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Canada-based NRI threatens to kill Anna Hazare

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anna-hazare

Mumbai: Veteran social crusader Anna Hazare has received a death threat from a Canada-based Indian resident, an aide said here on Wednesday.

Hazare’s office has lodged a complaint with Thane Police and also written to the Maharashtra director general of police about the death threats posted on Facebook on February 24-25.

According to the complaint with the DGP, a Canada-based NRI Gagan Vidhu made a post on Februray 24 afternoon: “Time has come to kill Anna Hazare. I will be next Nathuram Godse soon.”

Three ‘likes’ were notched for this threatening post.

Gagan Vidhu expanded his threat the following day, on February 25: “… I am not kidding. I am coming to India soon. I will arrange for gun and shoot this modern ghandi (Gandhi). I hate (Arvind) Kejriwal so much I can do anything to spoil him.”

The post continued: “I have collected all the documents – My friend Neil in New Delhi is working on it. We will expose Kejriwal soon, then I have to play role of Nathuram Godse. I am not joking. I am very serious. I can do anything for my Bharat Mata.”

Not taking the threats lightly, an aide Ashok O. Gautam has lodged a first information report (FIR) with Thane police and sought immediate action in the matter.

The death threat has come ahead of the 77-year-old Hazare’s proposed 1,100-km-long three-month march (padyatra) from Gandhi Ashram in Wardha to Ramlila Maidan in New Delhi to protest the Land Acquisition Act. The march schedule will be finalised next Monday.

(IANS)

Love Godse, hate Tipu Sultan: Why the ‘Tiger of Mysore’ still troubles the Saffrons

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Tipu Sultan

by Subhash Gatade

The saffrons have done it again.

They have once again showed utter contempt towards the legacy of legendary Tipu Sultan, (20 November 1750  – 4 May 1799) one of those rare kings who was martyred on the battlefield, while fighting the Britishers at the historic battle at Srirangpatnam and whose martyrdom fighting the colonials preceded the historic revolt of the 1857 by around 50 years. Not very many people even know that he had even sacrificed his children while fighting them.

The immediate reason for stigmatisation of Tipu Sultan, by the leaders of Hindutva Brigade, concerns move by the Karnataka state government led by the Congress to celebrate Tipu Jayanti or Tipu’s birth anniversary. The Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had made this announcement releasing a book ‘Tipu Sultan: A Crusader for Change’ by historian Prof B Sheik Ali.

A ruler much ahead of his times Tipu Sultan, a scholar, soldier and a poet, was an apostle of Hindu-Muslim unity, was fond of new inventions, and is called innovator of the world’s first war rocket, one who felt inspired by the French Revolution and who despite being a ruler called himself Citizen and even had planted the tree of ‘Liberty’ in his palace. History bears witness to the fact that Tipu sensed the designs of the British and tried to forge broader unity with the domestic rulers and even tried to connect with French and the Turks and the Afghans to give a fitting reply to the hegemonic designs of the British and had defeated the British army twice with his superior planning and better techniques earlier.

An interesting episode in his eventful life throwing light on his character which the saffrons love to forget is worth emphasising. It was the year 1791 when Maratha Army raided the Sringeri Shakaracharya mutt and temple, plundered the monastery of all its valuables and even killed many. The incumbent Shankaracharya wrote to Tipu Sultan for help.  He immediately ordered the Asaf of Bednur to provide help to the mutt. An exchange of around thirty letters written in Kannada is available which took place between Tipu Sultan and the Shankaracharya, which were discovered in 1916 by the Director of Archaeology in Mysore.

Expressing his indignation at the raid Tipu had written

“People who have sinned against such a holy place are sure to suffer the consequences of their misdeeds at no distant date in this Kali age in accordance with the verse: “Hasadbhih kriyate karma rudadbhir-anubhuyate” (People do [evil] deeds smilingly but suffer the consequences crying).”

It is evident that the proposal to celebrate Tipu Jayanti has stirred a fresh controversy in the state. BJP, the main opposition party, has termed it ‘vote collection’ exercise. One of their senior leaders, called Tipu a ‘tyrant’ and even questioned the government’s move to celebrate the day. Another saffron leader D H Shankaramurthy called Tipu “anti- Kannada” as he “was not a Kannadiga”. He also blamed him for ‘replacing Kannada – which was supposedly the official language before Tipu ruled Mysuru- with Persian.’ People can brush up their memories and can find that this was the same gentleman who as higher education minister had announced his move to ‘obliterate the great Tipu Sultan’s name from the pages of Kannada history.’ It is a different matter it was a time when BJP shared power with JD(S) then and this move faced stiff opposition from different sections of society and had to be dropped ultimately.

It need be reminded that last year the decision of the Karnataka government to honour him with a tableau at the Republic Day parade had provoked the Hindutva Brigade. They had also felt agitated when the then central government was contemplating naming a central university after him. It was the time when UPA II government had decided to set up a non-religious central university bearing Tipu’s name in Srirangpatnam – the very place he was martyred.

Two years back when countdown had already begun for the BJP led government in the state another stalwart from the saffron family – the then education minister of Karnataka – had unashamedly compared Tipu  to Britishers and called him “a foreigner” like British (Jan 25, 2013, 16:38 IST , DNA).

