IS INDIAN STATE
PROXYING FOR THE HINDUTVA PROJECT OF MILITARIZATION OF HINDUS?
Presently, the
Indian defence paraphernalia is ranked as the fourth mightiest army in the
world after USA, Russia and China with Japan at the fifth place. It has
approximately 3,544,000 on roll, 1,444,000 being on active duty with 2,100,000
as reserve personnel.i It is credited with innumerable military
operations of glory like Bangladesh War 1971, Kargil War 1999, surgical strikes
in Pakistan occupied Kashmir 2019 etc. Indian Army rendered direct help to the
Sri Lankan State in suppressing the LTTE; the Tamilian rebels (1987-90) and has
been immensely contributing to the UN peace-keeping military operations in
different parts of the world numbering more than 43. According to the Indian
Army website "India is ranked, as the third largest troop contributor to
the UN"ii contributing 2,00,000 Indian troops.iii
INDIAN ARMY KEEPS SAFE DISTANCE
IN COVID-19 PANDEMIC TIMES
However, it is
sad that when India continues to witness a devastation and mayhem only
comparable to the 1947 Partition; the 4th mightiest army in the world has
rendered help which cannot be described even as cosmetic. Approximately, last
two months of the abrupt lock-down have proved decisively that the Indian State
completely betrayed the working class and poor Indians. In absence of jobs,
food, shelter, transport and health care millions of them were left to suffer
horrible times and tragedies. The stories are so horrendous that the term
gut-wrenching would be highly under-statement to describe the prevalent hunger,
maiming and killings of migratory workers (it is a kind of racism that workers
belonging to India if go to work in different parts of the country are
described as migratory workers. This term is not used for those who join
high-profile jobs or politicians) in almost all parts of the country. The three
wings of the Indian armed forces; the army, air force and navy have finest
medical, transport and communication paraphernalia.
It is puzzling
that all these were kept locked-down in face of the rampaging Covid- 19
pandemic when India was in dire need of doctors, hospitals, vehicles, airplanes
and high quality professional communication facilities. All major cities of
India have the most modern military hospitals which if opened for Covid-19
patients would have greatly lessened the unbearable pressure on the civil
health services. If
a small number of
military doctors and nursing staff were deputed in critical areas, the
sufferings and fatalities would have been lessened.
The lock-down
showed how migratory workers suffered and are suffering while trying to reach
to their native places; road, rail services almost incapable of help. The
mighty transport capacity available with the army would have made a real
difference. Likewise, with a centralized and most modern surveillance system of
the armed forces and its own satellites in the space (using which India was
able to identify terrorist centres in Pakistan and destroyed the same
celebrated as 'surgical strikes') the devastated multitudes in millions which
included pregnant women, children, old and disabled persons, walking on roads
and rail tracks (many of them getting killed while undertaking these risky
journeys) would have been identified and picked up in army vehicles or airplanes.
It intervened
only to shower flower petals on the hospitals and army/navy/air force bands
playing outside hospitals which were treating the Covid-19 patients (despite
warning from the medical fraternity that this shower of flowers may be a
serious cause of spreading the dreaded virus and a law that hospital areas are 'no noise' areas). It was ostensibly done
with a noble objective to honour the 'warriors' against the Covid-19. Even a
cosmetic intervention should have meant deputing a small number of medical and
Para-medical staff in at least Red Zones. In fact, many countries of the world
including African countries armed forces were deployed to fight the pandemic
which continue to play great pro-active role in this fight.iv
INDIAN ARMY MAKES PUBLIC PLAN OF
3-YEAR MILITARY TRAINING DURING COVID-19 PANDEMIC TIMES
It is puzzling that the Indian
armed forces remaining insulated during the times of Covid-19 came out with a
plan of employing Indians for a 3-year voluntary "tour of duty".v
According to a release from the Indian Army,
“The proposal is a shift from the
concept of permanent service/job in the Armed Forces, towards
„internship‟/temporary experience for three years. It is for youth who “do not
want to make defence services their permanent vocation, but still want to
experience the thrill and adventure of military professionalism”.
