Cultural Contours of Hindu Rashtra

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Rashtra is a cultural and spiritual concept. It is not created; it was born. In contrast to the West, where a nation is seen of as the result of social, economic, and political causes, in Bharat, it is an organic, living, and dynamic entity that is constantly evolving. The Hindu Rashtra is not a jumble of diverse peoples based on the convergence of blind historical forces. It is neither a 'melting pot wherein communities of people are melted into one single whole nor a 'multi-cultural entity' wherein different people mechanically co-exist. It is an inclusive idea capable of embracing in its universality the entire world as one family.

Some people get outraged at the mere mention of the term Hindu Rashtra. Is it something to be despised or feared? A myth has been drilled into our national psyche that Hindu Rashtra envisions a sectarian or theocratic state. Proponents of Nehruvian secularism and the anti-Hindu, left-leaning academic and intellectual class pushed this hostile narrative down the throats of people with detrimental consequences, impeding the evolution of a national character based on our svatva-selfhood. Left-leaning intellectuals who controlled the intellectual space managed to create confusion about our sense of nationhood. They continued the colonial legacy of fomenting conflict where none existed and deepening societal fault lines.

More than seven decades of vilification campaigns have kept generations away from our core civilizational values. Running down Hindu Dharma had become an intellectual fashion. False equivalences were drawn to drive home a negative impression about everything Hindu. Hindu Rashtra had been portrayed as a theocratic project aimed at annihilating all other philosophies, social groups, and people who follow a different faith.

Scaremongering had its impact. Given the insecurities of minorities in theocratic states in our neighborhood and elsewhere, people began to believe that the Hindu Rashtra would be no different.

We have a long tradition of intellectual discussions. My main job is to put the crux of such intellectual processes into practice. What I am going to say is from that perspective, and most of it has already been said today. This poses a risk of repetition. Even after experiencing the delicacies of expensive restaurants, food from a roadside stall presents its own titillating taste. I represent that taste (of a roadside food stall). Another reason why it is difficult to talk is the subject of "Hindutva". It has its own characteristics. It is very difficult to understand unless you comprehend those characteristics.

One of our Sanghachalaks from Vidarbha, Shri Didolkar, was visiting the USA with his wife to meet his son settled over there. He is a well-known advocate. His son thought of introducing his friends and neighbors to his parents. Everyone got together and was introduced to each other.

His son's friends inquired how long they had been married. Shri Dindolkar replied, '50 years'. 'You have been living with the same wife for the last fifty years!' 'Yes, and every year she prays to God so that she can have me as her husband for the next seven births!' Guests were perplexed. It was simply impossible for them to imagine this. To do so, one has to assume our character.