By Souvik Ghosh
Former journalist and ex-Aam Aadmi Party leader Ashutosh talks about his book Hindu Rashtra and the present state of Indian politics during an interview. Excerpts:
How did you conceive the idea of this book?
I have very strong views about RSS. Fortunately or unfortunately I got my degree from Jawaharlal Nehru University, which is the den of terrorists and anti-nationals (smiles). But there is a reason behind my strong viewpoint. I believe India is a coalition of different religions and Hindu religion is a coalition of different communities and castes. So diversity is fundamental to Indian civilisation and Hinduism and anyone who is working against it is working in a direction which is not good for the country. Unfortunately, the intellectuals of this country have not read the original writings of Veer Savarkar, MS Golwalkar, Deendayal Upadhyaya and reached to a conclusion without reading them. If one reads them carefully, he will realise that RSS’ ideology is not a political project but a civilisation project. There is a thesis within RSS. Savarkar says Hinduism is at war with Islam and Christianity for the last 1200 years and that war will continue till either Hinduism or Islam wins.
At one point in the book, you quoted a friend saying that with Narendra Modi coming to power, the freedom has come to an end. But it is strange because it was the Congress government that had imposed Section 66A of IT Act. It was the previous government which had taken a step to curb freedom of speech and not the present BJP regime.
It is not about legalities and technicalities. The 2002 Gujarat riots happened but it did not scare people across the country. But a mob lynching in two to three places shocked everybody. These lynchings are not stray incidents and I can prove that. It is about the environment which has been created. The situation has reached a point where a girl, may be not in West Bengal, can be outraged of modesty for wearing jeans publicly. An atmosphere has been created which has got nothing to do with laws.
Why do you raise questions in your book on the issues of triple talaq and Nikah Halala, which are now getting discussed in the forefront?
This is because it is not an issue of triple talaq. Let’s be very clear about it. Triple talaq issue is just an excuse to demonise an entire community. It is a way to denote that the entire community treats women like this. Can we demonise the entire Hindu community based on the way women are burnt alive in all cities (he probably meant dowry killings)? But in the context of triple talaq, it is an attempt to categorise a community and teach them a lesson. If we read through legalities and technicalities, probably we will never understand what they (the ruling BJP) are doing.
Even if the ruling dispensation is having a different intention, what is wrong in codifying the triple talaq or Nikah Halala?
First of all, Triple Talaq and Nikah Halala are wrong. But on such matters, the government must discuss with the particular community and take steps by taking the community into confidence. Why don’t they do that? Despite having the SC judgment, they, on the other hand, categorise the Sabarimala issue, where women are not allowed to enter the Kerala temple as a matter of faith. They want to run everything as per their terms.
You raised finger at Narendra Modi for not acting against the lynching of Mohammed Akhlaq in Uttar Pradesh. But why didn’t you refer to the UP government that was then run by Akhilesh Yadav? Why the Akhilesh administration didn’t react?
Since 2014, all political parties including Congress have somehow realised that if they oppose the BJP on issues of Hindi-Muslim or nationalism, the saffron party will be benefited. So the political parties know they will have to engage the BJP in employment, poverty, industrial production issues. They have realised that BJP will build the narrative which they want if the ruling party is opposed on issues of Hindu-Muslim or nationalism. I give you an instance. Recently, 150 (actually 156) army generals had written a letter to the President about how the army is getting politicised in the election season. Later, only three Generals stated they were not on the same board. Now think about it, the voice of 147 generals have been kept aside and what only three generals stated has been highlighted by the ruling party… This is the vote bank politics. The rule of law should prevail in the country.
In 2014, Narendra Modi came with ‘Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas’ slogan. Then Dalits had also started to feel included in the Hindu community. But in last few years, again the Dalits and disadvantage classes have aligned together and there is a division. How do you see it playing right now?
The more Hindutva forces get militants, there will be equally vehement reactions from (Dalits). These are the counter forces. There are fundamental contradictions in Hinduism. In Hinduism, Dalits have not been treated with dignity, respect and as humans. If one reads BR Ambedkar, one can know how Dalits were treated. Ambedkar felt sad for not getting respect from Hindus. After getting bitter about evolution of caste, he had said he can’t let himself free from his caste system. He had said casteism is the fundamental identity of Hinduism and that casteism should end and for that Hindu religion must be destroyed. So his grievances have been reflected in the last five years. With the rise of Hindutva, sense of insecurity among Dalits will increase. RSS will try to unite but won’t be successful. (IBNS)