Ram Puniyani
In
the last week of October-first week of November, we saw two
contradictory processes. On one side the foundation stone was laid for
the statue of first Deputy Prime Minister of India, Saradar Vallabhbhai
Patel, being called as Statue of Unity. On the other side the BJP in
Bihar was taking out ‘Asthi Kalash’ (Pitcher of Ashes), of the blast victims in Patna. These victims died while the blasts took place in Modi’s Hunkar rally. While
Patel completed the last lag of India’s unity as a nation, BJP
combine’s Asthi Yatra Kalsh Yatra has meanwhile taken further the
techniques which are divisive, and are an attack on the values of
Fraternity ingrained in Indian Constitution. How do we understand the
unity of India to begin with?
the last week of October-first week of November, we saw two
contradictory processes. On one side the foundation stone was laid for
the statue of first Deputy Prime Minister of India, Saradar Vallabhbhai
Patel, being called as Statue of Unity. On the other side the BJP in
Bihar was taking out ‘Asthi Kalash’ (Pitcher of Ashes), of the blast victims in Patna. These victims died while the blasts took place in Modi’s Hunkar rally. While
Patel completed the last lag of India’s unity as a nation, BJP
combine’s Asthi Yatra Kalsh Yatra has meanwhile taken further the
techniques which are divisive, and are an attack on the values of
Fraternity ingrained in Indian Constitution. How do we understand the
unity of India to begin with?
India’s
unity begins with the coming of British. Pre British sub-continent made
a journey from the tribal society, to pastoral society to kingdoms of
different hues. Unfortunately there is a lot of confusion between
kingdoms and the modern nation state. Pastoral society had different
logic, while kings were sitting on the top of the structure in which the
poor peasant was producing and large part of his produce was going to
the king, through the landlord. The poor peasants were semi-slaves
mostly at the mercy of the whims of the landlords. For the younger
generation, the life in this period can be gleaned partly from the
classics of the literary stalwarts like Munshi Premchand in particular.
The British in their project to plunder this country introduced the
policy of ‘divide and rule’ and so introduced Communal Historiography.
This pattern of looking at kings, through the prism of the religion,
made the matters worse for us as the kings now are looked at as Hindus
or Muslims. And the period when some of the kings were ruling part of
the area is called as Muslim period. The Muslim kings, ruled here, lived
here and became the part of this soil. While British ruled from their
head office in London and plundered the country. There was no concept of
Nation-State at that time. Different kingdoms, warring with each other,
trying to expand their boundaries on the strength of the sword.
With
British, their plunder project led to the introduction of railways,
communications and modern education. Whatever be the motives of British,
this laid the foundation of geographical unity of India. The India we
call today starts taking shape with that. But there is much else which
transformed the ‘warring kingdoms’ to Indian state. The British policies
led to discontent and the British system also opened some window of
articulating the discontent. Unlike the period of Kingdoms, in the
Colonial period itself many an associations of the rising classes,
Industrialists, Workers and others started coming up. They formed
organizations for the first time. And amongst the number of
organizations Madras Mahajan Sabha, Pune Sarvajanik Sabha and Bombay
Associations are some noteworthy. At the same time Narayan Meghaji
Lokhande and Singarvelu started organizing the workers. All these
organizations were veering around trade, occupation, work: not religion.
These were having people from all regions, all religions. On the
material foundations laid by British, these efforts added flesh and
blood and ‘Indian identity’ starts taking shape. This is the foundation
of the emotional and civilian unity of India, building on the
geographical unification.
 |
| Bombay-Thane Train 1853 : The First Train Link in India |
This
foundation of India gets the walls of unity from the anti-colonial,
‘anti-British national movement’. It was the national movement with
participation of people of all religion, all regions, all castes, all
linguistic groups, women and men both that real Indian identity comes to
be rooted in our psyche and in our civilian life. This movement ‘India
as a nation in the making’ has been the biggest ever mass movement in
the world. This movement was based on the values of Liberty, Equality
and Fraternity, the principles which became the base of Indian
Constitution. This was the Indian unity emerging from opposition to
British rule; this was the unity for aspiration of building secular
democratic India with composite culture. This led to our freedom with
the partition tragedy accompanying it. This was the main structure of
Indian unity. Some jobs were still remaining.
