BY RAM PUNIYANI

Post the Lok Sabha Elections defeat, can the Bharatiya Janata Party move away from its hard-line Hindutva stance?

THE RESOUNDING defeat of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the 2009 elections last month and the loss of seats and a decline in voting percentage prompted various BJP insiders and sympathisers to introspect over the causes of defeat. In his article in the Times of India, June 4, 2009, columnist Swapan Dasgupta vouched that the BJP is excessively identified with Hindutva, which no longer appeals to a large section of Hindus and, so, needs a makeover. Sudheendra Kulkarni (Tehelka, June 13, 2009), looks at the defeat as a close L. K. Advani aide and also as an insider, and points out that Advani was not sufficiently backed up by the RSS and BJP on one hand and, on the other hand, the BJP’s implementation of Hindutva policy appeared anti minority and that its links with RSS need a second look.

According to Kulkarni, Hindutva is all inclusive and Hindu identity is the core of Indian and cultural nationalism and is not meant for Hindus alone. It is obvious that Kulkarni stands by the core RSS concepts of Hindutva, cultural nationalism and integral humanism and finds that BJP strayed from this direction. Kulkarni being an insider and closely associated with BJP from the time of Advani’s Rath - or rather blood - yatra and close to the top echelons of the BJP, had every opportunity to point out to BJP leadership that their outlook and behaviour was deviating from genuine Hindutva.

IDEOLOGIES

CONCEPTS and ideologies are not made in thin air. They reflect the needs of social groups and couched in the language of religion, devised by ideologues of declining sections of Hindu society, the landlords and Brahmins from the early 1920s onwards. The term Hindutva in particular came into being as the politics of Hindu Mahasabha and RSS stood for politics of Hindus, for creating a Hindu Rashtra. This word was coined by Veer Savarkar in 1920s and was meant to be an alternate notion of politics to the one being articulated by the national movement led by Mahatma Gandhi. A similar concept of nationalism, based on the values of liberty, equality and fraternity were also articulated by Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, while the third major stream during freedom movement, lead Bhagat Singh and the communists dreamt of a socialist society based on the notions of substantive equality and the state regulating social relations to ensure equality.

It must be pointed out that the concept of Hindutva aimed at a Hindu nation - in contrast to the Muslim nation propounded by the Muslim League, and in opposition to the concept of a democratic secular nation for which Mahatma Gandhi, Maulana Azad and others - worked for the national movement. Indian nationalism is inclusive of all religions, castes and genders while the concepts of Hindu and Muslim nations are exclusive concepts. Secondly, the Gandhi-Ambedkar nationalism was based on the equality of caste and gender while Hindutva and the ideology of Muslim nationalism are continuum of feudal values harping on a caste and gender hierarchy. Later, in the same direction, Deen Dayal Upadhyay - the ideologue of RSS-BJP - very cleverly projected the concept of Integral Humanism. This concept argues that as any organism is well balanced due to the division of work between different parts of the body. Similarly, different social groups perform different well defined tasks to provide the equilibrium for proper social functioning. This route propagates the status quo in a caste and gender prevalent society.

DROP HINDUTVA?

SIMILARLY cultural nationalism, as propounded by RSS and adopted by the BJP, stands for the elite Brahminical culture as the synonym for Indian-ness. All in all this is precisely what RSS stands for and the BJP practised so far which makes it clear that there cannot be an equal place for dalits, women and non Hindus in this scheme of things. Columnist Swapan Dasgupta feels BJP has to drop Hindutva and provide an alternative based on good governance, non dynasty politics, etc. Kulkarni’s reading of Hindutva and integral humanism is from the world of make-believe and totally off the mark. The simple question is why were these practitioners of Hindutva and cultural nationalism aloof from the national movement, which laid the basis of India and India’s independence? These streams which take the cover of glorious traditions focus only on those traditions which are elitist in the Indian context; Brahminical or those belonging to Ashrafs from Muslim community. Why can’t RSS-BJP say that primarily they are loyal to the values of Liberty, Equality and Fraternity and drop all the other concepts built around religious identity? It is because these religion based concepts are the best cover for oppression of women, dalits and non Hindus? In turn these concepts also demonize, intimidate and commit violence against minorities, trying to reduce them to second class citizens.

RAISON D’ETRE

THE BJP could come to power only by harping on the identity of Lord Ram when, in fact, the BJP does not hold Lord Ram as the symbol of India’s identity. This is one of the expressions of their cultural nationalism. The question that arises is why is only Lord Ram a symbol of India, why not Shambuk or Bali or Sita? In a nutshell, their cultural nationalism picks up those characters which suit the interests and agendas of the Hindu elite. Surely, had the Ram temple agitation not undertaken, the Babri mosque not demolished and Mumbai and Gujarat violence not instigated, the BJP would not have been on the margin of Indian society. Its very raison d’etre is due to the fact that it is a progeny of the RSS and to the fact that it is related to VHP, Bajrang Dal, etc, whose vagaries it keeps defending on a regular basis. The BJP is thoroughly exclusionist and that is why it justifies the Gujarat violence, Kandhamal, rejects the Sachar committee, etc. All these incidences are not mere coincidence; they are the core of BJP politics because the Hindutva is exclusive in theory and practise.

NEW PATH?

CAN the BJP move away from Hindutva and aim to build a Hindu nation around the glorious Hindu traditions of Manu Smriti, etc? The question is redundant as the BJP is no one to decide that as it is merely a political arm of RSS; it is the RSS which has to decide that. Can the RSS cut its own legitimacy off by renouncing Hindutva? Of course not, because the RSS essentially exists on these goals. Kulkarni’s confusions and his welcome concern about the poor, dalits and minorities, etc, are misplaced as those are not the concerns of the RSS. In fact, they have never been and can never be the concerns of the BJP and company, at any point of time. Hindutva or integral humanism is cleverly worded to disguise and undermine the concept of democracy. The last two decades have been a nightmare where the values opposed to Indian nationhood asserted themselves aggressively, bringing immense misery to all concerned. One hopes with the declining trend of the BJP, those striving for democracy, equality and rights of dalits, women, adivasis, workers and minorities, will occupy the main social space and protect the nation from the damages done by politics of religious identity.