It is worth looking into why the saffrons love to hate Tipu Sultan and what is the basis of their allegations against him. But before that it would be opportune here to look into how ‘falsification of history’ to suit the ‘divide’ and ‘rule policy of the Britishers vis-a-vis Tipu has been going on since quite some time. In this connection Prof B N Pandey’s speech in the Rajya Sabha, titled ‘History in the Service of Imperialism’ is worth quoting (1977). Professor B. N. Pandey, Professor of History in Allahabad University, who later became Governor of Orissa, had narrated his experience. In his speech he mentioned how way back in 1928

“..[w]hen he was a Professor of History in Allahabad University some students came to him with a book written by one Professor Harprasad Shastri, Professor of Sanskrit of Calcutta University in which it was mentioned that Tipu Sultan told 3000 Brahmins to convert to Islam otherwise they will be killed, and those 3000 Brahmins committed suicide rather than becoming Muslims. On reading this Professor B. N. Pandey wrote to Professor Harprasad Shastri asking him on what basis have you written this? What is the source of your information? Prof. Harprasad Shastri wrote back that the source of information is the Mysore Gazetteer. Then Prof. Pandey wrote to Prof. Shrikantia, Professor of History in Mysore University asking him whether it is correct that in Mysore Gazetteer it is mentioned that Tipu Sultan told 3000 Brahmins to convert to Islam. Prof. Shrikantia wrote back that this is totally false, he had worked in this field and there is no such mention in the Mysore Gazetteer, rather the correct version was just the reverse, namely, that Tipu Sultan used to give annual grants to 156 Hindu Temples, he used to send grants to the Shankaracharya of Shringheri, etc.”

“it is perhaps ironic that the aggressive Hinduism of some members of the Indian Community in the 1990s should draw upon an image of Tipu which, as we shall see, was initially constructed by the Subcontinent’s colonisers.”

Page 2, Brittlebank, Kate (1999). Tipu Sultan’s Search for Legitimacy. Delhi: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-563977-3

Anyone who has closely followed stories of Tipu Sultan’s alleged religious persecution of Hindus and Christians would find that works of early British authors – like Kirkpatrick and Wilks – acts as a basis for all of them who were very much against Tipu Sultan. In fact they had strong vested interest in presenting Tipu Sultan as a tyrant and project Britishers as the ‘liberators’. In her recent work Brittlebank also writers that both Wilks and Kirkpatrick had taken part in the wars against Tipu Sultan and were closely connected to the administrations of Lord Cornwallis and Richard Wellesley, 1st Marquess Wellesley and therefore ‘must be used with particular care’.

Mohibbul Hasan, in his monograph ‘The History of Tipu Sultan (Delhi) 1971, p 36, sheds light on this demonisation of Tipu. He writes

“The reasons why Tipu was reviled are not far to seek. Englishmen weire prejudiced against him because they regarded him as their most formidable rival and an inveterate enemy, and because, unlike other Indian rulers, he refused to become a tributary of the English Company. Many of the atrocities of which he has been accused were allegedly fabricated either by persons embittered and angry on account of the defeats which they had sustained at his hands, or by the prisoners of war who had suffered punishments which they thought they did not deserve. He was also misrepresented by those who were anxious to justify the wars of aggression which the Company’s Government had waged against him. Moreover, his achievements were delibrately belittled and his character blackened in order that the people of Mysore might forget him and rally round the Raja, thus helping in the consolidation of the new regime” The History of Tipu Sultan (Delhi) 1971 p368

And this one sided presentation of history is not limited Tipu only. In fact, on further studies one finds a deep resonance between how the colonial historians understood/packaged Indian history and how the communals used it to their convenience. James Mill in his book ‘The History of British India’ divided Indian history into three periods Hindu, Muslim and British. This problematic characterisation not only silenced/invisiblised the Buddhist/Jain and various other groups role/contribution but it also tried to present a very homogenised view of the periods – discounting any possibility of fissures within them. Interestingly it also took care not to mention ‘Christian’ in case of ‘British’ while dividing Indian history. Prof D N Jha in one of his interviews (www.countercurrents.org) tells :

When Majumdar authored a multi-volume Indian history published by Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, he devoted much space to “Hindu period,” promoting revivalism and communalism. It was the communal history produced by colonial historians that influenced views about Muslims being “foreigners” and Hindus being “indigenous”.

History writing in post-independent India, which drew on colonial writings, did talk about  “the great Indian past”. RSS and its ideologues today are busy propagating this very myth of “Greater India” Prof D N Jha further tells :

The anti-Muslim attitude of the RSS was shaped by the colonial historians such as H. M. Elliot and John Dawson, who compiled The History of India as Told by Its Own Historians . They denounced Muslims, contending that they destroyed temples and prosecuted Hindus. The real purpose of Elliot’s formulation was to inject a heavy dose of communalism in the minds of people of the 19th century.

It is now history how the colonials distorted our history to suit their imperial interests. One very well knows they called our uprisings as mutinies, our heroes as villains, and our freedom fighters as usurpers and terrorists.

