After
more than a year of Modi's/BJP's government, for both being a Hindu and as one
who voted for him/them I feel the need to clarify things. My actions, my vote I
believe is being constantly misinterpreted by the fanatic right. They keep projecting
me and others like me as a part of their rhetoric, one that I vehemently
disagree with. My vote of support was pro progress not pro communal anti
secular ideas. I am pro India not pro Hindutva. Actually I may be pro Hindutva
too but that may not be the same Hindutva that the RSS or other right wingers
project. Well debating the true essence of Hindutva as I or most of my
generation see it is another facet to how the projection maybe getting
distorted.
I
will not talk for the masses but I will talk for the others who are like me. For
us Hindutva has always been about tolerance, I choose to be identified as a
Hindu not because of my religious adherence or reverence for one or many of the
millions of gods in Hinduism but because I see Hinduism as a way of life. As
being inclusive of ethnicity, cultures, religions, morality and foremost
tolerance. The diversity of what it means to be Hindu is what holds me to it.
The day it turns into a mutated rigid unyielding list of tenants that promote
discrimination or fascist ideology I will as easily denounce my identity as a
Hindu.
So
after the elaboration on version of Hindutva that I believe in it must be
easier for you to understand where I am coming from. Democracy in all its
virtues is also flawed and anyone who thinks otherwise is just fooling
themselves. I was among those people last year who rejoiced when the Congress
was crushed and couldn’t even muster enough seats to take up the title of
opposition. But I see the error in my thoughts. I apologise for celebrating a
victory of a party which was in fact a failure of democracy and my nation.
Democracy is at its highest efficiency with a strong opposition. Democracy is
about keeping power distributed, enforcing accountability and moderation of
either leftist or rightist extremism. But with this lope-sided mandate we might
have caused skewing of all these balancing factors.
Going
back to my vote, you have to realise the limitations and context within which
the vote was cast for the person it was cast to. In a ballot you choose the
best of what you have at offer. I cannot explicitly express my reasons why I chose
to vote for the person. Any person may stand for a multitude of ideas or
atleast that is what a politician is all about. Mincing different images for
various demographics. For the many ideas
that Modi/his party stood for if I got a chance I would have told them that if
they stick to their communal ideology I would rather have a corrupt guy who
doesn’t discriminate who he screws over than the selective virtuous guy who
only screws over one particular section of society.
I
have caught myself praying on many occasion for the last one year, praying that
Modi would make the right choice. There are multiple points of concern in my
prayer itself. I didn’t pray for the government to take a right step I was
praying about Modi, I and most of the nation has unconsciously accepted the
fact that he is the sole centre of power. But that is completely anti democratic.
Either it is our bias or a fact , in both looking upto a person and not to the
system as the final authority that drives the nation is a bad bad sign.
Secondly, I was praying not hoping because I knew we didn’t have the right
proportions in the parliament that could moderate opposing points of view to
reach a rational consensus. No one man or one group or one party can ever hope
to represent the diverse needs or opinions of India. And as it stands this diversity
is not representative and this worries me.
I
take responsibility for playing a part in this. For being wilfully ignorant ,
for being short sighted, for becoming a part of the hysteria without
understanding the right way the democratic form of governance was envisioned. I
may be saying the same line that the right wingers are saying but what I mean
and what they represent are not the same. India is India only because of
its vast diversity; Hinduism is Hinduism because of its constant evolution. Because
it is, for lack of a better analogy, like the river Ganges which is ever
accepting a confluence of different rivers into a seamless unity while
retaining it individual identity. Maybe I can put it more clearly if I summarise,
for me being Hindu and being Secular are the same. I am secular so I am Hindu
and I am Hindu so I am Secular. Hinduism is not a religion and telling yourself
anything else is just a doctrine that you have accepted as truth. The day the diversity,
religious/cultural/language/any other values is snubbed out that day India and Hinduism
will cease to exist. I can’t reiterate enough that I am a Hindu but I am not
anti anything unless the anything is bigotry, -ism of any kind, discrimination,
intolerance and restriction of rights.
