When Congress leader Kamal Nath was commerce minister, I remember visiting the ministry in July 2008 through a gate that had this written on its wall: “India, fastest growing, free-market democracy”. It was a bold postcard to the world. To me, it also seemed to be telling the world, ‘We are not China’.
From that to Hindu Rashtra today, we really have come a long way, baby. The only difference is, we haven’t painted it on the Bhawan walls yet or scribbled Hindu Rashtra in the postcards to the world. Right now, we are busy memorising this term every day for ourselves first.
When we speak to the world, we still prefer to be ‘Vishwa Guru in yoga pants’ rather than a Hindu Rashtra. Between these two tags, we situate ourselves awkwardly, Janus-faced and forever in anticipation or dread. It is in this space that the now-infamous ‘idea of India’ is mutating.
There can be and have been many postcard ideas for India. But what is more important — what we convince ourselves of through practised retelling over time, or what we project to the world?
Also read: BJP vs opposition is just like Coke vs Pepsi. Catch-up Hindutva won’t work
Postcards to oneself
Every country has a grand, national schematic template, wrote Washington University scholar James Wertsch. It can take the form of an enduring, founding national myth, one that is internalised and repeated so many times that it acquires folklorish proportions. The template is also a tool that shapes collective memory-making of the country, and acts as a free pass to scuttle any counter-argument.
Early 19th century American expansionists had one called ‘manifest destiny’, modern Americans have the ‘land of the free’. Russians organise their history along the ‘triumph over alien forces’ template. China’s is one of ‘peaceful rise’.
India, too, has had several templates. The most enduring one is that it is a ‘non-violent’ nation, popularly understood as a residual legacy from the freedom movement and Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. After Independence, we upgraded it to an India that never attacks another nation first. Other templates we rely on are ‘an ancient civilisation and modern nation-state’; ‘longest unbroken culture’ is another one. Then there is that ‘world’s largest democracy’ template – often a mindless worship of numbers. The emphasis is more on ‘largest’ and less on the health of ‘democracy’.
Through all these, though, there has been a wound that has encoded itself into our collective memory as well. This notion of ‘wounded civilisation’ is like the pizza base, it has been a constant. Toppings differ. This code taps into the belief that we were once great, then there was Greatness-Interrupted. And now, we are at the cusp of becoming great again.
This pizza base of ‘Greatness-Interrupted’ has played into every phase of nation-building. It projects itself out as hurt pride or righteous anger. It is the feeling of ‘we are owed something big’.
It percolated Jawaharlal Nehru’s speech about India awakening to its destiny. There is a phrase that many Indian leaders and government press releases have used in differing variations — India will one day reclaim its rightful place in the comity of nations. It conveys a stubborn conviction that India deserves greatness, something that was taken away.
Who took this greatness away? Who was keeping India from its destined greatness? There are many answers to this.
Also read: Idea of India wasn’t demolished at Ayodhya. That happened in our ‘liberal’ homes
Changing enemies
I would wager Gandhi would have blamed ‘modernity’ (just read Hind Swaraj). For him, our greatness was preserved purely in villages. Nehru would have blamed the British, for sure.
The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, and L.K. Advani before them, micro-target the Muslim invaders and rulers for taking away the greatness of Vedic and Gupta period. The great betrayal of Partition also plays into Greatness-Interrupted. The US’ unquestioning embrace of Pakistan, being kept out of UNSC, the Western sanctions after the 1974 nuclear test, the ‘foreign hand’ and the CIA.
There was always an enemy to explain why we are not great. It is not a new thing.
Also read: NRC to GST – How Modi & Amit Shah create Anxiety Raj and still win elections
Emerged and forgotten
Then in the 1990s, the story changed. The world suddenly discovered India as a market. We began to celebrate ourselves as consumers, a decade after Rajiv Gandhi had told us to give up ‘vulgar, conspicuous consumption’ in his famous AICC speech in Bombay. We splashed the terms ‘conspicuous consumption’ and ‘middle class’ and ‘emerging economy’ on our calling card.
Emerging economy tag is what was given to us by global corporations, Western politicians, investment bankers and hedge fund analysts who scout for new economic frontiers to place their bets on. Goldman Sachs put us into BRICS.
There was something magical about the word emerging. It took us closer to ‘greatness’. We used it all the time. Getting the nuclear deal with former US President George Bush Jr was part of this new feeling. And then Barack Obama came visiting and told us India wasn’t just ‘emerging’, it had already ‘emerged’.
Undetected, what had really emerged from the consuming middle class explosion was Hindu fundamentalism and hyper-nationalism. This is a familiar trajectory across many societies in history.
Just as well, a decade after the heady days of emerging-ness, the emerging economy has evaporated from public conversations altogether.
Also read: What Nehruvians get wrong — the opposite of secularism is not Hindu Rashtra
Hindu Rashtra
Our grand, national narrative template is changing now.
We are once again licking the Greatness-Interrupted wound. And we blame both the ghosts of the past and the present — the middle ages when the Islamic invaders came and broke all our temples and taxed us into poverty. In fact, we rarely speak about the British colonial plunder of the ‘golden sparrow’ anymore.
