PaRCha - JNU - ABVP - 2004 ID-507
.
tradition. In other words~ we stand for decolontzation in all spheres of national activ1ty w1th acceptance.,of only those foretgn values wh1ch can further enrtch our tndtgenous cultural core. The ABVP is a nationalist student organtzation which stands for cultural nationalism. Even if the nation 1tself IS a modem phenomenon. as 1s claimed by theorists of nationalism and nation·states the world over, it does derive popular legitimacy from the past. This legitimacy is based on not1ons of past cultural continuity, and shared historical memories and experiences. India being no exception to thiS,we reject the notion that Indian nattonalism was a product merely of the opposition to colonial rule, and that the 'impact·response' model convincingly explains the 'imitation' by a colonized. 'child people' of the political InStitutions of the coloma\ masters. Our nationalism IS ent1rely indigenous to us, and is based on a celebration of the cultural linkages-as also the harmomzation of differences through historical processes of collectivization -that can be traced back to the times of the Vedic culture, the epic tradition, the egalitarian Bhakti Movement, etc. In more recent times, these processes of national collectivization have been carried forward by the contributions of en like Gandhi and Vivekanand. and rganizations like the Arya SamaJ and the RSS The commitment towards the celebration of our national culture would be rendered meaningless if we were to fail to make a s1gntficant contribution to the decolonization of our education system. Our education system IS st1ll based on the colonial model, and can be seen as a direct off-shoot of the colonial state's policy to educate a handful of Indians in western thought. literature etc., with English as the medium of instruction. Th~ aim of this venture was clearly hegemonic : having established political control over India, the colonizers were now seeking to perpetuate the Raj through moral, social and cultural control, through a projection of notions of 'British superionty' which were being sought to be established by the deculturization of Indians through the institutionalization of alien modes and forms of knowledge The knowledge system thus imposed had an epistemologic al basis in the .
'Enlightenment' cltscourse -the dominant intellectual traditton m Europe at that ttme. The categories constructed by thiS European intellectual trad1t1on such as 'progress', 'rationality'. 'scientif1c1ty'. 'secularism'. etc -made their way into lndi.a and have unfortunately become uncontested 'truths' for us. An alternative, ind1genous system of knowledge can be structured only through a questionmg of these .
categories and the constructton of alternative categories, which have ind1genous roots: which are an outcome of a comprehenstve and critical study of our own schools of thought and cultural values. The ABVP stands firmly in favour of any such venture a1med at the indlgentzatton of our education system. .
Related to the questton of education 1s the issue of rewriting history. The initiative of the NDA government to rewrite history textbooks came in for severe criticism at the hands ofthe left. They argued that history was being sought to be 'saffronized' and 'distorted' by the Vajpayee government. So far as the 'saffronization' issue goes, the intellectually colonized cannot appreciate the indigenization ofeducation and are constrained to give negative connotations to it. Where 'distortion' is concerned, any serious scholar of social sciences can understand that history is not a body of factual information but a disctpline based on contesttng approaches to past questions. Any interpretation based on sources and coherently argued can constttute a legitimate approach to the past. But so far as textbooks are concerned. care should be taken not to make them an instrument for the propagation of a particular ideology, least of all an ideology that has no popular support in the country! The earlier NCERT textbooks played precisely this role : they selectively concealed and overemphasized facts calculated to further the political cause of the .
Communists and the Congress, to the total detriment of the Hindutva ideology. That iswhy the Modern India Textbook of Bipan Chandra, which is otherwise obsessed with 'communalism', conveniently omits the important historical evidence regarding support for the Pakistan Movement by the CPI-the mother organization of the CPl. the CPIIM) ar ~ t"~r_,o (1AL) .
