Caught in the Net...The Jurassic Park
Everyone from Sagarika Ghose to Amartya Sen, middle aged JNU scholars to Communists of Kerala, Prashant Bhushan to Sundry Congress person, Mamta Banerjee to even Imran Khan is lamenting the Lost World that was Nehru's India. Looking at so many *"Eminent Intellectuals"* shedding copious tears for the legacy destroyed by Narendra Modi, it would be fair to look back and assess "What exactly have we lost ?"
What did Nehruvian Legacy mean ? Here is an attempt to understand the difference between Nehru's India, the Lost World and Modi-fied India, the Jurassic Park.
In Nehru's India, Muslim League was an alliance partner of Congress party but any party talking of Hindu causes was divisive. National Conference, the family enterprise of Abdullah's was originally All Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conference. That, we must understand wasn't against the secular spirit of the nation. But RSS or Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh was a Jurassic Park of dinosaurs and that is why they blocked it out of national debate.
In Nehru's India, the constitution gave everyone the right to practice, preach and propagate one's religion. Thus mass conversions by Evangelical organizations was a matter of right but "Ghar Wapsi" was communal and hence condemned. In a strange development, the Evangelists and Islamist groups feel the Anti-conversion law is against them but they want Ghar Wapsi to be outlawed.
In Nehru's India, RSS that trained cadre in self defense with sticks was a dangerous terrorist organization and the Maoists were "Gandhians with guns". RSS collected funds and sent tribal children to modern schools. Hurriyat leaders hired Kashmiri children to pelt stones at Indian security forces. Maoists collected funds and gave guns and rocket launchers to tribal children. But Nehruvian legacy always wanted dialogue with Hurriyat and Maoists and isolate RSS.
In Nehru's India, the Congress and other Secular parties wanted to hold talks, even with Pakistan but RSS was untouchable. A secular Politician or a former President could openly meet Hurriyat leaders, share information with them and break Iftar with them. But attending RSS function was a huge taboo. In a total travesty of all that was sacrosanct in Nehruvian world view, one RSS man is the President of India, second one is Vice President and the third RSS man is Prime Minister.
In Nehru's India, we were taught only about Invaders, the benevolent Mughals, Bapu Gandhi, Chacha Nehru and Independence. All others were just footnotes in the history books in schools. Today, the unbridled social media is countering those thousands of "well-intentioned, sugarcoated untruths" of Nehruvian Historians. All the Secular Historians wanted was to keep the atrocities of Islamic invaders buried and create a peaceful India. The Nehru's India, where Hindus had to feel ashamed of their past and Muslims had to be proud about their ancestors. This noble Nehruvian thought train has been derailed after decades of smooth ride.
In Nehru's India, we were preached not to hate the Muslims of today for the alleged atrocities of their ancestors. But in Nehru's India, we were also told, Brahmins were responsible for all the problems faced by this country. Allama Iqbal, the "Spiritual Father of Pakistan" was a hero in Nehru's India while Vinayak Damodar Savarkar was a traitor and villain. In essence, Brahmin hate was necessary for the continuation of "Divide and Rule policy" but we should keep out Islamophobia.
In Nehru's India, "Minorities, especially the Muslims have the first rights over the resources of the nation", said a Prime Minister and that was epitome of secularism. But when another Prime Minister said, "Progress for all, appeasement of none", that was marginalizing of minorities.
In Nehru's India, awards, rewards, positions of power, institutions, control over the narrative and the right to moral policy were controlled by a miniscule minority concentrated around Lutyens Delhi. Imposters were not allowed anywhere near this closed circle of entitled few. With an imposter as Prime Minister, the Nehruvian Legacy truly has been damaged.
In Nehru's India, there was so much of democracy, it was overflowing everywhere. Journalists, Industrialists, shady middle men, Radiating lobbyists and practically anyone could decide who would be or who should be Minister in the Union Cabinet. Gone are those lovely days. Nobody outside PMO and RSS top echelons knows who will be a Minister, leave alone portfolio allocations.
In Nehru's India, celebrity journalists could telecast live, the rescue efforts during terror strikes and "inadvertently" help the terrorists. We also had "satellite phone carrying "brave journalists accidentally" betraying our armed forces and getting our soldiers shelled by Pakistani forces. In De-Nehrufied India, the brilliant, know all journalists have been reduced to merely reporting Surgical strikes and Airstrikes with ghastly disbelief. In short, the media has been robbed of their right to (leak) information.
In Nehru's India, the less than 0.001% self proclaimed Intellectuals or Left Liberals dictated terms on our Nuclear policy, International policies and Economic policies. The changed world order has shattered this well entrenched equilibrium. They now can only write and read how horrible the policies of present government are, long after the policies are implemented.
In Nehru's India, there was an abundance of patience. Pakistan could go on and on sending terrorists and trigger bomb blasts in India. India were always ready for never-ending dialogue. Sometimes, they reluctantly put conditions like, "Stop cross-border terrorism" for talks with Pakistan. The "Aman Ki Aasha" gangs would immediately remind the government of the importance to adhere to Nehruvian egalitarianism. There was unlimited scope for dialogue as long as the other side didn't talk about petty issues like ethnic cleansing of Kashmiri Hindus. All those Lahore Biryani and Karachi Wine dialogues have been rendered redundant by the Modi-fied India.
In Nehru's India, victims in a communal violence could only be Muslims or Christians. The only cause for all strife was Brahmanical Patriarchy. But if Hindus were the targets of communal violence or ethnic cleansing, there always had to be some justification. Justification like agrarian crisis in Malabar, socioeconomic disparities between the rich Hindus and poor Muslims in Kashmir, road-rage in Delhi, some kind of prior instigation on behalf of the victims of violence in Godhra and many more. The social media has become ruthless in these Un-Nehruing modern times. It just doesn't allow the Nehruvian Legacy to run away with the narrative like they always did in the good old days.
To sum it all up, Imran Khan and his Nobel cheerleaders on this side of LOC are right. This unfortunately isn't Nehru's India anymore. This is RSS version of India. There are no privileges in this India neither perks for being a Nehruvian liberal. The moderate pacifist whose heart used to bleed for Palestinians, Maoists, Burhan Wani and everyone else except Hindu victims has become undesirable stranger today. The dinosaurs have woken up after over 1000 years of slumber, suppression and slothful subsistence.
Welcome to the Jurassic Park!
Kudos to Gaurav Pradhan for this article. So well written that it couldn't have been more precise.
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