Hindutva. A word that is not only frightens the minority community within the country, it is also the word the Indian educated class residing in the metropolitan cities fear.

For long the Hindutva brigands in the form of VHP, Hanuman Sena, XYZ Sena etc have resorted to violence in the name of Hindutva. If that has not bee enough, every now and then we used to see media running a story on one godman baba or the other and what mischiefs he resorted to. These Hindutva brigands were so powerful that even RSS at times kept its mouth shut. When rioting and communal violence was not enough, these brigands attacked young men and women, yes even women, in bars and clubs of Karnataka in the name of opposing western ethos which they claimed were inspired by Christianity. And then all hell broke on Valentine’s day when these Hindutva brigands attacked couples in parks and malls forcing them to seek forgiveness in front of the camera which would then go viral on the social media. Painful, isn’t it? When these wolves were free, they would rant on socially divisive lines and promote casteism and attack certain castes thus ensuring that the fear of the upper class prevailed among the different sections of the society. If that was not enough, in the name of Hindu family values, they would preach the wisdom of being conservative.  

Aaah, by the time you would have read till the word conservative, your eyes would have popped out with tears. This is particularly true for the generation that grew up in the first decade of the twenty first century (2001-2010), when all are hopes were high to be as free as the western societies and yet were tied down by our own western ethos that were being promulgated by the Hindutva forces.

And like me, every Indian educated middle class grew up hating the BJP which either shared the same platform with these Hindutva brigands or said nothing against them. Most of the members of the educated class, particularly non-Brahminical class among the Hindus grew up hating the BJP and RSS and always clubbed them together. There was a time too when there were sane voices among the muslim community who spoke out against radicalism and embraced modernism, but their voices were soon hushed by the radicals within their community and once 2002 happened, it created an indelible mark in their heads that made them never feel accepted and they could never love the BJP or RSS or both.

I, myself, grew up hating Hindutva. I was one who championed the cause of modernization and saw myself siding with the values of the western society. I was progressing as the country progressed, at least economically, and we saw a transforming landscape within the country, at least economically.

Till 2014 will saw the Manmohan Singh govt stay in power. During this time the Hindutva brigands raised their fangs now and then, but it was nothing that caused huge disturbance in the society. But then, dangers far bigger than that created by Hindutva brigands came to the light. Rampant corruption, demoralization of our armed forces by the enemy. Indians losing their sense of respect abroad and withing the country. The western powers did not give a damn about India. The foreigners who travelled to India belittled us. The government was seething in corruption and there was no decision making at any level within the govt. People were shaken, visibly shaken. And then rose the poster boy of politics: Narendra Damodardas Modi. His rise raised hopes within the country. There were hurdles, mostly within the contours of the Bharatiya Janata Party. Veternal leader L. K Advani wanted to be the Prime ministerial candidate. But the larger part of BJP went with Narendra Modi, the son of a chai-wala who himself sold tea in the coaches of railways when he was young.

This dramatic rise of Narendra Modi sent tremors in the Congress camps and that of their allies. Even within the NDA, people were visibly shaken. But Modi stood unshaken. From his election days to the days he continued to run his government, there has been no day when the prime minister has been mocked, criticized and obstacles created in his governance.

Why am I writing so much about Modi and his governance? Don’t we already know it? Yes. You do. But it was to remind you that here is man who cuts through all the all the barriers to rise to become the prime minister. Do you think such a man could achieve such great heights playing petty politics on caste or communal lines? In Gujarat, he fought the elections only on the development agenda. So how come this Hindutva leader who had been in power for so long in Gujarat allowed muslims in the state to flourish?

To the educated middle class of India I would say, here is a man who has risen above the very fundamentals of the Hindutva brigands and has risen to unite India on all fronts, an India that transcends above all differences. You have to remember, he diluted article 377 that criminalized homosexuality. Modi is the man who diluted section 497 of the constitution that made adultery a crime. But why given him the credit when it was actually done by the supreme court? You may ask! Remember the Shah Bano case when the courts ruled in favour of Shah Bano. Who overturned the judgement of the Supreme Court. It was Rajiv Gandhi who passed a bill legitimizing triple talaq within the muslim community. Who took action against all the illicit babas who incited the Hindu population among the poor and were a potent force? It was against Narendra Modi and his government.  Where is Praveen Togadia of VHP and why is he keeping silence? Why is Raj Thackerey not beating up workers of Bihar and UP in Mumbai? Who incited the Gujaratis against Biharis in Gujarat? It was certainly not BJP but the elements of the congress party in Gujarat. Why don’t we see any moral policing during valentine’s day and anyone being attacked in pubs and bars now?

Modi is fighting a war at multiple levels. He is fighting a war with Pakistan, China, international hypocrisy and the antinational elements within the country whose only wish is to see India rot so that these rotten elements can be controlled and suppressed. Even Mohan Bhagwat has kept silent and supported Modi without feeding the hungry mouths of the brigands.

The thing that needs to be understood here is that Congress has played the Hindutva card very well and it is not BJP but the grand old congress party which time and again fed the fangs of the Hindutva brigands like BJP and xyz sena to keep the Hindu society divided so that the educated lot of the Hindus would continue to support the congress party. The party has kept the fire of caste alive by ensuring that reservations continue to be a political issue and not a social issue. Why did the congress party not stop Raj Thackery when it went on a rampant creating fear among the UP and Bihar workers in Maharashtra? When 2002 happened, why did the congress party not send in the army in Gujarat to stamp down the communal riots? And now when Modi is in power, do you hear any of these brigands making noises. On the contrary Praveen Togadia used to criticise the Modi who has also been silenced. Religion was a political card of the Congress party and the BJP.

Today the Hindu community is fighting for its survival. Why should the burden of secularism fall only on Hindus? Muslims have their own laws; Christians are not obliged to pay respect to Hindu traditions and festivals. Muslims feel it is their right to be radical and support Pakistan in the name of free speech. The numbers of the Hindu society continue to dwindle and no one cares about.

The fact is, we Hindus have been fed so much of hate against our very own brethren that is difficult to think about Hinduism as a whole. The upper caste feel it is their right to dominate over the other castes. And ironically some of the members of the upper caste incite the Hindu masses against Narendra Modi in the name of caste. The backwards have been taught to rebel against the upper castes and suppress the Dalits. The Dalits feel closer home to muslims than to other castes of Hinduism because the latter has always been an enemy to them. As such, how can the Hindu society be united? Among the elitist Hindus, it bigoted and second class to celebrate Hindu festivals like Diwali and Durga Puja while it is fashionable to celebrate Christmas and Eid. As such, if the elitist Hindus are continuing to behave in this manner then won’t the poorer sections of the Hindu community rebel against the Hindu elitist?

Remember, you the educated society must speak up. If you don’t, then the insane, violent voices within the community will be get louder. They will motivate the masses, and if the masses follow them, then the sane voices will be drowned and the political class will have to follow communal forces. And once again, we will be sending Hinduism back to hell. Modi has skilfully managed to wade through the obstacles within RSS and BJP and has created a democratic system within the party that listens to its own voice and fights elections on national issues and national agenda. It is perhaps the only party where dynasts have no place, at least among the national leadership. And it is BJP that will force out the bigotry among the other political parties that are all run along the dynastic lines.

Only then will be able to bring renaissance to Hinduism and give rebirth to the values of Hinduism that once exited during the Vedic times. The values that promoted maternalism and not patriarchy, the values that promoted work culture and not caste, the values that promoted brotherhood, and not division. Let us create this kind of Hinduism where in Upper castes, lower castes and Dalits, all of us together call ourselves proud Hindus.