Coupled with that is the internal enemy who wants to spotlight India’s problems. Arun Jaitley called them ‘perennial pessimists’ and ‘eternal naysayers’ and Bollywood’s Vivek Agnihotri calls them ‘urban naxals’.
The only way to Vedic-era greatness is through the new tag of Hindu Rashtra now. ‘Is India moving towards the Hindu Rashtra’, is an ominous, often-asked question. A senior RSS leader recently met editors off-the-record, and said we are already a Hindu Rashtra.
But not on our postcards. There is now a split between what we tell ourselves and what we write on our postcard to the world. It is like young Indians who smoke freely but won’t do it in front of their parents. It’s called ‘aankh ki sharam’. Modi’s CAA rules haven’t been framed yet. It may lapse by December if it’s not revived for Bihar and West Bengal assembly elections. In this delay, hesitation, there is hope. Perhaps this Hindu fundamentalist mutant is just a transitory animal.
Views are personal.
This article has been updated.
How about a post card to the World “Moving With God’s Grace”? That is what India is doing; be it Hindu, Sikh, Muslim, Christian and others.
Great, absolutely great. Gives me hope.
A report funded by jihadi, anti national forces.
Of course Sir, and please do give the tired Jihadi narrative a rest would you.
True indeed, but more sophisticated than the Wire, the Quint and the Scroll. Gupta has realized he needs to update his leftist ideology to the new cultural nationalist ideology that is developing.
An opinion piece being interpreted as a report funded by enemies = schizophrenia.
“Perhaps this Hindu fundamentalist mutant is just a transitory animal”
Nope. Sorry to disappoint you. It is not transitory. It will become a fact.
And it is also on the postcards. We don’t really care what they, the west and their stooges in India, call us. We are a Hindu Rashtra.
Call us what you may. I for one am proud to be a Hindu. And an Indian.
Being a Hindu seems to be like getting a gold medal but without actually achieving anything. However, it makes you feel superior doesn’t it? Hello!
Being a Hindu is entirely different from being a fundamentalist mutant. Be proud to be Hindu & Indian, yes. But also call out insane fundamentalism, casteism, racism & xenophobia. That is not Hinduism.
Who are these heads of Hinduism that you quote with such pride? Hinduism promotes peace and brotherhood. Hindus have seen their temple destruction calmly since independence, Modi isn’t teaching violence. The leftist writer & her ilk openly promote the gun.
Hindus hate today exactly what was happening during independence – blaming hindus for all ills & appeasing minorities.
Golwalkar & RSS have been misrepresented by leftist writers & portrayed as terrorists which is a fallacy. Name ten terrorists from RSS who were convicted after Independence, you will be left with one name, this person too was removed from RSS membership.
Hinduism and every Indic religion have welcomed every visitor without prejudice. Hindu doesnt promote his religion as superior, hinduism is for equality, check those abrahamics who call themselves superior.
Last – India wasnt secular at birth in 1947, Ambedkar rejected this proposal from communists. It was Indira khan, w/o Feroze Khan(name as mentioned on his epitaph) who inserted the word illegally, which is now used to oppress those who are the original residents of Bharat.
Hindu has co-existed peacefully with all and has faced death, rape and oppression in return, throughout history and in Kashmir. Five lac faced genocide and unmentionable horrors from “minority”.
If media doesnt report minority crimes, supports them against Hindu, doesnt mean the crimes dont take place and minority are peaceful.
Get your sources right. India will remain secular till Hindu are majority. Gazwa e hind is writ over its future, even if you hide it. Where do you get these fake ideas of Hindu Rashtra through postcards? Mao or Stalin? Both great examples for leftists.
Bro, It is not Feroze Khan, it is Feroze Gandi, which he later changed to Gandhi. He was a *PARSI*.
This writer of this article is a more sophisticated leftists I have encountered. He is admitting that Hindus indeed feel wounded but not acknowledging it.
Uneducated, uncouth, ill informed, ignorant peddler of manufactured history.
Utter gibberish. It seems thete is a indoctrination of the rubbish called secularism and people are used to appeasement policies. As a Hindu I feel a log better now in India leaving behinc those nasty days of division and subtraction. Period
wah bhai wah
I think Mourya and Gupta dynasties ruled an area as large as the Mughals did. Even that was only limited to later part of Shajahan’s and Aurangzeb’s rule. But I agree with your point on Mughal and British contribution in cementing of the concept of political Indian nation.
Civilization…O Where art thou !
What is stopping Narendra Modi from sending a Hindu Rashtra postcard to the world ?
The reason is simple : he does not want the outside world to realise India is a Hindu Nazi state, he wants to use the fig cover of ‘largest democracy’. But he is fooling himself.
