A newly introduced chapter in class 8 textbook of Kannada language uses fiction to glorify Savarkar as a “Veer” nationalist icon. This is part of the Sangh brigade’s efforts to project Savarkar who was one of their principal ideologues. However, history says that Savarkar was a capitulator and a British collaborator exemplified by the several mercy petitions starting from just 6 months after he was deported to cellular jail. After confessing in one of his mercy petition (November 14, 1913) that he was misguided into taking the revolutionary road because of the “excited and hopeless situation of India in 1906-1907”, he concluded by assuring that if the British government releases him and grants mercy, he would become “the staunchest advocate of… loyalty to the English government”. He went on shamelessly – “my conversion to the constitutional line would bring back all those misled young men in India and abroad who were once looking up to me as their guide. I am ready to serve the Government in any capacity they like… The Mighty alone can afford to be merciful and therefore where else can the prodigal son return but to the paternal doors of the government?” This was “Veer” Savarkar’s “nationalism”. He focussed on spreading communal venom propounding the theory of “Hindutva” later in 1923 to help the British Raj in its ‘divide-and-rule’ policy.
RSS, never participated in the independence struggle but rather helped the British rule survive by creating communal divide. Tall leaders of the Sangh like Hedgewar (founder of RSS), Golwalkar (founder of Vishwa Hindu Parishad), Shyama Prasad Mukherjee (founder of Bharatiya Jana Sangh, predecessor of BJP) all have openly shown their allegiance to the British. In 1927, when the whole country was protesting the Simon Commission, the RSS stayed away. Rather, in September 1927, the RSS led a communal riot in Nagpur, against the Muslims. There was a sudden increase in membership of RSS after this riot. Even in 1930, the RSS did not participate in the country-wide civil disobedience movement against the British. This continued in the 1940s after Golwalkar became the Sarsanghchalak. RSS kept themselves aloof from independence movements, like Quit India movement of 1942, the Royal Navy mutiny of 1946, etc. “It is futile to blame the strong for the injustice done to the weak… Sangh does not want to waste its invaluable time in abusing or criticizing others. If we know that large fish eat the smaller ones, it is outright madness to blame the big fish.” – said Golwalkar, in a speech given on June 8, 1942, to restrain the Sangh members from joining the massive anti-British struggle. He had openly declared – “Hindus, don’t waste your energy fighting the British. Save your energy to fight our internal enemies that are Muslims, Christians, and Communists.”
RSS even tried to portray the former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee as a freedom fighter, active in the Quit India Movement citing his 26 days’ arrest in 1942. However, in an interview to Frontline he stated that he was not an active participant in the Quit India Movement and he was arrested by chance. Ironically, during his arrest, he signed a confessional statement turning himself into an informant for the British naming some of the leaders of a protest held in his village.The history of origin of Hindutva and RSS has been a history of subjection to British imperialism. There is no Nationalism or Patriotism in Sangh’s origin. The jargon of “Swadeshi” that they use is nothing but hypocrisy and an attempt to hide their shameful past. Ideology of RSS is not only filled with hatred towards Muslims, Christians and Communists but also rooted in collaboration with imperialism.
Similar to its origin, the resurgence of Hindutva has also been on the lap of imperialism. Rise of Hindutva and neoliberal reforms went hand in hand – first by the Congress then by the BJP. Post-1947 the most vicious attack of imperialism on India began with the globalization era introduced through the Manmohan Singh led economic reforms of 1991. The grounds though were being laid since the depression of 1982 which struck the West irretrievably. In 1991, this came in open with the policy of Liberalization, Privatization, and Globalization (LPG) when India went bankrupt and had to mortgage its gold reserves to the IMF. This led to opening up of India to the foreign capital for more aggressive loot of cheap labour, natural resources, and exploitation of the Indian market.
Simultaneously, came the attack on the Golden Temple as a “pro-Hindu” action by the Indira government and then anti-Sikh pogroms in which RSS also joined. After this we witnessed the first conscious promotion of the Ramayana in 1987 with the introduction of television in India resulting in a religious revivalist mania. This was followed by the opening of the lock of the Babri Masjid and high calibre promotion of the Babri Masjid-Ram Janmabhoomi dispute.
Immediately after the announcement of the economic reforms Advani launched the Rathyatra creating mayhem, finally resulting in the demolishing of the Babri Masjid. Thereby the rulers craftily diverted people from the negative impact of the imposed economic reforms. The Hindutva pot was kept boiling throughout the next two decades by both BJP, Congress, and most regional parties. This finally burst out in the post 2014 period with Modi riding into power under the hypocritical banner of “Hindu Nationalism”.
How the policies of the “Swadeshi” Atal Bihari government and the “Nationalist” Modi government sold our country to the foreign capital will be explored in detail in the second part of this article. However, it should be clear by now that present-day Hindutva is nothing but fake nationalism under the garb of which aggressive sell out of our country to the foreign barons began. In post-British India, it acts as a divide and rule poison needed to numb the pain of the people caused by the aggressive neoliberal “reforms” led by US imperialism, similar to the purpose it served for British imperialism.
