on November 11 (available at ichr.ac.in). Balagangadhara drew serious criticism from distinguished historians like Rajan Gurukkal.

The nomination by the MHRD of Chandrakala Padia as the chairperson of IIAS-Shimla, and by the foreign ministry of Kavita Sharma as the president of South Asian University, belong to the second category. Dr Padia, who comes from Varanasi, does have some published work, but its quality is not commensurate with her position at IIAS. Ms Sharma was director of the India International Centre, Delhi and earlier principal of Hindu College, but can claim little academic accomplishment.

Third, the Parivar has cut deals with various UPA appointees, who have turned pro-BJP-RSS, including University Grants Commission chairman Ved Prakash and Delhi university VC Dinesh Singh. They both attended a lunch hosted by RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat in Delhi on October 12. Mr Prakash in anxious to continue in his post till 2017 despite vigilance and other inquiries against him.

Dr Singh’s favourite, but mindless, scheme (Four-Year Undergraduate Programme) was recently shot down by Ms Irani. Sensing the wind, he capitulated. He now plays Bhumihar-cum-Parivar politics and recently made more than 20 questionable appointments in university departments, according to teachers. He has also provided a platform to senior RSS functionaries on the campus, including Indresh Kumar and Krishna Gopal.

A dark presence behind some of these appointments and related decisions is said to be MHRD’s officer on special duty Sanjay Kachroo, who has worked with several corporate houses, including Reliance, and had access to secret MHRD files even before he received intelligence clearance.

With such players in key positions, the Parivar is intruding into education—probably with nasty communal consequences. A future article will discuss its interference in the field of culture.

Praful Bidwai is a journalist, social science researcher and activist on issues of human rights, the environment, global justice and peace. He received the Sean MacBride International Peace Prize, 2000 of International Peace Bureau, Geneva and London, one of the world’s oldest peace organisations.

Congress launches 'Bharatiya Hindu Parishad' to counter VHP

January 15, 2015 by Nasheman

Puttur: Under the leadership of Congress leaders, a pro Hindu outfit, ‘Bharatiya Hindu Parishad’ was inaugurated here on Wednesday January 14, even as debate in favour of and against creating such an organization rages on within the party. It is said that similar initiatives are being undertaken at various cities and towns by the party, reportedly at the behest of All India Congress Committee vice president, Rahul Gandhi, who has realized that his party has been facing a reversal of fortunes because of losing patronage of Hindus.

The said organization has been created under the leadership of block Congress president, A Hemanath Shetty. During the open debate on the desirability of giving birth to an outfit exclusively to cater to Hindu vote bank, Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president, Dr G Parameshwar, and former union minister, B Janardhana Poojary, had stoutly opposed the move, as they feel that it is opposed to the secular principles to which the party is committed. Udupi district in-charge minister, Vinay Kumar Sorake, also clarified when questioned by press persons in Udupi on Wednesday that his party does not need such organizations, as it protects interests of people from all the religions.

Bharatiya Hindu Parishad, which took birth on Wednesday, has pledged support to the construction of the temple dedicated to Rama at Ayodhya, and is opposed to religious conversions. It wants to undertake study about why religious conversions take place.

Puttur Hindu convention hoarding glorifies terror accused Sadhvi Pragya Thakur

January 12, 2015 by Nasheman

Mangaluru: The organizers of Hindu Hridaya Sangama, a massive Hindutva convention scheduled to be held on January 16 at Puttur in Dakshina Kannada district, have raked up a controversy by using a terrorist’s image in their hoardings.

The photo of Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, a key accused in the 2008 Malegaon terror attack, which claimed at least seven human lives and injured many, on the promotional hoardings has created tension in the region.

Umar K S, a local PFI leader has lodged a complaint in jurisdictional Puttur Town Police station demanding immediate action against the supporters of the anti-national terrorists.

Meanwhile, Puttur PFI president has submitted a memorandum to the police urging them to take necessary steps to prevent the organizers of Hindutva convention from attempting disturb the peace in the society.

“Police should not allow the speakers including VHP supremo Praveen Togadia to deliver communally provocative speech,” he urged in the memorandum.

