The Frank Interview of RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat to Panchjanya and Organiser: 1,000-Year War, Consequent Natural Aggression Of Hindus, Muslim Supremacism, LGBTQ, Et Al

By Ashok Sharma for New Age Islam 21 January 2023 It Is A Fact That Despite So Many Centuries Of Rule By Muslim Rulers In Different Parts Of India, It Did Not Become A Muslim Majority Country. This Fact Has Been Ignored By Mr. Bhagwat. ----- RSS chief Shri Mohan Bhagwat ----- The interview of RSS chief Shri Mohan Bhagwat to Panchjanya and Organiser has been widely reported in the media. He has tried to be very frank and candid in his replies. He has also given the background of some of his thoughts. First of all, his reference to what he calls the ongoing "1,000 year-war." It does not include all migrations which have been chronicled in Indian history and have not been denied by RSS so far. The invasion of Alexander has been mentioned by him even though very few Greeks may have stayed back in India. Moreover, there are many historians who have speculated that the Chitpavan Brahmins (who dominate the RSS) may also be of foreign origin (probably, Jewish like Beni Israeli or from the area of old Palestine). Then the arrival of Huns, Kushans, Bactrians, Scythians (Sakas or Shakas) cannot be ignored as they did rule parts of the Northern Indian sub-continent. Islam arrived in India very early through Arab traders. Kerala, Lakshadweep and some other parts of South India were the first to see the spread of Islam. In Malabar, the Mappilas may have been the first community to convert to Islam. All this happened in the 7th Century itself and there were no attacks on the Indian sub-continent by any Muslim rulers till then. According to the legend of Cheraman Perumals, the first Indian mosque was built in 624 CE at Kodungallur in Kerala by the last ruler of Chera Dynasty, who converted to Islam during the lifetime of the Prophet. During 8th Century AD, a preacher from Basra, Malik Deenar propagated Islam in South India. Similarly, there is evidence of Arab and Persian Muslims settling along Gujarat and Konkan coast around 8th Century. The invasion of Sindh by Mohd. ibn al-Qasim who set up the first Muslim rule in India by defeating the Brahmin Sindhi ruler Raja Dahir brought the Islamic political presence to India. Later, Mahmud of Ghazni overran north western parts of India with his swift cavalry and ferocious power in the beginning of 11th Century. However, the first major Muslim empire (the Delhi Sultanate) was established by Ghurids (Ghorids) and their slaves in the early 13th Century only. When Shri Bhagwat speaks about the 1,000 year old war, he indicates that the war started even before the Islamic rule started in parts of India. It seems that according to him this war started with the attacks of Mahmud of Ghazni who is known to have destroyed and looted Somnath temple. This may have left a permanent scar on the Hindu psyche. We are not going to debate about the means deployed for the spread of Islam in India and the main reasons for the conversion of the local population into Islam as there will be different views and explanations. However, it is a fact that despite so many centuries of rule by Muslim rulers in different parts of India, it did not become a Muslim majority country. This fact has been ignored by Mr. Bhagwat. As for conversions by force or otherwise, Mr. Bhagwat forgets about the conversion of India into Buddhism and later, reconversion into Hinduism to the extent that Buddhism almost disappeared from India. Can we ignore the actions of Pushyamitra Shung who is supposed to have killed so many Buddhist monks? Disappearance of Buddhism from India needs deeper study and research. Was it also a war from within? In addition, what happened to other ancient Indian religions or faiths including Shramanik traditions like Ajivikas ? How were the Charvaks or Lokayats treated? Even now, many tribes in India have their own religions and protest against their inclusion in Hinduism. Many Dalit and Mulnivasi thinkers say that various gods worshipped by Hindus had killed local tribal leaders who were termed Rakshasas (demons). Many Dalit/Adivasi thinkers claim that they are the original inhabitants of India who were enslaved by the Aryans arriving from outside. The caste system is also explained through this process by them. There has been a bigger war within Indian Society for thousands of years. Those who glorify or defend Manusmriti cannot deny that Shudras were always treated as outcasts. They did not have even the basic rights like others. Can our RSS friends claim that casteism was a product of colonialism or Islamic rule? Were they treated as equals before the foreign invaders arrived in India? If so, then why do the Manusmriti of Manu and the Arthashastra of Chanakya have different rules for them? Manusmriti is easily available on the internet and one can read it to find the contempt it has for the Shudras. They were subjected to sub-human treatment which was justified by scriptures. The respective RSS Chiefs have been silent on the caste prejudices and atrocities still prevalent widely. Why only conversion to the religions of non-Indian origin is treated as unwelcome? Conversion to Sikhism had taken place only a few centuries ago. Was it also part of this war within? In fact, efforts are being made to include Sikhs in the larger agenda of Hindutva. Most conversions from Hinduism now are taking place into Buddhism. The Sangh Parivar had been relatively silent on such conversions. However, after the episode