Repeal of agriculture law was not about UP, Punjab elections. The answer lies in what Savarkar wrote

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TeaThat symbolism was too deep to remember. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s announcement to repeal three controversial agriculture laws came on November 19 on the occasion of Guru Nanak Jayanti. he especially as outlined That he chose the auspicious occasion for the announcement. It may be a coincidence, but on the same day the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwati Worshiped by visiting a Gurdwara in Raipur, Chhattisgarh.

Prime Minister’s announcement has been generally viewed and analyzed Reference Regarding the impending assembly elections in the states of Punjab and Uttar Pradesh in 2022. The popular theory is that the farmers’ movement was hurting the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) electoral prospects, and that the PM should u- turn on agricultural laws. Be a farmer leader saying He. Such analyzes were made despite the fact that Punjab has never been an electorally important region for the BJP, and in UP, the movement was limited to half a dozen districts in the Western and Terai After partition in 1947 where the land was allotted to Sikh farmers.

It is true that assembly elections are near, and the PM’s decision may affect the electoral arithmetic, but I would argue that the government’s move is more social, cultural and ideological than electoral. This has been done to protect the most important thing for the Hindutva brigade – the ‘idea of ​​Hindutva’ as envisioned by VD Savarkar. In fact, the BJP (and the RSS) decided to repeal agricultural laws to let the Sikhs know that they are no ‘other Muslims’ to them.

read also, Gandhi is back. Repeal of agricultural laws shows that even the most hostile enemy can be changed

Sikhism, Hindutva and Savarkari

Sikhs are very important in the Hindutva narrative, and the RSS and BJP cannot treat them as they treat Muslims. The other of the latter is not only acceptable, but essential to the idea of ​​Hindutva.

in your book Essentials of Hindutva, VD Savarkar consistently argued that “If any community in India is Hindu beyond condemnation or criticism, it is our Sikh brotherhood in Punjab, who are almost free-living residents of the Sapta Sindhu land and direct descendants of the Sindhu or Hindu people.” The Sikh of today is the Hindu of tomorrow and the Hindu of today may be the Sikh of tomorrow. Changing a dress, or a custom, or a detail of daily life cannot change the blood or seed, nor can it erase and erase history. “

This reflects the importance that Savarkar conveyed to the idea that Sikhs should live within the Hindu fold. At the time of writing this book, his project was to produce a grand Hindutva narrative, and he wanted to add Sanatanwadi, Satnami, Sikh, Aryan, Anarya, Maratha And Madrasi, Brahmin and Panchamasi (‘Untouchables’) under the Hindutva fold.

Hence, Savarkar seemed more progressive than Gandhi, who held puritanical views on caste and varna. Savarkar said, “The system of the four varnas may disappear when it has completed its end or ceases to serve it, but will this make our land one.” Mlechhadesh:– Land of foreigners? NS sannyasis, ns Arya SamajiSikhs and many others do not recognize the four caste system, and yet are they foreigners? God forbid! They are ours by blood, by race, by country, by God. We, the Hindus, are all one and one nation, primarily because of our common blood: the Bharati progeny.

In Essentials of HindutvaSavarkar used the word ‘Sikh’ more than 60 times. This number is another way of understanding the importance of Sikhs in his Hindutva project. He further said that Sikhs should continue to practice their religion and fight for minority rights. He further added, “Sikhs are free to reject any or all superstitions which they dislike”. eternal religion, “Even binding rights Vedas as a revelation. Thus, they may cease to be Sanatan, but cannot remain Hindu. Savarkar said, “Sikhs are Hindus in the sense of our definition of Hindutva and not in any religious sense.”

Read also: ‘Punjabi don’t forget easily’ – farmers in Punjab cheer but Modi has no recourse

Sikhs continue to protest against farmers

On top of this, one can say that the peasant movement was a non-religious social movement, as many of its leaders were Hindus and even Muslims such as Hannan Mollah, general secretary of the All India Kisan Sabha. Peasants from all religious groups participated in the movement and all their demands were related to economic and government policies. The organizers made extra efforts to ensure that the movement did not look like a religious event by making Hindu and Muslim leaders a part of all delegations and press conferences.

But the fact remains that the Sikhs were at the core of the movement, and the religious voices never left. The protests in Punjab began in mid-September 2020 after three bills were passed in Parliament. The Congress-led state government supported the farmers’ movement and the Punjab Assembly also passed a resolution that the Acts would not be implemented. State. The Akali Dal, the main opposition party in Punjab, took the same stand. For two months, farmers’ unions protested, blocking roads and rail networks. All this happened when the movement remained largely confined to the Sikh farmers. Later Hindu Jats also joined the movement. Other communities soon became part of the protest, but both were at the center. Most of the farmers killed during the protest were Sikhs.

In November 2020, farmers called for a march to Delhi, and farmers from Haryana and western UP also became part of the movement. Despite the movement that broad-based its social structure, the Sikhs exerted the strongest influence on it. Sikh religious and philanthropic organizations provided it with the necessary infrastructure. Gurudwara and manager (Management) committees organized community kitchens, medical facilities and also acted as transit points for farmers commuting. Temporary gurdwaras were built and the Nihang Sikhs provided security to the agitators. Sikh organizations and leaders in the West made it global – Sikh Members of Parliament (MPs) in Britain and Canada raised their issues in their respective parliaments. The community’s diaspora received such huge support that the Modi government was forced to intervene, and hence, it started investigating the so-called. toolkit, Interestingly, the protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and the National Register of Citizens (NRC) have never received so much international support, despite all efforts by Indian Muslims abroad.

An impression was created – part of this may be by design – that the government was oppressing the Sikhs. This, the BJP never wanted. Separating Sikhs beyond a point is contrary to the idea of ​​Hindutva and the RSS, so the BJP finally decided to reconcile.

Read also: Guru Nanak Vs RSS Guru Hedgewar-Farmers’ Protest Shows How Sikhs Have a Lesson for India

a tense reconciliation

One may ask why the BJP took so long to come to this conclusion as the religious character of the peasant movement was visible from the very beginning. My interpretation is that it was a miscalculation. There was a conflict between the economic agenda and the ideological core, so it took some time for the BJP to take a decision. We don’t know for sure, but a small incident in Gurugram may have triggered it. There was a dispute over Friday prayers at a public ground, and it was reported that the Sadar Bazar Gurdwara Association in Gurugram opened its premises for Muslims to offer prayers. Though there was no Namaz inside the Gurdwara premises, the idea of ​​only Sikhs and Muslims coming together must have shook the BJP and the RSS.

In early 2020, such solidarity was clearly Express During the anti-CAA-NRC protest at Delhi’s Shaheen Bagh, where Sikh farmers anchored to provide freshly cooked food to the protesters.

The Sikh origins of the peasant movement and their alienation shook the BJP and the RSS, which we may see reaching out to Sikhs in more ways in the days to come.

The author is a former managing editor of India Today Hindi magazine and has written books on media and sociology. He tweeted @Profdilipmandal. Thoughts are personal.

(Edited by Our Like)

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