[sacw] SACW Dispatch | 19 Oct. 00

[Harsh Kapoor]

South Asia Citizens Web Dispatch
19 October 2000
http://www.mnet.fr/aiindex

____________________________

#1. A comment on the Recent meeting of the RSS in Agra, India
#2. The argument that Hinduisation is synonymous with Indianisation is
insidious
#3. Communalistic divisions revealed by the conflict over census in Jammu &
Kashmir

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#1.

The Statesman (India)
18 October 2000
Op-Ed.

Please do not try it again!

CAVEAT

BY CR IRANI

IT is quite clear that the RSS Sarsanghchalak does not know how to leave
well alone. This is a common enough predicament of all fundamentalist
positions; what is so special and so unattractive about KS Sudershan is his
inability to withdraw gracefully. Having got himself into a bind over his
outrageous interference in Christian beliefs and demanded that Christians
may say yes to Jesus but must say no to the Pope, he takes two steps back
which is acceptable but goes on to take a giant leap sideways, which nearly
topples him over. Not wishing to join issue over his description of the
Syrian Christian church as Indian, he nevertheless goes on to say that if
Christians somehow set up an Indian church, this would be welcomed by a
majority of Christians. The absurdity of his claim to speak for a majority
of Christians escapes him; somebody should tell him that he does not speak
even for a majority of Hindus. I am not so troubled about the arrogance of
it all; those who have nothing to say generally take a great deal of time
saying it. But let me remind Sudershan that it is
not for him to pronounce on other faiths and forms of worship. And what is
this sudden craze to identify our ancestors?

He insists that Ram and Krishna are our common ancestors and demands
respect for them on that assumption from everyone. He himself describes
this as the least. Why must Abraham of the Bible be abandoned? And whatever
happened to Sita? And what turns on it all? Does Sudershan nurture
ambitions to rewrite all the holy books, including the Koran and the Bible?
And if so to what end?

IF all this awkward posturing means that the sarsanghchalak is
repudiating his Vijaya Dasami speech then it is welcome. I hasten to add
that I do not seek a categorical assurance on this count and that for two
reasons. One, no one in Indian public life accepts that he has made a
mistake,
it is not to be expected. Two, any effort to press for clarity is likely
to bring in its wake, thicker and more impenetrable clouds instead. So let
that pass. But then Sudershan withdraws and is replaced by the RSS chief
organiser, Suresh Rao Ketkar, as the spokesman in order to be able to move
effortlessly to the Ayodhya Temple. He makes several odd statements.

1) The temple site is disputed. Quite right Mr Ketkar, but then where do
you get the right to build
on a site that is admittedly disputed? 2) People want a grand temple to be
constructed at the place of Lord Ram=92s birth. Who are these people? Who
authorised them to destroy a place of worship in order to build another in
its place? 3) After this display of belligerence, an admission that the RSS
would abide by the decision of the Supreme Court on the temple. With any
respect that may be due, the question before the courts is different. It is
to determine the ownership of the land, not to delve into pre-history and
determine whether a temple existed under the Babari Mosque. Assume for the
purpose of argument that it is possible that a temple did exist. By what
process of reasoning is it sought to come to the conclusion that this
justifies demolishing one place of worship to build another.

And then the RSS dedicated exclusively to social and cultural matters, or
so we are told, rushes into politics without a please or by your leave. The
BJP, asserts Ketkar, is closest to the RSS ideology. Granted. Then presses
on the RSS spokesman; if Trinamul and Samata are not diluting their agenda,
why is the BJP putting on the back burner issues like the Ram temple and
Article 370? The premise is false, the reasoning lacks logic and no wonder
the conclusions are way over the top. The Trinamul and Samata are not
diluting any agenda, they are sticking to the national agenda which the BJP
have accepted. There is no deviation except on the part of the RSS egging
on the BJP to do just that.

