RSS gives jitters to Northeast Muslims
By
Shakil Ahmed
Imphal: The Northeast part of the country has virtually become a hunting ground for the Sangh outfits. A planned strategy must have gone into the series of activities that have surfaced in recent months. The socio-plitico-cultural structure of every state in the region seems to have been minutely studied and effective, state specific, ways have been formulated to meet the design of creating a Hindu Rashtra — where everybody — Hindutvised Hindus, Indianised Christians, Hindu Muhammadens and true, not pseudo but true, secularists — will live under the full glow of Hindutva.
K S Sudarshan,the chief of the RSS, is busy trying to pave the way to usher in this glorious epoch of history. Assam and Manipur in particular have become very crucial in that scheme (in the eastern flank). Not only are these two states , among the seven sisters of the region, Hindu-concentrated states but they also have sizeable non-Hindu populatuions and more "advanced" culturally, that is more inclined to Indian culture. These factors,among other things, as percieved by the RSS will contribute more favourably in working for the goal they have been pursuing relentlesly.
Addressing a huge gathering of people coming from three districts of Assam in Karimganj town on 28 November 2003, K S Sudarshan asked Hindus to unite. Quoting from a controversial book, Religious Demography of India, he explained that the population of Hindus was declining and that of Muslims and Christians was increasing. He warned, "Hindus would be reduced to minority by 2060, if the present trend continues". In order to strike a similarity between trouble-torn Kashmir and Muslim-concentrated Assam he draws a parallel , saying , "Assam is another Kashmir in the making ", thereby creating the impression that unless a hot pursuit for the "enemies" of the country is pursued Assam may well go the Kashmir way. The fact that there is concentration of non-Hindus is enough to send the chill in the spine of the constituencies he is referring to.
The RSS mobilising sophistry is grounded in a very simple logic. That since Muslims, Christians, secularists particularly do not have any stake in the "upcoming' Hindu Rashtra, the efforts toward making the Rashtra must be targeting these categories and in fact targeting these categories is what gives the Sangh and its affiliate outfits the sustenance, energy and above all a cause. Therefore every time he speaks he speaks hatred towards the minorities. He says in that gathering that Quran, "brands non- Muslims as Kafirs and Hindustan is under Pan-Islamic expansionist design". Its is unfortunate that Sudarshan feigns blindness not to see the expansionist ideology — Hindutva — that he champions. Touching on the theme of unity in diversity Sudarshan says , "the concept of unity in diversity is well manifest in Hindutva which binds together the diverse culture. language and religion of the country". But this "unity in diversity" can only be possible under the "way of life" called Hindutva. Such "deep-rooted" unity is being attacked by "Marxists and pseudo- secularists", and to over come this "defeatism" the " country's education system is changed". The education system is changed to promote a kind of "unity in diversity' under the paradigm set by the Hindutva philosophy.
However what is surprising is not that Sudarshan spoke along these lines, but the deafening silence maintained by the anti-Hindutva camp. He concluded his speech,thus,"the great battle of Kurukshetra is going on since the Mahabharata age. The present Kurukshetra is the whole of India and it encompasses the whole world.The next few years, till 2011 are going to be significant ". So the Kurukshetra is declared, loud and clear.
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