Reassessing Hindutva

We believe that Gujarat, the home state of the apostle of non-violence and the only state where prohibition is still in force, is a shining example for the rest of the country. The latest CII-World Bank report has ranked it first among the states in terms of potential for investment, despite last year8217;s shattering earthquake. Only 5 per cent of India8217;s population lives in Gujarat but it contributes 11 per cent of the national income, leads in terms of industrial investment, has a 30 per cent share in the share market and one of the highest per capita incomes in the country.

If the perceived images and the reality are sharply at variance, it is because we do not want to look closely at the reflection in the mirror. The RSS shattered the myth of India8217;s secular credentials by claiming publicly what many Hindus feel privately, that the only true children of India are Hindus and all others are here on sufferance. Even liberal Hindus sometimes unconsciously slip in remarks about 8220;how could they have the guts to do this in our country8221;.

Hinduism8217;s image of tolerance and broad-mindedness is today tainted thanks to the VHP8217;s vicious agenda of hatred which it pursues with a missionary zeal, copied from the very movements it decries. The prime minister berates advocates of hardline Hindutva, as opposed to the Hindutva of Vivekananda, but is the VHP8217;s Ram mandir programme any form of Hinduism at all?

The VHP8217;s successful recruitment drive for Ram sewaks in Gujarat is a lesson not in religion, but crass commercialism. Potential recruits are asked to fill out forms, pay fees, complete a mandatory number of coupon books for donations or else chant 8220;Jai Shri Ram8221; and 8220;Jai, Jai Ram8221; a stipulated number of times, before they are entitled to be dubbed Ram sewaks. The VHP has succeeded in recruiting over three lakh youths as Ram sewaks. The fact that some 75,000 trishuls which incidentally are the symbol of Shiva, not Ram and several thousand swords have been distributed to the Ram sewaks speaks of the irreligious message of hate which is propagated.

Many of the unemployed lumpen enlisted have been lured because of the clout which comes from being associated, however indirectly, with the state8217;s ruling party. An additional incentive in these days of rising unemployment and a downswing in business is that the VHP permits the sewaks to keep 75 per cent of their collections for the local office and transfer just 25 per cent to the head office. Many companies entering Gujarat discover to their horror that local VHP members demand protection money.

Today there are some 5,000 VHP committees in Gujarat, which is perhaps twice the number of the BJP8217;s grassroot level committees in the state. If Prime Minister Vajpayee has a problem getting rid of Narendra Modi, the Gujarat chief minister in turn cannot really bring in line VHP leaders like General Secretary Praveen Togadia who has his men in key positions, including in Modi8217;s own cabinet. By now the tail has begun to wag the dog in Gujarat.

With a section of the international media describing the VHP as the Hindu equivalent of the Taliban, it is doubtful whether India scores any brownie points over Pakistan for our supposedly more progressive and less fundamentalist outlook. In fact, the VHP itself has encouraged comparisons by describing Ayodhya as India8217;s Mecca. As someone quipped, Pakistan has reason to bestow the Nishan-e-Pakistan on Modi for having shown India in such a poor light internationally. Though they act as if they own the copyright for nationalism, their actions are distinctly anti-national.

The myth of Gujarat being one of the most progressive states in India falls apart if you analyse its development holistically. While the state ranks high in terms of income generation and investment, its planning has been extremely short-sighted in terms of pollution control, health, literacy and knowledge-based industries. If prohibition continues on the statute books, it has nothing to do with Gandhian ethics but with the fact that the powerful mafia interests in the illicit liquor trade will not allow this lucrative business to be shut down. After the violence this year, it is doubtful whether CII-World Bank reports will continue to be as optimistic.

The reference to Vajpayee8217;s 8216;8216;moment of reckoning8217;8217; in Sonia Gandhi8217;s parliamentary speech was pertinent. He owes the nation some answers. The continued silence of some NDA allies is as extraordinary as the unflappability of the ruling party. In 1979 George Fernandes and many in the Janata Party had walked out of the Morarji Desai government on the issue of Jan Sangh ministers disassociating themselves from the RSS. At that time the RSS issue was a pretext for a power struggle since there was nothing in the behaviour of Jan Sangh ministers to give offence. But today when there is concrete evidence of the dangers posed to the country by the BJP8217;s sister organisations, Fernandes and other NDA allies do not want to rock the boat.

For decades the BJP8217;s best defence against the charge that it had a communal agenda because of its symbiotic relationship with the RSS was the fact that sectarian riots had not taken place in any BJP ruled state. Now that record stands shattered and suspicions about the BJP8217;s secular credentials are further strengthened with its continuing defence of Modi. Retaining Modi and polarising the state along communal lines is seen in some quarters as the only way to ensure political victory in Gujarat. With its Machiavellian attempt to ensure short-term electoral gains in Gujarat, the BJP has in the bargain lost the confidence of the rest of the country. While Vajpayee expresses concern as to how he can show his face to the world after the carnage in Gujarat, he should be even more concerned as to how he can show his face to the nation in the light of his government8217;s continuing silence.