Being a student from the liberal-intellectual side, I was tired of the so-called pride of liberals, their infallibility and god complex. I was a student who was taught by liberal people that the British freed us of their own will.
They also said that the Hindu civilisation was just about culture (or cultural dogmas), and that the Hindus followed things without reason. For example, the caste system. I feel that liberals are not inclusive in their ideology.
In economic terms, I believed in the “Robin Hood” model of socialism, where the state steals from the rich and gives it to the poor. Being from a non-STEM educational stream that didn’t have a cult following like STEM streams, I thought that Hindus didn’t believe in the humanistic approach.
How The BJP Came Into Existence
Liberals created contempt in me for traditional practices like wearing a tika on one’s forehead to school and work. I also learn that rural people are idiots, village life is not about being intellectual, and city life was superior to it.
But now, I am slowly taking pride in Hinduism and Hindutva. The Bharatiya Jana Sangh was once an ally of the Indian National Congress. It was also a great proponent of capitalism. The Jana Sangh and the Congress parted ways when the latter went ahead with a Soviet-style, planned economy.
In the 1980s, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was created from the erstwhile Jana Sangh (after the Janata Party was dissolved). Soon, caste politics were given a boost by the VP Singh government which accepted the recommendations in the Mandal Commission’s report.
In 1992, the Ram janmabhoomi (birthplace) movement created waves of Hindutva in the nation, and many Hindu leaders emerged from its fold.
The Indian Right Needs To Stop Moral Policing
A lot has changed since Narendra Modi came to power in 2014. For instance, the digital economy has expanded. Culturally, Hindus are awakening, but here are a few things that Hindutva supporters should do.
- Find your space in academia – I believe that academia has been dominated by Europe-influenced liberals, who believe western media narratives. They have self-hate towards their cultural identity.
- Support actions instead of protests – Hindutva supporters should be assertive, not aggressive. We should stop abusing people on social media as this reflects obscenity, not clarity of thought.
- Stop moral policing – A great problem with the Indian right is that it believes in moral policing and prejudices. The Indian right should stop moral policing and end its diktats on dresses.
- Read scholars and intellectuals – Read the likes of RC Majumdar and Minoo Masani, who have Indian-centric views on culture, trade and economy.
- Adopt what’s written in the Upanishads and the Gita as a way of life.
Overall, we should reduce the burden on the government by adopting a completely free market economy. I am a proponent of divesting key PSUs (public sector undertakings) which are underperforming. There should be a rapid improvement of the education system, and this needs to happen at a radical pace.