Golwalkar himself wrote that his model was Nazi Germany. See the following from The Hindu newspaper. Such passages from his writing have been published in the western press also.
https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/national/golwalkar-drew-lessons-from-hitlers-germany/article7924161.ece
in ‘ We Or Our Nationhood Defined’ ,MS Golwalkar wrote :
“…To keep up the purity of the nation and its culture, Germany shocked the world by her purging the country of Semitic races – the Jews. National pride at its highest has been manifested here. Germany has also shown how well-nigh impossible it is for races and cultures, having differences going to the root, to be assimilated into one united whole, a good lesson for us in Hindustan to learn and profit by,”
Savarkar coined the term Hindutva and the Two Nation Theory. On Savarkar’s admiration of Hitler and the Nazi model for minorities, see
https://indianexpress.com/article/research/vinayak-damodar-savarkar-135th-birth-anniversary-he-admired-hitler-and-other-lesser-known-facts-about-him-5194470/
And if Hindus think that the outside world does not know that Hindutva is Hindu Nazism, hear the BBC’s and Al Jazeera’s questioning of Ram Madhav.
BBC, Stephen Sackur interviews Sanghi Hindu Ram Madhav.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/w3cszc1v
See Mahdav and Hindu fascism being exposed by Mehdi Hassan in Al Jazeera
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1W-oXZ_31U
This is the reason why Modi is not sending a Hindu rashtra postcard – more of the outside world will realise that India is not a democracy, but a Hindu Nazi state.
Who are these heads of Hinduism that you misrepresent with such pride? Nobody. Hinduism promotes peace and brotherhood & that’s an unwritten fact.
Savarkar was no leader, he hated exactly what is happening today – blaming hindus for all ills & appeasing minorities.
Golwalkar & RSS have been misrepresented by leftist writers & portrayed as terrorists which is a fallacy. Name ten terrorists from RSS who were convicted, you will be left with one name, this person too was removed from RSS membership.
Hinduism and every Indic religion have welcomed every visitor without prejudice. Hindu doesnt promote his religion as superior, hinduism is for equality, check with those abrahamics who call themselves superior.
Last – India wasnt secular at birth in 1947, Ambedkar rejected this proposal from communists. It was Indira khan, w/o Feroze Khan(name as mentioned on his epitaph) who inserted the word illegally, which is now used to oppress those who are the original residents of Bharat.
Hindu has co-existed peacefully with all and has faced death, rape and oppression in return, throughout history and in Kashmir. Five lac faced genocide and unmentionable horrors from “minority”.
If media doesnt report minority crimes, supports them against Hindu, doesnt mean the crimes dont take place and minority are peaceful.
Get your sources right. India will remain secular till Hindu are majority. Gazwa e hind is writ over its future, even if you hide it.
Keep on equating cultural nationalists with the Nazis, that’s the only argument you have for refuting us. ” If Modi remains in power, India will see another Nazism”. Fear mongering is all you have as you can’t dismiss us by argument.
Bhakt buffoons on troll
Minority Taqqiya agent on a free run, courtesy The Print.
License raj
I am sorry but this article made no sense at all. What was the author trying to convey barring her frustrating.
It was just some blabbering by one of those “perennial pessimists” that the author mentioned herself.
The article speculates on why Modi has not gone to the outside world and said India is a Hindu Nazi rashtra, instead of projecting it as the largest democracy. He does one thing inside India, and puts on a mask outside. Why ? Is it the duplicitous Hindu character ?
MODERATORS
Please stop this Islamist Nazi calling himself rasgolla
How is it Islamist ? I never mentioned Islam . I have opposed Nazi models of state – which is Hindutva.
I questioned duplicitous Hindus. You are one. You pretend you are a liberal but in the final analysis, your rhetoric is the same as that of Hindu fascists.
FAKE allegation. Keep dreaming.
BARC ‘highly disappointed’ with Republic, says network misrepresented its private email
Zygote on troll
Bhakt ki Jai Ho.
“In fact, we rarely speak about the British colonial plunder of the ‘golden sparrow’ anymore.”….RAMA LAKSHMI seems to have forgotten that even before the British plundered India, the Aryans plundered the indigenous Dravidians of India 5000 years ago……Obviously the cowardly Aryans of the 21st Century are incapable of acknowledging this fact.
You are correct, if one wants to rely on the argument that we cannot perform because of the past (Muslim and British), then you have to factor in also Aryan plunder and their imposition of the caste system that has created the most long lived damage to India.
Hindutva historians are trying to debunk ‘Aryan Invasion Theory’ and peddling their own ‘Out of India’ theory.
Their bhakts believe them, the international scientists do not accept their pseudo science. It is of the same variety that claims the Aryans knew how to fly planes as Ramayana says so.
Please confirm if aryans were Hindus or dravidians?
Donald Trump persuaded in 2016 election that he will make America great again and by end of 2020 before 2016 America was unquestionable lead on every global institution and issue by far margin to any other nation in the world and look what he end up of doing at end of his term Trump pushed almost all ally away or at least created an environment in their own allies that US can’t be trusted any more with the same sincerity, which also lead to China and at some degree Russia to fill up that gap which they were looking post cold war. Then look at China president XI who wanted to make a China century and expend China and make it great and replace US and now we all know what happen to China, China is almost at conflict of every neighbor and a new cold world war with all major country.