For a formation like RSS and its allied organisations, which kept away from the heroic anti-colonial struggle supposedly to concentrate on building organisation and was in fact engaged in breaking broad unity of people cutting across community lines against the Britishers this move to have a biased view of Tipu does not appear surprising. Perhaps by attacking Tipu Sultan, and presenting a distorted version of his legacy, the saffrons think that they would be able to avoid discussion on their not so glorious role in the anti-colonial struggle. But can anyone forget that there is enough documentary evidence to prove that Hedgewar – founder of RSS and Golwalkar, one of its chief ideologue, who shaped the organisation, asked/instructed the RSS members not to participate in the anti-British campaigns/struggles.

Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, who is held in high esteem by them, even went to the extent of asking Hindus to join the British led military when on the one had the ‘Quit India’ movement was at its peak (1942) which had posed tremendous challenges before the Britishers and on the other Azad Hind Fauz led by Subhash Chandra Bose was delivering mortal blows to it in the war.  In fact Savarkar went on an all India tour holding public meetings with due support from the rulers then and tried to mobilise the Hindus – under the slogan ‘Hinduise the Military, Militarise Hinduism’ – to join British forces. Not only that the Hindutva forces had no qualms in joining hands with Muslim League and other Islamist Parties to form coalition governments in Bengal and Punjab and other adjoining states during that tumultous period. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee, who was instrumental in establishing Bharatiya Jan Sangh, the first political outfit launched by RSS, who is revered by the saffrons was a member of the cabinet led by Shahid Suhrawardy then in Bengal. It is clear that when there was time to fight the anti-colonials, the saffrons stayed away from it and when they were facing crisis because of people’s struggles they went to the extent of propping their regime by providing legitimacy to their actions.

The continued stigmatisation of Tipu by the saffrons and their refusal to honour the sacrifices he made fighting the Britishers presents before the Hindutva Brigade another set of dilemma. What to say of all those Hindu kings and warriors– whom they rever – who committed atrocities on ordinary people and looted. In fact, one of their most revered Maratha king had raided Surat – a main trading town in those times – and plundered it like a marauder more than once. If Tipu is a ‘bigot’ in their view then what would they say about the Marathas led by the Peshwas then who had raided the Sringeri Shakaracharya mutt and temple and plundered it ? And it was not the only attack by Hindu Kings on Hindu religious places, one can cite n number of examples from pages of history which demonstrate other similar attacks undertaken by these kings at different places. What would they say about the Peshwas under whose regime Shudras-Atishudras were denied all human rights and Dalits were even compelled to wear a earthen pot so that they even their spit does not fall on the streets?

“We plan to lay the foundation stone of a temple for Akhand Bharat Mata and Godseji on January 30. We also plan a big congregation of people where the ashes of Godse ji, currently kept in Pune, will be brought to this temple in Sitapur. We are working towards creating a Hindu Rashtra and an undivided Bharat is our dream. We will immerse his ashes only after his dream has been realised,” Hindu Mahasabha’s working president Kamlesh Tiwari told Headlines Today.

(http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/godse-temple-hindu-group-gandhi-killer-nathuram-ghar-wapsi-akhil-bharat-mahasabha/1/408811.html)

The ‘Hate Tipu’ syndrome much visible in the ranks of the RSS and all its affiliated as well as like minded organisations needs to be seen also in the backdrop of the growing euologisation of Nathuram Godse, the Hindutva terrorist who assasinated Mahatam Gandhi. (for more details on this episode see http://kafila.org/2013/11/15/first-terrorist-of-independent-india) and their continued silence over it.

Not some time ago BJP MP Sakshi Maharaj stirred a huge controversy when he called Godse a nationalist and a patriot. In October, a Malayalam mouthpiece of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh had said that Nathuram Godse should have killed former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and not Gandhi. The writer was none other than a BJP leader who had contested elections to the Parliament . Forget taking any action against this glorification of Godse, RSS tried rather unsuccessfully to distance itself from this article saying that it was his ‘private opinion’. We also know that moves are even afoot to build this ‘great Patriots’ temples all over the country.   (http: //www. thehindu.com/ news/national/other-states/meerut-villagers-rally-against-godse-temple/article6754164.ece) The Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Mahasabha – whose most prominent leader Savarkar was the main conspirator in Gandhi’s assasination (Thanks to the painstaking investigation done by Jeevanlal Kapoor Commission) – also plans to establish Godse’s busts at different places in the country.

A close look at this ‘Love Godse’ campaign and RSS-BJP’s silence over it can be construed in two ways.

One, it wants to send a message to the core constituency which yearns to carve out a Hindu Rashtra that they should not get misled by the talk of ‘development’ which became necessary because of electoral compulsions.

Secondly, by avoiding any discussion on Gandhi’s assasination and the role of Godse and other Hindutva organisations in it, they want to move ahead unhindered in co-opting Gandhi.

It is a different matter that people are slowly waking up to the real meaning glorification of Godse and are coming forward to challenge their machinations. A rally was held in Meerut recently which was attended by thousands of people is an indication of the brewing storm.

Subhash Gatade is the author of Pahad Se Uncha Aadmi (2010), Godse’s Children: Hindutva Terror in India,(2011) and The Saffron Condition: The Politics of Repression and Exclusion in Neoliberal India (2011). He is also the Convener of New Socialist Initiative.

Resurgence of Godse worship

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Nathuram Godse

Times are changing; and changing fast. During last many decades most Hindu nationalists have kept the appreciation of their hero, Nathuram Godse under wraps. The programs appreciating his politics did use to make small news here and there some time; but as such it was a muted act not much publicized and generally kept as a low key affair. During last few years Pradeep Dalvi’s play in Marathi, Mee Nathuram Boltoy (I, Nathuram speaking), attacking Gandhi and upholding Godse, drew packed houses in various places in Maharashtra. Many people had also protested against staging of this play off and on.