involving the AAP Minister Rajendra Pal Gautam in Delhi, the conversion into Buddhism has also come under lens. As the Dalits are adopting Buddhism and Christianity in modern times due to upper caste oppression, why does the RSS ignore the fact that many have converted to Islam because of India’s caste system. If Islam and Christianity came to India from outside, Buddhism from India also travelled abroad to the extent that many countries in the East became Buddhist. Many of these countries have a significant number of Buddhists. Should Buddhism in these countries also be treated as being part of some sinister plan especially when India officially feels proud of this legacy and projects it as India’s soft power? Most countries are witnessing a new churning in their social and religious lives. The number of non-religious and atheist populations is rising exponentially. There are countries where the majority population does not believe in any religion or God. The percentage of such population is rapidly rising in India too. Will Sangh Parivar force them to believe in God and religion? Will there be blasphemy laws in India like some Islamic countries which will punish the apostates? In any case, the religious conversions in India are a tiny percentage and the hype created around it is unwarranted. India is likely to see an increasing number of people unsubscribing to their respective religions and becoming rational or atheists. The comments of Shri Mohan Bhagwat on LGBTQ are a welcome development. Even though in a guarded manner, he has accepted that such people have a right to live normally. It is unfortunate that the Section 377 of the IPC (a Victorian legacy) was never repealed by any elected Government and had to be struck down by the Supreme Court after 71 years of Independence due to the persistent efforts of activists. The problem of population explosion in India is the main reason for our backwardness and poverty. The resources are limited and the expectations are high. However, the RSS has always tried to make it a communal issue. It is true that some communities have higher birth rates and do not practice family planning as vigorously as others. This includes some sections from all religious denominations. Some have cultural reasons whereas some others cite religious grounds. Poverty and educational backwardness are the main obstacles. There will always be some religious fanatics who will preach against family planning. One can also find some Catholics against family planning despite having a better educational level. It is unfortunate that Muslims score poorly on the parameters of education and economic welfare and are more likely to fall prey to such unscientific arguments. Poor sections among Hindus like Dalits, OBCs and Tribals are more likely to have higher fertility rates for similar reasons. Hence, the solution lies in the economic and educational uplift of these communities along with development of rational thinking and scientific temper. Mr. S. Y. Quraishi, former Chief Election Commissioner has written a book ‘The Population Myth’ which has dealt with this issue in detail. Islamic countries like Bangladesh and Iran have achieved low fertility rates without any punitive measures. In fact, the low fertility rate has become a problem in Iran. Population imbalance due to infiltration is irrelevant now. Bangladesh was blamed for this. However, in recent years, they are performing better than India in economic development, exports and human development indices. Their per capita income has already surpassed that of India. Shri Bhagwat says that India was divided after the British left. Even the hundreds of years of Islamic aggressions could not divide India. It remained united (Akhand). It seems that he does not recognize that the concept of a Nation State is very recent. India was a sub-continent and not a Nation State. Different parts of India were ruled by different Kings at different times. This sub-continent had many cultures, many languages and many religious traditions. However, it had some common religious practices, philosophies and beliefs developed through interactions among various ethnic groups over several centuries. Different regions continued with their languages, cultures, food habits, dress, deities and religious practices too. As we know of India today, it was rarely ruled by a central authority. Even if there were such occasions, many parts were left out or the local satraps/kings just paid their obeisance to the winning Samrat occasionally. If the Akhand Bharat was a Nation, then the entire Europe or the entire Arabia should have also become one Nation each. It was only during the freedom movement that the concept of the modern Indian Nationhood was born. Otherwise, we could have ended up with many small Kingdoms fighting with each other in this sub-continent. As for the aggressiveness of Muslims and their Supremacist view, one can only say that all Muslims were not rulers. The ruling class was very small. Majority of them were poor peasants, workers and artisans. It is unlikely that they can be held responsible for the injustices done by Muslim rulers during the rule of Muslim Kings/Sultans. There is no evidence to suggest that the Hindu rulers were significantly more benign than Muslim rulers towards their subjects. Both taxed the poor populations under their control and spent money on luxuries and wars. It is foolish to think that some Muslim leaders would claim that they had ruled this country and needed to revive their lost glory. In fact, most Indian Muslims and their leaders