So what is your conclusion with respect to India ? Hindu rashtra will work or not ?
It will work. Has worked so far. We have remained secular and democratic. Haven’t changed to a Banana republic like our neighbour.
‘We have remained secular and democratic’. How ? Arrest jourbalists, assault students in libraries, organise communal riots …..
As for banana republic, GDP is shrinking, and there is no way out. The Hindus will be less troublesome when the money evaporates.
You are a delusional Hindu.
MODERATORS:
Please rein in this Hindu hating Ajmal Kasab.
It will not be too far off when this wish (or dreadful dream) India being called Hindu Rashtra will be fulfilled. Once BJP gets into WB and Orissa and comes back to power with its own majority in 2024, the period between 2024 to 2029 will be nightmarish for sickulars in this country. In fact, having achieved all India dominance, the so called communal stance of BJP will go away. Minorities will realize that they have all the rock solid constitutional and legal rights in this country but no right to rule or have a veto power over the majority. Words ‘secular’ and ‘socialist’ from our Constitution will be deleted and words ‘or Hindustan or Hindu Rashtra’ will be added after ‘India that is Bharat’. UCC will come in and that will complete the Hindu Rastra project so dreaded by the sickulars in this country.
First see if you have an economy left to enjoy your Hindu rashtra. Increasing the number of Hindu slumdogs, rioters, rapists is not an achievement.
Hindutva versus secularism is an outdated, futile and useless debate. Let us not get misled by this, either way. India has spent more than necessary energy on such unwarranted topics. What matters most is our GDP growth. The world would respect us if we conquer Covid and attain 7 to 8 per cent growth rate. But that seems to be unachievable, as of now. The government should focus solely on fundamental economic issues and should not dissipate its energy on such illusory debates.
‘The government should focus solely on fundamental economic issues and should not dissipate its energy on such illusory debates.’
The govt. is not focusing on Hindutva v secularism debate. It thinks it has won on Hindutva and Hindu rashtra is there or nearly there.
As for focus on fundamental economic issues, that is not going to happen. First, they do not have the competenece. Second, they are driven by power as an end in itself. Hindutva is a means to achieve power for elite Hindu castes. They have figured out that Hindus will go along with anti-Muslim rhetoric, and will not raise economic issues.
But you are right – without economy, it will be unsustainable. But they do not mind India going to the dogs.
Bogus TAQQIYA
What is stopping Narendra Modi from sending a Hindu Rashtra postcard to the world ?
The reason is they do not want the RSS’s adoption of Hitler’s model of nationalism to be known. They want to continue to milk the reputation and image India earned – due to Gandhi and Nehru. The RSS-BJP is anti-democratic but they will boast India is the world’s largest democracy. At the same time, they will continue with their pogroms and concentration camps, but try to do it by stealth . They are playing a double game.
In Hitler’s case, he made the German economy grow initially, and then the rapid conquests of several European countries convinced the Germans about his mythical powers. The Germans became delirious that he had made Germany a superpower in 10 years. . It only started going wrong when Britain decided to check Hitler and he decided to attack the Soviet Union. From there on, the German Aryan rashtra, known as Third Reich, was doomed to destruction. All its cities were reduced to rubble and Germany lost 1/4 of its land permanently to Poland and the Soviet Union.
In India’s case, Modi has not made the economy grow, in fact he has collapsed it. He cannot conquer neighbouring countries in the same way as Hitler, but he staged a ‘surgical strike’ in Balakot which hit nothing, but Hindus thought it was a grand success (like Hitler taking over Poland and France). In the second term, China took some land after India threatened them, and our Hindu Hitler kept quiet. It was a bit like Britain checking Hitler.
Modi’s record is actually very weak, much less than Hitler even by fascist terms. He is working on the concentration camp project for Muslims, but that got messed up with Covid.
In the case of Hitler, his days were numbered once Stalin decided to demolish him. In Modi’s case, the outside world is not going to wage war to remove him, but at the same time India faces economic collapse, and China (working with Pak and other neighbours) has decided to rein in the Hindu Rashtra. Modi will concentrate the Hindus on internal fights : target Muslims, Christians and Dalits, which will lead to large scale civic protests. Overall, with a dwindling economy, internal strife, and squeezed additionally by China and Pakistan, the Hindu rashtra will fragment India. It will go back to a collection of states.
India is putting off calling itself a Hindu rashtra, but it will not be able to continue posing as a responsible superpower, emerging economy, largest democracy etc. for too long.
The Modi / RSS gang are truly on their way to making India a Hindu version of Iran and Pakistan.
India’s strength has always been that – one nation with many colorful threads all nicely woven together to make a strong union. When the only thing that remains is a saffron colored thread then it misses out the majority of India – both Hindus and non- Hindus. The Dravidians of the South or the tribals or the north east population will like any logical people NOT willingly allow the subjugation of their culture by one groups view of what being a Hindu means.