Karnataka governor vows to achieve saffronization; exhorts college girls to follow Israel

January 8, 2015 by Nasheman

Mangaluru: The governor of Karnataka has an extreme likeness to the colour of his preference. Addressing a gathering at the inaugural ceremony of golden jubilee of Vivekananda Degree College and Vivekananda Pre-University College at Puttur, near here, Governor Vajubhai Rudabhai Vala pledged to achieve ‘saffronization’ in the state. He said that ‘saffronization’ is nothing but way of Indian life.

Vala, who has his roots in the RSS, was handpicked by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to be governor of Congress-governed Karnataka, a state where Amit Shah led Bharatiya Janata Party intends to strengthen itself in the coming days.

Slamming the people who criticize ‘saffronization’, the governor said: “We proudly speak about saffronisation, will continue to do so, and achieve saffronisation as well.”

Vala said that convent education can introduce students only to the letters, science and technology, but it can’t impart culture – something that ancient Indian texts do.

The governor said that ancient scriptures have shown a way of life. If it was sought to be replicated now what was wrong in doing so, he asked.

The governor also asked girl students of the college to realize their self-belief and courage.

Praising Israeli girls for fighting against Palestinians, Vala lamented that Indian girls don’t do so. Great men in Indian history, from Shivaji to Gandhi, are remembered because of their mothers, he said.

Invoking Swami Vivekananda, Vala said his exhortation “Arise, awake and stop not till the goal is reached” was drawn from the Upanishads. “Swami Vivekananda, Dayananda Saraswati and other leaders held the saffron flag aloft and espoused Indianness,” he stated.

Produce 4 kids to protect Hinduism: Sakshi Maharaj

January 7, 2015 by Nasheman

Meerut: BJP MP Sakshi Maharaj has yet again stoked controversy by saying all Hindu women must produce four children to protect Hindu religion.

“The concept of four wives and 40 children will not work in India and the time has come when a Hindu woman must produce at least four children in order to protect Hindu religion,” he said at a gathering for the Sant Samagam Mahotsava in Meerut on Tuesday.

Sakshi Maharaj went further to add that those involved in conversion must be punished with death though ‘ghar wapsi’ (reconversion) is not equivalent to conversion. “Wait for some time,” he thundered, “a law will be passed in Parliament in which anyone indulging in cow slaughter and conversion will be punished with the death sentence.”

On Ram mandir, Maharaj said, “No power on earth can stop the construction of Ram mandir in Ayodhya. It will be constructed, come what may.”

Sanjay Jha wrote on Twitter: “There is only one way to describe Sakshi Maharaj’s ludicrous and provocative call for Hindu women to have four children; beyond a boundary.”

Priyanka Chaturvedi, also of the Congress party, wondered if women were born only to have children:

Academic Prerna Bakshi questioned the “irony” of the statement:

Many like journalist Kanika Gahlaut have been using sarcasm to poke fun at the MP’s comment:

Journalist TS Sudhir wondered if this was what Prime Minister Narendra Modi meant when he launched the “Make in India” campaign to turn the country into a manufacturing hub:

Journalist Nistula Hebbar wanted Sakshi Maharaj to shut up:

Comedian Rohan said the comment suggested the MP had never had to deal with the tough nursery school admission process in the country:

However, this is not the first time Sakshi Maharasj has made a controversial statement.

Earlier, on December 11, BJP lawmaker had raked up a controversy saying father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi’s assassin Nathuram Godse was a nationalist.

However, Sakshi Maharaj later tendered his apology saying, “I respect Bapu and also the parliament. If I have said anything by mistake, I withdraw my statement. Godse was not a nationalist.”

His statement had led to an uproar in both the houses of Parliament for almost a week.

Puttur Congress leader seeks high command’s nod for Bharatiya Hindu Parishad to counter BJP's Hindutva agenda

January 7, 2015 by Nasheman

Mangaluru: Even as the former union minister B Janardhana Poojary has warned against forming a Hindu outfit to strengthen the Congress party, a party activist from Dakshina Kannada has now sought high command’s nod for the Bharatiya Hindu Parishat (BHP).

Hemanath Shetty, the Puttur block Congress president, who has floated the BHP, as an alternative to the Vishwa Hindu Parishat (VHP), has expressed hope that party the party leaders in Delhi would consider his request.

