PaRCha - JNU - AISA material - 2008 ID-22417
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Indias Past: Communal Mythmaking and Historical Reality .
The colonial British policy of dive and rule majorly sharpened and strengthened the communalism of our times. Exploiting religion to diffuse the potential of a radical resistance to colonial occupation was a central agenda of the British. The lopsided representation of history we have got used to now is also part of our colonial legacy. It is the British who first tried to portray the entire past as a conflict between Hindus and Muslims. The British sought to demonize Muslims, by propagating myths of Muslim Kings destroying Hindu temples, and spreading Islam on the strength of sword. .
Partition, which was British colonialisms parting kick to the sub-continent, came as a consequence of this policy. Two different communal camps were now separated into two different national homes. While to begin with, the Indian state was avowedly secular, over the last few decades we have seen the emergence of fascism under the slogan of Hindutva, a divisive, majoritarian communalism that has been making steady inroads everywhere. The Sangh Parivar, in particular, engages in the pursuit of this agenda through a violence that is terrible, masculinist and retributive. .
We have seen how the Sangh Parivar runs vitriolic hate campaigns against religious minorities, steadily building a communal common sense, and then mobilizing and inciting people to violence against minorities. Time and again, activists of the various Sangh outfits, be it the VHP, the Bajrang Dal, the Shiv Sena or the BJP, have attacked and destroyed churches and mosques. The latest in a long list of vandalisms is the recent violence in Kandhamal and Mangalore. Intellectuals and artists who refuse to conform to the Sangh Parivars bigoted and communally coloured norms are also not spared. If communalization of Indias polity is an integral part of the Sangh Parivars project, the Sangh has also always been always hostile to the movement of women and dalits. Any assertion of women and dalits was seen as assaults on the orthodox Hindu social order, which they sought to impose on the entire country. .
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History as a Tool for the Communal Project .
The Sanghs betrayal of the Indian freedom struggle has been proven beyond any possible doubt. Not only did they keep away from the freedom movement, they actively collaborated with the British. In order to hide their shameful and anti-national betrayal of Indias anti-imperialist nationalism, the Sangh Parivar regularly resorts to rewriting Indian history. This obsession with rewriting history stems from the fact that their own 'history' is a record marked by xenophobia, refusal to participate in the national movement, caste atrocity, and a defense of the patriarchal subjugation of women. .
History thus becomes a battleground where debates rage, and where the fascist forces seek to make inroads. So much so, that anyone who is concerned about preserving Indias secular democratic fabric necessarily has to deal with academic writing on history. This is why fascist forces are seeking to take over universities and schools, control their curriculum and in doing so breed hatred and violence. .
.
.
PaRCha - JNU - AISA material - 2008 ID-22417
.
Indias Past: Communal Mythmaking and Historical Reality .
The colonial British policy of dive and rule majorly sharpened and strengthened the communalism of our times. Exploiting religion to diffuse the potential of a radical resistance to colonial occupation was a central agenda of the British. The lopsided representation of history we have got used to now is also part of our colonial legacy. It is the British who first tried to portray the entire past as a conflict between Hindus and Muslims. The British sought to demonize Muslims, by propagating myths of Muslim Kings destroying Hindu temples, and spreading Islam on the strength of sword. .
Partition, which was British colonialisms parting kick to the sub-continent, came as a consequence of this policy. Two different communal camps were now separated into two different national homes. While to begin with, the Indian state was avowedly secular, over the last few decades we have seen the emergence of fascism under the slogan of Hindutva, a divisive, majoritarian communalism that has been making steady inroads everywhere. The Sangh Parivar, in particular, engages in the pursuit of this agenda through a violence that is terrible, masculinist and retributive. .
We have seen how the Sangh Parivar runs vitriolic hate campaigns against religious minorities, steadily building a communal common sense, and then mobilizing and inciting people to violence against minorities. Time and again, activists of the various Sangh outfits, be it the VHP, the Bajrang Dal, the Shiv Sena or the BJP, have attacked and destroyed churches and mosques. The latest in a long list of vandalisms is the recent violence in Kandhamal and Mangalore. Intellectuals and artists who refuse to conform to the Sangh Parivars bigoted and communally coloured norms are also not spared. If communalization of Indias polity is an integral part of the Sangh Parivars project, the Sangh has also always been always hostile to the movement of women and dalits. Any assertion of women and dalits was seen as assaults on the orthodox Hindu social order, which they sought to impose on the entire country. .
.
History as a Tool for the Communal Project .
The Sanghs betrayal of the Indian freedom struggle has been proven beyond any possible doubt. Not only did they keep away from the freedom movement, they actively collaborated with the British. In order to hide their shameful and anti-national betrayal of Indias anti-imperialist nationalism, the Sangh Parivar regularly resorts to rewriting Indian history. This obsession with rewriting history stems from the fact that their own 'history' is a record marked by xenophobia, refusal to participate in the national movement, caste atrocity, and a defense of the patriarchal subjugation of women. .
History thus becomes a battleground where debates rage, and where the fascist forces seek to make inroads. So much so, that anyone who is concerned about preserving Indias secular democratic fabric necessarily has to deal with academic writing on history. This is why fascist forces are seeking to take over universities and schools, control their curriculum and in doing so breed hatred and violence. .
.
.