Narendra Modi's Paradoxical Claim on the Legacy of Gandhi
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Established 1946 1 Pages 16 Price : Rupees Five Vol. 73 No. 37 Narendra Modi’s Paradoxical Claim October 7, 2018 on the Legacy of Gandhi Babasaheb Ambedkar and Neoliberal Economic Reforms: Part II Ramachandra Guha Anand Teltumbde Mahatma Gandhi: The Great India has established a marches and fasts to protect the Communicator committee to commemorate next rights of the millions of Muslims Nikhil Chakravartty year’s 150th anniversary of the who had stayed in India. He insisted birth of the “father of the nation”, that “India does not belong to Hindus What Mahatma Gandhi Said to Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. Led alone”. He told his compatriots that Those Who Wanted Beef by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, even if Pakistan persecuted its Hindu Banned in India the members include politicians and Sikh minorities, India “would Bhagat Singh and Savarkar: across party lines as well as some be betraying the Hindu religion if Two Petitions that Tell Us foreign representatives, among we did evil because others had done the Difference Between them the Nobel laureates Desmond it”. His “basic creed” remained what Hind and Hindutva Tutu and Al Gore. Hailing Gandhi it had always been—“that India is as “India’s greatest gift to human- the home of Muslims no less than kind”, whose “name finds resonance of Hindus”. RSS Supremo’s Public Relations Exercise across the continents”, the committee The RSS, on the other hand, Ram Puniyani plans a year-long programme of believed that, with the creation of celebration, commencing on his Pakistan, there was no place any Editor : G. G. Parikh birthday, October 2, and ending on more for Muslims in India. Their Associate Editor : Neeraj Jain the same day in 2019. hatred of Gandhi emanated from Mr Modi’s bid to appropriate the organisation’s head, a polemical Managing Editor : Guddi Gandhi is paradoxical. The prime preacher named M.S. Golwalkar. Editorial Board : minister spent most of his formative In December 1947, as Gandhi B. Vivekanandan, Qurban Ali years in the Rashtriya Swayamsevak continued to campaign for inter- Sangh, a hardline Hindu organisation faith harmony, Golwalkar made a Anil Nauriya, Sonal Shah which reviled Gandhi for allegedly speech in which he declared that Nandu Dhaneshwar, being too soft on Muslims. The “no power on Earth could keep” Sandeep Pandey antagonism between the RSS and Muslims in India. “They would D-15, Ganesh Prasad, Gandhi was at its most intense in have to quit the country.” Golwalkar Naushir Bharucha Marg, the months after August 15, 1947, went on to say of Gandhi: “We have Mumbai - 400 007. when the subcontinent was freed the means whereby such men can from British rule but also divided be immediately silenced, but it is Email : [email protected] into the separate nations of India our tradition not to be inimical to Website:www.janataweekly.org and Pakistan. Gandhi went on peace Hindus. If we are compelled, we will 2 JANATA, October 7, 2018 have to resort to that course too.” Six of the nation. This latest celebration of Gandhi weeks later, Gandhi was murdered When Mr Modi became prime is just the most recent attempt by by a Hindu fanatic who had once minister of India in 2014, he had Mr Modi to link his name with been a member of the RSS. Though been in public life for close to 40 a man whom his own mentor this person may have been acting as years. Joining the RSS as a young cordially disliked. Might it be that a freelancer, the speeches made by man, he was weaned on Golwalkar’s he recognises that Gandhi is the Golwalkar showed very clearly that ideas (and prejudices) and even most widely admired Indian outside the organisation detested Gandhi. wrote an adulatory biography of India? And that he wishes to accrue Many RSS members were him. There is no evidence that he credit for himself by association? not sorry to see Gandhi being ever dissented from the RSS’s views That may be so, but it is hard to “immediately silenced”. The RSS of Gandhi, or of Muslims. However, see this exploitation of Gandhi’s was banned after Gandhi’s death. since becoming PM, Mr Modi has legacy as anything other than rank The ban was lifted a year and a half invoked Gandhi’s name often. He opportunism. In the four years that later, and in subsequent decades dedicated his flagship programme Mr Modi has been in power, Muslims the organisation grew steadily in to rid India of open defecation to have been attacked by Hindu lynch strength and influence. Its political Gandhi. And he has made it a point mobs and verbally abused by serving arm, the Bharatiya Janata party, to visit Gandhi’s ashram in the cabinet ministers. India has moved came to rule large parts of India. company of foreign