Mr Shetty, who met KPCC leaders in Bengaluru on Tuesday, told reporters that he would soon meet senior Congress leaders in Delhi to get their support for the BHP.

“I will make an effort to convince them as to why the Congress should make an effort to create an impression that it is not against Hindus and BJP/VHP does not own Hindus,” he said.

Meanwhile, B Ramanath Rai, the district in-charge minister for Dakshina Kannada said that he had nothing to do with BHP. “Even the Congress party has nothing to do with it,” he added.

Mr Shetty said that the BJP and VHP had been successful projecting themselves as pro-Hindu outfits.

“But, all Hindus do not identify themselves with these two organisations. Hence, there is a need for the Congress to show that it is also with people of all religions including Hindus,” he said.

The activities of BHP would be spread to Udupi and Kodagu after Dakshina Kannada. Vishnu Sahasra yaga would be conducted as part of the launch and Yedaneeru Mutt Keshavananda Bharati Swamiji has been invited for the programme, he said.

Poojary lambasts speaker; says, Congress never formed Hindu outfit in Karnataka

January 6, 2015 by Nasheman

Mangaluru: Expressing his ire towards Karnataka Legislative Assembly Speaker Kagodu Thimmappa for his criticism of the Congress-led state government, veteran Congress leader B Janardhan Poojary questioned the authority of the former to criticise the government which is the job of the opposition in the legislative assembly.

Addressing media persons at a press conference here on Monday, the former union minister said that it was the duty of a Speaker of the Assembly to perform his duties without any discrimination. “To point out the shortcomings of the government, there exists the opposition in the Legislative Assembly. Those who served as Assembly Speakers have upheld the respect and dignity of the post. Have you forgotten that there are rules of procedure during sessions in the assembly?” he questioned Mr Thimmappa.

He also questioned the latter why he had not set things right in the health ministry when he had been the state health minister earlier. People are of the opinion that he is criticising the government since he was not given the portfolio of health ministry, said Mr Poojary.

He also reproached Prime Minister Narendra Modi for remaining silent when certain ministers from his Cabinet made communally-inflammatory remarks. Soon, the country which is being run by Modi will be run not from New Delhi, but from Nagpur, he said, urging the union government to concentrate on developmental schemes instead of their Hindutva agenda.

When asked about the Hindutva organisation reportedly floated by the Congress in Puttur taluk, Mr Poojary said that the Congress district president Ramanath Rai had already clarified that there were no such developments by the party. “If the organisation was to be launched as part of Congress, have they taken permission from the AICC?” he demanded.

“If such a thing occurs, we will all have to commit suicide,” he jested.

Four ways to portray Muslims as India's biggest threat

December 31, 2014 by Nasheman

These four separate incidents in two states – Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh – were driven by just one motive: sparking communal disharmony through false information.

by Aditya Menon, @adityamenon22

1. Abdul Khan, the fictitious ISIS Bangalore bomber: Until a day ago, the Twitter handle @LatestAbdul that ran tweets claiming responsibility for the Church Street blast in Bangalore, was speculated to belong to one of the radicalised Indian Muslim cadres of the ISIS. Now it turns out that the person behind the terror threats is a 17-year-old and reportedly not a Muslim. The police claims the teenager Satish (name changed) was mentally stressed. Going by the name Abdul Khan, Satish had been had been threatening to bomb a college for a while and had tagged members of the police force and politicians in his tweets.

On his Twitter timeline, Satish/Abdul had hurled abuses at a wide range of people such as Bangalore police commissioner MN Reddi, DCP (crime) Abhishek Goyal, Union home minister Rajnath Singh and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He had threatened to bomb the Alvas College in Moodbidri in Dakshina Kannada if police did not release alleged ISIS sympathiser Mehdi Masroor Biswas, who ran the pro-ISIS Twitter handle @ShamiWitness.

On December 22, “Abdul” had tweeted to commissioner Reddi, “Let’s start the game, Karnataka Police cannot catch us.” He threatened that he would kill at least a thousand people. He had also claimed that he and ISIS members were seeking funds, to “blast all of India” if needed.

