What Is the End Goal of the Hindutva Awakening, Asks a Hindu Gentleman Who Describes Himself as a Human Being at Book Launch of Dr. Shashi Tharoor Book on Hinduism

By Junaid Jahangir, New Age Islam 26 March 2022 Hindutva Cannot Preach Pluralism, Ignore Oppression of Minorities and Project Majoritarian Victimhood Simultaneously --------- I recently watched an interesting discussion between Dr. Shashi Tharoor and J. Sai Deepak, at the former’s book launch in 2021. The eloquent Indian politician Dr. Tharoor requires no introduction. Sai Deepak is an engineer turned litigator, who seems to be a proponent of Hindu consciousness in what he calls Bharat (instead of India). Dr. Tharoor came across as a proponent of Hinduism as defined by the 19th century philosopher, Vivekananda, who opined that the Divine is reflected in all living beings and that service to God is rendered through service to humankind. Sai Deepak, on the other hand, complained that Hindus have been viewed as subhuman, subjected to two subsequent colonialisms (Muslim and British), and brutal incidents like the 1921 Moplah massacre in Kerala. He came across scathingly critical of Gandhi, whom he refused to call Mahatma and instead referred to him as Mohandas Gandhi. Thankfully, the discussion remained civil and unlike programs with Indian news anchors like Arnab Goswami, the interlocutors were not yelling past each other. Generally, the audience seemed to resonate more with Sai Deepak than Dr. Tharoor. The discussion offered a glimpse of an India that seeks to rid itself of its secular credentials and define itself through dharmic religion. However, the end goal of this Hindutva awakening did not seem to be clear from the discussion. The moderator suggested that perhaps what is required is something akin to a Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) that has happened in South Africa and Canada. The idea appears to be that Muslims sit with Hindus, where they apologize for the wrong doings of the past Muslim Empires in India. Such an approach, however, is problematic, as the South African and Canadian TRC do not offer a parallel to Bharat. This is because in both cases the human rights violations were perpetrated in recent times where the victims of apartheid in South Africa and victims of residential schools in Canada are alive. In Canada, these victims are also reminded of their oppression through institutionalized racism. In the Bharat case, the atrocities were committed hundreds of years ago in the Age of Empires by Persian, Afghan, and Central Asian warlords, who are long dead. Ironically, India enjoys good relations with Iran, the previous Afghan government, and Uzbekistan from whence hailed Babur who founded the Mughal dynasty. The Hindutva ire is instead channeled towards local Muslims, whose forefathers would have been as oppressed by foreign invaders as those of their fellow Hindu citizens. This is especially so, as the age of Empires was more about conquest than religion, as Hindu generals fought for Muslim rulers and Muslim generals fought for Hindu rulers. Thus, the TRC parallel does not hold because it occurs where either the apartheid oppressors are part of modern times, as in South Africa, or where a subjugated minority of the indigenous people are offered an apology by the overwhelming majority, as in Canada. In stark contrast, the Hindutva case on expecting a minority with lower educational attainment and economic means to apologize to the overwhelming majority that is in a position of governmental authority and power for the misconduct of long dead warriors seems quite awry. Given that the TRC is moot in the Bharat case, the end goal of the Hindutva awakening of Sai Deepak and the audience that cheered for him remains unclear. On the one hand, they claim that the pluralism of Bharat offered refuge to Zoroastrians and Jews, on the other hand, they ignore the cow mob lynching, the calls for Muslim genocide, and the brutal murder of Dalits. There seems to be a self-serving disconnect here, where the Hindu is projected as the eternal victim. This does not mean that Muslims have it together for they have a huge responsibility to take their community that is stuck with dusty old books into the 21st century. Thankfully, institutions like New Age Islam (NAI) offer a fresh narrative in contrast to that of the anachronistic clerics. However, against the perpetual victimhood projected by the Hindutva, not even the NAI narrative may be enough. This is because if the Hindutva dehumanize the most liberal of Muslims (who marry outside their faith, have a universal pluralistic outlook, or become vegan) as self-serving liars then there simply can be no conversation with those whose hearts and minds are sealed. To reiterate, the Hindutva cannot preach pluralism, ignore oppression of minorities and project majoritarian victimhood simultaneously. No wonder, there was a fine gentleman towards the end of the discussion who stood up to gently push back at the Hindutva narrative. He poignantly expressed: “I am named Ravi K. Vallar. I’m a human being. That’s it. I just want one question. Young author [Deepak Sai] is trying to or rather got lot of brownie points. The thing is we are all forgetting that we are human beings. From day one till today. Humanity is missing. You know, you killed that man, that man killed you. I am tired of that. Where are we heading. We just wanted to know where the humanity is lost. I don’t want Mahatma Gandhi being named as Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. All that, I am tired of. You understand. All I want to know is where are we heading. Who is going to try to find the Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam [the whole world is one family]. That’s missing. …” If this gentleman’s prophetic voice in the wilderness is not enough to soften the hearts of the Hindutva brigade, then I don’t know what will. Although, Muslims can reach out to Ravi K. Vallar’s call on “who will find Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam” with “Labbaik” (we are here). This is because of the Prophetic teaching that all creatures are the family of Allah, who loves those most who are kindest to his family. Indeed, Hindus and Muslims are but one Ummah (community) bound inextricably by their common humanity. ------ Junaid Jahangir is an Assistant Professor of Economics at MacEwan University. He is the co-author of Islamic Law and Muslim Same-Sex Unions. With Dr. Hussein Abdullatif, a paediatric endocrinologist in Alabama, he has co-authored several academic papers on the issue of same-sex unions in Islam. He contributed this article to NewAgeIslam.com. 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