NEW DELHI, 2 January 2003 — Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee is trying to project the tolerant side of Hinduism in the face of right-wing Hindu extremists and criticism from archrival Pakistan, analysts said yesterday.
In a New Year message on Tuesday, the premier said Hindutva, or the Hindu way of life, was not opposed to the concept of secularism. In a thinly-disguised attack on right-wing Hindu organizations which have close relations with his ruling Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP), Vajpayee said Hindutva was being projected by some people in a "narrow, rigid and extremist manner".
Instead, he said, Hindutva was "liberal, liberating and brooks no ill-will, hatred or violence among different communities on any ground".
The VHP was quick to hit back.
"No Hindu can ever be narrow, rigid and extremist. Hindutva is the main current of the country," said VHP Giriraj Kishore, VHP vice president.
Vajpayee is seen as a moderate leader, although his stand has been called a "mask" by opposition parties who claim it is a cover-up for more extremist elements.
His deputy, the 73-year-old hard-liner L.K. Advani, is widely seen to be the real face of the party and the likely future leader. Since the BJP came to power three years ago, Vajpayee has found it difficult to balance the hard-liners’ desire for a Hindutva authority with the secular agenda of members of his disparate coalition government.
The issue came to the fore during last month’s election in the riot-hit state of Gujarat. The BJP returned to power in the state after an overwhelming victory credited largely to a campaign based on Hindutva.
But critics said the party had capitalized on months of rioting that followed the burning to death of 58 Hindus in the state last year, allegedly by Muslims.
Muslims were the main victims of the ensuing widespread violence that left up to 2,000 dead.
Buoyed by its victory in Gujarat, the BJP has said it will take its hard-line message to voters in upcoming polls in several other states. But analyst Mahesh Rangarajan said Vajpayee did not believe that the tough line taken by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP, World Hindu Council), one of the groups associated with the BJP, would necessarily win elections elsewhere.
"Vajpayee has misgivings about the strident tone of the VHP. He personally thinks the VHP’s tone can be harmful to the interests of the common man. He also doesn’t think their approach will yield a political dividend for the BJP."
"Vajpayee’s statement is a very positive corrective to the aggravating tone of the VHP," added senior political commentator Pran Chopra.
In the aftermath of the Gujarat riots, India drew widespread criticism from the international community and archenemy Pakistan raked up the issue of the safety of Muslims in India.
And analysts said Vajpayee’s latest outburst against hard-line Hinduism was also an attempt to project India as a secular nation, as opposed to Islamic Pakistan.
India accuses its nuclear neighbour of encouraging terrorism on its territory and arming and funding militants who are fighting Indian rule in Kashmir.
The Himalayan terriroty of Kashmir is divided between India and Pakistan and claimed by both. (AFP)