Explaining the rationale behind
this innovative scheme the note read that it was to tap the "resurgence of
nationalism and patriotism” amongst Indian youth and help reduce the
unemployment in India. The proposal also envisages that the earnings of these
three years could be made tax-free and all those who would be part of 'tour of
duty' could be given preference in public sector jobs as well as post-graduate
courses. The note also stressed the fact that it would help to channelize the
youth energy into positive utilization of their potential and that “rigorous
military training and habits inculcated will lead to healthy citizenry”.vi
This announcement
proposing a policy decision, unheard and never debated in Parliament or at the
ministry of defence level, about new mode and tenure of recruitment in the
Indian Army was not made public by the defence minister, Rajnath Singh or Chief
of Defence Staff of India, General Bipin Rawat but through a press-note of the
Army. Army spokesperson Colonel Aman Anand confirmed that such a proposal was
being discussed. The opposition political parties and media did not bother to
react to this proposal which may prove to be a defining moment for future of
democratic-secular India.
The above note during Covid-19
times raises many important questions, the answers to which have to be found to
determine the future course of democratic- secular Indian polity. The loud
mouthed claim that 3-year voluntary „tour of duty‟ would help reducing
unemployment is laughable. The claim gives the impression that out of millions
and millions of unemployed Indian youth few millions are going to be absorbed
under this scheme. How Indian Army is helping to reduce unemployment can be
known by the fact that it plans to reduce force strength by cutting 1.5 lakh
jobs. In some sections the reduction is going to be as high as 20%.vii
3-YEAR MILITARY
TRAING FOR NATIONALISM, PATRIOTISM & HEALTHY CITIZENRY
Justifying the
scheme Army note said that it was in response to the "resurgence of
nationalism and patriotism” and “rigorous military training and habits
inculcated will lead to healthy citizenry”. Thus nationalism, patriotism and
healthy citizenry are being equated with the Army training. Such slogans world
generally heard during the World War II and presently hears in totalitarian
states like North Korea and Zionist Israel.
HINDU
NATIONALIST ICONS BORROWED THE IDEA OF MILITARIZATION OF HINDUS FROM MUSSOLINI
& HITLER
The fact is that
such a scheme has been part of the old Hindutva project namely 'Militarize
Hindu Society' zealously promoted by leaders of Hindu Mahasabha and RSS. The
well-known Italian researcher of Indian politics, Marzia Casolari has done
pioneering work in tracing the fraternal links between the Hindu Mahasabha and
RSS founders on the one hand and on the other hand, how the latter borrowed the
idea of militarization of Aryans from Fascism and Nazism. According to her
pioneer work relying on the primary sources of the documents of the prominent Hindu nationalists, one of
the aspects of Fascism which appealed most to the Hindu nationalists was
militarization of society. Balakrishna Shivram Moonje, a mentor of the RSS
founder, Keshav Baliram Hedgewar on his return from the Round Table Conference,
Moonje regarded as the Dharmveer (Brave of the religion) made a tour of Italy
(February-March 1931). There he visited some important military schools
(Military College, the Central Military School of Physical Education, the
Fascist Academy of Physical Education), highlight of the visit being a meeting
with Mussolini.
Moonje praised
the militarization project of Mussolini and planned to put into practice in
India. He wrote:
"India and particularly
Hindu India needs some such institution for the military regeneration of the
Hindus: so that the artificial distinction so much emphasized by the British,
of martial and non-martial classes amongst the Hindus, may disappear…Our institution
of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh of Nagpur under Hedgewar is of this kind,
though quite independently conceived. I will spend the rest of my life in
developing and extending this Institution of Hedgewar all throughout
Maharashtra and other provinces."viii
As soon as he reached Pune, he
gave an interview to „The Mahratta‟. Regarding the military reorganization of
the Hindu community, he stressed the necessity to
„Indianise‟ the army and expressed the hope that conscription would become compulsory
and an
Indian would be put
in-charge of the
defence ministry. He finally made
a clear reference to the Italian
and German examples in his diary:
"In fact, leaders should
imitate the youth movements of Germany and the Balilla and Fascist
organisations of Italy. I think they are eminently suited for introduction in
India, adapting them to suit the special conditions. I have been very
much impressed by these
movements and I have seen their activities with my own eyes in all
details."
