India recently launched the
‘Return Home’ campaign converting the Muslims and Christians of Hindustan back
to their original faith: Hindutva. This campaign, if not launched as the
official policy, has the clandestine support of the Indian government led by
Narendra Modi. At the global level, Modi has, time and again, given the vision
of India as Viswaguru. Modi dreams of heading a global power but that is being
frustrated by the divisive religious agenda and intolerance spread by Rashtriya
Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and its affiliates
Indeed, India is one of the oldest civilisations and the Modi government has
effectively propagated the proposition that its civilisation has much to teach
to the world. Let us not forget Modi’s lectures on surgery and modern sciences
that have its roots in Hindutva. The rising economy of India, in terms of higher
economic growth, has placed India on the list of rising powers and puts some
substance in the notion of Indian international leadership. Even China surged
from the list of under-developed states to the second-largest economy in the
world. India wishes for similar results when the means are the same: higher GDP.
The economic rise of China has allowed it to challenge the existing world order
dominated by western-based models of economic infrastructure. The BRIC bank and
AIIB are the best alternatives to the IMF and World Bank. India is expecting
similar stature to be able to challenge the regional order, if not the global
one. And India’s enthusiasm, as evidenced from the policy of economic
expansionism given by Modi, is based on that expectation. But how will India
achieve this stature when serious minority rights violations are heard of by the
entire world? That is frustrating for the Modi regime.
Power brings with it responsibility. This maxim is very well applied in the
Indian case. As India is growing, the world is expecting it to be a more
responsible global power and a net security provider. Although its foreign
policy is wisely connected to ‘Made in India’ and ‘Link West’ notions, India
seems unwilling to accept the role of global leadership. Still, it is engulfed
in the colonial past focusing more on religious symbolism than implementing the
secular clause of Indian polity. The result is religious vandalism led by RSS
and its affiliates at the cost of soft power and expansionism at a global level.
Many such groups in India interpret the world’s expectation towards India as the
pressure point aimed at dictating to India. Such a destructive role of
religious-based parties is disturbing Modi’s vision of ‘greater Hindustan’ in
terms of regional dominance and global significance.
India’s nationalism, as inspired by Modi, is beautiful. Hoping to make India a
Viswaguru, Modi has highlighted the potential of vedantic heritage in addressing
the challenges of the contemporary world. Impressively, he has asked the
diaspora to contribute towards realising India’s potential as Viswaguru. In
Sydney, he urged his countrymen to forget their gods and goddesses for 50 years
and worship only Mother India.
His recent idea that development might be more important than religion has not
been taken to by religious outfits that are aggressively promoting the ‘Ghar
Wapis’ (return home) programme aimed at the conversion of non-Hindus to
Hinduism. It seems that Modi knows that his development and growth agenda will
be frustrated by the polarising politics based on religious nationalism. Modi
wants to go on with sab ka saath, sab ka vikas: development above the sectarian
Hindu agenda.
Having experienced the Gujarat atrocity, which led to the killing of 2,000
Muslims under Modi’s chief ministerial ship, Modi does not want to malign his
tenure by religious intolerance. Realising the threat, Modi declared, in his
Independence Day speech this August, “casteism, communalism and regionalism are
obstacles to development” and called for a 10-year moratorium on divisive
issues, a plan now frustrated by religious outfits.
It has been witnessed in the last few weeks that the RSS and other right-wing
outfits do not understand Modi’s appeal for making development a priority over
religion so as to make India viswaguru. Modi must realise the destructive
effects of India choosing to turn away from secularism towards religious
nationalism. India must learn from the experiences of others, countries that
prioritised religion over development. Religious extremism led by the state
disturbs internal peace and security and also squeezes foreign policy choices.
For a successful foreign policy, domestic stability is inevitable. Without
internal peace, a country cannot achieve external peace. And when religion
becomes identity at the cost of other communities, it gives rise to the
intervention of religious extremism not only from within the country but also
outside. If India aspires for global stature, it must not let the RSS and other
such outfits affect India’s developmental agenda. If it does India might face
condemnation from the outside world over campaigns like ‘Ghar Wapis’, thereby
affecting its expectations of becoming a regional leader, if not a global one.
It must be remembered that when the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to power,
India’s neighbours were disturbed as the right-wing party is known for
prioritising policies on the basis of religion. Modi had to reduce such fears by
prioritising development and focusing on economic expansionism. But the RSS and
the Hindu right seem determined to revive old fears. The anti-modernism of Sangh
Parivar is also problematic for India. Political leaders, including Modi, are
making propositions that astrology is superior to science to the suggestion that
vedic India conducted nuclear tests. Such propositions will disturb India’s
rising potential. If Hindu extremism prevails in India, it will give nothing to
the world except bring condemnation and conflict. Unless Modi checks these
negative forces operating in the country, the developmental agenda being pursued
by Modi will be at risk.