2. Desh Raj Singh the “professional riot-manufacturer”: On December 15, a buffalo carcass was found on the premises of a temple in Parsauli village in Budhana block of the Muzaffarnagar district of Uttar Pradesh. Also inscribed on the temple wall was an inflammatory message in support of the Islamic State. On December 20, parts of a buffalo carcass were found inside another temple in the area and an idol of Nandi was reportedly found missing. Budhana had witnessed communal violence during last year’s riots in Muzaffarnagar and the two incidents sparked tensions yet again. Union minister Sanjeev Baliyan, who is accused of instigating the riots, also visited the area.

The Uttar Pradesh police’s investigation revealed that this was the handiwork of 35-year old Desh Raj who wanted to instigate riots in the area. Apparently, Raj even confessed that he killed a dog and left its corpse hanging in a mosque to fuel tensions. According to the police, Raj claims that his aim was to ensure that “koi masjid na rahe, sirf mandir rahe (no mosques should remain, only temples should remain)”. Many Muslims who were displaced during the riots last year were settled near Parsauli village. Apparently, this demographic change in the area upset him. Desh Raj would have succeeded had the police not caught him and exposed his plan in time. Looking to fish in troubled waters, the UP unit of the Shiv Sena had threatened to hold a Hindu mahapanchayat in the district if the culprit was not caught.

3. A gang-rape that wasn’t: In August this year, we heard of the ghastly gang-rape of a Hindu girl at a madrassa in Meerut. With each passing day, more and more sordid details of the case started coming out: that the girl was gangraped and forcibly made to convert to Islam; that a flesh trade racket was being run from the madrassa, where she was an employee; that many women were held captive there and then sold off to rich men in Gulf countries. The allegations sparked an outrage and understandably so. Western Uttar Pradesh, which was already a communal tinderbox, came on the verge of another riot.

Two months later, the victim filed a report denying that she was gangraped or forcibly made to convert. She claimed that she had actually eloped from home with a Muslim boy. She wrote in the statement, “I was staying with my parents, but I ran away from home because I feel a threat to my life from my parents and relatives… I went with the boy belonging to a different community out of my own will”. Hindutva groups spared no effort in raking up the “Meerut gangrape” especially as it also came on the eve of crucial by-elections in Uttar Pradesh.

Each and every aspect of the entire tale – from the “forcible conversion” to the “madrassa gangrape”, and of course, “girls being sold in the Gulf” – were straight out of a Hindutva hate-monger’s playbook. Of course, no story involving a Muslim villain is complete without women being forcibly converted to Islam and sold to an Arab shaikh!

4. Pakistani flag, Hindutva flag bearers: In January 2012, six activists of the right-wing Sri Ram Sene were arrested for trying to instigate communal violence in the north Karnataka town of Sindhagi. Their modus operandi was unique. They hoisted the Pakistani flag on the mini Vidhan Soudha premises, blamed the act on the Muslims and, on the very next day, staged demonstrations in the town protesting against the delay in arresting those responsible! Like the young Satish, the Sene cadres were all aged between 18 to 20. The men, who saw themselves as defenders of Indian nationalism, actually took the trouble to stitch the Pakistani flag at their homes. Of course, this act of mischief hardly came as a surprise as Sene chief Pramod Muthalik was himself caught in a sting operation in 2010, discussing how his outfit could instigate a riot for a price.

These four separate incidents in two states – Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh – were driven by just one motive: portraying Muslims as the biggest threat to India.

Now, it is fortunate that the people responsible were caught in these four occasions and the respective state administrations deserve full credit for their work. But there could be numerous cases in which Muslims have been wrongfully accused. We know of the Malegaon, Mecca Masjid and Samjhauta attacks because of the investigation by the late Hemant Karkare and his team. But what about cases where the administration is not unbiased and where the investigation officers aren’t someone like Karkare?

This article first appeared on daily O.

Make Aamir Khan's 'PK' tax free, says Swami Agnivesh

December 31, 2014 by Nasheman

New Delhi: Arya Samaj leader Swami Agnivesh on Tuesday advocated tax exemption for Aamir Khan-starrer ‘PK’ in view of the movie’s “new message” that would encourage scientific temperament among students across India.

Agnivesh welcomed “the film which takes a swipe at superstitious beliefs and false idol worship practiced by some people in the name of religion, said a statement released by his organisation Bandhua Mukti Morcha.

