Mumbai: Last month, political compulsions brought the Shiv Sena and Congress together to share power in Maharashtra. Now, their diverse views on Hindutva are playing out in the state and threatens to wedge a divide between the two new allies.
At the heart of the minor rumblings is a Right-wing ideologue revered by the Shiv Sena and held in contempt by the Congress — Vinayak Damodar Savarkar.
On Sunday, at the Bharat Bachao rally in Delhi, former Congress president Rahul Gandhi refused to apologise for his “rape in India” remarks and, instead, said his name was not “Rahul Savarkar” and that he would never apologise for speaking the truth.
The remarks resonated in Mumbai where some Shiv Sainiks took to the streets and demanded an apology from Gandhi. They, through speed post, also sent him a book written by Savarkar to “enable him to understand India’s history better”.
Gandhi’s comments were aimed at the BJP but they have touched a raw nerve in the Shiv Sena, which has appropriated Savarkar as one of its own. The Shiv Sena has time and again been aggressive in its defence of Savarkar with the Congress itself being at the receiving end before.
In 2018, Shiv Sainiks had launched protests against Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar for his remarks that Savarkar was the first proponent of two-nation theory and that he had invented the term “Hindutva” to create a religious divide in society.
Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray had raked up the issue in September this year when, during a launch of a book on Savarkar, he said Aiyar should have been beaten with shoes for his comments. Uddhav had then added that if Savarkar had been the prime minister back then, Pakistan would not have been born.
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Long association with Savarkar
The connection between the Shiv Sena and Savarkar, a Hindu Mahasabha leader, is intrinsic. The Shiv Sena was born in July 1966, five months after the death of Savarkar in February that year.
The Hindutva agenda of the Shiv Sena is closely linked to the ideology propounded by Savarkar. The founder of the Shiv Sena, Bal Thackeray’s idea of India was similar to that propagated by Savarkar.
Take for instance the Akhand Bharat (Unified India) theory. Although it is Savarkar who coined the term, the generations that followed after the Shiv Sena came into being, have identified Thackeray as being synonymous with it.
Thackeray has often referred to the Hindu Rashtra theory in his public speeches and popularised the ideology among Shiv Sainiks. So forceful was his stand that subsequent generations of Shiv Sainiks, unfamiliar with Savarkar, felt that it was the ideology of their founder.
Savarkar, a Brahmin, found much popularity with Brahmin Right-wing organisations, but that popularity did not resonate with the common man, for whom it was the Shiv Sena that found more acceptance.
“Though Savarkar is referred to as a national icon by the Shiv Sena, not much was done by the party to popularise him,” said a historian. “So he remains largely unknown to the common man.”
According to sources, as long as the Shiv Sena is relevant to Maharashtra, so will Savarkar, who is popularly referred to as Veer Savarkar.
“While all others have found places in history books and therefore came to be known to the common man, it was not the case with Savarkar. His sacrifices or his history were not made into films or documentaries,” said a source.
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Thackeray and Savarkar
Savarkar’s two-nation theory was about Hindus and Muslims as two separate nations — an idea that was often talked about by Thackeray in his public addresses.
His ideology permeated into the Shiv Sena only in the 1980s even though the party existed informally as a social organisation when Savarkar was alive, sources said.
Savarkar felt that cultural, religious and political unity of Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs and Jains could make them co-exist as a nation. This was his response to the Muslims and Christians due to their spiritual homelands in the Middle East, said sources familiar with the history of Savarkar.
“This idea too found acceptance with the Shiv Sena but after the 1980s when they shifted to the Hindutva thought,” said the source.
A staunch supporter of swadeshi, Savarkar was against foreign goods and this idea found a resonance with the Shiv Sena founder. At one of his Dussehra rallies, Thackeray had asked those present to give up foreign goods. Promoting the values of swadeshi, Thackeray had then announced that adopting it as a way of life would help India.
Those in the know of Savarkar’s work say that he was not in favour of cow worship and dismissed it as superstitious. “The Shiv Sena is very clear on its stand about cow slaughter. But the party does not promote cow worship,” said the source.
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Hindutva ect are things of past for shivsena .It is the brain child of Congress to fight the left On many occasions Sena supported the Congress including emergency.and despite being part of the NDA.It has nothing to do with the ideology of Savarkar though his nationalism was different from r s s s cultural nationalism.If not what was the need of r.s.s.to aligned with b.j.p. when sawarkar s Hindu maha ssabha was available.The reason behind this is that after gandhis death r.s.s had to distance itself from ghodse and his mentor sawar kar to avoid the backlash on Brahmins who had to run from the rural areas of Maharastra but this was to fool the people.In there heart of hearts they had and even now have soft corner for them.The love for gandi is limited to gujrati Chatur baniya only. Without knowing history like feku Pappu unnecessary creat contravacies. Feku being in power sustains it but pappu cannot control his emotions .
Congress and its “Family” are too arrogant yo understand how not to offend allies and make amends for any lapses. Sena will pay a BIG price for allying with Congress to satisfy its own small ambitions and stubborn whims to capture power. Rahul is a smug and ignorant adult who never really grew up.
Rahul’s comment about Savarkar is foolish and irrelevant. IN a mass meeting to attack BJP policies, where does Savarkar come in at all ?
This is Rahul’s typical style of making offensive irrelevant comments that divert from the main issue.One doesn’t have to admire Savarkar to see that Rahul’s comments are not amusing.