“You are entitled to your own opinion, but you are not entitled to your own facts.” — Daniel Patrick Moynihan. RSS claims it is building a more authentic nation, a Hindu Rashtra, based on the essence of Hinduism, which it calls Hindutva. The one that we have, created by the imagination of Nehru, Sardar Patel, and Dr B R Ambedkar, and our 300 million forefathers, embodied in the Constitution that came into force in 1950, after years of debate in a Constituent Assembly, is apparently not good enough for the Sangh Parivar. The Sangh offers no explanation why.
Absolutely Spot On! Brilliantly defined.... By far the best read....if they don't wake up soon, every fabric of our country will be destroyed. This ideology stems from having contributed zero and is nothing but hiding behind the inadequacy of that!! Bloody brilliant!!
No, there is no way that a Hindu Rashtra will add to India's power or strength. There is a lot to be written on how it is reducing India's power and strengths.
Great writing as usual. The RSS is singularly free of vision, and when in the midst of the most momentous historical exercise ever - the Indian Independence movement - they chose to sit it out. Had they disagreed with the Gandhian movement and mounted an armed insurrection against the British one would have had enormous respect for them. But they did not even do that - just hung around in shorts and did exercise with lathis. That we are conceding the role of redefining the new Indian nation to this bunch of thugs appalls me. No wonder Seattle beckoned!
I wonder what was the point of "Sovereign Power". The British buying and bullying their way to own most of India, aided and abetted by moneylenders like Jagat Seth and with good Indian soldiery doing the fighting, was due to the fragmented nature of the subcontinent. Perhaps you can elaborate on that?
well written POV - IMO three points stand out : there is no blue print circulated of what the Hindu rashtra will look like so that people can vote for/against it (but BJP will claim it doesnt share RSS vison, at least till winning next election); individual allegiance to common vision and Trust is needed for strengthening, unifying country/ sovereign power, pursuance of a divisive agenda will lead to disaster down the line; I am however not so sanguine about people not supporting militant Hindutva (from my circle, anecdotally, more than 3/4thof the "higher castes educated Hindus love NM) - having said that we still don't know what BJP 's vison is in terms of shaping the constitution, so maybe we shd hold our horses - so maybe the people still have a chance to make BJP rethink the form and content of their plan to restructure India based on their voting in coming elections - which is what democracy delivers - not a perfect solution, but a majority consensus
The trenchant beauty of the discussion of Hindu Rastra as India's sovereign power is brilliantly toned and exhilaratingly ramified in both writing and content. Essay is incisive, terrifying and deeply revelatory. Vision, not Vistas, keep it alive and flourishing. Please read. 🙏
Why r u off the twitter,U r only one,after Arundhti Roy,I have highest regard for intellect, clarity of the subject, reasons, solutions in brutal prose.
On your last comment: Just as there is no Christianutva different from Christianity, and there is no Islamutva different from Islam; or Buddhismutva different from Buddhism; or Sikhutva different from Sikhism or Jainitva different form Jainism or Taoutva different from Taoism or Shintotuva different form Shintoism etc etc, there is no Hindutva that is different from Hinduism.
People irrespective of religion are equally entitled to self-defense against violent ideologies and to participate in politics. On those points, Hindus have the same rights as anyone else, particularly against violence and aggression directed against them. Religious ideologies like Islam and Christianity that actively promote violence against “non-believers”, ideologies that have been and continue to be responsible for almost all the religion-based violence over the last 2000 years or so- those are the ideologies you want to take up arms against if you want a better more peaceful world.
In summary, your attack on Hinduism/Hindutva is indefensible and unacceptable; it is simply your religious bigotry, hypocrisy and ignorance.
Dear Sonali, We have given Enough time to your so called Feminism, equality, islamic values, christanic values last 1400 years. What your hypocrite mindset made disastor on the world.
Take any problem, take a proble of your Loved issue your hilited in very 1st para
Equality of Women to Men : My answer is, I belive Nature as Iswar, God in your word, if your si called GOD don't want to make Men and Women body equal, who the hell you are preaching Hindus equality.
Did you know what bullshit Men women equality in your mind is ??
It is a Communist programm, trojan program pushed in your mind working while writing this shit.
Let list down problem in your bias Thinking
1 . If you so, projecting Women write activist Why you have not mentioned Halala from Islam
2. If you are, so active Women rights, why you are not talking og Nun practice in Christianity, whom father's of Charch use as sex slave.
Go and dig backyard of any Church, you will find thounsand of infants dead bodies, even you will find thousand of dead bodies of Nuns, who did not cooprated in Sins of Father's
So, keep your bullshit to your mind,
Don't lecture us to How to oprate our India and Earth for rest of year,
Your bulshit mind set had given 1400 year, you had made a Earth like Brothals of women,
A well written article, Sonaliji, but I wish it was informed by facts.
