With its choice of the latest Bharat Ratna awardees, the BJP-led government has not left a shred of doubt about its agenda. No surprises there, it’s Hindutva, not development, on the plank of which it won the 2014 elections.
The government announced this week ex-Premier and BJP veteran Atal Behari Vajpayee and freedom fighter Madan Mohan Malaviya as recipients of the country's highest civilian honor.
A jubilant Modi tweeted: Pt. Madan Mohan Malaviya is remembered as a phenomenal scholar & freedom fighter who lit the spark of national consciousness among people.
What one needs to read between the lines is that the “nationalism” Modi hails here is, in fact, Hindu nationalism.
While Malaviya’s contribution to education may not be disputable, it is his role as a staunch Hindu nationalist, who went on to become one of the first leaders of the Hindu Mahasabha, a right-wing political party, that raises eyebrows.
It was the Hindu Mahasabha and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) that produced “patriots” such as Nathuram Godse, who assassinated Mahatma Gandhi. His fellow conspirators were all prominent members of the Hindu Mahasabha.
When the party became marginalized after the involvement of its members in Gandhi’s murder, Syama Prasad Mookerjee, also a Hindu Mahasabha stalwart, left the party and launched the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, the source of the BJP’s ideology.
A look at the Hindu Mahasabha’s goals helps shed light on the choice of the award in the context of the recent anti-Muslim and anti-Christian developments and provocative statements.
The Hindu Mahasabha identifies India as a “Hindu Rashtra” (Hindu nation). it believes in the supremacy of the Hindu religion, heritage and culture.
According to the party, Sikhs, Jains and Buddhists are also Hindu in terms of national and political identity while Islam and Christianity are foreign religions, where Indian Muslims and Christians are descendants of Hindus who were converted by force. The party has several times in the past called for the “re-conversion” of Muslims and Christians to Hinduism.
Sounds familiar? Not only have leaders of the BJP and its allies made statements and organized events espousing these beliefs, the otherwise eloquent prime minister has chosen to maintain an inconspicuous silence on all these matters.
A Bharat Ratna for Malviya implies not just the government’s celebration of the ideology of the Hindu Mahasabha, but also its tacit approval and desire for its revival.
Meanwhile, Vajpayee’s secular credentials and his statesman image has occasionally hit the rocks, especially with his inclusion in the list of 68 people whom the Liberhan Commission report of 2009 held culpable for the demolition of the Babri Masjid.
The lyrics of a song penned by a young Vajpayee read “I am Hindu in heart and body, my life is Hindu, Hindu is my only identity.” The song went on to attain an anthem like status within the RSS.
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