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  Prof D K Chakrabarty of Cambridge University asserts that there is subtle politics operating in archeology that denies the links between the Indus Civilisation and Vedic culture. To quote him, “The battle raging these days is whether there can be any relation between the life depicted in the Vedic literature and this civilisation. Without trying to pull down this debate to the all-too-common Indian level of ‘progressive vs. reaction’ syndrome which implies that any talk in favour of Veda-Indus civilisation relationship is ‘right reactionary’ proposition (a la Irfan Habib), we note that scholars of the stature of M S Vats, R P Chanda, B N Datta and P V Kane had no difficulty in arguing for a relationship between the two.”

  It is nobody’s case that aberrations in customs and practices of Hindus should be negated. They definitely need to be removed. The RSS is foremost in efforts to correct these wrongs, contrary to popular perception created by Goebbelesian propaganda over years. The problem is that the RSS does not believe in a confrontationist or propagandist way of resolving problems but follows a reformist path of love and persuasion in silence. I will articulate a few examples of such work later in the book. But, it needs to be understood that both good and the bad are part of the Hindu society, Hindu way of life and one cannot play around with this fact to play with Hindu sensibilities.

  Oneness in Multiplicity

  All our leaders proclaim very proudly that India is a perfect picture of ‘Unity in Diversity’. With hundreds of languages, scores of religious faiths, diverse geography, what is the thread which holds together this beautiful garland of diversity denoting Indian identity? Unity in diversity is an expression of a fact. In subjective experience it is ‘Oneness in Multiplicity’. The only thread that binds people together from Kashmir to Kanyakumari and from Gujarat to Guwahati is the ancient Hindu Civilisation and its belief system. This deep running sap through the nation since eons is what has kept this sense of unity alive. Whatever else we talk of is built over this deep and strong foundation.

  According to Shri H V Sheshadri, “Diversity is like leaves, flowers and fruits that grow out of a tree. But, the sap that nurtures all these diverse elements of the tree comes from the root of the tree.” It is this sap that is the life-blood of this diverse looking tree. The diverse tree is Bharat, that is, India, this sap is the Hindu way of life. If sap dries up, the tree dies.”

  Hinduism is a way of life which happily encompasses so many other faiths and religions. Yet, if we talk of this common Hindu heritage, it is a challenging problem bearing upon the secular and Marxist parivaar.

  If something other than Hinduness or Hindu culture has bound this nation together for centuries, then why is it that wherever the majority of population in an area converts to another religion, that area cedes or strives to cede from India? Whether it is erstwhile Afghanistan – at one time the cradle of Buddhism; more recently Pakistan or Bangladesh or Kashmir or the North East. Fact is, India keeps shrinking. People who proclaim that this is an alarmist view and there is no risk to Hinduism, close their eyes to this fact staring from the pages of history.

  You need not invent an artificial logic or reason for this sense of unity. This deep sense of unity amongst Indians needs to be appreciated if we wish our people to feel connected to their ancient land. Every nation has its cultural identity and it strives to build itself around it. It doesn’t mean that it should result in a violent or divisive nation. Many newly emerged Nations like the United States of America (USA) have forged a common culture successfully, often denoted as a melting pot rather than a salad bowl, while some like the erstwhile U.S.S.R. (United Socialist Soviet Republic) and Czechoslovakia failed. We have one common cultural thread running through multiplicity of our national life but we are trying to force an artificial hollow cultural identity based on pop icons – artificial constructs, and negating or trying to bury natural sense of oneness in the name of ill-defined interpretation of secularism!

  Ancient Geographical Sense of Nationhood

  According to political scientists, a sense of nationhood arises out of distinct geographical identity. Many modern historians claim that idea of Indian nationhood is a gift of the British. But, there are many facts that negate this theory. There are verses in ancient Hindu scriptures that describe this land ‘aasetu himaachal’ – from the Indian Ocean to the Himalayas. A common chant in many rituals since Vedic times is “prithviyaayai samudraparyantyayai ekaraat’ – from land stretched upto seas, one nation. Try to hear what your priest chants in the initial parts of a religious ritual or a havan. He chants “jambu dveepe Bharat khandey”, when he is guiding you through the rituals of a pooja. This is nothing but description of this nation since centuries.

