HINDU CHAUVINISM
Vivekanand on Islam
Think of the good Mohammed did to the world and think of the great evil that has been done through his fanaticism! Think of the millions massacred through his teachings, mothers bereft of their children, children made orphans, whole countries destroyed, millions upon millions of people killed!
There has not been any religion which has shed so much blood and been so cruel to other men. In the Koran there is a doctrine that a man who does not believe these teachings should be killed. It is a mercy to kill him! And the surest way to get to heaven where there are beautiful houris and all sorts of sense enjoyments, is by killing these unbelievers!
Mohammedans talk of universal brotherhood, but what comes out of that in reality? Why, anybody who is not a Mohammedan will not be admitted into the brotherhood; he will more likely have his throat cut.
Ram Gopal on Hindutva
Hindutva is a political thought or ideology, a Sanskrit word for Indian nationalism, founded on Indian culture. Hindutva was the essence of India's freedom movement up to 1920. The principles and the outlines of India's freedom struggle enunciated by Mahatma Gandhi in Hindi Swaraj, written in 1909, just reflect the ideals of Hindutva. Catholicity, equal respect for all religions, protection of the cow (symbolizing the women and the weaker sections of society) and the learned ones (brahmins) are essentials of Hindu culture. In the sixteenth century Emperor Akbar did work for Hindutva when he dissociated his empire from the dominance of the Khalifa... abolished the jazis, gave equal treatment to Islam, Hinduism, and other religions, and allowed forcibly converted Muslims to return to their original faith.... Hindutva stands for a united India or Bharat as one nation as against the two or multi-nation theory being propagated by certain political parties since pre- Independence.
It is noteworthy that Savarkar, the most vocal leader of Hindutva ideology, was an atheist. Hence, Hindutva should not be confused with Hindu religion.
(Source: The Organizer, 4 August. 1996)
BJP: Views of L.K. Advani
The BJP does not have to even talk about (the Ayodhya issue) The United Front Government is itself bringing the issue to the limelight. Some Minister in UF Government makes statements and senior leaders are forced to contradict it. It could be an issue in the UP elections. It also depends on what our adversaries talk about.
(Source: The Hindustan Times, 28 July, 1996)
On Hindu Fundamentalism
Is Hindu fundamentalism somewhat like driving a looking only at the rear-view mirror?
"One may be mesmerized by the glorious vista of the past, but the existing inequities could be leading up to a tragic accident up ahead.". The rise of political and cultural Hindu assertiveness has more to do with notions of pride than any form of religiosity (like) the demolition of the Babari Masjid in Ayodhya being billed as an attempt to restore Hindu pride.
"This reference to pride clearly indicated that being Hindu to these people meant something quite different from what millions of Hindus have believed or practiced as part of their daily lives for centuries".
"There is no shortage of evidence, to show that the sort of Hindutva being preached by organizations like the RSS, the VHP, and the BJP is contrary to many of the liberal, humane, and even radical traditions contained within the broad category we call Hindu"
An interesting aspect of the history of modern Hindutva... is that until the very recent intervention of the sadhus and mahants associated with the VHP, religious figures did not play a significant leadership role in modern politicized Hinduism.
Since way back in the 1920s, it was laymen provided the cadres as well as the ideological and political leadership to the politics of Hindu assertiveness.
The propagation of a modern, public-sphere Hindu religiosity became one way for middle class men to seek empowerment and authority. Savarkar, who first coined the term Hindutva, claimed in his 1922 book titled Hindutva, that the term had very little to do with any particular theocratic or religious dogma or creed.
Overwhelming concerns for self-respect, and a desire to assert a more commanding presence in the public sphere rather than forms of worship or devotion drove middle class politics to construct the modern Hindu persona.
(Courtesy: Himal South Asia, Kathmandu)
M.V. Kamath on Vande Mataram
Though there is a reference in the fifth stanza to Durga, it is not a religious song. In the early days, Hindus and Muslims both sang it with fervor, shouting taken out in Calcutta to the singing of Vande Mataram while marching in protest against an alien rule. Maulana Syed Fazlur Rahman made it clear that Vande Mataram did not "smack of idol worship" but was "an expression of love for the Motherland". It was only in 1937 that the Congress Working Committee decided to sing only the first two stanzas in order to appease the Muslim fundamentalists who did not like the reference to Durga. It was a wholly unnecessary compromise.
(Source: The Organizer, 4 August, 996)