According to
Moonje's diary on March 31, 1934, he himself, Hedgewar and Laloo Gokhale had a
meeting, the subject of which was again the military organisation of the
Hindus, along the Italian and German lines. Moonje told the gathering,
"I have thought out a
scheme based on the Hindu Dharm Shashtra which provides for the standardization
of Hinduism throughout India... But the point is that this ideal cannot be
brought to effect unless we have our own swaraj with a Hindu as a dictator like
Shivaji of old or Mussolini or Hitler of the present day Italy or Germany...
But this does not mean that we have to sit with folded hands until (sic) some such dictator arises in
India. We should formulate a scientific scheme and carry on propaganda for
it…"
According to
Marzia, Moonje publicly admitted that his idea of militarily reorganizing Hindu
society was inspired by the “military training schools of England, France,
Germany and Italy.”
Moonje's
"Preface to the Scheme of the Central Hindu Military Society and its
Military School" which he circulated among influential personalities, out
rightly said:
"This training is meant for
qualifying and fitting our boys for the game of killing masses of men with the
ambition of winning victory with the best possible causalities (sic) of dead and wounded while causing
the utmost possible to the adversary."
It is not to
be missed here that what Moonje meant by 'adversary' was not the external
enemy, the British, but "historical" internal enemy, the Muslims. In
fact, this School was inaugurated by then Governor of Bombay State, Sir Roger
Lumley. Moreover, this School helped the British in supplying Hindu youth for
the World War II. This military school was financed by two old stooges of the
British; the Bhonsles and Scindias. Moonje gave a call to 'militarize the Hindu
society'.
CONTRIBUTION OF SAVARKAR
Vinayak Damodar Savarkar went
to the extent of organizing more than 100 recruitment camps for Hindus in the
British Army when Netaji Subhash Chander Bose was trying to liberate India
militarily from abroad. This was part of Savarkar's strategy to militarize
Hindus of India. Savarkar called upon Hindus
“to
flood the [British] army, the navy
and the aerial forces with millions of Hindu warriors with Hindu Sanghatanist hearts”
and assured them that if Hindus recruited in the British armed forces,
"our Hindu nation is bound
to emerge far more powerful, consolidated and situated in an incomparably more
advantageous position to face issues after the war— whether it be an internal
anti-Hindu Civil War or a constitutional crisis or an armed revolution."ix
RSS PLAN OF CLEANSING OF MUSLIMS
& CHRISTIANS
RSS since its inception (1925) has
been working for one main agenda; cleansing of Muslims and Christians from
India. Hedgewar, the founder of RSS left Congress because freedom struggle
under the leadership of Congress stood for an-all inclusive India in which
Muslims would be part of nation. Hedgewar's successor , Madhav Sadashiv
Golwalkar in his book, We or Our
Nationhood Defined (1939) eulogizing the cleansing of Jews by Hitler made
it clear that RSS would like to emulate it:
"German Race
pride has now become the topic of the day. To keep up the purity of the Race
and its culture, Germany shocked the world by her purging the country of the
Semitic Races—the Jews. Race pride at its highest has been manifested here.
Germany has also shown how well-nigh impossible it is for Races and cultures,
having differences going to the root, to be assimilated into one united whole,
a good lesson for us in Hindusthan to learn and profit by." x
There was no
respite in hatred towards Muslims and Christians even after the birth of
independent India. Golwalkar, a Guru of Hate penned a chapter titled 'Internal
Threats' to India. It appeared in the holy book for the RSS cadres, Bunch of Thoughts, the compilation of
the writings of MS Golwalkar. , the ideologue of the RSS, has a long chapter
titled, "Internal Threats" in which the Muslims and Christians are
described as threats number one and two respectively. The Communists get the
honour of being "Internal Threat" number three.xi
With Modi's coming to power in
2014 the Hindutva juggernaut started running amok and the RSS leaders brazenly
declared that by 2021 India would be cleansed of Muslims and Christians.xii
An aggressive campaign in the name of 'love-jihad', 'ghar-wapsi' and cow
started in which Muslims and Christians were lynched. Perturbed by this
Hindutva frenzy in less than a year of Modi's rule that one of the most
decorated cops of India, Julio Ribeiro, former ambassador to Romania and
recipient
of the Padma Bhushan, a prominent national award wrote on March 17, 2015:
"Today, in my 86th year, I
feel threatened, not wanted, reduced to a stranger in my own country...I am not
an Indian anymore, at least in the eyes of the proponents of the Hindu Rashtra.