With the new dispensation coming to power (Modi Sarkar, May, 2014) many communal assertions, acts and intimidations are up in the air. It seems these acts are being silently appreciated by those in power. This inference is logical as none in the positions of power have either reprimanded or opposed these Godse acolytes. The main reason is that due to the compulsions of power they do not openly support the Godse appreciation clubs. They also do not condemn these voices as they too belong to the Godse ideology of Hindu nationalism. This Hindu nationalism in popular parlance is projected as ‘Nationalism’, keeping the Hindu prefix in the silent mode.

The latest in the series of acts-statements by this Godse appreciation clubs is the bhumi pujan (earth prayer-a ritual before beginning of new construction) by Hindu Mahasabha for Godse temple in Meerut (Dec 25 2014). The activists of Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Mahasabha are all set to build the country’s first temple for murderer of Mahatma Gandhi in Meerut. There are several demands from the Hindu Mahasabha offices to install his statues. The Hindu Mahasabha has requested land from the Centre to erect a statue of Godse in the national capital. The paperback issue of Godse’s book is already running into second reprint.

The BJP MP Sakhshi Maharaj recently called Godse as Nationalist; of course he retracted it soon; apparently to ensure that the ruling party, BJP, is not embarrassed on the issue. At the same time, BJP’s parent organization RSS has come out with two books meant for internal circulation. These books claim to ensure that RSS viewpoint is reached to its Pracharaks, swayamsevaks. These books are RSS-Ek Parichay (RSS-an introduction) and RSS-Ek Saral Parichay (RSS-a simple introduction), the second of which is written by veteran RSS member MG Vaidya. Mr. Vaidya claims that “a narrative of accusation was built around RSS” so the book to dispel that. Essentially these books aim to dissociate RSS from Godse. While the Prime Minister Mr. Modi is maintaining maun (silence) on the subject the opposition leaders are strongly criticizing Hindu Mahasabha’s and others’ views on the murder of Mahatma Gandhi by Nathuram Godse.

What is the relationship between Godse and RSS? Was he part of RSS and later left it or was he part of it and also joined Hindu Mahasabha in mid 1930s? As for as official line is concerned RSS has tried to keep its slate clean by stating that it had nothing to do with Godse and he was not a member of RSS when he killed Mahatma Gandhi. Just to recall, in early 1998 Professor Rajendra Singh, the then RSS chief, had stated “Godse was motivated by akhand Bharat. His intention was good but he used the wrong method.” (April 27 1998, Outlook)

How do we understand the whole issue? The major backdrop to understand the issue is to see the politics of Hindu nationalism as expressed through Hindu Mahasbah and RSS. These organizations remained aloof from freedom struggle. Hindu Mahasabha (HM), was more interested in the immediate participation in politics, as the flag bearers of Hindu communal politics, and the RSS wanted to concentrate on making a network of ‘cadres’ before forming organizations and infiltrating into different arena of education, culture, electoral politics and state apparatus. There was a lot of overlap in the agenda of these organizations as they were both working for the common goal of Hindu Nation. Nathuram Godse, ‘uniquely’ symbolized the fusion of both these two trends.

RSS could get away with dissociating with Godse or rather underplaying Godse’s association with RSS as there was no official record of members of RSS, and so they could disown Godse at legal level. In 1930 Godse joined RSS and very soon rose to be the bauddhik pracharak(intellectual propagator). Like both HM & RSS he was ardent Hindu Nationalist.

As a strong Hindutvawadi he was extremely critical of Gandhi’s ahimsa (non-violence) and the anti British movements led by him. Godse had very poor opinion of Gandhi’s role in freedom movement. RSS-Hindu Mahasbha kept criticizing Gandhi for his involving all religious communities in the freedom movement. Gandhi kept religion as personal matter and projected overarching Indian identity for all. This was what annoyed the HM-RSS combine, as they wanted only Hindus to be recognized as Indians. Godse’s assessment of nationalism of Gandhi is expressed in a way which identifies nationalism with Hindu kings. He used very peculiar parameters to assess Gandhi, “His (Gandhi’s, added) followers cannot see what is clear even to the blind viz. that Gandhi was a mere pigmy before Shivaji, Rana Pratap and Guru Govind (ibid Pg. 40, Why I assassinated Gandhi?) and finally about the winning of swaraj and freedom I maintain the Mahatma’s contribution was negligible.” (Ibid. pg. 87)

He held Mahatma responsible for appeasing Muslims, and thereby the formation of Pakistan. About his association with RSS and Hindu Mahasabha, he writes, “Having worked for the uplift of the Hindus I felt it necessary to take part in political activities of the country for the protection of just rights of Hindus. I therefore left the Sangh and joined Hindu Mahasabha (Godse, ‘Why I Assassinated Mahatma Gandhi’ 1993, Pg. 102).

Hindu Mahasabha at that time the only political party of Hindutva, and he became general secretary of its Pune Branch. In due course he started a newspaper, as founder editor, called Agrani or Hindu Rashtra. As such Gandhi murder was not on the charges propagated by them (Partition and insistence on paying Pakistan’s dues (55 crore) from the treasury), but due to the basic deep differences with the politics of Gandhi and that of the followers of the Hindu Rashtra. These two reasons are proffered merely as a pretext for the same.