As the film’s storyline questions exploitation of devotees and followers in the name of religion, Agnivesh urged people to “ignore the hue and cry made by some of the so-called religious leaders like Swami Ramdev and other religious outfits like Vishva Hindu Parishad or Jamaat-e-Islami Hind”.

“It is natural that such religious leaders and institutions are bound to get threatened for their survival as the movie hits out at the blind faith,” he said, in the statement.

He congratulated Central Board of Film Certification chairperson Leela Samson for rejecting a review of the screening certificate to the film despite pressure from religious fundamentalists.

Parivar’s re-conversion offensive: Nasty threat to citizenship

December 25, 2014 by Nasheman

by Praful Bidwai

The Sangh Parivar has made a habit out of raking up divisive issues which most people thought were settled at the time of Indian Independence or shortly thereafter. For instance, India adopted Parliamentary democracy in preference to the presidential system after much debate. But the unitarian, pro-centralisation Bharatiya Janata Party has always been partial to the presidential form despite its unsuitability for a huge and diverse country like India.

When it first came to national power in 1998, the BJP-led government set up a high-level commission to review the Constitution. To give the commission minimal credibility, it had to appoint a legal luminary to head it. Mercifully, former Chief Justice MN Venkatachaliah refused to alter the basic structure of the Constitution.

Similarly, the Constituent Assembly debated and settled the issue of equality of all citizens before the law irrespective of their faith, and affirmed the principle of equal, non-discriminatory treatment of all religions by the state (Sarva Dharma Samabhava) as a minimalistic definition of secularism.

But the Parivar, including the BJP, demands primacy and supremacy for the Hindus and equates Hindutva, a toxic communal ideology, with “cultural nationalism”. It regards equal treatment of citizens as “minority appeasement”—despite glaring evidence of the deprivation and discrimination faced especially by Muslims, documented by the Sachar committee and numerous other reports.

Jammu and Kashmir would not have acceded to India in the absence of the autonomy guaranteed by Article 370 of the Constitution—and perhaps not even then. But the BJP cannot live with a relaxed notion of federalism or autonomy for the states, and wants to forcibly integrate Kashmir into India. This will only increase popular alienation and resistance, encourage brutal state repression, and foment social unrest which feeds separatist militancy.

Similarly, the Constituent Assembly debated the question of freedom of conscience at length and enacted Article 25(1), under which “all persons are equally entitled to freedom of conscience and the right freely to profess, practise and propagate religion” subject to “public order, morality and health”, etc., meaning the right would be exercised in a manner which won’t create disorder and undue conflict. The right is not restricted to Indian citizens, but applies to all persons.

This was fiercely opposed by Hindutva proponents of the day, especially Loknath Mishra from Orissa, who contended: “Justice demands that the ancient faith and culture of the land should be given a fair deal, if not restored to its legitimate place after a thousand years of suppression… In the present context what can this word ‘propagation’… mean? It can only mean paving the way for the complete annihilation of Hindu culture, the Hindu way of life and manners.”

He added: “Islam has declared its hostility to Hindu thought. Christianity has worked out the policy of peaceful penetration by the backdoor on the outskirts of our social life. This is because Hinduism did not accept barricades for its protection. Hinduism is just an integrated vision and a philosophy of life…But Hindu generosity has been misused and politics has overrun Hindu culture… [T]he question of communal minorities … is a device to swallow the majority in the long run.”

Mishra’s hysterical outbursts about Hindu victimhood and his plea against the right to propagate religion were strongly opposed not just by Dr Ambedkar, the chairman of the Constitution drafting committee, but also by other Assembly members, who clarified that the right would be available to all, including Sanatani Hindus, Arya Samajis and other Hindutva organisations already engaged in “Shuddhikaran”: of “reconverting” Muslims and Christians to Hinduism.

Gandhiji had deep reservations about both conversion and reconversion, based on religious, not political, grounds: “I disbelieve in the conversion of one person by another. My effort should never be to undermine another’s faith but to make him a better follower of his own faith. This implies belief in the truth of all religions and therefore respect for them…”

This is the opposite of what the Hindu-supremacist Sangh Parivar believes in. Gandhiji didn’t share its view that Islam and Christianity are alien religions or were imposed by conquerors upon unsuspecting, naïve Hindus.

