Speaking in the Parliament of the World Religions, Swami
Vivekananda,one of India’s greatest exponent Hinduism of all times,
while introducing the beauty of Hinduism, had phenomenally said, ‘
Ekang Sadvipra Bahuda Vadanti’.( As all the rivers merge into the sea,
likewise all the religions lead to the same god) While speaking
further, the great Swami had famously said, ‘ We took to our bosom the
fleeing Parsis who, in the wake of Islamic invasion, were fleeing from
the persecution of the Islamists. While waxing eloquence for the
organisers who organised such a wonderful convention to send a message
of ‘brotherhood and harmony’ to the world community torn by religious
disharmony and internal contradiction. Significantly, Sanatan Dharma,
the most ancient religion on earth, the religion which discovered God
and His creation for humanity, so pitiably fell for scheming marauders
and invaders for centuries together. Reflecting on the pathetic fate
of the most ancient religion on earth, such great thinkers like Rishi
Aurobindo, Swami Vivekananda and Veer Savarkar mournfully concluded
that, the deviation of Hinduism from its cherished trajectory as
prescribed by Vedas and Upanishads, finally resulted in the
degeneration of Hindus for generations. No wonder then, Swami
Dayananda’s prescription of return to Vedas alone remained the sine
qua non for the salvation of Bharat Varsha, was the doctrinaire belief
of the profound thinkers who spent mulling over India’s providential
adversity for centuries together leading to India’s veritable
subjugation for almost 800 years.
But then the biggest tragedy was awaiting to engulf the nation in its
octopus-like grip: The united India witnessed the cataclysmic tragedy
when the united India was partitioned into two different parts: The
Islamic Pakistan and the Secular India. Regrettably, the historic
bloodshed that the pre- partition India had witnessed, put humanity to
shame for all time to come. Ironically, the secular India, which
emerged amidst the cataclysmic bloodshed, paradoxically gave the two
hoots to the Hindus who suffered the most in the wake of independence:
The secular India, far from giving the majority community its due for
exhibiting the legendary large- heartedness in accommodating the
minority Muslims as equal stakeholders, is the vindication of Hindu’s
eternal large heartedness of its deep rooted conviction in
unequivocally subscribing to the aphorism of ‘Vasudaiv Kutumbakam’.
Whereas the majority community, in its sublime humanity, sought to
make India an inclusive society, the then leadership of India, with
its own vested interest, had sought to suppress the urge and
aspiration of Hindus in the most diabolical ways as they could. The
burning example of the same was: Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru’s blatant
insensitivity towards the regeneration of Somnath Temple, the object
of ancient and medieval glory of Bharat Varsha. Jawaharlal Nehru’s
inherent fear that the revival of India’s ancient citadel, risked the
grave chance of Hindu revivalism, was thoroughly misplaced and
misconstrued. Little wonder the subsequent minority appeasement
policy followed by the subsequent national leadership, dealt a severe
blow to India’s much vaunted institutionalised Nehruvian secularism.
However, while the decades of secularism that India had so avowedly
followed, resulted in the media, in cahoots with that of the national
leadership, did collude to suppress Hinduism as best as it could. The
media, whie it blew the trumpet of pseudo- secularism, being
masqueraded as the summum bonum of the republic, did everything to
excoriate and undermine Hinduism. Such was the monster of fear among
the majority community to hurt the religious sentiments of minorities,
that Hindus, apprehensive of being at the receiving end, conveniently
hid their identity in public, lest inviting any retribution or
vengeance from the administration. Significantly, Rajiv Gandhi
government’s volte face and somersaulting in Shah Bano case, was an
open testimony of secularism being completely distorted to suit the
vote bank politics. Worse still, the dubious and duplicitous role of
media, became all the more ostensible when Rajiv Gandhi government’s
blatantly partisan role in inciting the riots and killing the Sikhs,
in the wake of the assassination of Indira Gandhi, with partisan media
too, acting in complicity, sought to suppress the violence as best as
it could. On the other hand, the communal cauldron in Gujarat, was
simply blown out of the proportion. The secular media, intoxicated by
the charm of the ruling dynasty then, did everything it could to
disgrace the then chief minster of Gujarat and the incumbent Prime
Minister of India.
In the wake of 2014 General ELection, India witnessed a drastic change
in the political ideology—The Nehruvian secularism was given a
decent burial, while Hindu nationalism was raucously sought to be
imposed upon the nation.Significantly, Indian polity, which had
misinterpreted Indian constitution by distorting the secularism by
giving it a colour of ‘minority appeasement’, did no better by
striving to replace one set of warped ideology by another set of
equally noisy and boisterous ideology of Hindu nationalism.
Paradoxically, as media had collaborated with the then government to
perpetrate fraud upon the Indian citizens by degrading the secular
nature of polity with that of ‘minority appeasement’ policy, the
incumbent regime too, in its own power intoxication, is seeking to
besmirch our constitutional values by parading majoritarian
nationalism in the guise of implementing the constitutional spirit.
This too, as in case of Nehruvian secularism, is proving to be the
undoing of our constitutional values. In fact, the situation is so
delicate today that India stands brutally divided along the religious
lines. The communal disharmony is an all time high. With the amendment
of the Citizenship act, being highly divisive, the nation is already
languishing on the precipice of an impending social catastrophe. With
the social polarisation along the religious lines, is an all time
high; with the individualism seeking to overshadow the nationalism, in
this national fever of cheering the individual heroes, replacing
Mother Bharti, the accentuating national woes and sorrow appears to be
growing by leaps and bounds. With media too, aiding and abetting the
governement’s propaganda, the role of media has become questionable.
Hence in this backdrop, the return to Swami Vivekananda’s vision of
India that constitutes ‘Vedantist mind and Islamic body’ is the
panacea for all cure for today’s India. India is a unique country,
where diversity defines its unity, no particular ideology is suited
for the nation. Thus our constitutional forefathers have already
bequeathed us a beautiful piece of constitution to keep the entre
nation united. No wonder any attempts to shake the foundation of
India’s constitution, tantamounts to robbing the nation of its
dignity. India, through the time immemorial, has always believed in
the principle of diversity and equality of all. Hence, any attemot to
tamper with the constitutional values runs the severe risk of eroding
the very foundation of our constitutional democracy. During Emergency
it was Jayaprakash Narayan and Nani A Palkhivala who saved our
priceless democracy; now, it is the time that we, as a nation, shall
take all the required protection to save the fountainhead of our
constituton by standing together, not allowing the politicians, of
whatever ideological mooring or mould, to destroy our constitution
and, thereby, the nation as such. No wonder we should all take the vow
on the occasion of 125 th anniversary of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose
that we should restore his grand vision of India where all are the
equal and important stakeholders of shaping the destiny of the nation.
Vivekanand Jha
Author, Academician and a Public Intellectual.
