“How shall freedom be defended? By arms when it is attacked by arms; by truth when it is attacked by lies; by democratic faith when it is attacked by authoritarian dogma. Always and in the final act, by determination and faith.”
– Archibald Macleish, poet
Unbeknownst to most of us, we are perilously close to the final act of our existence as a living civilization. Never before has the imperative for determination and faith in defence of our existential ethos been so urgent, as it is now. A rag-tag anti-Hindu coalition is playing with the dharma and cultural sensitivity of the people, even as a pusillanimous BJP juggles with political vocabulary to evade the legitimate concerns of the Hindu community in its infatuation with an ephemeral Muslim vote.
Implementing a specific though unstated agenda, the phantom-like regime led notionally by Dr. Manmohan Singh has moved stealthily to corrode one of India’s most important institutions – the Army. In an order undermining the spirits of soldiers and officers alike, all Commanders have been instructed to enforce certain measures to ensure that the Army’s “secular credentials” are not questioned (whatever that might mean).
The instructions have caused deep disquiet, causing some perturbed officers to request National Defence College of India alumni Abhijit Bhattacharyya to expose the matter, a job he has done admirably (Pioneer, 18 August 2004). In my view, the issue deserves wider debate, as it is part of a concerted attack upon India’s autochthonous civilizational values and heritage. It is a shame that the media, political parties and vociferous academic-activists have silently acquiesced in this vandalization of cultural identity.
To those who are sensitive to issues of cultural expression, the instructions are obnoxious; a portent of more ominous things, should this government last. The directives prohibit officers and soldiers on active duty from sporting any kind of religious symbols, such as sacred threads, vibhuti, tilaks, even birthstone rings. The statues of deities are banned.
The instructions specifically target Hindu officers and soldiers, who no doubt comprise the majority of the forces, since this is still a Hindu-majority country (though for how long is now an open question). Hindu women officers are prohibited from wearing earrings and jewellery; the sole concession is permission to use sindoor, which must be “veiled” by a beret or peak cap. Secularism has thus taken a great leap forward, invading the private person of the (Hindu) individual and denying the right to observe customary forms of dharma.
Perhaps sindoor was spared by UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, who harped upon her “maang ka sindoor” when seeking political legitimacy from a bemused people. It is inconceivable that an order of such magnitude could have been issued without her knowledge, since every decision is taken at meetings presided by her. She must therefore clarify her stand on these measures and their purpose.
Dr. Manmohan Singh would be aware that Sikhs comprise a healthy section of the Indian Army. Will Sikh officers and soldiers be forcefully divested of their hair (kesh), iron bracelet (kada) and ceremonial dagger (kirpan)? Or will there be a special order for Sikhs, on grounds that they constitute a religious minority (a subterfuge invented by the British to fragment Hindu society)? Will minority exemptions be extended to Christians and Muslims, with Parsis and Jains thrown in as a balancing act? Will we then circuitously achieve the true objective, viz., the purging of all Hindu symbols of cultural identity from public life?
This is no exaggeration given the fact that in just three months of UPA governance, we have witnessed a move to ban Dr. Karan Singh’s book on Vedanta (for school children), along with the Tamil Jaina classic, the Thirukural. A cabinet minister has made unseemly remarks against famed revolutionary, Veer Savarkar, to the embarrassment of his own party government in Maharashtra. And presently, a shocking criminal case has been launched against Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Uma Bharati for attempting to hoist the Tricolour at the Kittoor Rani Chennamma Maidan (also known as Idgah Maidan as Muslims offer communal prayers there twice a year) on 15 August 1994.
Secularist dogma has so terrorized contemporary Hindus that they hesitate to take up cudgels on behalf of their dharma and culture for fear of being branded “communal.” Personally, I subscribe to Sir Winston Churchill’s profound admonition – “If you will not fight for the right when you can easily win without bloodshed; if you will not fight when your victory will be sure and not too costly; you may come to the moment when you will have to fight with all the odds against you and only a small chance of survival. There may even be a worse case: you may have to fight when there is no hope of victory, because it is better to perish than to live as slaves.”
The Hubli Maidan issue is being falsely given a communal flavour, and readers may benefit from a summation of the facts. An organization, Vigil, held a public meeting at Madras on 30 August 1994, where Karnataka BJP MLC, Mr. D.H. Shankara Murthy, detailed the facts.
The Maidan is public land officially owned by the Municipal Corporation of Hubli-Dharwar. At some stage, a trust laid claim to the land and began constructions upon it. The civil court declared the land was public, but could be used for communal prayers twice annually, which was upheld by the Karnataka High Court in 1992. The Supreme Court admitted a Special Leave Petition (SLP) regarding demolition of the structure erected, but gave no relief in the matter of ownership.
In 1990, after Hindus in Jammu & Kashmir were rendered homeless and the Pakistani flag hoisted in Lal Chowk, Srinagar, the BJP decided to hoist the national flag everywhere. In 1992, Hubli residents decided to hoist national flag at Kittoor Rani Chennamma Maidan. The Congress Chief Minister S. Bangarappa said this would hurt minority sentiment and ordered the police to prevent it. When the flag was hoisted on Republic Day, the police removed it. This is the genesis of the dispute over the flag and Hubli Maidan.
Thereafter, the Rashtra Dhwaja Rakshana Samiti was formed to hoist the flag on every Republic and Independence Day. The Congress government resisted and made arrests. On the Republic Day of 1994, the arrested included the 75-year-old retired Director General of Police of Karnataka, Mr. Veerabadrayya.
In this backdrop, Ms. Uma Bharati decided to hoist the Tricolour on Independence Day, 1994. The Chief Minister, Mr. Veerappa Moily, spread the canard that the Maidan was Wakf property and hoisting the flag could inflame passions. A BJP worker, Ramesh, managed to hoist the flag at 6.47 am, before being arrested. Ms. Uma Bharati was arrested some hours later. Sometime afterwards, there was an incident of police firing in Deshpande Nagar, where some persons died.
The court will no doubt decide if Ms. Bharati can legitimately be held responsible for murder when she was not present at the scene of the alleged crime. But it is obvious that something deeper is afoot, and its purpose is the cultural annihilation of the Hindu people. We are facing a pincer attack from sinister quarters; pusillanimity will only take us to extinction. It is time to rise and validate our culture and our history.
The Pioneer, 24 August 2004