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Fundie, and proud
of it What an illuminating period the run-up to this Diwali has been. Now that, the omigawd, The Washington Post itself has published the Southern Baptists' guidelines aimed at converting Hindus to Christianity and called it "an aggressive new proselytising campaign" to boot, perhaps, Indian secularists will see in its proper perspective what we fundies have been fretting over all along. Even so, I know it's too much to ask of the great and the good; from a type whose very aim seems to be to "de-Hinduise" Hindustan, this latest Christian crusade will provoke no more than, "So what." The Post story was broken by Hanna Rosin -- a Jewish name, if I'm not mistaken -- and follows nation-wide Jewish wrath at the Southern Baptists' distribution of pamphlets urging its members to evangelise Jews during their 10 holy days of Rosh Hashana last month. I can guarantee that there would have been no such taking note of the Christian battle against Hinduism -- if there had been none against Judaism... Furthermore, Rosin writes, "Compared with the Jewish guide, this one uses far less tactful tones to describe Hindus." Now why doesn't that surprise me? The goddamn Americans know the ground realities in India: With all our secular energies directed against those who seek to protect the religion of this land, Christians need not worry about how much offence they cause to how many millions. After all, Hindus are hardly a lobby to respect! One illustration of Hindu self-esteem: According to the venerable Times of India, the Southern Baptists' calling Mumbaikars "slaves bound by fear and tradition to false gods" -- ie, Hindu gods -- and their equating Bengal's Kali Ma to Satan, is merely "eccentric." This, from the newspaper which Hindus have made the country's most widely circulated... Can't remember what this defender of the freedom of expression had said about the ban on Salman Rushdie's Satanic Verses. Muslims, you see, are A Lobby. And Hinduism isn't a religion, anyway. The Southern Baptists are NOT a fringe group. Established in 1845, this subgroup of Baptists claims a following of more than 15 million in the United States alone and is its second-largest religious denomination. They sponsor about 5,000 missionaries serving the US, Canada, Guam and the Caribbean, in addition to over 4,000 foreign missionaries in 126 nations around the world. They also count President Bill Clinton, from the southern state of Arkansas, among their followers... Secondly, Baptists form one of the largest Protestant bodies, to be found in every continent. Meaning, Hinduism is targeted not just by Roman Catholics -- another crew which proclaims that Diwali is based on "an ancient mythology" and won't take Hindu scriptures as such. What's it about Diwali that so frazzles these dweebs...? At which point, I'd like to shove aside these abhorable particularities and reveal my fundie soul to you. Over the last three weeks, my mailbox has been swamped by messages and articles concerning the Dharm Jagaran Yatra; the Vishwa Hindu Parishad's call for a Papal apology; the Bajrang Dal's demands to the Vatican; the responses from various men of the cloth; the Communist Party of India-Marxist's order that Atalji "take immediate steps to curb the anti-Christian propaganda" etc. I'd scan all, file them away -- and return to the Catholic widow who gave my Indian self-image such a bloody fright... Truth: I am not at all provoked by how Christians, or Muslims, perceive or project Hinduism. My personal reaction to the non-Hindu's trifling with my persuasion has always been along the lines of: How ludicrous, but what else can one expect from ignorant, bachcha creeds? If you notice, I didn't even allude to those Great Insults that shook Non-Resident Indians -- Madonna's video and the shlok in Kubrick's Eyes Wide Shut. I tend to take heed when secularists and non-Hindus gang up and make a religious issue into a political stick with which to beat the Sangh Parivar. Above all, I am a political animal, and I became one mainly because certain rotters refused to even consider the Uniform Civil Code. From my anger over the UCC, support for Ram Janmabhoomi was a hop away. Even so, it's not a religious issue for me. Eh...? Well, like all Hindus, I was taught that God is one but his avatars are many; my mother took us to Ajmer Sharief and Mount Mary with as much enthusiasm as to Saptashrungi. Later, when I reached the awkward age, Buddha-like, I mused: there's so much sorrow in the world, ergo God is a myth. And so I embraced Marxism -- which creed quickly reveals its "internal contradictions" to those with a modicum of intellect, and even as a teen, I had plenty. Next, the search for an identity began and it led me to review sanskars and examine Hinduism. Result: Wow! What laissez-faire! What a studied, practical and guilt-free foundation to live life! What a fabulous way to look at all the peoples of the world! I can be anything I want! I'm my own master! And so on... I became a diehard Hindu. However, I'd be lying if I say that I believe in Parmeshwar. There were some damn great human beings who became idols and ideals to follow -- is how I see religion. As for our scriptures, they are so darn scientific that they couldn't possibly have risen from mere faith. For faith is blind. And Hinduism is anything but blind. And so I developed an arrogance about my religion. Next thing, I wanted to protect *my* way of life as based on my religion. Naturally, Hindutva -- the political shield of Hinduism - soon entered the picture. And here came a major block -- diehard Hindus themselves... I cannot, do not and will not accept all the views of the Sangh Parivar, since too many of those have little to do with Hinduism as I understand it. And so we fight, bitterly at times. And so I fight with even dear Rajeev, who's so "acceptable," so non-offensive -- and so much more entitled to the tag "fundamentalist" than I. You see, Raj believes in God and quickly takes offence by a shlok stuck in a movie. I don't. I believe in Hinduism. Go figure. It took me a long time to resolve how to deal with the VHP and with Raj. The crux was this: Vis-...