My hearts bleeds for India and my eyes are filled with tears at seeing how this Modi gang is taking us backwards.
Well written.
But the majority is intoxicated like the Germans in the 1930s, by a strongman who latches onto their frustrations, and explains someone else is the cause for their backwardness, with a promise of setting it right by tackling that someone else.
India has to run its course of self destruction like Nazi Germany.
Fake comparison.
Very well put.?
The author is correct that Hindus are into thinking and saying ‘if it were not for the Muslims, and British, we would be at the forefront’.
It never occurs to Hindus that throughout history, all countries have been conquered by neighbours, but many recovered because of their capacity for hard work. They do not wallow in the past, they build the future.
Here, Hindus do not want to work hard like others to govern and build a country, but they want super power status conferred on them. They think they can rule with stoking resentment politics, and great power status is an entitlement due to large population.
And as the author points out, the only exceptional thing India has is a large population. That by itself does not entitle you to superpower status.
As Kissinger said, India is the largest non-important country.
This was supposed to be the year of the Olympics. At the last Olympics, India won no gold medal despite a population of 1.3 billion. The day before the badminton final between P.V. Sindhu and Karolina Marin, I remember Indian TV channels talking about ‘India’s rush for gold’ – as if India had won 50 golds already and was going for 51. In the end, Sindhu lost, and India left with 0 gold. Indians had nothing to do but a Google search on Sindhu’s caste !
TV pundits were ashen faced and felt India was entitled due to its large population to be a multi medaliist like USA, UK, China and Russia. They told us that Modi govt. was going to create a plan for India to win many medals at the next Olympics. I was waiting to see ! But the Olympics are postponed due to Covid, so Modi can hide behind that.
This mismatch between the Hindus’ belief in super power entitlements and the actual state of India’s power, parallels the feeling that they are entitled to be leading in the Olympic tally all because they have a large population, they are an old civilisation, they are spiritual etc. Hard work never figures in the Hindu imagination.
People with ability to speak so much and say so little always baffles me. Bro we get it, you’re frustrated with everything in life
It was Subramanian Swamy who said “India is already a Hindu Rashtra” and it is not off the record. A youtube video on the same tag is publicly available. Barring this, the article lacks depth, sensitivity of the issue it aims to cover. Too shallow too little. Rewrite it, elaborate it to meet the expectation.
Hindu Rashtra is a Hindu Nazi state. The reason the BJP (apart from mavericks like Subramaniam Swamy) do not want to say it is because it does not want the outside world to know that RSS’s model of nationalism is derived from Hitler.
But the aspect of Hindu Nazism is being slowly told to the west.
But it is not. The hindus lost their country in wars. When did they win it back? You should be ready for a conclusion and this is not a Pakistani point of view. This is after years of watching a bunch of cowards regain their “pride” and beat up hapless people. No BHARAT WAS NOT WILL NEVER BE A HINDU RASHTRA. There are no hindus. People are free to be and call themselves anything. The conduct is pathetic at it’s best. Can’t even feed it’s own people and goes around full of hot air.
Excellent article
Why the so called Hindu Rashtra will never realize is it primarily meant to represent Hindi heartland culture while very diversified older cultures exist in South India and right even during freedom struggle which rarely gets mentioned.
These morons idiots don’t have any shame to left, I know what she wants Pulitzer price, lavishing life after retirement in usa. Mr.jaishankar once said we are victim of our past image let me add some thing people like her apariotic tarnished our image.
A true civilization has a positive expansive vision. It is time that we Hindus stop being defensive and reactionary, and articulate a vision of the good life beyond one that aims to preserve a fading past when there is a future that we can still grasp. The stamp of the “Hindu Rashtra” as it exists of now is not a viable card to use with the Western world as it is largely driven by fresh outrage and hatred and less by optimistic constructive mindset.
The age of a thriving social media and the exchange of idea that fastly permeates through it is spreading the wound faster than the healing cells, as SM often acts as an echo chamber. I am optimistic. India’s identity has always fundamentally been the Hindu culture which has also, I opine, adopted the medieval Islamic architectures as well. The Hindu culture as it explores itself finds the Islamic past as a roadblock. Pretty confident with how Hindu, anti-Muslim orgs ate emerging and intellectualsbrise within the H wing, we will organise ourselves better and instead of ramming through the roadblock we will learn how to properly climb on it.
*Sone ki chidiya is from the ancient period(before 1000AD) btw. Was used by Roman traders as they came across the riches of a India largely devoid of political conflicts and oppression. It is propoganda material when people target British as the robbers and the Golden Bird as Mughal era, when the Islamists and the British were the actual robbers.
Hindus have nothing to show today, except caste and a tacky Hindu rashtra model imported by RSS from Nazi Germany.
India was forged into a political union, ruled from Delhi by the efforts of the Mughals and the British. Without them, there would be no India. Left to themselves, Hindus disintegrate India. Parttition is the proof. The Hindus continue to stoke divisiveness, and with a failing economy and burgeoning population, break up is all that can happen. India cannot climb up the ladder of development unlike countries that became independent after India – Singapore, Malaysia, UAE, Thailand, Vietnam, China. The rrason is Hindu destructiveness arising from their casteism and communalism.
