India's Ex-president Mr Mukharjee's Speech At The RSS Headquarters: The Right, The Secular And The Victory

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In fact, both Indians and India have always been religious and the ‘Hindu Taliban’ asserted by the fear mongering intellectuals today seems to have the logic of an Extra Terrestrial. The assimilation of people of other faiths in Indian history that he seems to be so proud of, wasn't brought about by the Semites. Also, instead of India - the British given secular sounding name, or even that given by the Moghuls - Hindustan - he uses, Bharata - a word with distinct Hindu connotation. Named after the glories of a cherished global Hindu emperor, who performed many Vedic sacrifices in the banks of its holy rivers Saraswati (now dried up), Ganges and the Yamuna, it is distinctly Hindu. His ‘Bharatiya’ includes sacrifice as an ethos of India that epitomises the great sacrifice made by another Hindu emperor Bhagirath to bring the Ganges down from its celestial realm - for the welfare of the people. It also includes not only the sacrifices to the country made by its Lord Rama, but aspires for a 'Ram Rajya' - an ideal rule that saw happiness and prosperity of all citizens (surve vhawantu sukhinah) irrespective of race or creed. His speech was certainly in English - possibly for a wider audience. But, his quotations were not in that language, which is today's elite and academic language loved by secularists and used by its think tank and the courts, but in Sanskrit - a language that is vilified by them as brahminical, exploitative and dead. He was not even quoting the sayings of the Western philosophers, as is routinely done in India. With Indians having to go to the West to learn about their own country, they don't have much choice anyway. Likewise, far from the established contribution to democracy made by Greece, UK and the USA, almost reminding the RSS strongman PM Modi’s assertion on Ganesh’s head transplant, he quotes Chanakya to say democracy arose in India much earlier than in the three. 3. Pluralism: Yes, demanding pluralism for national ethos he opposed a single religion at the helm. However, countries are formed by and for majority, who offer the ethos and not the minority who are instead given equal rights. Thus, while negating him, the USA unashamedly asserts an Anglo-Protestant ethos, India does so with Hinduism. However, in contrast to the propagated and feared 'Hindu Taliban' said above, while this has seen a Hindu king building the first mosque outside Arabia for Muslims, it has made Israeli Knesset pass a resolution thanking India for being the only country in the world, where Jews were not persecuted. The ethos that let these happen, however, did not come out of multiple invasions and assimilation over centuries, as the man says. Its ethos was ingrained in its scriptures a long time back. Hence, while even atheism (Charvaka) as one of the six system of thoughts takes its ethos to the tip of pluralism rather than just toleration as Swami Vivekananda aptly broached, wrapping pluralism in love its concept of 'vasudhaiba kutumbakam - world is a family - takes it towards the ideal of humanity. In addition, unlike in democracy in which 49% grudgingly live under the tyranny of 51% majority, it's Lord Ram's sacrifice to quash a family's discontent offers the ideal practice of 'sarve vawantu sukhina' (let all be blissful). Nonetheless, diversity could go wrong, when taken too far; and it did. It was Adi Sankaracharya, whom some consider as the real father of the nation as opposed to Gandhi, who had to tour extensively and unite India by using his unparalleled knowledge. But then, finishing off secularism and pluralism, he suddenly seemed to do a volte-face with a, ‘bharat mata ki jai’ - hail Mother India. This core slogan of the RSS and an irrational statement to the rest, in no way resembles the fatherland of the communists and mother Mary of the Christians. It is, in fact, a great shirk (sin) for the devout Muslim too - who vociferously opposes it. From the above, it is, therefore, clear that the secular party's leader suddenly sounded more like a communal and a Sanghi. Yes the US minorities are never helped with a similar question, but should not the 4th pillar's favourite and persistent question to the ethos asserting RSS, ' ... what about the Muslims & Christians' be directed towards the grand old sire? The occasion: The occasion itself was rather unusual. While the liberal secularist’s centre, JNU that claims to cherish free speech enjoys the right to talk about breaking India but frowns on the nationalist views, Mr Bhagawat, the chief of the rigid, intolerant anti-Muslim etc. accused RSS apprises all of RSS's tradition of inviting people of different views - including communists - to its functions, in order to learn more. Almost correcting the ex-president - a victim of the British divide of Aryans and Dravidians - he even quoted scientific research to claim that all Indians share the same ancestry. In fact, it is that scientific truth the hated RSS wants the minorities to air. All in all, in this round at least, the ones on the right seem to have won. Let's see what the present day Congress Party chief Rahul Gandhi does to the RSS invite to a similar pedestal. ------------------------- COMMENT AT BLOG

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