JAMMU: Prime Minister Narendra Modi could not be more forthright in taking on pseudo secularists when he said that gifting the Gita to a foreign dignitary would irk the secular (back home). In a highly prejudiced atmosphere against Hindu, Hindi and Hindustan, it has become a sin to talk on what relates to these three terms, which have been mutilated beyond recognition. Imagine the hullabaloo raised by DMK supremo Karunanidhi over the reported plan of Human Resources Development Ministry to celebrate Teachers’ Day on 5th September as ‘Guru Utsav’. What is wrong in doing so? Does use of two Hindi words construe a conspiracy to downgrade Tamil language and society by such a move, as is being claimed by Karunanidhi who is currently facing political wilderness due to acts of omission and commission by his immediate family?
It is irony that Hindus can’t assert themselves in a nation having their majority to the extent of 85 per cent of the total population. When they do, they are branded as communalists, not by Muslims but Hindus itself.
Indian nation is still braving heated arguments over RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat’s comment about Indians being Hindus. The national television channels have launched a tirade by picking up isolated comments from non-entities to malign the NDA Government which does not feel apologetic over taking up the cause of Hindus. The television debates are highly volatile and provocative. None of the channels ever mentioned a word; least anchored a debate, over Pakistani political commentator Zaid Hamid’s highly objectionable remarks during telecast of a programme on 11th August 2013. He had told his anchor and fellow participants, “If you ask me, I pray to Allah that the Americans withdraw from [Afghanistan], and leave the Indians there. It has been a long time since we massacred Hindus in Afghanistan. Historically, it was always like that, and that is why the mountains in Afghanistan are called “Hindu Kush.” “Hindu Kush” means a place where Hindus are to be beheaded, a place that kills Hindus. Historically, whenever Hindus entered Afghanistan, they were butchered there. We pray to Allah that the US withdraws from Afghanistan, and leaves the Bania [Hindu merchants] in their place. The things we would do to the Bania in Afghanistan would make them refrain from looking toward Afghanistan and Pakistan for thousands of years”. Pseudo secularists may take offense of mentioning a non-entity (which he certainly is not) but they must understand that the comments of some individuals in remote corners of India are being picked up and showcased in media in such a manner as if his or her views reflect the sentiments of Indians as a whole.
The hue and cry over Modi not wearing a skull cap is still afresh in public memory. Prominent among critics were and are those who have remained chronic Hindu bashers all along.
It is irony that Hindus can’t assert themselves in a nation having their majority to the extent of 85 per cent of the total population. When they do, they are branded as communalists, not by Muslims but Hindus itself, who want themselves to be showcased as secularists. For them, sign or symbol of Hinduism is a red rag which sends them to hysteria all the time. In this backdrop, the Prime Minister is right in saying, “I came bearing the Bhagvad Gita as a gift…I always present the Gita to eminent people I meet all over the world. When I met the (Japanese) Emperor I gave him the Gita because I have nothing more valuable to give and the world has nothing more valuable to get. There’ll be a TV debate…All my secular friends will say ‘don’t know what Modi thinks of himself’. I don’t know why such topics are debated”.
While raising the point, the Prime Minister must not be naïve to the fact that these topics are debated because of the slavery mindset of decades, as also a definite political strategy to rule India. Otherwise, how come red carpets would have been rolled for people from Bangladesh and Myanmar? This has actually worked and benefitted pseudo secularists who have created a vote bank, which they want to keep intact even if it means to antagonising the majority community. This strategy seems to have over lived its age.
It is for the first time in independent India when Hindu identity is witnessing resurgence with a sense of pride. This will succeed only when Hindus will maintain the spirit of Sarva Dharma Sama Bhava or concept embodying the equality of all religions, provided any of these is not in conflict to this great ethos. This is in consonance with the underlying philosophy of Bhagwad Gita, which Narendra Modi is fond of gifting to foreign dignitaries.