The ABVP f::/:J...&.:::..~:. ;:.~~ ~..;:; concern over the threat of -ru'"\da.., ~;;~a ~rn o: all hues, religious and 'secular ~'~ ., I'll see'"'$ t0 reduce the complex of reality to a na'!ON mooo ,-4., ~ code of ethics and behaviour ft drv des tf1e ~l'no'e matenal and spiritual world mto t /JO taiert.ght compartments -'truth' {w'o·ch tt a one possesses) and 'falsity'. While the Jehadr tr.'ldsc~ -mch insists on restoring the 'purity' o! Isla~a'"'O ts ready to counter wrth violence any ques~io'l ,g o&1ts .
model of a monolithic religion-has oeco,.,e a rra1or source of world terrorism. Marx~st te'To'lsm .n Nepal and in several states of India wh1ch 1s a d1rect off-shoot of the dogmatic ideas of Kar1 Marx and Engels, is another threat to world peace Whtle the Jehadi mindset can be countered both by state act1on and the encouragement of moderate Muslim op1nion. the 'secular' Marxist terrorism can be countered only with an iron hand; for no moderate Marxist opinion can exist in the world without being branded 'Utopian' or even 'pro-imperialist' by its own dogmatic comrades .
The explosive situation in Assam and Manipur shows the utter failure of the UPA government supported by the Communists in handling the s1tuation in the north-eastern states of lnd1a The BJP-Ied NDA government had engaged m constructtve talks with many north-eastern groups through its interlocutor, M Padmanabhtyah, and had signed a historic accord w1th the various factions of the Nagas. ABVP stands for peaceful resolution of problems concerning the north-east throu negotiations aimed at the satisfaction of .
concerned groups. .
CAMPUS ISSUES .
The ABVP rejects the SFI-AISF·AISA's politics of ritualistic pre-election hunger strikes which aim at misguiding the freshers. The hostel problem 'suddenly' crops up before every election. only to disappear in the winter semester; the 'anti~ student Administration' is targeted and abused until the hunger strike is finally withdrawn on the Administration's 'assurance' of agreeing with the SFI's demands 'in principle' (as distinct from practice) and hollow promises of initiating .
.
PaRCha - JNU - ABVP - 2004 ID-507
.
tradition. In other words~ we stand for decolontzation in all spheres of national activ1ty w1th acceptance.,of only those foretgn values wh1ch can further enrtch our tndtgenous cultural core. The ABVP is a nationalist student organtzation which stands for cultural nationalism. Even if the nation 1tself IS a modem phenomenon. as 1s claimed by theorists of nationalism and nation·states the world over, it does derive popular legitimacy from the past. This legitimacy is based on not1ons of past cultural continuity, and shared historical memories and experiences. India being no exception to thiS,we reject the notion that Indian nattonalism was a product merely of the opposition to colonial rule, and that the 'impact·response' model convincingly explains the 'imitation' by a colonized. 'child people' of the political InStitutions of the coloma\ masters. Our nationalism IS ent1rely indigenous to us, and is based on a celebration of the cultural linkages-as also the harmomzation of differences through historical processes of collectivization -that can be traced back to the times of the Vedic culture, the epic tradition, the egalitarian Bhakti Movement, etc. In more recent times, these processes of national collectivization have been carried forward by the contributions of en like Gandhi and Vivekanand. and rganizations like the Arya SamaJ and the RSS The commitment towards the celebration of our national culture would be rendered meaningless if we were to fail to make a s1gntficant contribution to the decolonization of our education system. Our education system IS st1ll based on the colonial model, and can be seen as a direct off-shoot of the colonial state's policy to educate a handful of Indians in western thought. literature etc., with English as the medium of instruction. Th~ aim of this venture was clearly hegemonic : having established political control over India, the colonizers were now seeking to perpetuate the Raj through moral, social and cultural control, through a projection of notions of 'British superionty' which were being sought to be established by the deculturization of Indians through the institutionalization of alien modes and forms of knowledge The knowledge system thus imposed had an epistemologic al basis in the .