Is it coincidence or a well-thought-out plan that the systematic targeting of a
small and peaceful community should begin only after the BJP government of Narendra Modi came to
power last May? It is tragic that
these extremists [Hindutva zealots] have been emboldened beyond permissible
limits by an atmosphere of hate and distrust. The Christian population, a mere 2 per cent of
the total populace, has been subjected to a series of well-directed body blows.
If these extremists later turn their attention to Muslims, which seems to be
their goal, they will invite consequences that this writer dreads to imagine." xiii
DID RSS KNOW THAT 'TOUR OF DUTY' MILITARY RECRUITMENT WAS COMING?
According to a leading
English daily report dated July 29, 2019 the RSS, a cultural organization was
going to establish its own military school which would start in April 2020 with
160 students in the first batch. This military school would be run by the RSS'
education wing Vidya Bharti, being first such initiative and would be named
'Rajju Bhaiya Sainik Vidya Mandir' (RBSVM) after the former RSS boss, Rajendra
Singh. According to Ajay Goyal, regional convener of West UP and Uttarakhand
for the 'Vidya Bharti Uchha Shiksha Sansthan' the military school was under
construction in an area of 20,000 square meters in Shikarpur in Bulandshahar
district of UP. Goyal also made a stunning disclosure that “a number of Army
officers across the country are in touch with RSS and affiliate organisations”.
It is a serious matter and needs investigation from intelligence agencies how a
non-state organization is maintaining contacts with the military officers if
they are in service. Interestingly, this military school would run under a
trust named 'Rajpal Singh Jankalyan Sewa Samiti'. By now the RSS military
school must be functional to prepare cadres for recruitment in the Indian Army.xiv
According to the RBSVM website (http://www.rbsvm.in/
accessed on May 26, 2020) the school has already selected 75 students for the
first batch. A perusal of the list shows that it carries name from one
community only.
GOVERNOR
OF A STATE WANTS CIVIL WAR BETWEEN HINDUS AND MUSLIMS
Julio Ribeiro was right when he
wrote that cleansing of Muslims was the goal of RSS cadres. This was
corroborated by none other but a very senior RSS ideologue and Governor of
Tripura Tathagata Roy. On June 18, 2017, this RSS icon quoting another icon of
RSS, Syama Prasad wrote:
"Syama Prasad Mookerjee
wrote in his diary on 10/1/1946: 'The Hindu-Muslim problem won't b solved without
a Civil War'. So much like Lincoln!"
Mind it; it was not some street
ruffian who was baying for civil war against Muslims of India but one of the
occupiers of the highest constitutional office. When criticized for this take
of his he refused to withdraw the comment saying that he was only quoting SP
Mookerjee. Incidentally, Mookerjee continues to be a great icon for RSS.
Moreover, Modi government continued patronizing him as no explanation was
sought from him.xv
RSS BUILDING A
NETWORK AGAINST MUSLIMS & CHRISTIANS IN THE NEIGHBOURHOOD
According to
international media reports RSS has been building a militant alliance with
fascist Buddhist organization in the South Asia against Muslims and Christians.
