India needs to break free from the Congress Ecosystem to progress
- In Politics
- 02:36 PM, Oct 21, 2016
- Hemant Karandikar
The tamasha by Congress after the recent surgical strike is a stark reminder that the philosophy and agenda of our national development remains trapped by the Congress ecosystem. This ecosystem is a complex web of nodes and of favors and disfavors.
Congress ecosystem and its big lie
Apologists of Islamic extremism and terror form one node of this ecosystem. They rationalize various acts of gender injustice and terror as 'resistance to oppression' or ' must allow religious freedom' or as in 'it isn't Islam at all'. The other node of this ecosystem is formed by the Left who paint Hinduism as a regressive and upper caste force but have no problem with brutal oppression of women, Muslims from other sects, and religious minorities in Islam dominated regions. The third node of the Congress ecosystem is that of a section of educated Indians who equate West with science and progress, prefer market economy, and have no problem in accepting Vatican certifying Teresa's miracles and canonizing her. These nodes maintain connections with some media owners and journalists and artists through a system of 'give and take'. The 'connected' journalists easily rationalize horrible violence and gender injustice. The artists give a 'humane' face to Islamic terror and violence by producing movies with sympathetic storylines but they are very precise in linking any social ills to Hinduism when they produce other movies.
The ecosystem co-opts Jihadi, Evangelist, and Naxal forces to keep the pot boiling over. It isn't difficult to guess how they keep their wheels greased despite being out of power. They have their counterparts in media, institutions and governments the world over. They cooperate to keep any nationalist upsurge and mobilization in India on back foot. They oppose ISIS only as a symbolic gesture but turn a blind eye to JeM, JuD, LeT and other terror outfits.
There is something really very important that unites these forces. They are united in their agenda to propagate the lie that India was not a nation before the British 'united it and gave it independence' in 1947. This lie is the biggest stumbling block to asserting our true identity, claiming our great legacy and progressing to being a great nation again.
We, the majority of Indians who wish to see India and Indians prosper, have to face this disinformation onslaught all the time. Save some media web sites, TV channels and social media we too are trapped in the Congress ecosystem. Even our Army isn't spared by the Congress ecosystem.
Now guess who is saying what is given below.
" Humanity can live a happy, peaceful and beautiful life only when we understand and follow the principles of loving and respectfully accepting the plurality inherent in nature; move with a sense of coordination, cooperation, empathy and dialogue and; adopt the path of non-violence and constitutional middle path instead of practicing unilateral fanaticism and violence in our practices in matters related to ideological and religious conduct. "
" Leaving everything related to the nation’s future in the hands of government is not going to prove very effective. All prevailing policy systems across the world have proven themselves as incomplete and half baked visions. The system in our country too has been suffering from the same problem since our independence "
"The resurgence of a self reliant, strong, prosperous and secure nation, giving benevolent and flourishing leadership to the world, is possible only when an egalitarian, organized and enlightened society with self esteem strives towards this end." Imported words like 'inclusive', 'secular', and 'tolerance' pale insignificant when compared to the brilliance of the all encompassing world view and a vision for development.
“It is this self-centered collective greed that gives rise to exploitation, suppression, violence and fanaticism. Precisely, operating on the basis of such selfish interests by the western countries is responsible for a new incarnation of terror and fundamentalism that has emerged today in West Asia in the form of ISIS terrorizing the whole world. Can you guess who is diagnosing terror so well?
“We will have to drive out even the smallest of the remnants of our caste based, regional and linguistic egos which breed such prejudices. Each one of us must test each of our act, whether big or small, on the simple ground that each member of my great Hindu society, and each son/daughter of Mother Bharat, is my own brother and sister. We must ensure that each of our temples, cremation ground and community water source must remain open to. We should ensure that all should participate in all functions, celebrations as well as festivals of great heroes and personalities. ...." Can this come from allegedly 'Brahminical', or an 'upper caste dominated', or 'anti-Dalit' or a 'divisive' organization?
“For sustainable development, (our) philosophy encourages least use of energy, maximum employment, sensitivity towards environment, ethics, and the wholesome approach to agriculture. It suggests a decentralized and self reliant economic and industrial order." Isn't this model of sustainable development better than western model of replacing one kind of (ever growing) consumption by another? Can you guess who is articulating this?
All the above are quotes from Vijayadashami speeches in 2014, 2015, 2016 given by RSS Sarasanghachalak Dr Mohan Bhagwat. (Please see references 1, 2, and 3 below)
Could you guess correctly?
RSS vision and actions
Do you see hate towards any religion in these speeches? Do you see any upper caste hegemony? Do you see anything anti-modern? What you see is desire to be a healthy society and a nation. What you see is an examination of what is good for us and what isn't -irrespective of whether it is modern or ancient.
Dr Bhagwat draws upon our Hindu civilization's timeless (Sanatana) knowledge and wisdom enunciated by greats like Swami Vivekananda and Yogi Arvind and rishi, muni, and sages from ancient times to tell us what we need to do to fulfill Bharat's role as guiding light to the world troubled with war and avarice, by arrogance and fear, by disease and dispossession.
