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Book Review
Evolution of an ideology
HINDUTVA DEMYSTIFIED: Virendra Prakash; Virgo Publications, L-67A, Malviya Nagar, New Delhi-110017. Rs. 295.
A STRIKING feature of the political discourse during the past decade or so is that it is no longer possible to take liberal values for granted. The impact of this can be seen in the manner in which Hindutva, the ideological core of the Sangh Parivar, has come to be naturally associated with the Hindu faith.
In other words, it is no longer safe to presume that the distinction between the two need not be elaborated, at least among the intelligentsia. The systematic campaign, carried out by various Sangh Parivar outfits over the years has indeed been successful. The indicator of this is the extent to which Indian nationalism has been redefined as if it is a notion based on some notions of culture.
The author of the book under review has done a good job by raising such fundamental issues (that were hitherto taken for granted) and has explained how Hindutva has nothing to do with Hinduism as it has been practised over the centuries. He establishes, in a systematic manner, how Hindutva and its proponents (the Sangh Parivar outfits) are not only forces that are inimical to the social and political fabric that makes the Indian nation but are also peddlers of a point of view that is inimical to the basic spirit of Hinduism.
After tracing the origin of the word Hindutva (as distinct from Hinduism) from within the context of how Veer Damodar Savarkar drew the distinction in his work Hindutva (the point that the Hindus constitute a nation bound by a common culture, history, language, country and a religion) the author explains as to how this is indeed inimical to Hinduism as such.
He also explains this very premise as follows: "It might seem preposterous that an individual, however learned or eminent, be allowed to arrogate to himself the high-priesthood of the Hindu `Church' and assume the authority of laying down the criterion for becoming, or being barred from remaining a Hindu." But then, as the author laments, "so long as a sufficient number of people can be persuaded to accept, or mislead into believing in, the justifiability of the prescribed conditions, an alternate `Church' gets founded.''
He stresses and explains so convincingly, that this is what Savarkar succeeded in achieving and makes the point that Savarkar could complete his project - founding the `Church' of Hindutva through his most favoured disciple, Keshav Baliram Hedgewar.
After having explained this, using simple language and the popular notions, he exposes how the Hindutva project is as much opposed to all that was egalitarian about the freedom movement, more particularly the values internalised by the emerging nation during the Gandhian era.
The meticulous manner in which he deals with the context in which Hedgewar came up with the need to save the Hindu faith - the emergence of movements across India in the midst of the freedom struggle and as part of the rural reconstruction programme set rolling by Gandhiji into which was integrated the campaign against untouchability — is not just convincing but also exposes the core of the Hindutva campaign of what it is.
Prakash conveys so clearly that the core of the Hindutva campaign is about ensuring the perpetuation of the Brahmanical social order and in doing this, he manages to weave the position adopted by several Sangh Parivar outfits towards the recommendations of the Mandal Commission and places them in the larger context of statements by Savarkar, Hedgewar and Golwalkar at various points of time.
His brief foray into the political discourse of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar - the cradle of the Vedic civilisation - in this context are indeed impressive and should convince anyone (who is not a convert to the Hindutva `Church') of the implications of allowing such a campaign to be carried out in the name of a simple clash of ideas.
Then there is a chapter where the author deals with in detail the contextual setting in which Savarkar and his disciples offer their ideas and conjure up images of the Hindu faith being in danger — the years after the mutiny of 1857 until the non-cooperation and the political process that was initiated post-1920 when denominational identities were beginning to vanish in the political discourse.
He also conveys as to how the idea vended by the Sangh since then had nothing to do with the reality. It is, indeed, a useful insight not just in terms of the history of the Sangh but also in terms of the campaign by the Sangh Parivar outfits to this day.
The book, indeed, is a useful addition and the fact that the author does not let himself be carried away by terms and expressions used exclusively in academic works on the subject — he refrains from using any of the jargons, not even the popular ones — makes it very relevant.
V. KRISHNA ANANTH
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