H – Hindutva | #AtoZChallenge

H – Hindutva | #AtoZChallenge #BlogchatterA2Z

Hindutva is defined as, ‘An ideology seeking to establish the hegemony of Hindus and the Hindu way of life’ as per the Oxford dictionary. The current ruling party is synonymous with it. In fact, their rise to power was on the basis of Hindutva. A Supreme Court 1995 judgment defined Hindutva as “a way of life and not a religion”.
People like Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, K. B. Hedgewar and Syama Prasad Mukherjee popularized the term. It became the ideological base of organizations like RSS, VHP, Hindu Mahasabha and Hindu Sena. The lucidity of their idea lies in the fact that they think Hindus were the original inhabitants of this land.
Who were the original inhabitants of this land? The answer lies in the current fabric of India. Many reports and theories suggest that Dravidians were the original inhabitants. The Hindutva idealists would say that Aryans were the first. But didn’t the first chapter in our school history class was that one of the reasons why Indus Valley civilization was killed because of the migration of Aryans.
There is genetic evidence that suggests that the original habitats of India were some tribal and adivasis. Rest each and every person found on this land is a descendant of some old migrant from various parts of the world.
I often hear that we have never attacked or invaded any country…that may be true…but don’t say that our religion is free of violence. Even the epics of Ramayana and Mahabharata are full of violence and war.
Rather than finding out fallacies in other religions why don’t we first look inside and see what our teaching are and are we following it to the fullest? Weren’t things like ‘untouchability’ and ‘sati system’ given preference on the name of religion? But with time, education and protest, they were abolished. I sometimes think what outrage Raja Ram Mohan Roy would have faced in that era.

Making people like Yogi the poster boy of Hindutva is realistically and statistically detrimental to the society. Coining terms like ‘Love Jihad’ would definitely get you more votes but it thrashes the practical reality.
I don’t know how many of you know this – People like Subramanian Swamy who speak so much in favor of Hindutva forgot to teach the concept in his own family. His son in law is Nadeem Haider. I am all in favor of her daughter’s choice but then he should only preach what he practices.
I have witnessed the massacre that happened during the Babri Masjid demolition. Who does it help? For years the emotions and sentiments attached to the temple have been used by the ruling party for their electoral gains.
On the issue of Ram temple, they say that they will follow the top courts’ directions but on the other hand on the issue of ‘Sabrimala’ they give precedence to faith. Frankly, they follow the strategy that will get them more votes in that particular region.
By instilling the fear in the hearts of common masses that Hindus are under threat – they continue to commit and justify atrocities against the minorities and Dalits. 82% of the overall population is of Hindus and still, they want us to believe that we are under threat. I dare them to declare India as a Hindu state and they will come to know the real fabric of India.
Don’t forget that this strategy only works where there are people of other religion. The moment it shifts to Hindu majority places, their strategy shifts to upper caste and lower caste. It was these brutalities committed on these minorities and lower caste people that forced them to convert and seek solace in other religions. I would be blunt here, but if your concept and methods were so correct then why did even one Hindu leave and embrace the other religions.
For years I have been hearing that foreigners have ruled us for the last 1000 years. What they don’t teach and create awareness about is that barring the last 70 years the concept of India included current Pakistan as well as Bangladesh. Nepal and Afghanistan were formed during the 18^th century, before that they were also the part of India.
Even in the current government, there is a trend to ‘saffronize’ everything down south. From traffic boards to road milestones…from billboards to government hoardings, things are being repainted using Hindi. Imagine what difficulty it causes an illiterate person traveling on the road, which is only aware of their regional language. The hypocrisy is that we would patronize a foreign language like English but would simply hate our own languages.
To be honest, without offending anyone, given the rise in the number of hate crimes on the name of religion and caste – it is believed that Hinduism is the oldest religion. That means if Hinduism wouldn’t have found roots the other religions would have never followed suit and the process to prove their superiority would have never begun. Just a thought!
The ‘Varna System’ was formed on the basis of what ‘work’ people did in society. My understanding of it is that it was or should have been horizontal where everybody was equal and was divided only on the class of work but unfortunately the ones who were making it wanted to place them on the top and hence the vertical understanding of the system percolated.
No true human forget Hindu would have taken sides with the rapists of a girl child irrespective of her religion. That is where it is really dangerous. Did anyone hear the condemnation from the PM or the top ruling leaders of the government.
If the previous PM was abused for taking orders from a certain family then everyone knows to which office in Nagpur the current PM bows down to. It is no one’s job to tell what a person should wear, eat, follow and marry to.
Nobody questions, which side they are actually on – They themselves are confused whether to go with Mahatma or Godse.
I pity those people who on the name of religion are ready to kill. No religion teaches that and if you do that then you know no religion. Even during the times when this land was getting formed, the fabric of the soul was secular. Let’s keep it that way.
For all those who are against hate,
For all those who believe everyone is equal,
For all those who don’t side with this ideology,
And
For all those who are flag bearers of Hindutva…
It’s not a goodbye,
But it’s a GOOD BYE.
Manas ‘Sameer’ Mukul
This is the 8th post for the #AtoZChallenge #BlogchatterA2Z. My theme in Politics Category is ‘IPL – Indian Parliamentary League’, where I would be covering some relevant issues with the General Elections 2019 through the course of 26 posts.
Read the previous post here: IPL – Indian Parliamentary League
Please do visit tomorrow for the next post with letter ‘I’
I am also taking part in the #AtoZChallenge #BlogchatterA2Z using another theme –‘Dubai – City of Gold‘. If you love travel head over to the Travel Theme and share your feedback.