The Hindu in all of us!

The Hindu in all of us!

- Hindutva is a way of life not a theological state.

The air is always a fusion of different sounds and noises that help us connect to each other. Strolling down the streets of Dharwad, I came across this little junction that had a Hindu temple, a Jain temple and a Mosque, all standing tall within a few metres from each other. Be it a call to prayer from a Mosque, the soothing hymns from a Temple or the chiming bells from a Church, there’s sense of awe and reverence among us. There are many such multi- religious communities, where for generations; people have put friendship and brotherhood above deities and Gods.

History, though, doesn’t deny that more people have died in the name of religion than for any other single cause. Religious fundamentalism and political violence share a brawny nexus. The idea assails the mind so irrationally and resolutely, that there is no room for moderation, sanity or logic. Culture and tradition is intentionally vandalized in the name of religion, to provoke the passions of the masses. Overwhelmed with the ‘Indianness’ sentiment, I felt inspired to scribble some thoughts on a potential catastrophe.

Cyber crime has recently evolved as the new genre for escalating communal violence. I ask, 'how can we hold Pakistan responsible for our actions?' 'Would you stab your brother, just because you received a ‘forwarded text message’ from some stranger?' Agree, Pakistan may be part of the conspiracy, but blankly accusing them is shallow excuse to divert attention from the broader and scarier picture of our instable and capricious mindset.India takes great pleasure in making Pakistan the scapegoat of any local turmoil brewing up in the country.

Consider this - speaking in Hindi is taboo is some regions; you get branded as an outcast or an outsider. Karnataka and Tamil Nadu are plagued by the ‘god-dam’ farmer suicides. The north-easterners get driven back like stray dogs. Gujarat and Bengal are ruled by apathetic double-faced tyrants. Mumbai has forgotten it is a part of Maharashtra, as much as Shiv Sena had forgotten Bihar belongs to India. Uttar Pradesh suffers from a ‘make-over’ every 5 years- statues erected and demolished- God’s worshipped and stamped. As Andhra and Madhya tackle naxalism, Goa battles to keep beach ‘colonization’ at bay. Kashmir has given up on peace and Delhi seems totally out of reach.

A decade from now, given the amount of infighting and suppressed tension, most of these states would not discard the idea of going solo on administration. Does that imply the nation imploding into a continent of its own? Call it a ridiculous new doomsday rumour; but the current geo-political game-play and cultural intolerance doesn’t reject my prophecy of the nation disintergrating.

This summer, there were reports of some idealists wanting to make Goa the base of the Hindutva movement. The vision of creating a ‘Hindu’ nation, based on religion, is a delusional carnival of sorts; when the real problem spells - the nation falling apart on politico-communal lines. At the bottom of political violence in the country lies communalism and polarization of Indian Society, along religious and caste basis. An establishment of a theological government run on fascist and upper-caste lines is the biggest fear. It is classic antagonism created and practiced by one community against the other.

Communal Persons’ are those who practice politics through the skin of religion.  When sponsors dwindle and leadership is challenged; when doctrines are doubted and ideology is questioned, then they come out with threats like ‘religion under threat’. Instigated by pseudo-religious fanatics, initiated by cold hearted politicians, supported by seamless sections of the media, financed by filthy, conscious-less businessman and spread by the mob minded ignorant, this evil is a force to reckon with. A communal person is not a man of religion but one who practices politics by linking it with religion. Such a character is nothing but a political ‘scum’ who uses God as an instrument. Religious differences are more than often used to ‘mask’ non-religious social needs, aspirations and conflicts.

The issue of the ‘outsider’ or ‘migrants’ is raw and volatile; and needs to be solved, lest it escalates into nation-wide violence. The real problem thus haunting us is ‘communal intolerance’ and Hindutva as a concept can be an extremely positive solution, if it’s ready to shed off its religious skin and directed to unite the country. Hindu Rashtra needs to be accepted as a way of life, not a theological state. It doesn’t matter which holy book we loyally follow, there’s a Hindu in all of us.

Blame it on being over-zealous to the scriptures or simply misinterpreting the doctrine; there seems to be too much religion in one’s life, so much so that it has intruded areas other than that of personal belief, creating certain receptivity to communal ideology and politics. Christian mythology warns its followers from getting too close to God, so much so that they think they ‘know the mind of God’. Local militants in Kashmir are being brain washed that they are being ruled by an atheistic pagan state and thus they need to terrorise the government. Similarly, some argue that India is Hinduism’s only hope to survive, which is again a miss-interpreted belief. Hinduism has survived despite the rule of the Muslim emperors and the British, simply because, it is not a religion but a way of life; which has tremendous flexibility to select any path leading to God.

As a Goan, it feels proud that Manohar Parrikar has been awarded for his political achievements, on the eve of the State's liberation day celebrations - an honour he deserves for his courage and wit to stand by his convictions and promises. He has been brave to take on the Centre on various issues; his street smart eloquence and educational background makes him the perfect chief. Even though, communalism and minority harassment has been BJP's Achilles heel, Goans rose above these prejudices and voted for change. Now, he needs to rise above fanatical ideologies and invest in this new belief.

We have sung Christmas carols, lighted lamps for Diwali and waited for the midnight moon to light up the horizon every Eid; breathing in the same joyous enthusiasm and making every feast our own. For the sake of friendships that have lasted ages and relationships that exists beyond the heavens, we ought to shun away these false prophets. I suggest that the CM propose a special local law to deal strictly with crazy communal sociopaths – be it preachers, healers or gurus - who in the name of religion, hold public meetings to inject doubt and hatred.