'Enlightenment' cltscourse -the dominant intellectual traditton m Europe at that ttme. The categories constructed by thiS European intellectual trad1t1on such as 'progress', 'rationality'. 'scientif1c1ty'. 'secularism'. etc -made their way into lndi.a and have unfortunately become uncontested 'truths' for us. An alternative, ind1genous system of knowledge can be structured only through a questionmg of these .
categories and the constructton of alternative categories, which have ind1genous roots: which are an outcome of a comprehenstve and critical study of our own schools of thought and cultural values. The ABVP stands firmly in favour of any such venture a1med at the indlgentzatton of our education system. .
Related to the questton of education 1s the issue of rewriting history. The initiative of the NDA government to rewrite history textbooks came in for severe criticism at the hands ofthe left. They argued that history was being sought to be 'saffronized' and 'distorted' by the Vajpayee government. So far as the 'saffronization' issue goes, the intellectually colonized cannot appreciate the indigenization ofeducation and are constrained to give negative connotations to it. Where 'distortion' is concerned, any serious scholar of social sciences can understand that history is not a body of factual information but a disctpline based on contesttng approaches to past questions. Any interpretation based on sources and coherently argued can constttute a legitimate approach to the past. But so far as textbooks are concerned. care should be taken not to make them an instrument for the propagation of a particular ideology, least of all an ideology that has no popular support in the country! The earlier NCERT textbooks played precisely this role : they selectively concealed and overemphasized facts calculated to further the political cause of the .
Communists and the Congress, to the total detriment of the Hindutva ideology. That iswhy the Modern India Textbook of Bipan Chandra, which is otherwise obsessed with 'communalism', conveniently omits the important historical evidence regarding support for the Pakistan Movement by the CPI-the mother organization of the CPl. the CPIIM) ar ~ t"~r_,o (1AL) .
The ABVP f::/:J...&.:::..~:. ;:.~~ ~..;:; concern over the threat of -ru'"\da.., ~;;~a ~rn o: all hues, religious and 'secular ~'~ ., I'll see'"'$ t0 reduce the complex of reality to a na'!ON mooo ,-4., ~ code of ethics and behaviour ft drv des tf1e ~l'no'e matenal and spiritual world mto t /JO taiert.ght compartments -'truth' {w'o·ch tt a one possesses) and 'falsity'. While the Jehadr tr.'ldsc~ -mch insists on restoring the 'purity' o! Isla~a'"'O ts ready to counter wrth violence any ques~io'l ,g o&1ts .
model of a monolithic religion-has oeco,.,e a rra1or source of world terrorism. Marx~st te'To'lsm .n Nepal and in several states of India wh1ch 1s a d1rect off-shoot of the dogmatic ideas of Kar1 Marx and Engels, is another threat to world peace Whtle the Jehadi mindset can be countered both by state act1on and the encouragement of moderate Muslim op1nion. the 'secular' Marxist terrorism can be countered only with an iron hand; for no moderate Marxist opinion can exist in the world without being branded 'Utopian' or even 'pro-imperialist' by its own dogmatic comrades .
The explosive situation in Assam and Manipur shows the utter failure of the UPA government supported by the Communists in handling the s1tuation in the north-eastern states of lnd1a The BJP-Ied NDA government had engaged m constructtve talks with many north-eastern groups through its interlocutor, M Padmanabhtyah, and had signed a historic accord w1th the various factions of the Nagas. ABVP stands for peaceful resolution of problems concerning the north-east throu negotiations aimed at the satisfaction of .
concerned groups. .
CAMPUS ISSUES .
The ABVP rejects the SFI-AISF·AISA's politics of ritualistic pre-election hunger strikes which aim at misguiding the freshers. The hostel problem 'suddenly' crops up before every election. only to disappear in the winter semester; the 'anti~ student Administration' is targeted and abused until the hunger strike is finally withdrawn on the Administration's 'assurance' of agreeing with the SFI's demands 'in principle' (as distinct from practice) and hollow promises of initiating .
.