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'The argument that Hinduisation is synonymous with Indianisation is insidious'
Historian K N Panikkar, professor of modern history at Centre for Historical Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi, is angry and puzzled at RSS chief K S Sudarshanís call to create ìSwadeshi Muslims and Christiansî. This new-fangled terminology is part of the Sangh Parivarís larger project of rewriting history as fiction and myth, says Panikkar
New Delhi, October 17
What is your reaction as a historian to Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief K S Sudarshanís call to Muslims and Christians to ìHinduiseî themselves?
There is an obvious connection with the way history is being rewritten by the BJP-RSS dispensation and the call given by Sudharshan. The main thrust of their rewriting of history is to characterise the ìoutsidersî as enemy. By asking the Muslims and Christians to Indianise, Sudharshan is suggesting that they are not part of the nation. In other words, India is being defined as a Hindu nation. A similar project is being pursued in history also.
What does the RSS achieve by calling them ìoutsidersî?
Project India as a nation of the Hindus who are, according to them, the original inhabitants of India. Itís paradoxical to say that 20 per cent of the population does not form part of the national mainstream, particularly when they have been integral to the national life for a long time
They are part of the military, bureaucracy, business, and generally every aspect of Indian society. And their achievements in the service of the nation are so commendable. To isolate them and to tell them to nationalise is an insult to the nation. In fact, it is Sudarshan, who is trying to isolate a large chunk of the population, who deserves to be characterised as antinational. The assumption that India is a Hindu nation is historically invalid and politically false. For 2,000 years, various religions and caste groups have been part of the social fabric of India. Only a blind fanatic can overlook the contribution of the minorities to the national lifeópolitical, social and cultural.
ìThe assumption that India is a Hindu nation is historically invalid and politically false. For 2,000 years, various religions and caste groups have been part of the social fabric of Indiaî On the one hand, the BJP is trying to win over the Muslims. On the other hand, the RSS talks about ìSwadeshi Muslims and Christiansî.
Do you see a larger gameplan in all this?
Itís very subtle and, to my mind, a conscious effort. Itís not the traditional doublespeak which the Sangh Parivar has specialised in.The Agra conclave has attempted. to coerce the minorities. There is a double game here. The RSS chief is handing out a threat, whereas the BJP is trying to win them over by offering them security.
The idea is to coerce and, at the same time, offer them protection. The BJP is doing the latter, as is evident from the overtures of (BJP president) Bangaru Laxman. Itís a variation of the carrot-and-stick policy. What they are telling the minorities is that there is no alternative but the BJP. Itís in their best interest to support the BJP, and if they do not, the consequences will be severe.
For the BJP, also, there is really no alternative but to cultivate the minorities. They need extra 10 per cent of votes, and a possible source of at least a part of it are the minorities and the tribals. It is in pursuit of this that they are trying to eliminate the Christian activists from tribal areas. The message they are trying to get across is clear: there is no alternative (TINA) to the BJP. Support us orS
How is Sudarshanís statement part of the Sangh Parivarís project of rewriting history?
The RSSí concept of ìoutsidersî is linked with their version of history. The central premise of their theory is that all non-Hindus are outsiders and, more importantly, enemies of Indian civilisation. There is nothing new in all this. Savarkar, Golwalkar and virtually all the ideologues of Hindutva have said more or less similar things.
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