The actual robbers are the Brahmins and caste Hindus who expropriated the wealth created by Dalit agriculturalists. India needs a French revolution or a communist revolution to weed out Brahmins.
“And we blame both the ghosts of the past and the present — the middle ages when the Islamic invaders came and broke all our temples and taxed us into poverty. In fact, we rarely speak about the British colonial plunder of the ‘golden sparrow’ anymore.”
There is nothing wrong in that view. Brtitsh did not took away 1/4 of land or left millions of people identify themselves with Brits. Brits can be compared to some invaders like Tamerlane or Nadir Shah.
While Muslim rulers not only destroyed our temples and squeezed us poor, their people walked off with 1/4 of our land as well as large number stayed in India but refused to assimilate like Greek, Scythians, Huns etc..
Before Muslim invasion India was golden Calf, but it reduced to golden sparrow during Muslim rule and further down during Btitish rule. Of course Indians were also at fault for not adopting Industrialization
‘Before Muslim invasion India was golden Calf, but it reduced to golden sparrow during Muslim rule and further down during Btitish rule. Of course Indians were also at fault for not adopting Industrialization’.
After Muslims and British, Hindus are ruling for 70 years. First thing they did was to get the country partitioned in two. After that, they worked to make it three. Now they are working to making it a plurality of nations. Khushwant Singh wrote a book in 2010 called ‘The End of India’ because it became clear to him Hindus are unable to rule India. Look at other countries that became independent after India – Malaysia, Korea, Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand, UAE etc.
India is a such a failure that the greatest ambition of the Hindu is to migrate to a Christian or Muslim country for work.
we would be happy if all Muslims including you migrate to more “successful ” Pakistan and leave India and Indians for good.
Muslims built India, they are needed to correct junglis. Left in your hands, India will go to the dogs – as we see now.
Muslims built India, LOL Good joke.
“Left in your hands, India will go to the dogs” . You mean they will become Muslims.
” – as we see now.” you mean seeing Hindu secularists,, who are your dogs
Great article! really summarises the authoritarian nature of today’s indians
When will commies pull head from you know where….
70 साल से किसी प्रधानमंत्री उम्मीदवार ने कभी जनेऊ नही पहना।
किसी मुख्यमंत्री उमीदवार ने अपनी कुर्सी बचने के लिए हनुमान चालीसा पढ़ कर हनुमानजी की आह्वान नही किया। इसे कहते हैं
खाने पीने को बन्दरिया डंडे खाने को रीछ
आरएसएस के बेनाम नेता के नाम से लिखने की क्या जरूरत थी। डॉ सुब्रमण्यम स्वामी हजार बार कह चुके है भारत शुरू से ही हिन्दू राष्ट्र है। मनघडंत कहानियां बनाने में कोई जवाब नही। कोई कहता है मुझे टैक्सी ड्राइवर ने यूं कहा,कोई लिखता है मुझे ढाबे वाले ने यूं कहा। बस करो यार बुहत हुई बक*दी
Read book by Kuswant Singh.. The End of India, written in 2003. Current atmosphere was accurately predicted. What comes next maybe as well.
According to one theory, Mrs Gandhi lifted the emergency and called for elections – according to another, her spooks told her she would win – because she could not face her friends in the West. Yeh aap ne – Nehruji ki beti hote hue – kya kar diya. International approbation, especially from the Caucasians, is something India covets. Hence this almost slavish craving for a permanent seat. So if we are troubled by what the world is saying about New India, that is a good thing. After so much engagement with foreign governments – possibly 150 plus summits – a slender Report Card. Indian diplomats posted abroad must squirm to read the newspapers, watch TV, for items pertaining the home country. Beyond their pay grade now to change perceptions. My heart tells me the initial interactions with the Biden administration will be a little cool, for reasons that go beyond the unwarranted support to Trump’s campaign.
‘After so much engagement with foreign governments – possibly 150 plus summits – a slender Report Card.’
Modi and BJP indeed had many engagements abroad – but it was really with adulating Hindu NRIs who felt India was becoming a Hindu superpower due to Hindu strongman Modi. Both BJP Hindus and Hindu NRIs became delusional.
For the rest of the world, India is not on the horizon any more. During the MMS era, an impression was created that there was a second China emerging. This was propagated by Thomas Friedmann, Fareed Zakaria, CNN. BBC, Economist etc. In the first Modi govt., they started having doubts, but they clung to the hope would concentrate on economy and not stoking divisions. In the second term, everyone abroad is aware the economy is gone, and some are becoming aware that the BJP stands for Hindu Nazism. India is on no one’s horizon, and if at all, it is for negative reasons.
Your report?
How lewd.
Who asked for your report? Pakistan or Karl Marx?