You state that "No one has clue as to what the Sangh Parivar’s imagined Hindu Rashtra will look like. How it will be constituted? What will citizenship mean under such a nation? Will our fundamental rights endure? How will we constitute and embody sovereign power? Of all such issues we know nothing.The Sangh, in its priestly arrogance, has not deemed it fit to even issue a white paper on the subject; to share with citizens the essential features of this Rashtra, that it proposes to impose on them. There is no information, no consultation, no discussion, no debate, on any aspect of the proposed Hindu Rashtra."
If that is indeed the case and admittedly no one has a clue about this Hindu Rashtra, then why is there such a strong presumption in the remainder of the essay that whatever it is, is dystopian? How have you been able to divine the dystopian nature of this RSS inspired Hindu Rashtra with "no consultation, no discussion, no debate on any aspect of the proposed Hindu Rashtra"? Yet you seem to be certain that it will be rejected out of hand and knowing this "some in the Sangh want to smuggle in a Hndu Rashtra through stealth". Seems like conjecture upon conjecture.
I will not go into other such examples in your essay for the sake of brevity, but it seems to me that you have set up a strawman argument that RSS is trying to foist a Hindu Rashtra on an unsuspecting polity, notwithstanding the fact that the RSS leadership has explicitly pledged allegiance to the extant Constitution of India, and then attacking the strawman with all the sophistry at your disposal.
I wish you had acted on the late Sen. Moynihan's quote instead of just using it as a punchline.
Ma'am, first few paragraphs into the article and it's clear that logic, law, ethic and Constitutional morality that binds this beautiful essay and reflect the very concept of Indian Nation-state, is an idea repugnant on them.
Bloody brilliant.
This is a brilliant piece. I pray the BJP/RSS always remember your words:
"If you denigrate what exists, what you build will likewise be denigrated, when you are not in power. "
Absolutely Spot On! Brilliantly defined.... By far the best read....if they don't wake up soon, every fabric of our country will be destroyed. This ideology stems from having contributed zero and is nothing but hiding behind the inadequacy of that!! Bloody brilliant!!
No, there is no way that a Hindu Rashtra will add to India's power or strength. There is a lot to be written on how it is reducing India's power and strengths.
Great writing as usual. The RSS is singularly free of vision, and when in the midst of the most momentous historical exercise ever - the Indian Independence movement - they chose to sit it out. Had they disagreed with the Gandhian movement and mounted an armed insurrection against the British one would have had enormous respect for them. But they did not even do that - just hung around in shorts and did exercise with lathis. That we are conceding the role of redefining the new Indian nation to this bunch of thugs appalls me. No wonder Seattle beckoned!
I wonder what was the point of "Sovereign Power". The British buying and bullying their way to own most of India, aided and abetted by moneylenders like Jagat Seth and with good Indian soldiery doing the fighting, was due to the fragmented nature of the subcontinent. Perhaps you can elaborate on that?
well written POV - IMO three points stand out : there is no blue print circulated of what the Hindu rashtra will look like so that people can vote for/against it (but BJP will claim it doesnt share RSS vison, at least till winning next election); individual allegiance to common vision and Trust is needed for strengthening, unifying country/ sovereign power, pursuance of a divisive agenda will lead to disaster down the line; I am however not so sanguine about people not supporting militant Hindutva (from my circle, anecdotally, more than 3/4thof the "higher castes educated Hindus love NM) - having said that we still don't know what BJP 's vison is in terms of shaping the constitution, so maybe we shd hold our horses - so maybe the people still have a chance to make BJP rethink the form and content of their plan to restructure India based on their voting in coming elections - which is what democracy delivers - not a perfect solution, but a majority consensus
Living in Seattle but Sonaliji’s heart beats for India.
The trenchant beauty of the discussion of Hindu Rastra as India's sovereign power is brilliantly toned and exhilaratingly ramified in both writing and content. Essay is incisive, terrifying and deeply revelatory. Vision, not Vistas, keep it alive and flourishing. Please read. 🙏
Given the present dispensation, I shudder to think about our country ten years from now. God help India
Why r u off the twitter,U r only one,after Arundhti Roy,I have highest regard for intellect, clarity of the subject, reasons, solutions in brutal prose.
On your last comment: Just as there is no Christianutva different from Christianity, and there is no Islamutva different from Islam; or Buddhismutva different from Buddhism; or Sikhutva different from Sikhism or Jainitva different form Jainism or Taoutva different from Taoism or Shintotuva different form Shintoism etc etc, there is no Hindutva that is different from Hinduism.
