Ram Puniyani
Fali S Nariman recently made a very significant
observation on the current political situation in India. The distinguished Constitutional jurist noted:
“Hinduism has traditionally been the most tolerant of all Indian faiths. But, recurrent instances of religious tension, fanned by fanaticism and hate speech, have shown that the Hindu tradition of tolerance is showing signs of strain...my apprehension is that Hinduism is somehow changing its benign face...”
There is no doubt that Mr Nariman’s observation came in
reaction to recent outpourings from some organizations or establishments that
subscribe to the ideology of RSS. He is concerned about the aggressive Hindutva
ideology of those who seek to turn India into a Hindu nation or asserting that
it is indeed a Hindu nation.
Hinduism is a religion, while Hindutva is a political
ideology.
Recently from some self-styled champions of Hindutva we
have witnessed innumerable outbursts of hate speeches on issues ranging from
the propaganda of what they call “love jihad” to the ideological assertions
that in India ‘we are all Hindus’.
They have also unleashed an attack on the liberal
Hinduism. They are telling those Hindus, who accept Shirdi Sai Baba- a Sufi
born in Muslim family, as their God, that they are doing it wrong.
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| Fali S Nariman |
During the freedom movement, we saw men like Gandhi and
Maulana Azad, who, despite being deeply steeped in their religions, came
forward and led a political movement, which was secular to the core. During the
time we also saw people like Jinnah and Savarkar, who were not religious in the
real sense, but they led the politics in the name of Islam and Hinduism,
respectively.
RSS combine identifies Hinduism mainly with the narrow
stream of Hinduism, or rather, Brahmanism. Hinduism is not based on a single
book, prophet or a clergy. Polytheism being at its root, the religion has many
theologies, practices and a plethora of holy scriptures.
Gandhi followed a liberal tradition of Hinduism and while
laying the foundation of Indian nationalism during the freedom movement, he did
not let religion intrude the politics. In contrast, the Hindu nationalism,
which is being propounded by those claiming to be representing Hindus- Hindu
Mahasabha, RSS and their offshoots is narrow and intolerant.
Since large sections of Hindus, were following Gandhi,
the illiberal Hindu Mahasabha-RSS brand of Hinduism, remained on the margins
during those days. But, during the last three decades, starting with the Ram
Temple agitation, the Hindu nationalist-driven political campaign has thrown up
the intolerant propaganda about the ‘others’ in a blatant way. With the current
dispensation where BJP is leading the coalition, the leaders of the ruling
Hindu nationalist party and its affiliate organizations are being patronized by
the state which has helped them intensify the hate propaganda against the
country’s religious minorities.
Their pronouncements are aimed to intimidate those who do
not agree to their version of state and politics. The politics of RSS is not
just intimidating the ‘others’ but also threatening those liberal Hindus
As religion is being pushed deeper into politics the
intolerance level in the society is going up. The challenge of our times is to
distinguish between the politics in the name of religion and religion per se.
Mr Nariman’s statement reflects how the veteran jurist is
disappointed with the democratic liberal ethos being challenged by the rising
assertion of the Hindutva politics led by the RSS combine.
On a personal note I have long been receiving good number
of hate mails routinely, as these articles of critical of politics in the name
of Hinduism, or politics in the name of any religion for that matter. I know
that another article on RSS and Hindu nationalism is going to uptick the quota
of the hate mails for me.
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