Author: Tavleen Singh
Publication: India Today
Date: July 3, 2000
At a time when Christian
churches and priests are victims of attacks that appear to be the work
of Hindutva's self-appointed guardians it may be the wrong moment to say
anything that might sound like a defence of Hindutva. However, since there
is almost never a good moment to defend an idea that even most Hindus are
suspicious of, I am going to go ahead. If Hindutva has a dark, repulsive
side so does our version of secularism and unless we recognise this, real
communal harmony in India will be impossible.
First, let me say that
the attacks on Christians, their churches, priests and properties are abominable.
Equally abominable is the fact that despite the extent of the violence
(36 incidents in six months, according to India Today) and despite a distinct
pattern across the country, the Government has been unable to stop it.
It was to get the Government view that I went to see HRD Minister Murli
Manohar Joshi, widely perceived to be a Hindutva hardliner.
Joshi condemned the violence
but said that the reports were exaggerated. He pointed out that in his
own constituency, Allahabad, there was a report by a foreign news agency
that a Christian doctor's clinic had been burned. Investigations found
that the clinic and the doctor were safe. When I reminded him that in many
cases the violence was real Joshi admitted he was not sure who was responsible
for the attacks but suspected the ubiquitous Pakistani hand. This is not
a good enough excuse. If the ISI is indeed behind the attacks then it is
time that the Government provided us with proof.
There is no doubt that
the Sangh Parivar's more rabid constituents, like the VHP and the Bajrang
Dal, have led a hate campaign against Christianity, creating an atmosphere
of paranoia against conversion. It is a silly campaign because every Indian
has the right to convert to whichever religion he finds attractive. If
Hinduism made itself more attractive to the castes that have been denied
the right to even worship in its temples, few people would convert.
Was it not true, I asked
Joshi, that government textbooks were being altered to make Christians
and Muslims seem like foreigners? He denied the charge and said that no
government school textbook denigrated either community in any way. These
charges were based on textbooks used by certain private schools run by
organisations like Vidya Bharati over which he had no control. "Just as
I cannot prevent madarsas (Islamic schools) from teaching what they want
I cannot prevent other private schools either."
He conceded that he had
ordered a review of government textbooks so that they have a more Indian
context. Indian astronomy, mathematics, systems of medicine, Sanskrit literature
are all areas in which schoolchildren are taught nothing. So, though we
have a satellite named after Aryabhatta few Indian schoolchildren know
much about him.
The minister is right
to suggest these changes but the move has been seen by many as an insidious
attempt to advance the cause of Hindutva. The truth is that in addition
to these changes we should also ensure that Indian children are able to
read modern Indian literature in various regional languages and that they
are also taught about contemporary Indian art, music, cinema, dance and
theatre.
It is normal for children
in other countries to be taught about their own culture and civilisation
and if it has not happened here already it is entirely due to a distorted
interpretation of secularism. Ancient Indian civilisation and anything
to do with it have almost been taboo subjects in Indian schools. It is
absurd that the Ramayana should be part of the culture of Muslim Indonesia
but considered anti-secular in India.
The attacks on Christians
are a symptom of a deeper malaise that can only be dealt with if leaders
of all faiths come together to discuss what is causing these divisions.
If this happens we are likely to find that part of the hostility against
Christianity and Islam is because students in Muslim and Christian schools
are taught to view Hinduism with contempt, as a heathen religion. An example
of how this is done comes from my own brief experience in a Christian college
where a Canadian nun caused a minor riot when she suggested to a class
of mainly Hindu students that the only true faith was Christianity. The
others, she said, were lesser religions. If the curricula of Muslim schools
were examined we would find similar examples of intolerance.
Ever since Atal Bihari
Vajpayee became prime minister, Christians and Muslims have liked to think
of themselves as victims of a new fanaticism. The truth is we are all victims
of both Hindutva and deformed secularism. When we admit this we can think
in terms of a new beginning, perhaps even an Indian renaissance.
