Pseudo-Secularism

Hindu dharma is implicitly at odds with monotheistic intolerance. What is happening in India is a new historical awakening... Indian intellectuals, who want to be secure in their liberal beliefs, may not understand what is going on. But every other Indian knows precisely what is happening: deep down he knows that a larger response is emerging even if at times this response appears in his eyes to be threatening.

Thursday, May 26, 2005

A Poisonous Tree (Secularism) and its Deadly Fruit

By Pramod Kumar
Chief Editor
Hindu Renaissance

Wave after wave of agony and despair has swept over the mind of the Hindu community ever since the new dispensation lodged itself in the seats of power at New Delhi. Be it the state-sponsored terrorism in Tamilnadu against the Kanchi Shankara Math unleashed since Diwali or the shameful interim report on the Godhra carnage released by justice Banerjee, Hindu morale has never been lower in the post-Hindutva era.

The poisonous tree of anti-Hinduism, planted by an illegitimate leadership that thrust itself upon the national mind in the post-independence era, nurtured by its bastard offspring that desperately seeks to remain in power, is bearing its deadly fruit today.

However, it is only when the hammer blow strikes hard that the mind of man resolves itself into a steely will. Similarly, these adverse circumstances are to be looked upon as an urgent call to reorganise Hindu polity into an effective political force in secular India.

I believe that we have gained a better insight into our community's political prospects after the five- year BJP led NDA rule at the centre and in the aftermath of its electoral debacle in May last year. It is now exceedingly clear that only a party whose cadre is deeply rooted in the civilisational ethos of Sanatana Dharma can safeguard the interests of the Hindu community and put an end to the anti-Hindu discrimination and minorityism that is paraded as secularism in India. Colunmist S. Gurumurthy hits the nail on the head with his trenchant analysis of the problem:

"But here in India, while the minorities are organised around their book and their prophets, the majority faith, the Hindu faith, is totally unorganised. In fact, it is not organisable at all. With 33 crore Gods to be propitiated one can understand how impossible it is to organise Hinduism. So we have organised minorities on the one hand and unorganised - why un-organisable - majority on the other. With the result secularism as understood in India protects the organised minorities. It leaves the unorganised majority completely unprotected and undefended. Vote bank politics made it worse. Since the minorities are organised they become readymade vote banks, mere ballot papers. But the Hindu majority does not behave or vote as majority. This is so even on issues of faith as the divergent faiths and Gods within Hinduism makes it difficult for them to unite like the minorities. 'Secular' India denies to the majority the rights it reserves for the minority. So secularism in essence treats the 'secular' state as a majoritarian institution. In Christendom, the majority is Christian any way. And they are also organised additionally.

"But, 'secular' India will not allow the Hindus to unite. It will snuff out any attempt to organise the Hindus, label those who attempt it as communalists and fundamentalists. But, unless Hindus get organised, 'secular' India will not allow Hinduism to survive. Then, will 'secular' India not do to Hinduism what Christianity did to Roman paganism? The Encyclopaedia Britannica says that Rome did not know how to handle Christianity that negated all other faiths. The inability of Roman Pagans to handle an intolerant faith, as the encyclopaedia repeatedly refers to Christianity, caused the collapse of the Roman Paganism. 'Secular' India's intolerance to Hindus is similar. The Hindus have to handle 'secular' India like the minorities do. That is, the Hindus have to get organised and create a majoritarian regime. This is a rule of survival for them. And for the survival of a faith-neutral state itself! The question is, will they do it in spite of 'secular' India's hostility?"

It is but natural that when political or economic power rests in the hands of the followers of Abrahamic faiths, their ingrained tendency to establish the rule of their one-true-faith over all others manifests as cold blooded repression or manipulation aimed at reducing the 'other' into dhimmitude. Therefore, Hindu polity badly needs an attitudinal change, it will be suicidal to continue to treat politics as the dirty field of the stereotypical criminal-politician. Here is a new kurukshetra unfolding in front of our eyes and the secular Hindu - the 21st century Arjuna- is paralysed by the confusion of sarva dharma samabhava. Unable to distinguish between friend and foe and devoid of the will to defend himself, he waits for a new Krishna to rouse him from his unmanliness, cowardice and inaction.

Yet, there is hope. Our hope lies in those men and women about whom Swami Vivekananda proclaimed, "My faith is in young men and women... they will work out the problem like lions." India today boasts of the largest youth population ever in its history - literally millions of Vivekanandas, Chandragupta Mauryas & Shivajis are waiting for an opportunity to rebuild Samarth Bharath.

Every situation demands an appropriate response and so it must be that the Hindu youth will have to rise to this occasion by combining the courage of Shivaji and the wisdom of Ramdas together in them. May the clarion call of action go forth to them in every nook and comer of the world and may young Hindus be instrumental in dispelling the secular gloom that binds us all in the darkness of despair.

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