With
freedom nearly 650 princely states, who were associated with British
rule had to make their decision, to merge with India or Pakistan or to
remain free. It is here that Sardar Patels’ final contribution of
uniting India, as it is today, came as the icing in the cake, the
plaster on the walls of National unity. This unity was emotional, civic
and national. It included people of all religions that’s’ how Gandhi,
Nehru, Patel and Maulana Azad, stick together despite their diverse
background and different expression of the value and create the Indian
nation state. Contrary to the hints dropped by Modi that Patel would
have dealt with Muslims better, the approach of the great leaders of
Indian freedom movement was overlapping. Patel was the one to give the
provisions for minority institutions. Gandhi said about Patel, “I know
the Sardar…His method and manner of approach to Hindu-Muslim question,
as also several other questions, is different from mine and Pundit
Nehru’s. But it is travesty of truth to describe him as anti Muslim.”
This
process of emotional, civic unification which began with the formation
of various associations went through the freedom movement and found its
culmination in the integration of princely states, into the Union of
India. The process of unification also began and saw a miniscule process
of divisiveness even at that time. This divisiveness began with the
religious nationalism of Muslim League and Hindu Mahasabha-RSS. This
group came from the landlords and nawabs (Led by Nawab of Dhaka and Raja
of Kashi) and was later joined in by the section of elite educated
middle classes in the form of Jinnah, Savarkar and the founders of RSS.
While Gandhi and National movement united all, the communal groups
spread hatred against each other. This hatred against each other led to
communal violence, the worst of which were to be seen in the Calcutta
killings, Noakhali amongst others. It was Gandhi, who left the
statecraft to Nehru and Patel and went to douse the communal fire.
After
some gap, the process of violence began again with Jabalpur violence of
1961. At the root of violence is the hatred of ‘other’, propagated
through word of mouth, through shakhas, through school books amongst
others. This creates a ‘social common sense’. This ‘social common sense’
is totally negative against religious minorities and acts as the
fertile ground on which the communal violence takes place. Various
techniques were devised to orchestrate communal violence, pig in a
mosque, beef pieces in mandir (temple), killing of cow, music in front
of mosque, ‘molestation of ‘our’ women had been the major ones amongst
them.
some gap, the process of violence began again with Jabalpur violence of
1961. At the root of violence is the hatred of ‘other’, propagated
through word of mouth, through shakhas, through school books amongst
others. This creates a ‘social common sense’. This ‘social common sense’
is totally negative against religious minorities and acts as the
fertile ground on which the communal violence takes place. Various
techniques were devised to orchestrate communal violence, pig in a
mosque, beef pieces in mandir (temple), killing of cow, music in front
of mosque, ‘molestation of ‘our’ women had been the major ones amongst
them.
A
new pattern has been added to this. After the siege of Babri in October
1990, the tragedy led to death of the kar sevaks. VHP took out the
asthi kalash yatra and the yatra left the trail of blood. After the
Godhra train burning (who did it is another matter, many theories
abound, this article is not going in to that) let’s see how this tragedy
was used to divide the community. The dead bodies were handed over to
VHP to take out a procession. The mass hysteria was created during the
procession. Rest is too well known. Society divided along religious
lines. Despite diverse claims ‘division amongst Hindus-Muslim’, is a
matter of concern in the country in general and places like Gujarat in
particular.
Let’s
now come to Kandhmal. Swami Laxmanand is killed. No debate about who
did it. The VHP takes out a procession of Swamiji’s body through a long
route. Violence against Christians follows. Further perfecting the
technique, now after the Patna blasts, whoso ever did it, the dead
bodies are being taken out in procession through various routes. Is it
to pay homage to the poor victims despite whose death the rally
continued, or the goals are to divide the society along communal lines?
This is social disunity. Sardar Patel’s statue and life was for social
unity, this and other acts of BJP combine are just for the opposite
goals. Hypocrisy at its best or worst is at display here. Commemorate
the Sardar who united India, not just by merging the princely states,
but being the part of freedom movement which was the uniting movement.
And also remember unity of India just does not mean the merger of
princely states; that was the last phase of unity process. At the same
time take out Asthi Kalash, which is aimed to divide the community?
Political ambitions have strange ways.
now come to Kandhmal. Swami Laxmanand is killed. No debate about who
did it. The VHP takes out a procession of Swamiji’s body through a long
route. Violence against Christians follows. Further perfecting the
technique, now after the Patna blasts, whoso ever did it, the dead
bodies are being taken out in procession through various routes. Is it
to pay homage to the poor victims despite whose death the rally
continued, or the goals are to divide the society along communal lines?
This is social disunity. Sardar Patel’s statue and life was for social
unity, this and other acts of BJP combine are just for the opposite
goals. Hypocrisy at its best or worst is at display here. Commemorate
the Sardar who united India, not just by merging the princely states,
but being the part of freedom movement which was the uniting movement.
And also remember unity of India just does not mean the merger of
princely states; that was the last phase of unity process. At the same
time take out Asthi Kalash, which is aimed to divide the community?
Political ambitions have strange ways.
Leave a Reply