  There are shlokas in our Puranas which were not written during British or Islamic times but much before that. Vishnu Puran and Brahma Puran say:

  Uttaraam yatsamudrasya Himaadeshchaiva dakshinam

  Varsham tad bhaaratam naama bhaarati yatra santatih

  ~ That part of land, which is north of the seas and south of the Himalayas, is the great Bharata and her progeny are called Bhaaratiya.

  Poet Kalidaasa, (fifth century CE), had also described this country in a similar vein. Chanakya,( third century BC ), the great authority on political science, stated that the length of this country from seas in south to the Himalayas in north is one thousand yojanaas (an ancient measure of distance.)

  Hindu, Indic or Vedic people

  At this moment, let us also try to get a few semantics clear as far as possible. This play with semantics by interested lobbies is done to show that there is no entity called Hindu. A general understanding is that the word Hindu is more recent and is a result of Arabs describing people residing around and beyond river Sind as Hindus, because they pronounce ‘S’ and ‘H’. This is true also of many European and Indian languages.

  Dr Murlidhar H Pahoja in his article “‘Antiquity & Origin of the term Hindu’” says, “In the Avesta, Hapta-Hindu is used for Sanskrit Sapta-Sindhu, the Avesta being dated variously between 5000-1000 B.C. This indicates that the term ‘Hindu’ is as old as the word ‘Sindhu’. Sindhu is a Vedic term used in the Rigveda. And, therefore, ‘Hindu’ is as ancient as the Rigveda. Vriddha Smriti defines Hindu as, “One who abhors the mean and the ignoble, and is of noble bearing, who reveres the Veda, the cow, and the deity, is a Hindu.”

  Similarly other Sanskrit works which use the term ‘Hindu’ are, Kalika Puran, Bhavishya Puran, Adbhut Kosh, Medini Kosh, Ram Kosh etc. Kalidaasa has used a derivative form ‘Haindava’. In Brahaspati Agam, the word ‘Hindusthan’ appears in the following verse:

  Himaalayam samaarabhya yaavadindu sarovaram

  Tam devanirmitam desham hindusthaanam prachakshate

  This country, created by the gods, that commences from the Himalayas and spreads out till Indu Sarovar – that is southern seas or Indian Ocean, is called Hindusthan. Thus, ‘hi’ is derived from Himaalay and ‘ndu’ from Indu Sarovar to create the word Hindu.

  The word ‘Hindu’ carries more of a geographical connotation, though it also has a religious connotation too. It also means that people who do not follow traditional ways of worship of Vedic people can also be considered to be in this category. It is well known convention that people from India irrespective of their faith or religious practices are referred to as Hindustanis or people from Hind by people in Arabic lands. I could quote even from ancient Iranian and Middle Eastern literature, but the central purpose of this book is not to write a treatise on this subject.

  The so-called modern, secular historians try to split hair by claiming that the Vedic people were not Hindus. So, what were they? They were not Muslims or Christians or from any other belief systems for sure. The continuity of evolution has unbreakable links from Vedic time to today, so this debate is infructuous and is only meant to create confusion in the discussion about natural Hindu nationhood that we have inherited.

  I would like the reader to ponder a minute over why India is called a ‘sub-continent’ but bigger,
massive geographical entities like Australia and USA are called countries? You would note that your mind is conditioned subtly to accept that we are not a natural country but have been brought together by the British through legislative efforts.

  In essence, etymology of the word gives it strength but at this stage in history, it is not so important how the word ‘Hindu’ was derived. It is a word that has come to identify people living on this land spread from Himalayas to the Indian Ocean.