The New York Times in an editorial
titled 'Deadly Alliances Against Muslims' dated October 15, 2014 disclosed
sensational facts in this regard.xvi
BABA RAMDEV
STARTS A SECURITY AGENCY TO PROTECT COUNTRY'S ASSETTS
It was no
coincidence that controversial renowned yoga guru, a Hindutva saint, one of the
richest men in India and darling of the RSS-BJP rulers, Baba Ramdev decided to
start a private security agency under his Patanjali Yogpeeth Trust. It
announced enlisting,
"Guards
from its 11 lakh yoga centres across India. Called Parakram Suraksha Private
Ltd., the company will provide employment to the young and protect the
country's assets, SK Tijarawala, spokesperson of Patanjali Yogpeeth… There is a
need for 50 lakh guards in India, he said".xvii
Why Ramdev
ventured into security business is not difficult to understand. He has been
brand ambassador of RSS preached masculine Hindu nationalism. In March 1916 he
gave the war-cry for beheading all those who refused to chant 'Bharat Mata ki Jai'.xviii
It is no ordinary
security agency. Ramdev started it to "provide employment to the young and
protect the country's assets". It is alleged to be a Hindu nationalist
venture. With such outlets RSS and other Hindutva organizations did not need to
organize surreptitious arms training camps. Enroll from any of the 11 lakh yoga
centres of Ramdev and get training in all kinds of arms. Unfortunately, there
has been no state or non-state scrutiny of such Hindutva ventures.
It would be a sad day for
democratic-secular Indian polity if the Indian army actually joins this project
of militarization of the majority community, facilitating directly or
indirectly the Hindutva organizations' long hanging project of civil war
against the largest minority of India. It is crucial to know that Hindutva love
for religious strife suits the international enemies of India too. It
represents another serious threat to the existing democratic polity of India.
In case, RSS-BJP regime loses power such cadres trained in sophisticated arms
may be used not to let the democratic process continue.
Shamsul Islam May 20, 2020
Link
for some of S. Islam's writings in English, Hindi, Urdu, Marathi, Malayalam,
Kannada, Bengali, Punjabi, Gujarati and video interviews/debates:
http://du-in.academia.edu/ShamsulIslam Facebook: shamsul
Twitter: @shamsforjustice http://shamsforpeace.blogspot.com/
Email: notoinjustice@gmail.com
ii
https://indianarmy.nic.in/Site/FormTemplete/frmTempSimple.aspx?MnId=UNWK52erCeNK7/NAT/WtRg==&Pare
ntID=zIwzDgCoslo5XP9swlEvSw==&flag=Hgxuy/qWNIMlPwZXSv9xLQ==
iiihttps://www.mea.gov.in/articles-in-foreign-media.htm?dtl/32011/UN_Peacekeeping_Indias_Contributions
v https://indianexpress.com/article/india/army-proposes-3-year-voluntary-tour-of-duty-cites-patriotism-
unemployment-6408863/]
vi https://theprint.in/defence/indian-army-now-worlds-largest-ground-force-as-china-halves-strength-on-
modernisation-push/382287/
vii https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/defence/army-wants-more-on-field-plans-to-reduce-headquarters-
strength/articleshow/66701327.cms?from=mdr
viii Casolari, Marzia, „Hindutva's Foreign Tie-up in the 1930s:
Archival Evidence, The Economic and
Political Weekly, January 22, 2000, pp. 218-228. All other quotes on Moonje
are from this article.
ix Cited in Savarkar, V. D., Samagra
Savarkar Wangmaya: Hindu Rashtra Darshan, vol. 6, Maharashtra Prantik
Hindusabha, Poona, 1963, pp. 461.
x MS Golwalkar, We
Or Our Nationhood Defined, Bharat Publications, Nagpur, 1939, p. 35.
xi Golwalkar, MS, Bunch
of Thoughts, Saitya Sindhu Prakashana, 1966, Bangalore, pp. 177-95.
xii 'We will free India of Muslims
and Christians by 2021' Mail Today,
Delhi, December 19, 2014
next-april-ist-batch-to-have-160- students/articleshow/70426347.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_ca mpaign=cppst
xv https://thewire.in/politics/tripura-governor-slammed-on-twitter-for-quoting-prophecy-of-hindu-muslim-civil-war
xvi https://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/16/opinion/deadly-alliances-against-muslims.html
& https://www.hastakshep.com/old/india-its-neighbourhood-rss-building-a-deadly-alliance-against-muslims-christians/
xvii https://www.bloombergquint.com/pursuits/baba-ramdev-patanjali-enters-private-security-business-with- parakram-suraksha
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