INDIA-THE PAST AND THE PRESENT- IS THE LINK MISSING?

                ‘East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet’--so said the famous British author and journalist Rudyard Kipling more than a century ago. Leaving aside a comparison of these two  regions differing in  geographical, cultural and temperamental  aspects,  coming to our own country of the East, ‘India’  that is Bharat is in itself absorbed in two different but contradicting thought processes. That, one calling themselves ‘secular and progressive Indians’ otherwise ‘socialists’ opposing anything that is ‘Hindu’ – speak of supporting and uplifting the minorities and the down-trodden, the natives and or otherwise converts in consequence of the invasion by different rulers since the time of Alexander the Great till now. They vehemently object to the traditional Hindu Dharmic practices like worshipping idols adopted since Vedic times as superstitious, meaningless and uncivilised. They decry faith in Hindu religion but remain silent about other religions to praying, and adopting practices like killing of animals in the name of religion. They do not rebel or oppose the ‘fatvas’ or ‘orders’ issued from time to time to mercilessly treat people going against  religious dictates of their religious heads. How does one like or take it coolly for pelting stones at  victims till they die for not obeying the ‘fatva’ in spite of their own constituted governments empowered to enforce law? The other mind-set who stick to the concept of India as one country, a ‘Hindu nation’ argue that the term ‘Hindu’ is itself derived from the ancient days of our sacred  epics or of Upanishads,-in short- of vedic culture. This, despite whatever community any individual or the citizen belonged to. They may encompass any and all religions under the sun  and were considered to be a part of this ancient ‘Hindu ‘ Tradition.

The term ‘Hindu’ was widely adopted to indicate the nation as a whole -the regions- under a wide flexible geographical limits  down from the Himalayas to kanya Kumari and in between Arabic sea and to islands even beyond the Bay of Bengal, through a thin veneer of a moral  fibre as dictated in the great epics like Ramayana, Mahabharata or the ‘ Gita’ or of   preachings of the famous reformists like Buddha and plenty of other  saints who lived and spread their thought at different times of history. The term “Hindu’ was just an innovation for representing a country a majority of whose population  adopted Vedic culture  even though different groups adopted  different religious practices but lived in harmony with each other. The progressives do not subscribe to the term ‘Hindu’ being in any way connected to or derived from Vedic culture by any of the great Epics. They argue ‘Hindustan ‘ is a derivative of the Muslim mind-Arabic nations in fact -whose leaders invaded India and therefore there is no meaning in traditionalists calling themselves ‘Hindus’. The constant clash of will that has been going on since the beginning of and even little earlier to the ’20th’ Century between these two protagonist war groups as it were seems never -ending in a way. The  advocates of Hindutva want to retain the ‘vedic  tradition’ to the extent possible and do not want to or at any time to be interfered with or interfere in the individual customs and practices of fellow citizens,–traditional or otherwise irrespective of which religious groups they belong to.  Several eminent persons with an high level of political clout and  mostly educated and trained abroad condemned ‘Hindu’ anarchism and customs like the idol worship, superstitions, Vedic rituals etc., They were keenly followed by a majority of those leaning towards  socio-political concepts-samajavadis- in short, since attaining freedom and some of the  ‘literati’  who were the product of ‘Euro’ educational standards and consequent mind-set.  These groups invariably opposed the very concept of one India as an Hindu nation, trying to retain the roots of Vedic culture and tradition and name of “Hindutva” giving it a title of  ‘religious dogma’. This- the other group- argue is a means of establishing our own identity as an ‘one nation’, ‘one country’ of ‘one professed religion’ in general practised by majority of people residing -not invaders- since ancient times. If other nations proclaiming Christian, Muslim, Buddhism or any such religion they belonged to can be recognised and accepted by the rest of the international fraternity, why is it offensive for our people in our own country- not elsewhere- to be recognised by our own basic religion-Hindu- a derivative of Vedic culture. Even if some invader called us by the term ‘Hindustan’, yet, we retained it since no one objected to during all these period and even before invaders came here till today but for these pseudo-nationalists objecting to it-an irony in fact. If in british accent Mumbai of today was accepted by the same people -secularists-  be called by the name “Bombay’, Calcutta  by ‘kolkatta’, today’s Bengaluru as ‘Bangalore, or ‘Chitradurga as ‘Chitaldroog’  why do we object to ‘Hindustan’ ?’ India’ was never the name  originally in use and no where there is any least reference to our country being called by that name in History but no secularists dare reject it as not ours at all but simply accepted it just for one reason that the British  invaders adopted it to suit their fancies! 

