Life-size cutouts of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. , Photo credit: The Hindu
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Modi easily appropriated Buddha and Gandhi, who mocked Savarkar, the epitome of Hindutva; Rahul takes a jibe at Savarkar for jeopardizing his party’s alliance in Maharashtra
congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s statement on VD Savarkar And what Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently said on Lord Buddha represents the divergent viewpoints of two major adversaries of contemporary Indian politics.
“My name is not Savarkar. My name is Gandhi. And Gandhi doesn’t apologise,” Mr Gandhi said, referring to an apology written by VD Savarkar, the ideological father of Hindutva, to the British authorities on March 25. Mr Gandhi’s statement jolted Maharashtra, the Congress’s alliance with the Uddhav Thackeray faction of the Shiv Sena in the state and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). Where Savarkar is considered a national hero, The Shiv Sena expressed displeasure and NCP leader Sharad Pawar said there was no point in discussing Savarkar now. The BJP launched a campaign accusing the Congress leader of insulting all Maharashtrians.
In fact, when Mr. Gandhi’s grandmother Indira Gandhi was in power, the Center remember savarkar On the occasion of his 87th birth anniversary. The brochure that was given with the stamp referred to the author of Indian War of Independence, 1857 Talks about his association with the Hindu Mahasabha as “Veer Savarkar” and in the context of “removal of untouchability”.
While Hindutva celebrates Savarkar and his philosophy, on several key issues, its leaders have trashed his legacy – cow protection, Buddhism and MK Gandhi to name a few. Savarkar was strong in his views against the cow protection movement as he considered it irrational. Hindutva organizations have found cow protection the easiest way of communal mobilisation. Savarkar considered Buddhism to be a major obstacle in the formation of nationalism in India. Historian Shruti Kapila writes in the book, “He (Savarkar) established Buddhism as anathema to Indian nationalism.” Violent Brotherhood: Indian Political Thought in a Global Age, Savarkar also considered MK Gandhi’s non-violence “sinful”, but has been usurped by Hindutva proponents in present times. Buddha and Gandhi are part of India’s civilizational diplomacy around the world under the Hindutva regime.
Portrait of Veer Savarkar. , Photo Credit: Getty Images
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 20 this year had said that the world is facing the toughest time of the century due to war, economic crisis, terrorism and climate change and all these contemporary global challenges can be resolved. through the teachings of the Buddha,
Over the years, the Sangh Parivar has inducted a variety of personalities from BR Ambedkar to Sardar Patel in its pantheon. It either ignores or refines the positions of Savarkar and MS Golwalkar along the way. For all its perceived ideological obstinacy, supporters of Hindutva come across as flexible.
The Congress has woken up late to Ambedkar’s legacy and has almost lost Patel’s legacy to the BJP. In the early 20th century, Savarkar and Gandhi were the two main proponents of the idea of an Indian nation. Mr. Gandhi wants to keep it in the 21st century. It’s a bold act of deep political conviction, but it’s fraught: Savarkar has admirers who want to defeat the BJP by aligning with the Congress, and there may be other problematic positions or statements by past leaders that upset the Congress. can do. on the defensive. The approaches taken by 20th-century leaders, who had different vantage points and intellectual resources, left a complex mix of legacies. The success of the Congress for several decades has been in maintaining itself as an ideologically fluid platform. Can Congress revive with more ideological purity?
It is not only Savarkar’s, but also Dravidian movement leader Periyar EV Ramasamy’s criticism of Brahmins, BR Ambedkar’s adivasis, and Gandhi’s varna system. While those discussions are enormously enriching for our understanding of how we got here, they may not be good determinants of present-day moral politics. Even more so for electoral politics. That’s the big picture.
Federalism Path: Notes on Managing Indian Diversity
Rahul Gandhi | Photo Credit: ANI
focus on the middle
congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s recent statement The disproportionate representation of various caste groups in positions of power was unprecedented for a party that treads on eggshells on any question related to caste. The issue will resonate among a large section of the population, although the Congress’s ability to convert this into any electoral advantage is a different question.
a new debate on caste
In Conversation Journalist Shobana K. Nair, Amit Ahuja, and Mona G. Mehta – two scholars who have worked extensively on the issue – discuss how current developments compare to the high heyday of Mandal mobilization in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Read the excerpt here and listen to the podcast.
Stalin-Pinarai make common cause on governors
The Governors of Kerala and Tamil Nadu are delaying giving assent Bills passed by their respective State Legislatures, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and his Tamil Nadu counterpart MK Stalin have joined hands to raise the issue.