New Delhi: Days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi hit out at the Opposition parties for using the acronym INDIA for their alliance, the RSS’s Hindi-language mouthpiece Panchjanya drew attention to the negative historical connotations of the name India, as compared to Bharat.
In an editorial, it pointed out that entities like the Dutch East India Company and Dutch West India Company, which bore “India” in their names, were involved in the slave trade.
Panchjanya further claimed that “India”, unlike “Bharat”, does not have a cultural and political identity associated with it.
“Bharat is a cultural word, which signifies unity, equality, and affection. India is that which was seen by the invaders of the West with their blind eyes. They saw it to plunder it, to capture it and to divide it,” the editorial said.
“In fact, the meaning of the word ‘India’ in the West is not even geographical. The Dutch East India Company and the Dutch West India Company were openly used to trade slaves,” it added.
“In the Constituent Assembly too, there was a very heated debate on keeping the geographical name of India as Bharat… but taking a western point of view, it was written (in the Constitution), ‘India, that is Bharat’,” it further said.
The Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) is a common banner under which over two dozen opposition parties have joined hands to take on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA).
Delving further into the INDIA vs NDA debate, Panchjanya also took potshots at the constituents of the opposition alliance, commenting that “queen of the family” Sonia Gandhi had taken centrestage rather than “sushasan babu” Nitish Kumar.
Panchjanya claimed that the Opposition alliance had discarded the name UPA (United Progressive Alliance) due to its association with “innumerable scams, policy irresponsibility, ideological emptiness, and softness towards terrorism”.
Other topics taken up by the Hindu Right press included the ethnic violence in Manipur, alleged “Ponzi schemes” run by Christian missionaries, the pitfalls of “secular politics”, and the reportedly severe reaction from fundamentalists in Pakistan over a cross-border romance.
‘Misinformation’ before 2024 in Manipur
Writing in the English-language RSS mouthpiece Organiser, its editor Prafulla Ketkar wrote about the “shameful video of two women being paraded naked” in Manipur as well as other incidents of violence in the state.
While he said that “whataboutery and selectivism” in such cases were detrimental, he immediately followed this up with unrelated examples from other states.
“Using women groups as a shield to spread violence (as exhibited in the anti-CAA protests) and attacking women as political revenge (as happened in the case of West Bengal after the Assembly elections) are becoming new norms,” he wrote
Linking the Manipur violence to colonial policies, which is a line the publication has taken earlier as well, he said that “misinformation campaign(s) by vested interests” remain an enduring issue.
“As a nation, we need to be more vigilant in the run-up to the 2024 Lok Sabha Elections, as there will be many more sinister plans to bring instability, friction and bad-name to Bharat in the coming months,” he wrote.
Conflict has raged in Manipur since 3 May between the majority Meitei community, who are predominantly Hindu, and tribal Kukis, who primarily follow Christianity.
EU resolution on Manipur was ‘propaganda’
On 12 July, the legislative body of the EU passed a resolution asking the Indian government to put a stop to the ethnic violence in Manipur and protect religious minorities. The Indian Ministry of External Affairs immediately slammed the “interference” as “unacceptable”.
Writing in the Indian Express, RSS ideologue Ram Madhav also unleashed a volley of criticism at the EU’s move, calling it a “propaganda piece”.
“Discussions on the resolution did not last for even 15 minutes. Some right-wing members of the European Parliament (MEPs) resorted to run-of-the-mill allegations about “persecution” of Christians and other minorities, and Hindu majoritarianism,” he wrote.
According to Madhav, “uncalled for interventions and discourses” from within and outside the country only made matters worse, and delayed the “healing” of the “deep wounds caused by the ethnic clashes”.
Madhav further wrote that the representatives of Meiteis and Kukis are in Delhi, holding consultations with the authorities concerned to find an amicable pathway to peace.
He also took exception with the view that the conflict between the dominant Meitei community and the minority Kuki tribals represents anti-Christian violence.
“The European Parliament and some church organisations tried to project it as anti-Christian violence. But one of the first places of worship to be attacked was a Hindu temple. Many churches too were attacked. But more than religion, ethnic identity played a major role in this violence,” Madhav wrote. “When false narratives dominate the discourse in India, as well as outside, peace and reconciliation become difficult.”