What does Godse mean when he says that he left RSS? Is it true? This truth behind Nathuram’s leaving RSS, is clarified by his brother Gopal Godse. In an interview given to ‘The Times of India’ (25 Jan 98); Gopal Godse, who was also an accomplice in the murder when tells us the reality behind Nathuram’s statement that ‘he left RSS’. Gopal Godse says “The appeasement policy followed by him (Gandhi, added) and imposed on all Congress governments’ encouraged the Muslim separatist tendencies that eventually created Pakistan…Technically and theoretically he (Nathuram) was a member (of RSS), but he stopped workings for it later. His statement in the court that he had left the RSS was to protect the RSS workers who would be imprisoned following the murder. On the understanding that they (RSS workers) would benefit from his dissociating himself from the RSS, he gladly did it.”

So this is the logic of Godse saying that he ‘left’ RSS. The dual membership (RSS+Hindu Mahasabha) was not a problem. Thus the murder of Gandhi was steeped in both the streams of Hindutva politics, RSS and HM. His editing the paper called, ‘Hindu Rashtra was quite symbolic. This murder had a broad sanction of the followers of HM and RSS, as they celebrated Mahatma’s murder by distributing sweets, “All their (RSS) leaders’ speeches were full of communal poison. As a final result, the poisonous atmosphere was created in which such a ghastly tragedy (Gandhi’s murder) became possible. RSS men expressed their joy and distributed sweets after Gandhi’s death.” (excerpt from Sardar Patel’s letters to M S Golwalkar and S P Mookerjee.). Godse was no freak. The way Hindu communalists were spewing poison against Gandhi, it was the logical outcome of their politics. And Godse had the ‘benefit’ of the teachings of both RSS as well as HM. They used the word wadh for this murder. This word wadh stands for killing a demon who is harming the society. In a way Gandhi murder was the first major offensive of the Hindutva politics on Indian Nationalism; in a way it was to herald the onset of bigger strides which Hindutva politics has assumed during last few decades, and this is what we are witnessing today.

So though officially RSS family kept dissociating from Gandhi’s murder by Godse, in private many members not only uphold the dastardly act, but also have even succeeded in undermining the importance of Mahatma and they do ‘sympathize’ with Godse. This complex trick kept going on so far. Now with Modi Sarkar there is no need to hide the true ideology and thinking of this combine and so the open efforts to glorify Godse!

Hindu outfit holds ceremony for 'Godse's temple'; probe ordered

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Nathuram Godse

Meerut: Activists of Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Mahasabha have allegedly performed a ceremony here for construction of a “temple” dedicated to Mahatma Gandhi’s assassin Nathuram Godse, following which the administration has ordered a probe into the matter.

The “bhumi pujan” (prayers) was performed at a temple on Shaarda Road here yesterday.

During the event, the national general secretary of Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Mahasabha Acharya Madan allegedly praised Godse, calling him a true patriot and criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the issues of Ram Temple and revocation of Article 370 from Jammu and Kashmir.

Mahasabha members also allegedly spoke of launching a campaign for conversion.

Acting District Magistrate Navneet Singh Chahal told PTI today that the district administration has taken the incident seriously and ordered the police officer in charge of the area to probe it.

Case will be registered and strict action will be taken against whoever is found guilty, he said.

SSP Onkar Singh said the matter is serious.

The Local Intelligence Unit has been asked to submit a report on the incident, he said, adding that strict action will be taken against those involved after the report is received.

No one will be allowed to disturb the law and order of the city and police will deal with such people strictly, he said.

(PTI)

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

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home-coming-Hinduism

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.

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.

Protest in Lok Sabha over Godse, BJP MP regrets remarks

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Sakshi Maharaj

New Delhi: BJP MP Sakshi Maharaj Friday regretted in the Lok Sabha his remarks eulogizing Mahatma Gandhi’s assassin Nathuram Godse after vociferous protests by the opposition.

The house was in uproar over the issue as soon as it met for the day until the MP from Unnao in Uttar Pradesh finally said: “I regret my remarks and take back my words.”

The Congress earlier sought the suspension of the question hour but Speaker Sumitra Mahajan rejected the request.

Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge said the killer of Mahatma Gandhi was being praised, “which is a serious matter”.

Members of the opposition gathered near the speaker’s podium and shouted “Hey Ram!” — the last two words Gandhi uttered before he fell to the killer’s bullets — forcing the house to be adjourned for 10 minutes.

On Thursday, the issue had disrupted the Rajya Sabha.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu said the government did not associate itself with the remarks made by the Unnao MP and the concerned member was ready to apologize.

Soon after, Sakshi Maharaj said: “I take back my words. I have already taken back my words. I respect Bapu. They (opposition) don’t have any issue, so they are creating an issue. I regret if some people have been hurt.”

An unrelenting opposition insisted that he should apologize unconditionally.

“The entire nation is worried… He should render an unconditional apology,” Kharge said.

After this, the MP said: “I regret my remarks and take back my words.”