In fact, Christianity in India goes back to the 1st Century AD, and Islam to the 7th Century when the first mosque was opened in Kerala, whereas Hinduism in its present casteist-Brahminical form is a more recent 8th-10th Century phenomenon.

Had the Muslim clergy during Moghul rule over large parts of India or the Catholic Church in Goa (ruled by the Portuguese for four centuries) practised mass-scale forced proselytisation, a majority of their people would not have remained Hindu, as they did. Many embraced these faiths voluntarily—often to escape Dalit oppression sanctioned by actually practised Hinduism. They still do.

The rights to the freedom of conscience and to practise and propagate one’s religion derive from fundamental considerations of citizenship embedded in a charter of democracy. They must be decoupled from people’s religious-ethnic-linguistic identities, and also from the premise that all religions equally capture the divine truth or spiritual essence. The state must remain firmly agnostic on this and not assign equal or dissimilar values to different religions.

Religion is a deeply personal, intimate matter. In a free liberal-democratic society, the state cannot be allowed to dictate or interfere with it—so long as it doesn’t infringe on other citizens’ rights. Article 25(1) is based on this sound principle. Those in the Parivar who oppose it hold the mistaken view that Hindus, especially poor Hindus, convert to Christianity or Islam because they are ignorant, have no agency or mind of their own, and are lured or coerced into doing so.

This is a deplorably paternalistic prejudice typical of the largely upper-caste Indian elite, which also believes that the poor are incapable of making any rational choices. Granting them the right to vote is at best a favour, an unfortunate part of our claim to be the world’s largest democracy. At any rate, they must be “brought back home” (ghar wapsi) through religious reconversion—for their own good.

This is not very different from the belief held by Christian missionaries during the colonial period that they were saving the soul of the heathen by baptising him/her, just as the imperial rulers thought they were on a mission of “civilising” barbarians. Such views are unworthy of a modern, civilised mind, but are widely held by India’s elite.

These views have found an uncouth and violent expression in the Parivar’s reconversion campaign. In Agra, 300 wretchedly poor Bengali-speaking Muslims were lured with the promise of below-poverty-line identity cards and tricked into performing Hindu rituals. Some had red marks painted on their foreheads and were told they had become Hindus!

The campaign, led by RSS affiliate Dharma Jagaran Manch, is backed by the Modi government which demands an anti-conversion law as the price of reining in the rogues who run the ghar wapsi movement. This is doubly offensive. But it reveals something important. Behind the campaign isn’t a lunatic fringe of extremists over which the Parivar has lost control. It’s the BJP itself.

Mr Modi has brought RSS extremists into his government and party, and allowed them a free reign. As home minister Rajnath Singh said (Nov 22), responding to a question about RSS interference in governance: “The RSS is not an external force. The PM and I have been RSS volunteers from childhood and will remain so until our death… When we ourselves are members, then how will the RSS influence us?… One could have understood the argument of any organisation influencing the government if it had a different identity, a different ideology…”

The other day, Mr Modi told BJP MPs not to cross the red line with intemperate statements. The very next day, Yogi Adityanath spewed communal poison. Modi and Co have repeatedly condoned the vituperative utterances of Giriraj Singh, Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti and Sakshi Maharaj too. They have encouraged extremism by changing the terms of public discourse, triggering a rising spiral of Hindutva intolerance.

Thus, Christians are made to feel insecure with the officially-ordered observance (since modified) of “good governance” day on Christmas Day, also the birth anniversary of Hindu Mahasabha leader Madan Mohan Malaviya and Atal Behari Vajpayee. And all secular people must suffer the pain of Ms Sushma Swaraj’s advocacy of making the Gita the national scripture.

The message that emanates from these concentric circles of BJP leaders is clear: hate-speech is the new normal; lionising Nathuram Godse is no longer taboo; the communal lumpen’s time has come; “our” government won’t stop ghar wapsi; we’ll temporarily postpone it, but take it up soon, under another name if necessary; if we could “accomplish” the Babri demolition and Gujarat-2002, nothing can prevent us from converting Muslims and Christians, whether in Aligarh or elsewhere, at a named price of respectively Rs 5 lakhs and Rs 2 lakhs.

What’s scary is not that all this distracts attention from the BJP’s real agenda of “development”; but that shifting political goalposts through violent communalism has become its main agenda.

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