(The Political Line newsletter is India’s political landscape, explained every week by Varghese K. George, Senior Editor, The Hindu. You can subscribe.) Here To get the newsletter delivered to your inbox every Friday.)
Divisions we export
one in recent edition of political line We discussed the growing trend of communal divisions being exported from India to the diaspora.
Incidents of communal tension among people of Indian origin in America were the background of that discussion. It’s happened again – this time in the UK, where masked gangs of Hindus and Muslims march through neighborhoods threatening each other.
India along with UK officials “The Violence against the Indian community in Leicester And the premises and symbols of Hinduism have been broken.”
The Hindu-Muslim divide in South Asia is now playing out abroad as well. The Government of India thinks that it should work to protect the interests of the Hindu communities. Muslims and Hindus from different parts of the world form communities based on beliefs in Western societies, but they face similar challenges and generally form a bond. But this has changed due to the hardening of religious nationalism in their countries of origin. I discuss this question in some detail in my book, Open Embrace – India, US Relations in a Divided World,
A A section of Sikhs in Canada is gathering support for KhalistanEven though there is a spate of violence against people of Indian origin in the country. We are witnessing an era of nationalism which is playing out internationally and in international relations. This is not an entirely new phenomenon. During the anti-colonial struggle, groups fighting for the independence of India operated from America, Europe and several Asian countries.
What explains BJP’s new love for Jats?
Meghalaya Governor Satyapal Malik rarely misses an opportunity to target Prime Minister Narendra Modi, but still continues in office. Confusing as it is, it all makes sense when one takes into account the BJP’s overtures to keep the Jat community in good humour. Mr. Malik, a former socialist and a Jat leader, has taken the stand against Mr. Modi on several occasions, mainly on behalf of his community. The Jats are a youth-peasant community – cultivators and warriors. Mr. Malik questioned the Modi government’s agriculture policy and the Agneepath recruitment scheme for the Indian Army. Still, he’s kept his job — until now.
In order to woo the Jats, a concerted effort is being made by the BJP in its changed stand. BJP politics involves mobilizing the rest against the dominant caste, or at least sidelining the dominant caste on the issue of Hindu unity. Jats, Marathas, Yadavs, Jatavs and Patels saw their clout diminish with the rise of the BJP in UP, Bihar, Maharashtra, Haryana and Gujarat. The BJP and these communities are negotiating their own terms of engagement. The party seems very lenient towards Jats on this point.
The party’s three state presidents are now Jats, of whom the maximum Recently appointed one for Uttar Pradesh, The party’s presidents in Rajasthan and Haryana were already Jats, and it recently elected Jat leader Jagdeep Dhankhar as vice-president. The society is very strong in terms of economic, physical and unity. It can mobilize its members in large numbers, that too apparently around the national capital. His sheer location makes him a fierce political adversary to any system in Delhi. The Jats allied with the Sikhs during the farmers’ agitation against the three controversial laws, which were later withdrawn by the Modi government. The Jat-Muslim unity in western UP didn’t add much to the UP assembly elections, but it was nonetheless uncomfortable for the BJP. The BJP has bad relations with both the minority communities. The BJP seems keen to make peace with them, and is expecting a more organized resistance from them.
federalism path
‘Gujarat is not Pakistan’
A man walks past the Vedanta logo outside Vedanta’s headquarters in Mumbai, India. , photo credit: Reuters
The dispute over the location of India’s first semiconductor plant in Gujarat, which has left Maharashtra behind in the race, continues. gujarat is the deputy chief minister of maharashtra not pakistan Devendra Fadnavis said in defense of his party BJP, which is accused of betraying Maharashtra. But competition among states to woo investors and companies will remain a major thorn in Indian federalism.
By taking the name of Pakistan, the BJP leader has also betrayed the party’s persistent obsession with the neighboring country to define itself. It was an India-Pakistan cricket match that started sectarian clashes in Britain, although tensions have long remained. In the upcoming assembly elections in Gujarat, we will surely hear more about Pakistan!
‘Bhagavad Gita’, ‘Mahabharata’, Ambedkar
A society or a nation is sustained by its fundamental principles. We argue that the Constitution is the holy text of a republican society but this is only partially true. Religious texts and legends contribute to the formation of the collective consciousness of society. At the British Queen’s funeral, Prime Minister Liz Truss recently read from the Bible. The President of the United States takes the oath by placing his hand on the Bible.
When it comes to the teaching of religious texts in schools or universities, it gets a bit more complicated. Which text is selected by the state, and to what effect, become moot questions. The question of minority faiths also comes up in different societies.
A representational photo of students dressed as Krishna and Arjuna enacting a scene from the Bhagavad Gita. , Photo Credit: KV Purnachandra Kumar
since december, Karnataka will join Bhagavad Gita in schools As a part of moral education, while no decision has yet been taken on teaching it separately. BJP government is facing criticism The BJP government in Gujarat is also introducing its own MLAs on the delay in starting teaching. Bhagavad Gita in schools. Not everyone is happy about it.
RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat mentioned this Mahabharata Speaking at the launch of the book, India as the “Essence”, connecting with Mahabharata, in Delhi on Monday. It has been written by Neera Mishra and Air Vice Marshal (Retd) Rajesh Lal, son of the late B B Lal, who excavated to find Hastinapur and Indraprastha In search of the historicity of the epic.
Sangh Parivar clearly sees the need to popularize it Mahabharata Even more, but it’s not stopping at that. The Hindutva nation-building project is influenced by Dalit resistance and other challenges from the periphery – religious, linguistic and cultural. Incorporating local and regional practices and legends into the overarching narrative of Hindu nationalism is a path to unity. The adaptation of political rebels is equally or more important. The recent announcement of Ambedkar Tourism Circuit should be seen in this context. Ambedkarites complain that the selection of places associated with them for the purpose of this project erases the real radical legacy of the man. it creates a narrative fits into the nationalist narrative,