**India’s Hitler **
*Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Ram Puniyani*
Surpassing many predictions, Narendra Modi has done very well in the Gujarat assembly elections, bringing his victory tally to the one close to post carnage elections of 2002. While 2002 elections were preceded by an unprecedented polarization of the society, in the current one it appeared as if there are many a factors which will go against Modi, the internal dissidents, the incumbency factor, the efforts of secular groups and slightly better efforts by Congress. This gave the impression that the results would be touch and go, but they turned out to be similar to the previous one giving him a massive mandate.
This makes many a things clear. One, that polarization has seeped in very deep in Gujarat’s society. After every bout of communal violence, the major player of the violence, in this case the RSS affiliate, the BJP, emerges stronger. In this election also, as was the case in the last elections, the BJP’s performance has been best where the carnage was maximum. In other parts of the country the polarization is reaching towards the critical line from where the rupture in the fabric of society becomes irreversible. It seems that this has already happened in Gujarat. A state that began as a Hindu Rashtra laboratory seems to be turning into a Hindu Rashtra factory. One of the major successes of the RSS-BJP combine has been that it has been able to propagate successfully that Hindu Rashra is for the benefit of all Hindus, that there is a struggle between Hindu and Muslim interests and, perhaps most importantly, that the RSS is on the side of the Hindus, while others are against them. The real fact is that by using the religion card, the RSS is merely playing with the identity of Hindus and enhancing an agenda which goes against the social transformation of caste and gender, which in turn is against the interests of the majority of Hindus.
Furthermore, the RSS has succeeded in instilling a fear of Muslims in the majority community. The formula used is that all terrorists are Muslims, baying for the blood of Hindus and that the RSS combine is their only saviour. The propaganda is that while so many terror attacks are taking place all over the country, the Hindus in Gujarat are safe due to the Modi/BJP/RSS rule. All this is projected as ‘nationalism’. The second illusion created relates to progress in Gujarat. The fact is that it has always been among India’s more developed states. Now it is being presented that all this is due to Modi’s rule.
Sometimes what matters is not the truth but as to what is propagated and made a part of social psyche. One cannot but draw many analogies from Hitler who went on to create a fascist state. In that case also, the charisma of one person overshadowed the whole party. The only difference between the German and Gujarat analogy is that in Germany the entire nation came under Hitler’s spell while in India the trishuls are marching at a different pace in each state.
The journey of Hindutva fascism in Gujarat began with the anti-Dalit riots of 1980-81, followed by the anti-OBC (other backward classes) riots of 1986. The NRI Gujaratis, the money order senders, have played a large role in consolidating and strengthening the fascism in their land. Conscious social engineering was used to co-opt adivasis and dalits into the Hindutva fold from late 1980s. For this, the Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram campaigned against Christian missionaries – which were not many in number – and attacked the miniscule Christian community. For co-opting other deprived sections, including dalits, intense religiosity was promoted. A section of the urban population saw the benefits of the type of intimidation created by the politics of the RSS and its affiliates. While Muslims and Christians were directly hit the other major goal was to subdue the dalits and adivasis to ensure that the status quo is maintained.
While comparing BJP/RSS politics with fascism in the 1990s one is hard pressed to explain the absence of a charismatic leader at the national level at that time. Classically speaking, a fascist movement has to have a charismatic leader at the helm. While Advani was spearheading the Hindutva agenda and Vajpayee was wearing the liberal mask very cleverly, neither had the requisite charisma to whip the crowd into a frenzy. Modi stepped in and has filled this gap and that too very effectively. Not only he is getting away with murder, he is able to project it as a sign of bravery and courage.
However, history does not repeat itself in the same manner. In Germany, fascism rode all over Germany with uniform speed, with speed which was blinding, and went on to target Jews. The RSS, the patriarch of all rightwing Hindu organizations, began in 1925 but it is only since the 1980s that is has been able to actualize its political agenda in a serious way. While Modi’s victory will pave the way for total abolition of liberal space in Gujarat, the BJP has already been overshadowed by one supreme leader. The plight of the minorities in the state and other weaker sections of society is going to deteriorate while the increasingly affluent middle class will rejoice.
Modi’s victory is a warning signal of transition of sub critical fascism, transcending the critical line to strangulate democratic values in an ideological form all over the country. The disarray in the BJP will give way to strong optimism, to strive for power at center. All this may take place sooner than later if the secular movements do not wake up and broaden their reach. Even today those standing for secular values are much more in number and strength than those who have came under the spell of divisive forces, communal forces. The point is can they come together to ensure that India goes in the direction being asserted by Modi/BJP/RSS type politics.
The writer is a professor at the Indian Institute of Technology and a human rights activist. This article first appeared in Issues in Secular Politics. Email: ram. [email protected]
How long before the semi-fascist Hindustan turns into a full-blown fascist republic and sluaghters hundereds of millions in gas chambers in the name of Hindutva?