-vis Hindutva, are they my enemies or friends...? For they do threaten my lifestyle and beliefs, and often annoy the shucks out of me. Right, I was doing exactly what every fundamentalist does -- expecting others to stay within my personal belief system. Because I don't believe in God, I sneered at the temple-going Raj and scoffed at the saffron-clad MPs in Parliament... Right, I was behaving exactly contrary to whatever I'd absorbed from the Gita... The point is, no one is ever hundred percent correct: Not I, not the Pope, not Atalji, not Rajjubhaiya, not Mao, not Bukhari -- and certainly not the media. Which brought me to a shattering realisation: NO ONE is ever hundred percent dispensable: Not the pinkos, not the secularists, not the minorities commission, not the human rights activists -- and certainly not the media. All these arms of socio-political life are *essential* to act as checks and balances on the others: If I, a fundie, want Hussain's Saraswati to be exhibited, I should be able to enlist Communalism Combat to wage such a war... A strong opposition is required to keep a democracy healthy. And Hinduism is democratic -- which is why there always will be dissension among Hindutvawadi entities. We're very unlike Communists and Congresswallahs, you see. Which brought me to another realisation: Right from the dawn of free India to date, the Congress and the Left have systematically tried everything to snuffle out ALL opposition to their schemes. The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, falsely accused of instigating and abetting the execution of Gandhiji banned. The Hindu Mahasabha -- banned. The VHP -- banned. The BJP -- untouchable. The "secular" establishment's hunger for power-brokering has reached such a stage that Sikhism is touted as a swayambhu religion, as are Buddhism and Jainism; tribals are being persuaded that they are "animists"; and Dalits are told that unless they form a common platform with Muslims, Brahmins will keep them enslaved... All in all: Hinduism is evil, and the rest of you must dissociate yourselves from it. The story of post-Independence India is the story of Propaganda -- set to serve the "secular" establishment -- and this is the numero uno reason why there is religious and caste strife in this country. However, any group that is repressed, springs up with a vengeance, and the voice of the disgruntled Hindu had always been stifled. Which now explains the rising graph of the BJP's fortunes... With that, I come to the atrocities against Christians and the rape of nuns and the murders of foreign missionaries and the Pope's visit and the VHP's agitation against evangelists and their conversion activities... There is a part of me that ridicules our silly obsession with religion. But, a larger part is occupied by the Hindu vigilante, one who FULLY supports the VHP and the Bajrang Dal in their aversion -- yes, forget the euphemisms, I detest anybody who seeks to make less powerful my community -- to Christian propagandists. Look at it this way: If past governments had heeded the fears of reactionary Hindus and implemented measures to safeguard the Constitution -- which forbids conversion through allurement and force -- would there have been a Graham Staines? Why wasn't the Orissa Freedom of Religions Act, 1967, under which missionaries have to inform the authorities of their conversion efforts, strictly enforced? Orissa's Director General of Police, Dilip Mahapatra, has said that he had received a "number of complaints and evidence" that Arul Doss was involved in "illegal conversions." What was the Congress state government doing...? Today, because there is a VHP, the media, even if to mock and criticise it, publicises its demands and thus propagates its line of thought. The VHP is a foil, a check, a balance to all those for whom it is profitable to make Hindus an impotent political group. The Sangh Parivar -- until such a time that another national Hindu organisation emerges -- is just as cardinal for Hindus' future in this country as is the Supreme Court for litigants. It would be extremely asinine, arrogant and self-defeating of me to deny the VHP its plaudits just because I do not accept some of their madcap schemes. I solve my duvidha in mixed metaphors: I will fight the madcap battle when I get to that bridge. But as of now: Rah, rah, VHP! We're witnessing the results of the changes in the
demography of the Northeast, in Bengal, Assam, Nagaland, Manipur... Like Raj
says: "The meek don't inherit the earth, they get sent to concentration
camps. Hindus need to learn to push back and fuss." So sue me, but when the
end is the preservation of Hinduism in its homeland, ALL means stand justified.
Bajrang Dal, rah, rah! |
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