(IANS)

“Teach about Godse, the assassin of Mahatma Gandhi as national hero”: Global Hindu Foundation to Ministry of Education

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by Teesta Setalvad

Nathuram Godse, the assassin of Mahatma Gandhi is a “national hero” who “fought for independence from the British” and whose reputation has been tarnished by previous governments and who should figure prominently among the new list of national heroes to be taught in all government schools.

So urges a controversial letter dated November 15, 2014 addressed to Smriti Irani, cabinet minister for Human Resources Development, and posted on the home page of savetemples.org, the website of the “Mission to Save Hinduism and Hindu Temples”. Touted as a ‘Project of Global Hindu Heritage Foundation (GHHF) USA’, the mission operates out of the ‘Save Temple Office’ opened in Hyderabad city in June 2012.

The letter urges that the Modi government should encourage teaching about national heroes “who sacrificed their life in order to guarantee freedom for the future generations.” According to the letter Godse is one such.

“…It is time to teach about their heroism, their love for Bharath, their struggles with British rulers, their imprisonment, their hangings and/or suffering. Their martyrdom is unparalleled and unmatched. They cheerfully sacrificed their life for the sake of the people of Bharat to enjoy their unbridled freedom with dignity and pride.” Others, who figure in this letter along with Godse who deserve to be taught about are Balagangadhar Tilak, Lala Lajpat Rai, Bipin Chandra Pal, Subhash Chandra Bose, Veer Savarkar, Bhagat Singh, Raj Guru, Sukhdev, Chandrasekhar Azhad, Vasudev Balwant Phadke and the Chapekar brothers.” Needless to say, Gandhi does not figure in the list; nor does Jawaharlal Nehru, or even Sardar Patel.

It appears that the Save Temple project is funded entirely through saffron dollars raised in the US. The appeal for donations towards the end of the letter informs potential donors that the GHHF is exempt from the US federal income tax rules. It is not clear whether the Save Temple Project is registered under FCRA.

The letter also stated that most of the books written by Marxists, Muslims and Western historians “are so slanted, abusive, hateful, repulsive and intolerable to the true history of India, so derogatory to the national freedom fighters, so demonizing to Sanatana dharma, so negligent of the contributions of great emperors to establish Hindutva, and so boastful of the Muslim aggressors as contributors to the Indian culture”. The letter extols the virtues of Subramanian Swamy for “calling for the burning of the writings by Nehruvian historians.”

The letter adds that, “We feel that it is time to fire all these left wing historians who have stabbed the Mother India for many decades and employ those scholars who appreciate the richness of the Sanatana Dharma into National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT), Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE), National Censor Board and other agencies. It is time to reclaim what is lost, revamp the whole school curriculum, and rewrite the history debunking these leftwing Nehruvian historians.”

This letter comes at a time when the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s brand of history writing is attempting a complete capture of India’s institutes of higher learning and research, and also at a time when the RSS backed Shiksha Bachao Andolan is planning a national level conference at Ujjain of 200 ‘academics and experts’ to ‘review’ the emphasis and focus of the previous Radhakrishnan, Mudaliar and Kothari Commission reports. Supremacist and exclusivist brands of ‘history writing’ are making their political advantage felt with their unquestionable hold on the Modi government.

In this letter sent to Smruti Irani today, the Global Hindu Heritage Foundation has also, chosen specifically to advise the Modi government to misinform Indian children about the three sites of perpetrated conflict that have had specific import for the politics of communal mobilisation in India since the mid- 1980s, that is Faizabad-Ayodhya, Kashi and Mathura. The issue of the site where the Babri Masjid, a 400 year old Mosque stood is at present before the Supreme Court of India after the Mosque was illegally demolished on December 6, 1992. The other two sites, at Mathura and Kashi, have been at the heart of the BJP-RSS-VHP-Bajrang Dal mobilisation that aims to ‘re-claim’ or ‘destroy’ the Mosques that stand cheek by jowl to temples at these sites. Presently they are governed by the Places of Worship Act, 1991 have also mentioned in a Supreme Court directive, generally protecting their status. An infamous slogan of far right in India since 1992 when the 400 year old Mosque was demolished has been,’ Abhi to bas yah jhanki hai, Kashi Mathura baki hai’ (This gives but a glimpse, Kashi/Banaras and Mathura still remain [as the objective]).

This letter quite clearly exhorts the Modi government that, school text books, “should also teach children as to how Krishna Janma Sthala was destroyed, how Ayodhya was converted to Babri Masjid, how Kashi Vishwanath Temple was destroyed and built Mosque in front of the Temple, and how more than 2000 Temples were converted to Mosques.”

Other suggestions coming from the Global Hindu Heritage Foundation include the compulsory teaching of the Bhagwad Geeta in schools where the letter says a “….a mere chanting of few verses is enough to awaken the consciousness of the individual and maintain the balance between the body, mind and soul. In fact, it improves the brain capacity to absorb the knowledge; teach the individual the responsibility of their dharma; emphasize the importance of bhakti, Jnana, karma and raja yoga; equip the individual fearless and give the needed strength to face the problems at hand; encourages one to think and uphold the dharma to protect human existence; and so on. No age is bar to learn and chant Bhagavad Gita. As young as three year olds chant the divine song. Its message is unmatched, unparalleled and unrivalled.”

The Ramayana should also be taught since “ Rama’s name is on the lips of every Hindu. He taught us to be a perfect son, a perfect brother, perfect husband, a perfect enemy, and a perfect king. He taught us how to live according to dharma in the face of un-surmountable hurdles.