People irrespective of religion are equally entitled to self-defense against violent ideologies and to participate in politics. On those points, Hindus have the same rights as anyone else, particularly against violence and aggression directed against them. Religious ideologies like Islam and Christianity that actively promote violence against “non-believers”, ideologies that have been and continue to be responsible for almost all the religion-based violence over the last 2000 years or so- those are the ideologies you want to take up arms against if you want a better more peaceful world.
In summary, your attack on Hinduism/Hindutva is indefensible and unacceptable; it is simply your religious bigotry, hypocrisy and ignorance.
Dear Sonali, We have given Enough time to your so called Feminism, equality, islamic values, christanic values last 1400 years. What your hypocrite mindset made disastor on the world.
Take any problem, take a proble of your Loved issue your hilited in very 1st para
Equality of Women to Men : My answer is, I belive Nature as Iswar, God in your word, if your si called GOD don't want to make Men and Women body equal, who the hell you are preaching Hindus equality.
Did you know what bullshit Men women equality in your mind is ??
It is a Communist programm, trojan program pushed in your mind working while writing this shit.
Let list down problem in your bias Thinking
1 . If you so, projecting Women write activist Why you have not mentioned Halala from Islam
2. If you are, so active Women rights, why you are not talking og Nun practice in Christianity, whom father's of Charch use as sex slave.
Go and dig backyard of any Church, you will find thounsand of infants dead bodies, even you will find thousand of dead bodies of Nuns, who did not cooprated in Sins of Father's
So, keep your bullshit to your mind,
Don't lecture us to How to oprate our India and Earth for rest of year,
Your bulshit mind set had given 1400 year, you had made a Earth like Brothals of women,
And mind your own business.
A well written article, Sonaliji, but I wish it was informed by facts.
You state that "No one has clue as to what the Sangh Parivar’s imagined Hindu Rashtra will look like. How it will be constituted? What will citizenship mean under such a nation? Will our fundamental rights endure? How will we constitute and embody sovereign power? Of all such issues we know nothing.The Sangh, in its priestly arrogance, has not deemed it fit to even issue a white paper on the subject; to share with citizens the essential features of this Rashtra, that it proposes to impose on them. There is no information, no consultation, no discussion, no debate, on any aspect of the proposed Hindu Rashtra."
If that is indeed the case and admittedly no one has a clue about this Hindu Rashtra, then why is there such a strong presumption in the remainder of the essay that whatever it is, is dystopian? How have you been able to divine the dystopian nature of this RSS inspired Hindu Rashtra with "no consultation, no discussion, no debate on any aspect of the proposed Hindu Rashtra"? Yet you seem to be certain that it will be rejected out of hand and knowing this "some in the Sangh want to smuggle in a Hndu Rashtra through stealth". Seems like conjecture upon conjecture.
You aver "... it (RSS) has opposed every reform, be it abolition of Sati, prohibition of child marriages, widow remarriage, abolition of caste, etc.". Perhaps you should have read this article (http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2007-01-03/india/27884065_1_jagannath-temple-upper-caste-dalits), or this one (https://web.archive.org/web/20120606114524/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2006-10-30/india/27801346_1_priests-dalits-hindu) before making that claim. That would also explain your gratuitous side swipe/dog-whistle about "priestly arrogance" in a transparent attempt to cast present day RSS as an oppressive institution, notwithstanding the evidence to the contrary.
Another statement of yours "For years it didn’t recognize the country’s Constitution, national flag...." is similarly flawed. The ban on RSS was lifted in July 1949 only after the express undertaking by the RSS sar sangh chalak that RSS pledged its allegiance to the constitution of India and accepted the tricolor as the national flag of India. You can find a more recent undertaking by Mohan Bhagwat here.(https://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/2020/jan/19/rss-follows-constitution-does-not-want-to-be-another-power-centre-mohan-bhagwat-2091661.html)
I will not go into other such examples in your essay for the sake of brevity, but it seems to me that you have set up a strawman argument that RSS is trying to foist a Hindu Rashtra on an unsuspecting polity, notwithstanding the fact that the RSS leadership has explicitly pledged allegiance to the extant Constitution of India, and then attacking the strawman with all the sophistry at your disposal.
I wish you had acted on the late Sen. Moynihan's quote instead of just using it as a punchline.
Lost for words 🙏
Ma'am, first few paragraphs into the article and it's clear that logic, law, ethic and Constitutional morality that binds this beautiful essay and reflect the very concept of Indian Nation-state, is an idea repugnant on them.
So you are suggesting we should let people celebrate British victories (like the one in Koregaon )in 2021 ? This makes sense how ?