Another rant from the liberals who are actually not liberal at all in their opinions and acceptance of other views. Their views are fixated to make the careers of some journos, big talk empty headed intellectuals and a red party that does not win elections much. Anyway these people are a good time pass now.
But somehow what liberals write cannot be refuted and it bothers you.
Secular/liberal cabal members like Ms. Rama Lakshmi are the reason why India is so fast turning to the right wing.
The bigotry of the secular/liberal cabal knows no bounds. They would stoop to any level including betrayal of the nation, the civilization, their own religion and heritage – just in order to portray themselves as secular before the Weatern world and have their backs patted by their white masters.
‘Secular/liberal cabal members like Ms. Rama Lakshmi are the reason why India is so fast turning to the right wing.’
So fascism is the alternative to secular/liberal ? Tell me where it has succeeded.
‘just in order to portray themselves as secular before the Weatern world and have their backs patted by their white masters.’
I bet you are living in America, like most patriotic Hindus.
Propoganda of Anglophile elites of India – “Gandhi won Indian independence through non-violence”, but it was only non-violent for the oppressors, who then wrote our history. For the millions of Indians jailed, tortured, killed in the freedom struggle, famines, and Partition, it was very violent indeed.
The non-violence myth was colonialism’s parting gift, emasculating our nation instead of letting the blood of the fallen fertilise the soil of civilisational rebirth. Instead of being able to say that their sacrifices were not in vain, we erased their memory to please the elite.
Who cravenly surrendered millions to their deaths at the hands of the feudal landowners, collaborators, and compradors behind the Muslim League, who cooperated with the British to use colonial state institutions to “free” them from having to share power with inferior “kafirs”
And who did it serve? Not the poor, not the oppressed. Only the Anglophile, comprador bourgeoisie of the Indian National Congress who wanted to inherit the privileges and tools that their colonial masters enjoyed, in exchange for arranging a “non-violent” independence movement.
Did Jinnah and his handful of feudal dinosaurs, brown Englishmen, and street goons get their precious ethno-religious theocracy by begging? No, they built up a “veto through violence”, which the cowardly colonial and Congress institutions were unable (or unwilling) to counter.
This fetishisation of Gandhi, Mandela, or MLK as non-violent heroes” is bourgeois liberal propaganda, designed to degrade and demoralise. Non-violent protests are the easiest for the establishment to ignore, undermine, or appropriate. All power flows from the barrel of a gun
Great analysis ??
‘Did Jinnah and his handful of feudal dinosaurs, brown Englishmen, and street goons get their precious ethno-religious theocracy by begging? No, they built up a “veto through violence”, which the cowardly colonial and Congress institutions were unable (or unwilling) to counter.’
Could RSS and Hindu Mahasabha stop creation of Pakistan despite their drill and hate speeches ?
Can the RSS get back PoK, Aksai Chin and recently lost Galwan ?
These Hindu cowards are only good for fighting inside India.
NO.1 JNU.NO.2 JU.NO.3 DU.NO4.AMU.NO.5 SHAHEEN BAG.NO.6.CAA.NO.7.ARRESTED SENIOR CITIZEN IN ELGAR PARISHAD CASE.NO.8 CONGRESS.NO.9 65% OF THE MASSES WHO DID’T VOTE FOR NARENDRA MODI IN 2019 ELECTION !!!!!!!
A bit too clever for your own good. The problem with the modern Hindu psyche is not that there have been invasions. The problem is that two-bit nehruvian marxists like yourself have been doing your best to sweep the true nature of these invasions under the rug and manufacture a false narrative that the islamic rule has been milk and honey for Hindus and India. And you guys, like the true fascists that you are, have captured all levers of power and left no space for dissenting opinions. As a result, you have suppressed the voice of the Hindus and inflicted a cultural genocide on them through your lies and deception at a monumental scale. Our textbooks are doctored. Our history is manufactured. You allowed a collective sense of injury in the psyche of hindus to grow with no outlet for expression. Now you are reaping what you sowed. The solution is very simple, really. Let the true history be told. Let the atrocities of the past be told honestly. Just like the social evils like untouchability are being confronted openly, let the true horrors of the islamic and colonial invasions be told without lying or hiding. Let everybody study them in schools and colleges. Only when the truth is confronted, there will be reconciliation. Let’s learn from South Africa. But for that to happen, nehrivian marxists like yourself need to be eradicated like plague – for you are the source of the problem.
The problem with the Hindutva fascists is that you want to say Hindus could not come up because of the Muslims and the British. But you do not want to accept your responsibility in stunting India with a caste system, for your communalists issuing threats to minorities so that they asked for partition, and for your continuing use of casteism and communalism to gain power for the upper caste minority.
It was the norm in 1000 AD to invade the neighbour. Before the Muslims came, the Hindus were fighting between themselves – when Mohamed Ghori came, Prithviraj Chauhan was fighting with Jaychand. At the same period, William the Conqueror from France invaded and captured England. But 500 years later, England went on to be a world famous and learned country – because they did not sit around crying about being vanquished by William the Conqueror.