IT is all breathtakingly simple, Mr Sudershan! Why don't you and the RSS
lay off? Then the BJP will stick to its NDA without difficulty, its allies
will do the same. And the country can breathe freely again. No wonder you
got no joy out of Agra. You laboured for three days and produced nothing. I
am not surprised. Under the shadow of the monument dedicated to love, built
by the great Shahjehan, you and your philosophy of bigotry and hatred,
didn't have a chance!

Please do not try it again!

_____

#2.

Tehelka.com

'The argument that Hinduisation is synonymous with Indianisation is insidio=
us'

Historian K N Panikkar, professor of modern history at Centre for
Historical Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi, is angry
and puzzled at RSS chief K S Sudarshan's call to create "Swadeshi Muslims
and Christians". This new-fangled terminology is part of the Sangh
Parivar's larger project of rewriting history as fiction and myth, says
Panikkar

New Delhi, October 17

What is your reaction as a historian to Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)
chief K S Sudarshan's call to Muslims and Christians to "Hinduise"
themselves?

There is an obvious connection with the way history is being rewritten by
the BJP-RSS dispensation and the call given by Sudharshan. The main thrust
of their rewriting of history is to characterise the "outsiders" as enemy.
By asking the Muslims and Christians to Indianise, Sudharshan is suggesting
that they are not part of the nation. In other words, India is being
defined as a Hindu nation. A similar project is being pursued in history
also.

What does the RSS achieve by calling them "outsiders"?

Project India as a nation of the Hindus who are, according to them, the
original inhabitants of India. It's paradoxical to say that 20 per cent of
the population does not form part of the national mainstream, particularly
when they have been integral to the national life for a long time

They are part of the military, bureaucracy, business, and generally every
aspect of Indian society. And their achievements in the service of the
nation are so commendable. To isolate them and to tell them to nationalise
is an insult to the nation. In fact, it is Sudarshan, who is trying to
isolate a large chunk of the population, who deserves to be characterised
as antinational. The assumption that India is a Hindu nation is
historically invalid and politically false. For 2,000 years, various
religions and caste groups have been part of the social fabric of India.
Only a blind fanatic can overlook the contribution of the minorities to
the national life-political, social and cultural.

"The assumption that India is a Hindu nation is historically invalid
and politically false. For 2,000 years, various religions and caste
groups have been part of the social fabric of India" On the one hand,
the BJP is trying to win over the Muslims. On the other hand, the RSS talks
about "Swadeshi Muslims and Christians".

Do you see a larger gameplan in all this?

It's very subtle and, to my mind, a conscious effort. It's not the
traditional doublespeak which the Sangh Parivar has specialised in.The
Agra conclave has attempted. to coerce the minorities. There is a double
game here. The RSS chief is handing out a threat, whereas the BJP is trying
to win them over by offering them security.

The idea is to coerce and, at the same time, offer them protection. The BJP
is doing the latter, as is evident from the overtures of (BJP president)
Bangaru Laxman. It's a variation of the carrot-and-stick policy. What they
are telling the minorities is that there is no alternative but the BJP.
It's in their best interest to support the BJP, and if they do not, the
consequences will be severe.

For the BJP, also, there is really no alternative but to cultivate the
minorities. They need extra 10 per cent of votes, and a possible source of
at least a part of it are the minorities and the tribals. It is in pursuit
of this that they are trying to eliminate the Christian activists from
tribal areas. The message they are trying to get across is clear: there is
no alternative (TINA) to the BJP. Support us or=85

How is Sudarshan's statement part of the Sangh Parivar's project of
rewriting history?

The RSS' concept of "outsiders" is linked with their version of history.
The central premise of their theory is that all non-Hindus are outsiders
and, more importantly, enemies of Indian civilisation. There is nothing new
in all this. Savarkar, Golwalkar and virtually all the ideologues of
Hindutva have said more or less similar things.

_______

#3.

An article in Frontline Magazine by Praveen Swami highlights the
communalistic divisions revealed by the conflict over census operations
in Jammu and Kashmir.

"The game of numbers"
http://www.the-hindu.com/fline/fl1721/17210360.htm

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