The traditionalists were being however gradually sidelined with the active connivance of those in political power holding all the reigns for whom the secular band wagon became a constant plank to rule by minority vote bank since pre-independence days. The sympathy and understanding they proclaimed for these people in the name of poverty and the down-trodden continued for several decades and being even today  amplified in the name of reservation as a ‘technique’, well supported by the constitution undoubtedly.  The intention of the constitution makers besides Mahatma Gandhi as also of  majority of people -not forgetting   Dr. Ambedkar  who had himself suffered due to untouchability practiced in his time-was a genuine concern for the upliftment of the downtrodden.  This however became a gimmick and a constant practice of eternal nature to retain the minority vote bank to gain power in the hands of the self-styled  emancipators. If it were not so, why should the same politicians in power since several decades keep chanting the mantra “Garibi Hatao” day in and day out? Why and how is it that many a political person and his family heirarchy  became rich by millions and millions of rupees and keep stashing away black money every year in foreign banks along with many corporates, hoarders and black-marketeers while the poor could continue to exist in slums and without employment? Five year plans have been rolling one after or other, crores and crores of money borrowed from every nook and corner of the world right from the days of independance have been invested and clandestinely transferred to coffers of blackmarketeers and hoarders-politicians in power  not excluded. The rule of Pandit Nehru- who and whose trusted people would go out  to every prosperous country with a begging bowl but during all these years even after his death long back, poor remain poor and rich becoming richer while the so called -common man-the average citizen, is laid back with the burden of loan and getting crushed all the time down full flat  with both the politician and the bureaucrat  riding his Piggy back . By  whose money was it anyway that our administrators are growing  richer by millions every day? How is it that slums keep on  multiplying in ‘exponential progression each year’  in every town  despite these Netas professing from house tops that they have built thousands of houses for the poor and spent millions and millions  for the downtrodden? Where did all the money go? Surely, population increase is not the reason as plenty of foreign money flowed into our country besides development of science and technology yielding to easy flow of money everywhere? What are these so-called socialist -brand revolutionists aiming at if  the poor cannot rise above  their miserable condition even after six decades of planning ? Where did their strategy end up? Why is it that all agricultural land and tank beds are being regularly converted to residential palaces with active connivance of developers and builders while making the villagers to desert farming and  come to town hunting  for measly jobs? In Bangalore city alone hundreds of tanks that were live and serving the people in each area till just a few decades ago have vanished and even today being  eliminated daringly by the governments and local administration jointly or individually. The public outcry does not move the politicians in any way as they themselves are partly responsible for these foul and wretched acts. Surely, population is not the only reason. Where would they have built the  houses for the poor and downtrodden as they profess from housetops every day while posh bungalows  are put up where tanks  existed not long ago and villages alround the old cities are all converted to residential layouts day-in and day out?.

There was a socio-political cultural upheaval after imbibing the British thought processes and even it’s culture and at a later stage to a certain extent influenced by Soviet communist  idealogy  based on Marxist -Leninist leanings besides Maoist thinking since the time of first world war. Men and women were also just then  awakening to the call of ‘swarajya’ and the socialistic society  by the likes of  Tilak, Ranade, Subhas, Gokhle, Gandhi, and later by others such as Lohia and his followers. Some among those who went abroad to Europian counries for life-sustenance or higher education brought with them while returning the western thought too- the baptised ‘socialism’ apart from the Leninist/Marxist idealogies. Such Socialists leaving  aside some –genuine moralists- among them the likes of Lohia, JP and a few others, after achieving independence found eager listeners in the ruling governments, became opportunists to acquire power and pelf and enjoy all benefits continued propaganda adopting Hitlerian-Gobbelsian tactics by  using ‘socialism’ as a plank while riding ‘secularist’   bandwagon. Some of  these psuedo-secularists some of whom comprised  professors and so-called eminent men and women aspiring for power and pelf at the cost of the people adopted as their tactics  pleasing  people in power by  condemning  ‘Hindu culture’,Hindu religion and epics besides Vedic  practices as superstitions. Such an army of people found prominent positions in the governmental, academic and cultural institutions/bodies with the active support and connivance of those in power to serve their own selfish interests besides keeping away those whom they had no liking or had professional enemity through ‘Hate Hindutva’ camps day in and day out. This is true -it is rather unfortunate to say- even today under such pro-socialist regimes. What they never thought of or cared to remember was India was really a  rich a country in every way but for the steady inflow of invaders since the time of Alexander who came here with the only purpose of plundering the country and its’ people of all wealth. Thus while the rich and the slavish  chieftans  locally salvaged some wealth, the majority were left  to rot with a beggar’s bowl in their hands . Further, it is also  a travesty of truth that the real or genuine ‘socialists’ who honestly and sincerely struggled  to raise the country  from abject poverty and slavish mentality to a country rid of ‘Jo, Hukum’ attitude and one of prosperity and plenty are a rare breed these days and rarely craved for or secured influential and administrative positions. The likes of Lohia , Kripalani or Shantavira Gowda can be hardly counted on  fingers whereas bogus socialists can be found in every street corner besides academic institutions. Everywhere, we see only those who dip into the rich coffer of the country’s wealth and gain as much as they can for their own individual interests-nepotism and corruption ruling the  bureaucracy and  their serving masters. In a hypocritical world of such, slavish mentality,  greedy politicians and  ‘Ji Huzur’  bureaucracy,  the genuine socialists like JP, Lohia, Gopal Gowda and their likes  or even  genuine congressmen like L.B. Sastry, Vallabh Patel, Morarji, Nanda, Kamaraj to quote a few were perhaps totally lost in the dust raised by these so-called strategists for the resurrection of the poor.

It is highly interesting to note  that  Nehru’s genuine desire for ‘socialism'(‘Avadi’ convention resolution of yester- years) got steadily eroded and diluted with Soviet and Maoist  communist leanings ultimately leading to his sad downfall when the Chinese invaded India and there was no help from any quarter except perhaps the moral support of some democracies with a big brother attitude. Coming to the present scenario and set up, the pseudo-socialists and some of the opportunistic  ‘literati’  keep continuing  their jolly piggy ride in the ‘socialist’ bandwagon helping to themselves as much as they can so long as it lasts.