leaders. He has further in the direction of being a While the RSS muted its criticism gone there with Chinese President Xi Hindu majoritarian state than at any of Gandhi, its hatred of Muslims Jinping, with Prime Minister Shinzo previous time in its history. How can remained intense. In his own Abe of Japan, and, most recently, Mr Modi promote Gandhi abroad writings, Golwalkar characterised with the Israeli Prime Minister while at the same time denying what Muslims and Christians as enemies Benjamin Netanyahu. he stood for at home? A Practical Program to Give a New Lease of Life to Land Reforms Bharat Dogra At last some voices are rising to redistribution have been badly effective implementation of the strongly assert the need for better neglected in India in recent times. Forest Rights Act. As this legislation implementation of land reforms. At some stage, this phase of neglect once held up so much hope for On October 2, Gandhi Jayanti day, has to end and a new beginning adivasis and other forest-dweller nearly 25,000 landless workers and has to be made for land reforms as communities, it is important that adivasi peasants gathered at Mela this is too important an area to be all the processes related to it Maidan, Gwalior to raise a strong ignored for long. Here a practical be first completed so that these voice in favour of land reforms. program is proposed to give a new communitieis are better placed in This assembly was part of the lease of life to land reforms. We terms of land and livelihood rights. larger efforts of Ekta Parishad and propose that first of all, at least those Because of inadequate and even other Gandhian organisations for a initiatives that had been taken some faulty implementation of this Act, breakthrough in long-neglected land years ago but could not be taken to in many places, forest-dwelling reforms. a satisfactory conclusion must be communities are perhaps placed While the importance of land fully implemented. After this initial even worse placed than recognised reforms for bringing equality and phase, we can then plan for wider tribal communities in terms of their reducing poverty in rural areas is land reforms. claims having been rejected or widely recognised, nevertheless, First of all, much more can ignored. land reforms and in particular land be done to ensure better and more Another area where earlier JANATA, October 7, 2018 3 efforts need to be taken to their logical conclusion relates to the Babasaheb Ambedkar and Neoliberal distribution of homestead lands. Economic Reforms: Part II This work should have completed long ago, but still lakhs of people in rural areas lack a proper housing Anand Teltumbde place with legal rights. This makes Ambedkar and Globalisation relation to the poor masses, in its them vulnerable to exploitation by At the outset, to speak ruthless logic it favours the winner powerful and big landowners who about Ambedkar in relation to and discards the losers. Therefore, often claim that the landless are globalisation, which represents in its proclivities it is absolutely living on their land and hence should a paradigmatic transformation unsustainable. Translated into an provide them free or cheap labor. of global capitalism into its economic policy package, it is Land records must be jointly extremist version, is fundamentally familiarly known as privatisation, in the name of husband and wife. speculative. But there are enough deregulation and liberalisation, Women farmers who work so fools who rush in where angels fear without any concern for the weak hard but whose contribution is to tread . Since they cannot rationally and poor. This strategy of global often ignored should get proper justify their support to globalisation, capital has been enabled by the recognition. In the case of single they have been awkwardly invoking late 20th century information and women, while some efforts have Ambedkar, speculating that if he communication technologies and been made to help them retain their had lived, he would have supported emboldened by the collapse of the land rights, more needs to be done globalisation. In any case, there being erstwhile Soviet regime. It manifests for this. so little knowledge about economic itself in the form of accumulation All these efforts can be taken policies, the gullible listeners tend to by dispossession, unmindful of the forward together if there is a clear believe these tricksters, who pretend consequences for the survival of the land reforms policy and a national intellectual prowess and already human race itself. People are being task-force on land reforms can enjoy some social reputation. It is denuded of their meagre possessions ensure much needed continuity in futile to engage with them at such all over the world. While the State land reforms. These steps are also a speculative level.