Unashamed in its motive to convert history teaching – from a vibrant discipline with specific disciplinary tools for interpretation, analysis, verification and authentication that include contemporaneous sources, an understanding of archaeology, and secondary sources, a thorough reading of ancient and medieval languages — to a politico-religious project, the Global Hindu Heritage Foundation says it would like to see “Rama portrayed as a living national hero and Indian history as Sanatani (upper caste) Hindu… Lord Rama, who is known for his compassion, gentleness, kindness, righteousness, non-hatred, and integrity, has served as role model for all of us to follow for millennia. His respect for father and obedience to his command was unparalleled that all humanity should emulate. Guru-Sishya relationship was emboldened in Ramayana for all of us follow, cherish and nurture, especially in the modern society…”

“…Sita, Lakshmana, Bharatha, Dasaratha, Jataayu, Vali, Vibhishana, and Lord Hanuman have shaped the mind, body and soul of Bharath for many millennia. Every character teaches us how to live a dharmic life and how to establish Ramarajya where justice is rendered without consideration for the name and fame. Ramayana taught us the richness of valor, dharma, loyalty, mutual respect, bhakti, spirituality, wisdom and Jnana to be followed in daily life to uplift the spirit of human life. The message of Ramayana spread all over Asia and even today its popularity is unabated in countries like Cambodia, Java, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Sumatra, Thailand, Mauritius, Bali and other countries.”

Indians should be taught about the ‘Hindu Holocaust’ when 80 million Hindus were stabbed by Muslims in barabaric slaughter according to the Global Hindu Foundation in a letter to the government of India’s Minister for Human Resources Development (MHRD) Smruti Irani today. Gory and unsubstantiated descriptions of Hindus who refused to convert and who were taken atop the mountains and killed with ‘blood flowing from the mountain to the streets below’ find mention in this letter from this Hyderabad based affiliate of the sangh parivar.

The website of the GHF states that it is aimed towards “ Empowering Hindus- Towards a Hindu Worldview” and the controversial letter dated November 15, 2014 addressed to Smruti Irani, cabinet minister for Human Resources Development, and posted on the home page of savetemples.org, the website of the “Mission to Save Hinduism and Hindu Temples”. Touted as a ‘Project of Global Hindu Heritage Foundation, (GHHF) USA’, the mission operates out of the ‘Save Temple Office’ opened in Hyderabad city in June 2012.

The letter of the GHF, dated November 15, 2014 clearly emboldened by the regime in power in New Delhi, also states that students should be given a realistic picture of the brutal regimes of the past (read Muslim and Christian) when ‘Murthies were broken and remnants of Hindu statues used to build Mosques.” Students should also be taught in schools about how “how many Temples were converted to Mosques, how many Christians are converting the Hindus with deception and allurement, how minority appeasement is affecting the quality education and such similar issues should be addressed. Vast literature dealing with “Islamic onslaught” and “Goa Inquisition” should also be included to know the history of denial of fundamental rights to Hindus.”

The politicised project to completely colour and distort the teaching of the social sciences with a majoritarian and supremacist worldview, one moreover that stokes false hatreds against Muslims and Chritisans is in tune with the Shiksha Bachao Andolan (SBA) project run by Dinanath Batra.

Other subjects that the GHF feels should be taught to students through government run schools”

Great Saints of India

“…School books should include the history, message and glory of great saints of India such as Adi Sankara, Madhvacharya, Ramanujacharya, Meerabai, Kabir, Tukaram, Eknath, Gnaneswar, Namdev, Bhagawan Nityananda, Satya Saibaba, Sri Pada Vallabha, Narasimha Swamy, Samarth Ramdas, Veda Vyasa, Valmiki, Sri Aurobindo, Muktananda, Gorakhnad, Sri Prabhupada, Chinmayananda, Ramana Maharishi Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, Swami Vivekananda and host of others. They have kept alive the richness of our culture in spite of the attempts destroy the ancient civilization.

“…The saints have played significant role in the preservation propagating the ideas and philosophies that were necessary to bring unity and much needed reforms to bring the appropriate changes in the society. Considering the Mughal domination of the India, the saints veered and helped bhaktas toward Bhakti marga, the path of devotion, instead encouraging them to conduct Temples pujas, especially North India.

Hindu Temples – History and relevance

“It is time to know the power, energy, and vibrations present in Hindu Temples. They are the place of worship where devotees worship their chosen Gods at different times day in and day out. Devotees go to the Hindu Temples to experience the infinite divine power through their individual prayers as well as collective worship. Hindu Temples have been built over more than twenty centuries providing opportunity to practice their social, religious and cultural milieu. Each Temple is dedicated to one of the manifestation of infinite power of the unfathomable divinity of the Almighty. Every Temple will have a sanctum sanctorum with a presiding Deity who represents the power and energy of GOD. Hindus believe that God is ever powerful, all pervasive, everywhere and everything is in God.

“…The Hindu Temples have served as centers of learning and knowledge; foci for social gathering; institutes for art, dance and music; hubs for upholding the dharmic values; nucleus for peace and nonviolence; lighthouses for philosophy and spirituality, cornerstones for worship services; promoters of age old, time tested universal values; institutes for yoga and meditation; holy places for conducting different festivals and rituals; and nexus for expressing devotion through music, singing and chanting; and centers for social services.