identify themselves with other similarly disadvantaged groups. They are seeking to put up a joint front with other underprivileged sections of Indian society. At the same time, one cannot deny that many Islamists do have a Supremacist viewpoint. None of the Islamic countries gives equal rights to non-Muslims. Indonesia was cited as an example of pluralism but the process of Islamization has picked up and the Indonesian Parliament has passed a new Criminal Code in December 2022, which seriously violates international human rights law & standards, the rights of women, religious minorities, and LGBT people, and undermines rights to freedom of speech and association. Increasingly, the laws are being made Sharia compliant. In Malaysia, only the Muslims can claim to be of Malay (Bhumiputra) status and this is the reason that even non-Muslim Malays had to declare themselves as Muslims (all Malays have to be Muslim and cannot convert to another religion) and this is how Malaysia was made a Muslim majority country. Religious fanaticism of Arab countries, Iran, many Muslim majority countries of Africa and Pakistan etc. is already well known. Even the countries of Central Asia and Eastern Europe which under the Soviet influence had become secular, are witnessing Islamic resurgence. It is a general belief that the Muslims want secularism and democracy when they are in a minority, but as soon as they become a majority, they declare an Islamic country and snatch away the rights of minorities. Muslim majority areas in non-Muslim countries are always found to have separatist movements and try to create a Muslim majority country of their own. Russia and China have also witnessed such movements. The latest example is the Philippines where the only Muslim majority island Mindanao has to be granted autonomy by 2025 so that it can have a Muslim Government of its own. Many Muslims also refuse to assimilate and they do not respect the traditions and culture of the countries which give them shelter. Many Muslim refugees migrating to Europe do not accept the local cultures and create problems for the very people who gave them shelter. Some refugees from Syria, Afghanistan & Iraq etc. have been found attacking local women in Europe for not dressing properly. The general thinking is that if you come to our country, live as per our traditions. When we come to your country, please change yourself to accommodate our traditions and avoid doing anything which is perceived by us as improper. This is a Supremacist view and needs a rethink by Islamic scholars. During the Syrian/Iraq crisis, no refugees were accepted by any Arab Country even though they import manpower from other countries. Millions of refugees have been accepted by European countries and Canada etc. which also gave them financial assistance to settle down. What has Saudi Arabia done? Saudis have provided money for the building of mosques and Madrasas. Saudis promised to construct more than 200 mosques in Europe alone. One can see the refugee ladies in European super markets in burqas and hijabs accompanied by several children and carrying shopping-carts full of consumer goods, courtesy of the social welfare system of these countries. However, they are still found criticizing European culture with contempt in their conversations. This certainly generates Islamophobia. The Muslim contemporary thinkers must work towards moderation of Islamist ideas and induction of rational thoughts. The Hindutva ideology as defended by Shri Mohan Bhagwat has wide support not only among the voters of BJP but also among those who do not support BJP. It is surprising that the Sangh Parivar has been able to inculcate a persecution complex among a large section of Hindus which is not limited to the so-called upper castes. Many OBCs and some Dalit castes are also celebrating their new-found identity as is manifested in their increased participation in religious celebrations and rituals. The biggest victim is the development of rational thinking and scientific temper included in the Fundamental Duties of Indian Constitution. Here, there is a need to learn from our neighbouring countries. Till the late 1980s, Pakistan had higher per capita income than India, stronger currency, better availability of goods and health services for its population. However, due to more emphasis on religion in politics in subsequent years leading to the Talibanisation of the society, Pakistan is now among the worst performers in South Asia. On the other hand, Bangladesh was able to achieve higher per capita income, increased employment, women empowerment, booming exports and higher human development indices under a relatively secular Government of Sheikh Hasina Wajed. This is not to say that the majority community should shun its religion or lose its identity. They may remain proud Hindus. But, unnecessary emphasis on identity and perceived threats on account of a non-existent war will not take them anywhere. The idea of the perpetual war for 1,000 years is a regressive one as it diverts our attention from the real issues and wants to keep us busy in the concepts of "foreign aggressions, foreign influence and foreign conspiracies". All communities should unite to demand better governance, jobs, social security and better life. This is possible only through scientific temper, rationalism and secularism. --- Mr. Ashok Sharma is an IFS (Retd.). He was our Ambassador in several countries. He is now a social activist. He contributed this article exclusively to NewAgeIslam.com. 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