Also Read: ‘Colonial construct’ of hills vs plains is cause of Manipur clashes, says Hindu Right press
‘Ponzi schemes’ by missionaries
A cover story in Panchjanya claimed to expose the purported “Ponzi schemes” of Christian missionaries.
“Ceremonies of conversion are held, funds are collected for it. For the next tranche of money, again the next conversion has to be done. This Ponzi scheme goes on like this,” says the article.
A Ponzi scheme is a type of scam in which high returns are promised to investors, who are then paid using new investors’ money instead of real profits.
The report cited the purported video of an American pastor called Chris Hodges who allegedly proclaimed that India is the “main destination for conversion” and “despite the efforts of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, (his organisation) has been “successful in reaching its goal”.
The missionaries with whom Hodges’s organisation is associated have already converted more than one lakh Hindus in a week, the report claimed.
The story further alleged that the Church in India “acts as a handmaiden in the conspiracies of multinational companies to hinder India’s development”.
It cited various demonstrations against infra and other projects, alleging that these had the hand of the Church behind them — such as the protests led by priest Eugene H Pereira last year against Kerala’s Vizhinjam International Port, an Adani Group project.
“In fact, the Church, which claims itself to be a minority in India, has the deepest network globally and unlimited financial and political power. It has complete control over the Internet and the media. It has the power to influence governments and markets. Wherever the Christian missionaries of Western countries have gone, they have destroyed the socio-economic-political ecosystem there, the article said.
BJP’s two faces for Muslims?
Writing in Dainik Bhaskar, right-leaning author Minhaz Merchant claimed that secular politics negatively impact Muslims, with the BJP being complicit too.
“These parties see Muslim votes as an asset, which can be exploited in every election, and after the elections, Muslims are neglected as before,” Merchant wrote. “BJP is also no less guilty for this. It promotes polarisation to secure its 40 per cent vote-share.”
Expounding further, Merchant contrasted the policies of the BJP back home and the image it tries to portray abroad.
“The Prime Minister projects himself as a Hindutva icon at home and an inclusive global leader abroad. During both his terms, Narendra Modi has made efforts to increase rapprochement with the Muslim countries of the Middle East and North Africa,” Merchant wrote.
He pointed out that the PM invited the President of Egypt as the chief guest during the Republic Day celebrations, and that National Security Advisor Ajit Doval warmly welcomed Dr. Muhammed bin Abdul-Karim Al-Issa, the general secretary of the Muslim World League, on his visit to India this month.
“It should be asked whether pseudo-secularism has done more harm to Muslims and has alienated them further, leaving them economically marginalised? The Muslim community needs enlightened leadership. It will be in the interest of the religious leaders that the Muslims remain poor and backward, so that they get a sense of being oppressed,” Merchant wrote.
“Since independence, secular politics has made negligible efforts to improve the economic condition of Muslims. Instead, it has created a sense of separation among Muslims. They tell Muslim voters to vote unitedly for their party, but don’t ask what they did to bring them out of poverty,” he added.
Seema-Sachin love story
The cross-border romance of Pakistani woman Seema Haidar and her Hindu lover Sachin invited a lengthy commentary from former Rajya Sabha MP Balbir Punj, writing in Punjab Kesari.
Punj claimed that even though “most Pakistanis have become thirsty for Seema Haider’s blood”, India’s “self-proclaimed secularists have remained silent on the matter since it does not suit the narrative.
Haider, a 27-year-old Pakistani national, made headlines when she reportedly entered India with her four children via Nepal to be with Sachin, a man she claimed to have fallen in love with while playing PUBG.
According to news reports, the incident has resulted in threats being directed at the Hindu community in Pakistan, with warnings of consequences if Haider does not return.
“This is because Seema not only reached India after falling in love with a Hindu boy, but also became a Hindu by her will… According to Islamic beliefs, the border crime is ‘shirk‘ (worship of another god along with Allah), which is punishable only by death. The border fury is being unleashed by attacking the few remaining temples in Pakistan and threatening to rape Hindu daughters (mostly Dalits),” Punj wrote.
(Edited by Asavari Singh)
Also Read: ‘Personal laws of a community seriously violate women’s rights’ — Hindu Right press on need for UCC