  Many people feel that a more appropriate word is Vedic or Indic Civilisation. There has also been lot of debate that the RSS should substitute ‘Bharatiya’ for ‘Hindu’ and ‘Bharatiyataa’ for ‘Hindutva’ or ‘Hinduness’. It would kill the whole case of Hindu bashing! I raised this query during a Q&A with a very senior RSS leader. He explained that the fight is not about the word, as Bharatiya is older than Hindu. It is nothing but hair splitting and typical intellectual subversion to obfuscate the main argument of the antiquity of our nationhood. The fight is for a unique identity of the soul of Bharat which the west educated dominant intellectual class abhors as it goes against the grain of what they have learnt in the laps of British historians. They would find fault with this word also just because it is promoted by the RSS. The problem seems to be more with the promoter of the concept and not with the content.

  Cultural Sense of Nationhood

  Another condition for a group of people in a given geography to be called a nation is a common culture or sense of identity. I would like to give a few examples that connote a common cultural identity. These are things that we experience in our daily lives and simply take them for granted without appreciating their significance.

  We have ‘Kumbh Melas’ once in 12 years from time immemorial where Hindus from all the corners of Bharat come in millions on a pre-ordained day. All the saints of India come together at this time to exchange notes about their thinking, discoveries on spiritual plain, social issues and also to propagate their philosophies to the common people. These Kumbh melas are celebrated in four centres spread over India – Prayag (Allahabad), Haridwar, Ujjain and Nasik. It has no director or promoter, nobody knows when and how it started apart from some Puranic tales. Thus, there is a sense of common identity that has transcended for eons. And, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad did not invent these massive gatherings.

  Adi Shankaracharya set up four mathams (or centres of learning) 1800 years back – Shringeri (South), Dwarka (West), Joshimath (North) and Jagannathpuri (East) to stress the geographical spread and unity of Bharat. Fortunately, His holiness was not indoctrinated by the RSS or VHP!

  Hindus have a tradition m of carrying Ganga waters to Rameshwaram for abhishek (offering of water) to Lord Shiva. There is no known root source or time frame about this custom. But, it is there for ages. It has not been propagated by the RSS or VHP.

  Hindus worship same Gods with different regional variations from South to North For example - Vishnu, Shiva, Krishna, Rama, Ganesh, Durga, Laxmi, and Saraswati. Anybody who has travelled different parts of Bharat, that is India can vouch for this.

  There are same festivals all over India with different names with minor variations. Bihu, Baisakhi, Vishu, Cheti Chand, Yugadi, Poila Baishakh – all signify the beginning of new Hindu year with crop harvest. The customs are similar with some variations that bring forth the local culture and practices. Vijayaadashami (Dussera) is celebrated in different styles in different places. Worshipping of weapons and tools of livelihood on this day is not the insidious invention with fascist designs of RSS as some critics claim, but a well-entrenched practice in various parts of India. Nine days preceding Dussera, Navaratri, is one of the most pious days in different parts of India celebrated in different ways – in Bengal it is as Durga Puja);in Assam as Sharadiya Navaratri, in Gujarat as a ten day celebration of Garba and upawaas or fasting; in Northern India, Ramayana comes alive through the high-octane Ramlila plays as also fasting; and in the South in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka as the festival of dolls or Golu.

  While the North celebrates Diwali as the day when Lord Rama killed Ravana and returned home, in South it is celebrated to commemorate the killing of demon Narakaasur by Bhagwan Krishna. The central theme is victory of good over evil. Makar Sankranti is the day when Sun enters the sign of Capricorn and marks the end of winter. It is celebrated as Makar Sankraman in North and West; and, as Pongal in Tamil Nadu. Other regions celebrate it with different names. Holi is also celebrated in major parts of India in different ways as Holi or Basant Panchami.

