What is wrong with the idea of a Hindu Rashtra?
1. Religion has been a dominant political force for much of human history - particularly till the 15th century. Much of European awakening and the advent of modernity has been made possible because of separation of the church and the state. Will Hindu Rashtra be very different from the Dark Ages of Europe, or the pathetic middle aged kingdoms of India, always divided and fighting over petty issued? I think not.
2. Can there be a single definition of Hinduism? The Hindus of Kerela, Punjab, Bengal and Maharashtra eat different food, have different diety, speak different languages, have different belief systems, celebrate different festivals and so on. Who is to decide what Hindu Rashtra would be for everyone?
3. 'Dharm wo jo Dharan kiya jaye' - Dharma is that which is adopted and lived, this has always been the understanding of religion in India, before the British brought their Christian lens to view Dharma, and force fitted categories like Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, Islam and so on, on Indian masses. The idea of Hindu Rashtra is essentially an extention of the same problematic Christian lens of seeing the Dharma, which was never supposed to be seen like this. Did Ram speak about Hinduism in Ramayan? Did Krishna defined what it means to be a Hindu is in Gita? These pearls of wisdom are supposed to be available for everyone, and more importantly are supposed to be adopted as life principles - something which the idea of Hindu Rashtra contradicts.
4. Take a look at the the most developed 25 countries in the world. Except Israel and maybe a couple more exceptions, none of them have a state religion. Does this say something about the intermixing of religion and state?
5. We all can see glimpses of what Hindu Rashtra would be from BJPs agenda - Ram Mandir, Rath Yatras, renaming cities, making Gita compulsory in every school, making cow the national animal, increasing violent connotations associated with slogans like Jai Shree Ram, moral policing by Bajrang Dal, opposition of anything 'western' like Jeans, non veg food, anything Mughal etc, forcing age old and harmful traditions like caste systems on us, Ramdev Baba suggesting to cure homosexuality through Yoga, BJP MPs claiming that we are not descendents of Monkeys, Modi claiming that we had nuclear weapon in pre-historic times and so on - basically a cocktail of increasing intolerance, unscientific beliefs, regressive ideas and violence against any dissenting groups, specially women, lower castes, and non-hetrosexual folks.
6. We have already started facing issues of stagnating economy, high unemployment, environmental catastrophe, mental health crisis and so on, on top of the already existing challenges of poor education, healthcare, hunger, extreme poverty, and caste-gender-sexuality issues. These are the real challenges that we have to face together as a society, and if we fail to act soon, we will see people die, live a life full of mental health issues, stunted kids, unemployable and indoctrinated youth and middle aged people, and an extremely unstable demography which might implode into civil wars. Hindu Rashtra offers no solution to any of these issues, it's at best an opium for the hopeless, jobless, and increasingly panicking masses.
It's high time we throw off ideologies like these from our minds, and defeat the deeply rotten, outdated and dangerous ideas represented by RSS-BJP. They do not and cannot represent the rich traditions, principles, culture and heritage, exemplified by the likes of Ashoka, Chandragupta, Harsha, Kushanas, Cholas, Bhoj, Vikramaditya, Razia Sultan, Akbar, Shivaji, Malik Ambar, Buddha, Gandhi, Ambedkar, Savitribai, Mirabai, Khusro, Manto, Tagore, Andal, Tukaram, Ravidas, Kabir, Nanak, Tulsidas, and many many great human beings who have called this land their home.
It's time - it's not enough to not support this virus, it's important to actively oppose it and stand for the great land this country has been - a land of peace, harmony, love, bhakti, sufi, non violence, true acceptance, fraternity, intellectual freedom, and hope.
Nothing better sums up what my India should look like than these magical lines by Tagore:
'Chitto jetha bhayo shunno, ucho jetha sheer...'
'Where the mind is without fear, and head is held high...'
2. Can there be a single definition of Hinduism? The Hindus of Kerela, Punjab, Bengal and Maharashtra eat different food, have different diety, speak different languages, have different belief systems, celebrate different festivals and so on. Who is to decide what Hindu Rashtra would be for everyone?
3. 'Dharm wo jo Dharan kiya jaye' - Dharma is that which is adopted and lived, this has always been the understanding of religion in India, before the British brought their Christian lens to view Dharma, and force fitted categories like Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, Islam and so on, on Indian masses. The idea of Hindu Rashtra is essentially an extention of the same problematic Christian lens of seeing the Dharma, which was never supposed to be seen like this. Did Ram speak about Hinduism in Ramayan? Did Krishna defined what it means to be a Hindu is in Gita? These pearls of wisdom are supposed to be available for everyone, and more importantly are supposed to be adopted as life principles - something which the idea of Hindu Rashtra contradicts.
4. Take a look at the the most developed 25 countries in the world. Except Israel and maybe a couple more exceptions, none of them have a state religion. Does this say something about the intermixing of religion and state?
5. We all can see glimpses of what Hindu Rashtra would be from BJPs agenda - Ram Mandir, Rath Yatras, renaming cities, making Gita compulsory in every school, making cow the national animal, increasing violent connotations associated with slogans like Jai Shree Ram, moral policing by Bajrang Dal, opposition of anything 'western' like Jeans, non veg food, anything Mughal etc, forcing age old and harmful traditions like caste systems on us, Ramdev Baba suggesting to cure homosexuality through Yoga, BJP MPs claiming that we are not descendents of Monkeys, Modi claiming that we had nuclear weapon in pre-historic times and so on - basically a cocktail of increasing intolerance, unscientific beliefs, regressive ideas and violence against any dissenting groups, specially women, lower castes, and non-hetrosexual folks.
6. We have already started facing issues of stagnating economy, high unemployment, environmental catastrophe, mental health crisis and so on, on top of the already existing challenges of poor education, healthcare, hunger, extreme poverty, and caste-gender-sexuality issues. These are the real challenges that we have to face together as a society, and if we fail to act soon, we will see people die, live a life full of mental health issues, stunted kids, unemployable and indoctrinated youth and middle aged people, and an extremely unstable demography which might implode into civil wars. Hindu Rashtra offers no solution to any of these issues, it's at best an opium for the hopeless, jobless, and increasingly panicking masses.
It's high time we throw off ideologies like these from our minds, and defeat the deeply rotten, outdated and dangerous ideas represented by RSS-BJP. They do not and cannot represent the rich traditions, principles, culture and heritage, exemplified by the likes of Ashoka, Chandragupta, Harsha, Kushanas, Cholas, Bhoj, Vikramaditya, Razia Sultan, Akbar, Shivaji, Malik Ambar, Buddha, Gandhi, Ambedkar, Savitribai, Mirabai, Khusro, Manto, Tagore, Andal, Tukaram, Ravidas, Kabir, Nanak, Tulsidas, and many many great human beings who have called this land their home.
It's time - it's not enough to not support this virus, it's important to actively oppose it and stand for the great land this country has been - a land of peace, harmony, love, bhakti, sufi, non violence, true acceptance, fraternity, intellectual freedom, and hope.
Nothing better sums up what my India should look like than these magical lines by Tagore:
'Chitto jetha bhayo shunno, ucho jetha sheer...'
'Where the mind is without fear, and head is held high...'
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