RSS has indeed backed up its vision by actions in some areas. RSS is well known for its relief activities during natural disasters like earthquakes and floods. It has been doing a lot of developmental and educational work in Adivasi areas and in eastern states through organizations like Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram. (Reference 4)
But what do we read in our main stream media? What is the perception among educated Indians and our current 'thought leaders'?
From Dr. Bhagwat's recent speech our media picked two points. They 'noticed' that Swayamsevaks were wearing the new uniform with full trousers. They also juxtaposed Dr. Bhagwat's defense of 'gaurakshaks' with PM Modi's criticism -leaving out that both said essentially the same thing. Both emphasized need to abide by the law.
Did we hear or read in main stream media about RSS' work in Madhya Bharat for ending discrimination against Dalits in surveyed villages as mentioned by Dr Bhagwat in his recent speech? No.
There is only one entity which has been subjected to more sustained and vicious abuse and vilification than PM Narendra Modi -it is Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi have all maligned RSS. Minor functionaries of Congress keep repeating lies about RSS. Here is a short list abuses used to defame RSS - 'killer of Mahatma Gandhi, divisive force, communal, instigator of communal riots, Brahminical, against minorities, regressive and fundamentalist, behind saffron terror, like Islamic State'
A section of educated Indians thinks that RSS is rooted in past. This is the age in which film stars and sports persons become our 'thought leaders' due to their audience pull. How many of them stand up for Hindus of Kashmir, Kairana and those in Pakistan? How does it stack with their alacrity in supporting Pakistani artists?
One can and one must read Dr. Bhagwat's speeches (see references below) in order get a full import of what RSS is and what it is trying to do. But even the most diligent of us can get swamped by the prevalent disinformation onslaught.
So, why is RSS allowing the battle of perception against it and against Hindus?
This is the age of disinformation. Most large media are controlled or funded by political, religious (Non-Hindu), or business interests. Their information mix consists of ‘curated facts', half-lies or total lies. The mix is tailored to the interests of those who control or fund.
That's the reason we read only about 'trousers or gaurakshaks’.
That's the reason Durgapuja is banned in the West Bengal, where it is major religious festival of Hindus. It's like banning Ganesh Visarjan in Maharashtra.
That's the reason not just RSS but 'Hindu' is still a 'regressive' 'parochial' word in Hindustan, but a Maratha morcha is a sign of 'awakening'
RSS has strong philosophical foundation rooted in our Dharmic civilization. It has a very large and disciplined organization. Can't it project itself better? Can't it fight disinformation with information? Can't it do whatever it takes to alter the public discourse?
Caste politics is preventing Hindu unity
Jats, Patidars, and now the Marathas want caste based reservations. We are getting into a bigger mess due to percentage games for political gains by various parties. BJP too has played along. If RSS wants to eradicate castes, will reservations help or hinder its work? Who will tell them that their own caste leaders have let them down? Who will tell them that clinging to caste identity will keep them backward. Can't RSS mobilize public opinion about futile nature of these demands. How will it unite Hindus?
We hear that Bihar elections were lost 'due to Dr. Bhagwat's proposal to form an impartial and independent panel to examine the current system of reservation'. Whether the analysis is right or wrong, it shows that we remain trapped by the Congress ecosystem.
BJP threw in towel on reservations some time back. RSS too is trapped by the Congress Ecosystem.
RSS and BJP workers are getting killed
Read about this recent incident . Many such killings have been going on in Kerala, Karnataka, and West Bengal, and UP. It is the job of the respective state government to bring culprits to book and to protect its citizens. If a state government is failing the Center shouldn't be a mute spectator.
But shouldn't RSS use its considerable strength to put pressure for necessary actions?
RSS is punching well below its weight
A vanquished Congress with just 44 MPs is often able to put Modi Government on the back foot and RSS in defensive mode. It continues to use its ecosystem of favors and disfavors despite being out of power for over two years.
Alert and nationalist social media activists and a handful of web sites are the only counter-weights to the public discourse heavily skewed against Hindus and in favor of India's enemies.
The fact is that RSS is punching well below its weight. It has huge resources and it can get more if it wishes. It may have to rethink its model 'we are an organization for character building and our Swayamsevaks should do what is necessary for country on their own'.
One reason RSS is punching well below it weight is that it is trapped by the Congress ecosystem and it is kept in defensive mode.
Only once in a while we seem to break out of the Congress trap. It happened recently after surgical strikes against Pakistan based terror camps. It happened once before, at the time of 2014 elections.
We need to break out of the Congress trap permanently.
If RSS doesn't take a lead in this, who will?
RSS project in Madhya Pradesh for empowering Dalits is welcome. It may be a sign that it is indeed rethinking its model. Modi ji's promise of Congress Mukta Bharat won't get fulfilled unless the Congress ecosystem's trap is broken.
Time RSS starts using its intellectual and organizational strengths. Time it launches more wide ranging projects. Perhaps it is a better way to build further strength and breaking out of the Congress ecosystem's trap.
Time we break free.
References
(1) Vijayadashami 2014 speech by Dr Mohan Bhagwat
(2) Vijayadashami 2015 speech by Dr Mohan Bhagwat
(3) Vijayadashami 2016 speech by Dr Mohan Bhagwat
(5) Battle for Congress Mukta Bharat is far from over
Image Credits: ANI News
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