Hindus need to perform today and show they can run India according to the norms of today, and not the norms of Vedic times.
It is no good saying you cannot deliver because of the past. If you do that, people will say Hindus do not have the capability to rule India, unlike the Muslims and the British.
If you are batting, you cannot say that you cannot score runs because the previous batsmen did not perform.
Fascist in India are the communists who hide behind the dark dirty wall of socialism. But their basic ideology will always be Power, grabbed unjustly, by violence, with absolute appeasement of those who believe in one ruler, one god.
Some journalist seems to be enamoured by KAMALNATH . Who calls woman an item.
Even DOGVIJAY had called a lady LEADER ” TANCH MAAL” .
THIS slave attitude of some female
“RENT A JOURNALIST ”
shows how the journalistic standards have fallen.
Kili J has rambled on and on and everything is lost from ideation on to the inking.
To put it succinctly Indian history and civilization can be broadly categorized into 4 Vedic/prevedic, Islamic invasion and slavery, British slavery and independent India.
Hindu was a term given to inhabitants of this land by foreigners. So much do that in 1826 hindu religion was formally identified by British for administrative purposes. So until then it was without a name.
We were and we are a hindu Rashtra. And the inherent tolerance of people of this land has provided refuge for the persecuted.
The violent undertones of tribal religions are getting noticed by aam jaanta clearly. The latest being in Paris. So yes, further marginalization of majority society and denigration of their beliefs and practices will not go without a response.
Kili J should come out of this mythical world, Hindu bashing and accept it that it is a Hindu Rashtra.
You represent the muddled Hindu mind. First you tell us ‘Hindu was a term given to inhabitants of this land by foreigners’.
Then you proudly assert you were and are a Hindu rashtra ! At least call yourself by a name of your own.
India’s rich past is not only vedic. it also has the much older Tamil culture and their religion. When India turns into a Hindu rashtra, it will in turn hit back on its own cultural identity which is its unity in diversity. And moreover it hit badly on the Indian constitution which clearly states that it is union of countries and not states. If people try to unite india killing its federal system, it is like a suicide mission where the states will try to get away from the federal system which will break India back to the state as it was at the time of the British.
What are you smoking? Which constitution says India is union of “countries”? India is a hindu majority country with different Hindu sects and cultures
Well said.You have put it in roght perspective.The so called Hindu Rashtra proponent do not know what they are doing.At best they will succeed in destroying the country given the 5000 yrs old diversity .
HIndus are secualr by nature, so do not worry too much about it.
Yes yes…we just saw how secular you were in Hathras.
They were, perhaps in the past. Not any more, atleast majority of them.
Hindu fundamentalism? *Sigh* I don’t want to get into the argument on merits and demerits of this article. But the word hindu fundamentalism did catch my eye. Might i tell the author that Hinduism doesn’t have fundamentals (one book one prophet one god). What annoys me is the ease with which the so called columnists and intellectuals easily brand people of this faith. “Hindu fundamentalism”, “brahmanism” whatever. But somehow when this Branding is used for one “peaceful” community, my God you are suddenly bigots. Labeling won’t help the situation. But if you want to label people label all. Just because Hindus can’t form mobs to burn things down or behead people like one happened in France or have suicide bomb vests, you don’t get to brand an entire community that too wrongly.
This hypocrisy whether the author is guilty of it or not, is pushing people more and more to the right. You want to talk about caste atrocities, women issues, communal disharmony? Definitely all these are extremely problematic issues that have to be addressed. But using terms like “Hindu fundamentalism” as if Hindus are going around shooting people in crowded places or bombing hotels is unfair. And it hurts the cause for working on the issues above. What annoys a lot Hindus is this hypocrisy where Islamic fundamentalism becomes “terror has no religion” and somehow disconnected unfortunate events get branded as “Hindu fundamentalism” or “saffron terror”. I urge the author to think about this.
OK, hindu opprtunism, hindu cowardism, hindu who couldn’t fight wars and liberate their country from invaders. EVER.
Hindu fascism or Hindu Nazism is the correct term. Hindutva is a model derived from Hitler (see Golwalkar and Savarkar’s writings).
I salute you. You are so strong and have such conviction that you are confronting so many bigots alone. I have stopped reading anything coming from India because I had started developing clinical anxiety. It’s a pathetic state of affairs there and unfortunately when people will realise, it will be too late.
There are fundamentalists under the labels of every religion and thus terms like Islamic fundamentalism, Hindu fundamentalism, all make sense.
Usual liberal rant!!
Usual bhakt response
Before Modi Government came into power, journalists like Ram Lakshmi used to have free access to Congress ministers, some times even into their bedrooms, these journalists made huge money, had political power(Remember Nadia and Burqa Dut Tapes), now these journalists do not have any power and money, so these bunch of secular Journalists beating their chest and writing useless articles like these to make Shekhar Guptha happy.
What a perverted imagination. Only a brainless or rather brainwashed bhakt can be capable of!
What a perverted comment. Only a slave of italian mafia is capable of such comments.
Ravindran – Take your medications,.