This an
unauthorised rough translation of a very powerful piece written in Hindi by
activist and journalist Bhanwar Meghavanshi from Rajasthan. His post is
available is available on his blog.
I can claim for
sure that India is a Hindu nation. A majority of people will not agree with me
and they are entitled to their opinion, but my experience tells me that even
though the Preamble to India's Constitution states that we are a
"secular" nation and government books state that we are a secular
state, in reality we are a Hindu nation.
You go to the
various cities, towns and villages of southern Rajasthan, Gujarat and Madhya
Pradesh and there you'll find that our presumably secular nation is being made
a mockery of by these boards where it is written -'' Welcome to this ____
Village of a Hindu nation.'' Everyone sees such boards, but
doesn't it hurt anyone's eyes to look at such boards and doesn't make
anyone think that this is an open mutiny against our constitutional commitment
to secularism, which can be placed in the category of treason. Say, in a
village you find that it is written -"Muslim nation. . . Or
Christian nation. . . Or Sikh nation. . . Welcome
to such and such a village.'' How would you feel? Won't your mouth have
an astringent taste seeing this? The above words do may not sound
good to you, but when similar words greet you to a Hindu nation then you find
them quite pleasant.
Come on, lets leave these things. A few mad religious fanatics from some army or members of a Commando force must have put these the boards. Nothing will happen because of this! We are a great secular democracy and will continue being so. Of course, we'll remain so! I am in hundred per cent agreement with your views and desires. But everywhere I see I find the features of a Hindu religious nation. Is it that my secular eyes have been afflicted by cataract of the theocratic state and the swinging of the lathi (staff) at the RSS Shakha in my youth is having an effect on my thoughts once again? I do not know, but something is happening, and it is a little difficult to tell what's going on.See my simple definition of the secular nation state is a nation that will not favor any religion, will not promote her or will not run the country on the basis of the ways and traditions and customs and beliefs of a particular religion. This is my understanding of secularism. But this is a secularism of thought. Secularism of principles and of behaviour is some other kind of secularism. Come, lets have a look at this pseudo-secularism and if you feel like it, to be the sacrificial offering to such a secularism.
Lets start with the schools where there is solid knowledge to create the citizens of tomorrow. In these schools you'll not just find pictures and statues of Goddess Saraswati, which in any case are there, but also, Sarawati Temples have been built in uncountable number of schools! And these are government schools (Not RSS's Shishu Mandir schools). Here the morning begins with prayers to Goddess Sarawati like "veena vadini var de" thus the Mother Sharde i.e., the Goddess Saraswati, is prayed for the wisdom and knowledge. Can a devout person tell me how educated this Goddess of Learning Sarawati herself was? Have there ever been found any written poetry, chants, hymn etc. written in any book or text, ever. Is there any book written by Ma Sharde anywhere? Probably not. I feel like asking that in a country where the Goddess of wisdom and knowledge is present, who is worshipped and prayed to every single day, why does that nation have the most ignorant, illiterate and uneducated people? That's what I am baffled, shocked, and upset that why is there so much illiteracy in the in the country of Goddess Saraswati and poverty in the country of Goddess Lakshmi? Why does the nation in which the Goddess of wealth stays is also a country where there are long queues to become become eligible for schemes for the BPL? Why weren't the Yavanas, Mughals or the Turks afraid of the raudraroop of the Goddess who killed the demon Mahishasur. Why are hundreds of thousands of years of slavery and thousands of defeats etched and recorded on the shield of our "advanced" Hindu nation?
Actually lets
chuck it. Lets come back to the moot point. So the moment you step out of your
house, and take a few steps, in fact, even without getting out of one's house
and taking those few steps one feels that India is a Hindu nation. I want to
say to my communal friends, why waste time every morning and evening spinning
wheels? Go work on some other good cause. This country is already a Hindu
nation; how much more Hindu will you make it?Here, every government
department's building is inaugrated with a bhoomi poojan and
government programmes are started by the lighting of a lamp. Coconuts, incense
sticks, putting of tilak, etc everything is done and often operated by the Pandits who
direct the entire proceedings. Its also common that dignitaries are
welcomed and honoured with turbans and saffron coloured clothes from religious
institutions with religious chants.
From school
assemblies to Legislative Assemblies, surya namaskars are done
and mantras of Om Namah Svitri Suryanarayanay, Rviee Namah, Namah
Suryay are being chanted. All kinds of babas are holding katha (story)
sessions or or teaching yoga, and from our Union Ministers are standing on
their heads doing shirsaasan on the tunes of these religious
babas.
In order to
manage, administer and take care of temples government run Devasthanam Boards
are working. One can build a temple or a shrine at any public place, without
taking anyone's permission. Where ever and when ever one wants, thousands of
tonnes of ghee is poured into yagnas to
create smoke and it is considered a pious thing! If you have a
joint Hindu family you shall be exempted from tax. There is an subsidy to visit
Kailash Mansarovar. All religious trusts are tax-free. Your day, the brahm
mahurat, can be started at 4 AM, and you can blow trumpets at religious
sites, and depending on their ability and devotion can disturb the sleep
of irreligious people.
In the name of your feelings you can riot about anything; to save a dead cow you can murder living Dalits; in the name of living cows you can take away the livelihood of nomad communities; the government could take over land in the name of gau shalas (cow sheds). Yes, you're free to do all this. No one will say anything.
If you want you
can attack a minority area and burn their shops and then then walk scot free
taking the benefit of being from the majority community. In this country, to be
a Hindu is beneficial and to be a political Hindu is even more beneficial.
Governmental and private
offices have our God-Goddesses established. Our executive, press, judiciary and
legislature are increasingly and more intensely becoming Hindu. Our behaviour
smacks of the Hindu nation. So I often say and would like to tell you that
notwithstanding how many times we write the word ''secular'' in our
Constitution, we were and will remain a Hindu nation. Because in our eyes,
India is a Hindu nation.
Bhanwar Megvanshi
(The author is the editor-www.khabarkosh.com)