Gomata

“…Cow is revered, respected and honored and is regarded as a holy mother. Cows milk is light and easily digestible for a child. Its products such as milk, ghee, urine, cow dung and curd, and are considered sacred and has many medicinal values that improve the health of the humans and purifies the climate. Cow is considered as Kamadhenu (wish fulfilling Deity).

Lord Krishna worshipped cows, used to play flute that attracted the cows and used assemble around him.

“…All the scriptures such as Vedas, Upanishads, Puranas, Mahabharata, Manusmriti, and others extoll the virtues of the cow. All the Gods reside in her and killing her is considered the most heinous crime. It is often said “jivantu avadghnyah ta me vishasya dushanih” meaning that let cows live without slaughter for their whole life-they remove poison and toxins. Many sages, many Hindu Temples and numerous Ashrams maintained Goshalas (cow shelters) for centuries recognizing the numerous benefits that accrue from the cows.

The ancient ‘Hindu Past’, its ways of relating between men and women and the Scientific achievements of Ancient India are the values that should be taught in Central government schools today.

In a detailed letter written to the Minister for Human Resources Development (MHRD) Smruti Irani today, November 15, 2014, the Hyderabad based Global Hindu Foundation (GHF), has, taking a leaf out of Dinanath Batra’s nine books being taught as Supplemenatry materials to four hundred thousand students in Gujarat’s schools, urged the Modi government to take this model of teaching to the nation. This letter has been posted on the home page of savetemples.org, the website of the “Mission to Save Hinduism and Hindu Temples”. Touted as a ‘Project of Global Hindu Heritage Foundation, (GHHF) USA’, the mission operates out of the ‘Save Temple Office’ opened in Hyderabad city in June 2012.

Apart from the exhortations to teach Nathuram Godse as a ‘National Hero who fought the British’, and unsubstantiated details about a ‘Hindu holocaust by Muslims, this letter states that the following subjects should be taught in Central government schools:

Mahabharata

“…Mahabharata is one of the greatest epics and every single character teaches us the richness of our culture and traditions, morals and ethics that surpass the time. Numerous are the characters and numerous are the lessons one can learn from Mahabharata. Yudhishtira taught us how to follow dharma in face of numerous difficulties also the weakness of (gambling) that can bring down the kingdom; Bhishma taught us how to fulfill the wishes of his father and sacrificed his life as well as keeping his word for the rest of life and maintain celibacy; King Santanu taught us danger of yielding to sensate pleasure and the weakness toward other sex; Karna taught us the consequences of blind loyalty and passion for power as well as the generous nature of dana (gift); Dhritarashtra taught us how blind love for children can cause untold misery and destruction for the humanity, also how passion for children can smog the moral and impartial judgment; Draupadi taught us how even a small weakness resulted ….can… lead to war of destruction and also taught us how to behave with the husbands; and other characters such as Pandu, Veda Vyasa, Kunti, Dushyasana, Shikhandi, Satyavati and others were equally important in teaching us the morals and code of conduct.
“….. Finally the teaching of Bhagavad Gita by Lord Krishna to Arjuna about the responsibility of a Kshatriya and in general about Swadharma is unmatched humanity in recognizing the importance of Sthitipragna.

Puranic Stories and Morals

“In Naimisharanya, the assembled sages worshipped the learned Romaharshana and said, “Please tell us the stories of the Puranas. Who created the universe, who is its preserver and who will destroy it? Please instruct us in all these mysteries.” There are 18 main Puranas and18 upapuranas that describe the various aspects of cosmology and are considered the storehouse of stories that enriched with morals and traditions; manifestations of (dasavataras) Vishnu incarnations, and the paths of karma, bhakti and Jnana yogas. In fact they even described the origin of the universe, life cycles, trials, tribulations and richness of human life, respect for living and nonliving elements and scientific nature of the universe. They talk about the worship services, numerous samskaras, formation of earth, and mathematical expressions of the universe. They give us the experiences of people through their stories, symbols and rituals. Every community has its own reality, but underneath all these realities there is an underlying theme governing the basic principles and morals that guide the human life.

Panchatantra Stories

Panchatantra is a collection stories that teach us how to behave in a particular situation; how to solve the problems one faces; whom to trust and not to trust; how to keep your word against all odds; how to use your intellect instead of arms; how to avoid distrust among friends; how one should not deny the shelter to a needy person; how one should work toward accumulation of wealth and how to protect it; and how one should share their wealth and to whom.

The Scientific achievements

“…It is time to create pride among our youth about our scientific achievements. It was the Yogic seers who invented many mathematical calculations such as Zero, Decimals, Phi, Geometry, Algebra, computer language and more. Arbyabhatta was the champion of Astronomy and Mathematics, Bhaskaracharya was the genius of Algebra, Acharya Kanad was the founder of Atomic Theory, Naragrjuna was the wizard of Chemical Science, Acharya Charaka was the father of Medicine, Acharya Sushruta was the champion of Plastic Surgery, Varahamihra was the eminent Astronomer and Astrology, Patanjali was the father of Yoga Sutras, Acharya Bharadwaja was the pioneer of Aviation Technology, Acharya Kapila was the father of cosmology, and many more.”

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