Project ‘Hindu Rashtra’ has pitted Indians against India

Project ‘Hindu Rashtra’ has pitted Indians against India

Syed Ali Mujtaba

In order to understand the pan India protests currently taking place across the country on the identity and citizenship issue, there is a need to first decode the Hindu political outlook and place it in the context of Indian nation’s formation.

The Hindu identity formation started since late 19th and early 20th centuries. The colonial policies had a big role to play in developing the identity of the Indians. The first step in this was the census of 1872 that defined communities and made them identity conscious. 

The headcount categorized communities on religious and caste lines and also defined their relationship with other communities, making ‘we’ and ‘they’ distinctions.  While on one hand it united Indians under the banner of Indian nationalism, on other it divided them on the basis of caste creed and religious identities. The party and politics further sharpened the identity formation in India.

In this context of identity formation, there emerged different shades of Hindu identity, each competing with other for political supremacy. The first shade of Hindu identity was synonym with Indian nationalism, seeking every entity’s cooperation in the fight against colonialism. This brand of Hindu identity was spearheaded Mahatma Gandhi, the torch bearer of Indian Nationalism with the preaching “Ishwar Allah Tero Nam.”  This shade of Hinduism externally made peace with Islam and internally reached out to the Scheduled Castes to ensure they remain in Hindu fold.

The second stream of Hindu identity was represented by figures like Lala Lajpat Rai and Madan Mohan Malaviya who believed in securing sectarian interests based on their Hindu identity. They did not see Islam as the clear ‘Other’ but believed to have a Hindu political platform to bargain for their interests.

The third stream of Hindu identity was represented by sections of the Arya Samaj and Hindu Mahasabha that harped in the golden ancient past of Hindus. They dub  medieval rule under the Muslim kings as dark period of Indian history because Hindus lost political power in India.  This shade of Hinduism wanted to revive the  glorious past of the Hindus and wanted to foundationally make India a Hindu nation with other religious grouping being a bystanders or side actors.

The fourth stream of Hindu identity was defined by VD Savarkar, the ideologue of the 

current rulers in power i.e the BJP. The main stay of political thinking under this shade of Hinduism was abhorrence towards Islam and Hindu religious nationalism.

Savarkar saw Islam is the main enemy of Indian nationhood and preached annihilation of Muslims to establish Hindu Rastra in India. Muslims should either live as slaves of Hindus or convert themselves to Hinduism to live in India. While this worldview permitted diversity within Hindu fold, it showed utter contempt for religious diversity outside it.

These different shades of Hindu identity are not monolithic or water-tight compartments, but have sufficient rooms for maneuvering to shift the goal posts. However, one thing that’s’ common about all the shades are that they are modern day phenomena with the aim to gain political power and has nothing to do with the Sanatan Dharma or Hindu religion.

It is for the sake of convenience, we divide the shades of Hindu identity into ‘Doves’ and ‘Hawks’ that have remained in tug of war struggling for political supremacy since India’s freedom struggle. During the last stages of freedom movement the Hawks got isolated from the main stream Indian politics primarily due to minorities, dalits and the left siding with the Doves.

The Doves made huge efforts to pull out India from the colonial rule and helped India achieve all round progress and in this the economic liberalization of 1990s being the catalyst. However, Hawks had always preyed on the Doves inventing strategies to unseat them from power.

The Hawks started building the project Hindu Rastra since 80’s and gained momentum with ‘Ram Mandir’ to shore up Hindu identity. The first achievement of the Hawks claimed was the demolition the Babari mosque on December 6, 1992.  As a result of this daylight assault on Indian secularism, the ‘Hawks’  were able to come to power in 1996  first just 13 days, then from 1998 to 1999 for a period of 13 months and finally for a full term from 1999 to 2004.

During 1999 to 2004 period was the BJP rule in India and it was during this period the project Hindu Rastra got another shot in the arm and that was the Gujarat riots in 2002. A spate of violence against Muslims in several places of Gujarat was instigated to avenge the burning of a train in Godhra on 27 February 2002, that caused the deaths of some ‘Hindu pilgrims’ returning from Ayodhya.

