India's anti-colonial struggle was marked by a diverse range of social movements, one of the most significant being Hindu-Muslim unity and the emergence of a unified Indian identity among people of all religions. The nationalist, anti-colonial movement championed this unity, best embodied by Mahatma Gandhi, who ultimately gave his life for this cause. Gandhi once wrote, “The union that we want is not a patched-up thing but a union of hearts... Swaraj (self-rule) for India must be an impossible dream without an indissoluble union between the Hindus and Muslims of India. It must not be a mere truce... It must be a partnership between equals, each respecting the religion of the other.”
In stark contrast, those promoting nationalism under the guise of religion distanced themselves from the anti-colonial movement, instead fostering seeds of hate and divisiveness. Golwalkar, the second Sarsanghchalak of the RSS, praised Germany’s “race pride,” calling it a lesson for Hindus in his 1939 book, "We, or Our Nationhood Defined", writing, “Race pride at its highest has been manifested here...a good lesson for us in Hindusthan to learn and profit by.” This sentiment set the tone for the RSS to propagate animosity towards Muslims and Christians in India.
For decades, this divisive sentiment was marginal, but it has now surfaced as dominant “social common sense,” fueling anti-Muslim violence, intimidation, lynching, and ghettoization, ultimately relegating Muslims to a secondary status in society. This trend persists, with RSS-BJP leaders continuously inventing slogans to stoke anti-Muslim hatred, from “They can be identified by their clothes” to various forms of “jihad,” the latest being “vote jihad.” Two prominent leaders have recently epitomized this divisive agenda.
One such leader, Giriraj Singh, is among the foremost promoters of hate. Recently, he stated, “If a Muslim/Ghuspetiya (infiltrator) slaps you once, everyone should come together and slap him 100 times… Keep a sword, spear, and trident in the house, worship it, and if someone comes, protect yourself from him.” This violent rhetoric stands in stark contrast to Gandhi’s message of love, who advised, “If someone slaps you on one cheek, offer the other.”
Meanwhile, Yogi Adityanath has coined the divisive slogan “Batenge to Katenge” (If we are divided, we will be slaughtered), which the RSS has endorsed as a call for Hindu unity. This slogan is rooted in the idea that a unified Hindu bloc is essential to counter any perceived threat from Muslims. The RSS argues that a loss of support from Dalit and OBC communities—many of whom have shifted toward the INDIA coalition, supporting social justice and caste-based census—could leave Hindus vulnerable, supposedly to Muslims, despite no historical or contemporary evidence of such a threat.
The Indian freedom movement championed unity as Indians, a theme that permeates our Constitution. Gandhi, often referred to as the greatest Hindu of the 20th century, called for unity not based on religious identity but as Indians. Neither Maulana Azad nor Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan ever advocated for unity solely as Muslims. For the BJP, which often disregards the welfare of the marginalized, its rhetoric stands in opposition to the ideals that united India, even mocking Rahul Gandhi’s call for a “shop of love” by questioning why he doesn’t engage with the RSS.
The question, however, is why the RSS would seek a meeting with Rahul Gandhi. Their agenda is based on divisiveness and fear of the “other,” while Gandhi strives to revive an inclusive Indian ethos grounded in love and fraternity, as enshrined in our Constitution. To genuinely embrace the values of the Indian Constitution, the RSS would need to shift away from its divisive agenda and adopt the principles of unity and fraternity that unite Indians beyond religious lines. This approach, long embodied by leaders like Nehru and Indira Gandhi, who resisted engaging with RSS’s divisive ideology, remains crucial to maintaining India’s democratic and secular spirit.
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*Political commentator
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