  Shri Ranga Hari, a senior RSS prachaarak and central leader, once cited an interesting example of common traditions and cultural practices we share across this vast nation. For example, all over India, the shopkeeper adds a little amount of the goods over and above what he weighs for the customer before packing. The idea is, “if there is an error, let it be corrected from my side.” This custom has different names in different languages but it is prevalent right from South to North and East to West. I know that it is called ‘runga’ in North, I am sorry that I couldn’t make note of the words for this practice in other Indian languages.

  Look at a very simple expression, in English. A devout person is called ‘God fearing’ but in Hindi and other Indian languages, he is called ‘Prabhu premi’ or lover of God. The undercurrent of this wordplay is that a Hindu loves and reveres God, but in Abrahamic or Semitic traditions God is feared. There is another very interesting and revealing insight into Hindu traditions. In English we say, “think of the devil and he is there”; but in Indian tradition, we say, “you will live for hundred years, we just remembered you.” This expression is the same across any region and any language in India.

  I just recounted a few examples to underline some unique features of our national life which are common to all citizens living in India, whatever be their faith or religion. Such traditional practices all over this land define the Hindu culture that has evolved in this land called Bharatvarsh. Thus, it is not a matter of religion. It is part of dharma of the individuals, the society and the state.

  The Ramayana talks of Ram’s visit to jungles and his stay with the tribals. It talks of Ram’s deep love for his brethren of all denominations and regions. Indians understand that language and customs change every ten miles and they accept it happily. Therefore, they are well tuned to accept these variations in language, behavior and still feel one as Indians. A true Hindu looks at commonalities and does not lay stress on differences – till politicians and vested interests violate this innate thinking process.

  We have Common Ancestors

  Does this sense of inherent unity exclude any group from celebrating the essence of Indianness? Certainly not! Nearly 98 per cent of Islamic and Christian converts in India are so, from only a few generations and have Hindu roots. There need not be any problem in their acceptance of the culture of their ancestors even while they profess a different faith or way of worship. Infact, we all know that Christians in Kerala or Muslims in many regions of Rajasthan do not find it difficult to blend their native or ancient traditions with their new religions or faiths. People in North East still worship their ancient tribal Gods though they also go to Church. We know of Indonesian people who still take pride in their ancient Hindu culture though they are now Muslims Ramlila is predominantly staged by Muslims there. Indonesian currency notes have Lord Ganesh imprints on them; but God forbid, if that happens in India, it will spell doom for our secularism! This acceptance that we are all one and we haven’t changed our forefathers or our traditions can end all emotional and physical turmoil being foisted on them by the so called protectors of their faith.

  I sense no communalism in any of the proposition above as it is based on well-known historical facts and realities of our nation accepted consciously or unconsciously by nearly all the citizens of India. So, when the RSS says that India is a Hindu nation, it is only stating the obvious without malice to anybody or any sense of negativity. We should, rather, celebrate this as a unique country in the world and the historica
l fact that Hindus don’t fight wars or kill others to impose their faith or way of life on others. From times of the Cholas and Pandyas to Ashok the Great, message of dharma and religious faith has been spread with love and not sword.

  Question of Secularism

  Not once, in its eight decades of history has the RSS advocated a Hindu theocratic state. The political philosophy of secularism was invented to keep the Church off its ambitious designs about political control in Europe. So, the text book definition of secularism is separation of state and religion. Even this definition does not prohibit the rulers or the governments from professing their religion. So, Britain and USA can be secular though their Queen, prime ministers, presidents swear by God and the Bible.

  It is interesting that the founding fathers of the Indian Constitution did not feel the need to have the word ‘secular’ in the preamble of the constitution. Not that there was no debate on it, but this word was not mentioned because in their wisdom they must have seen it as a part of Indian or Hindu tradition with no need to stress it further. A picture of Bhagwan Ram is published on the first page of our constitution. At the same time let us remember that the Indian leadership of the time had steadfastly refused to call India a ‘Hindu’ nation inspite of agreeing to partition on religious grounds, while Pakistan declared itself a ‘Muslim’ nation state.