At that time the Chief Minister of Gujarat was Narendra Modi, and he is accused of abetting the rioters for violence against the Muslims. It is alleged that he made use of the government officials and police force to provide information to the rioters to initiate a communal pogrom against Muslims and to destroy their properties.  The BJP government at the Centre under Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee did nothing to stop the Gujarat riots and it is alleged was hand in gloves for the project Hindu Rastra.

The Gujarat mayhem was the catalyst for Doves came back to power in 2004. It remained in office for two terms and some semblance of social order, peace and harmony was restored during this period but again the Indian pendulum swung to the right from the center and the BJP rested power in 2014.

The work on project Hindu Rastra, again started and Muslims Kashmir and Pakistan become tried and tested glue for the promotion of Hindu Rastra. The first thing the government did was to make ‘Cow’ a mascot for Hindu Rastra. A hyper Hindu religious sentiment was built on cow protection and Muslims were made villain of this piece. Wariness of Islam prompted the cow vigilantes to target Muslims and lynch them in full public view. 

In Kathua in Jammu some Hindus kidnap ‘Asifa’ a Muslim tribal girl and brought her to a Hindu temple to rape and murder her. All this was to create fear in the Muslim community that their life liberty honor is at the mercy of the Hindus.

The project Hindu Rastra further redeemed itself courtesy government policies related to the meat, tannery, leather industry that are  traditionally controlled by the Muslims. This economically hit many Muslim and many were rendered unemployed.

The project Hindu Rastra further gained speed when BJP came back to power with in 2019 with resounding majority. Again Pakistan, Kashmir and Muslims became the war cry of the government.

The Hindu nationalist Prime Minister drummed up hatred against Pakistan to shore up hyper Hindu national identity. He conducted dubious land surgical strike to avenge the terrorist attack on the Indian Army’s camp in Uri. This singular act helped the BJP in the consolidation of Hindu national identity and to win the UP election.

Then the Balakot Air-force attack was done on Pakistan to avenge Phulwama terror attack on Indian forces convoy by allegedly Pakistani terrorists. Even though the success Air attack on Pakistan is being questioned, as India pilot was taken captive and two Indian jets were downed, yet this operation was declared unquestioned victory and helped the BJP came to power with a resounding victory.

Jammu and Kashmir, the only Muslim majority of the state of India has always been on the hit list of the protagonists of the Hindu Rastra. Buoyed by the Parliamentary majority the government hit on this state by bringing in legislation to abrogate its special powers given to it and to reduce its status to a union territory. 

Since August 5, 2019, undeclared curfew prevails and Kashmiri Muslims are kept hostage under the shadow of the gun. The government is not wary of saying that it has integrated the Muslim majority province into the Indian Union as per the design of the Hindu Rastra.

Muslims of India are the current target of the protagonist of Hindu Rastra. In order to operationalize the project, government of the day brought Citizenship Amendment Act, National People’s Register and National Citizen’s register to hit at the identity of the Indian Muslims. It’s a poly to identify multiple layers of Muslim citizens such as; nationalist, moderates, liberals, suspects and hyper-anti-Indian. The game plan is to create a citizenship register through which it can make targeted assaults on Indian Muslims with ambition to subsume Muslim identity under the Hindu fold or render them stateless.

As the project Hindu Rastra, is traversing its journey, a social unrest has erupted all over India. Muslims along with Hindu ‘Doves’ have come on streets to protest the anti-human policies of the government that buttress the cause of the project Hindu Rastra. There is a vehement opposition to the government’s plan and a massive social unrest is taking place all over India.

As the din and clatter of the protesters against governments diabolic policy is reaching its crescendo, it is seriously being debated whether Hawks will wriggle out from the current public upheaval or Doves are going to replace them. There are two scenarios emerging from the current social unrest. One is that these noises are going to die down and people will accept it as a fait-accompli or the Hawks will be sidelined and Doves will replace them bringing a political change in the country.

At the moment the swing in this tug of war looks can go either way. If the Hawks gain from here, they are sure to further advance the cause of the project Hindu Rastra but if the Doves gain advantage, riding on the momentum of the public protests that is gaining momentum each day, a political change looks in the offing.  India is heading towards a final countdown and this story is developing thick and fast in the country. This story needs to be watched till end, as it plays itself out.

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Syed Ali Mujtaba is a journalist based in Chennai. He can be contacted at syedalimujtaba2007@gmail.com