The Leader of opposition, Rahul Gandhi visited America last week, engaged with people at Georgetown University and the University of Texas. He expressed and deliberated the idea of India with the students and faculties. According to him India is under siege of a particular ideological bandwagon which is stirred by RSS. There is no doubt that the role of opposition leader in Lok Sabha is very vital in creating an image of India in abroad. In fact, the factors of foreign policy is also shaped by different bodies and personalities, the leader of opposition is one of them. Therefore, each word spoken in the foreign land matters a lot.
This is disputable why did Rahul Gandhi choose America as his first visit. It might be his personal choice or political compulsion. He might be knowing it better. But the larger question is the anti-India sentiments. The American think tanks have been saying the same which was being expressed by Rahul Gandhi. Rahul met the senator Ilhan Omar, the controversial legislator from Minnesota who has taken a staunchly critical position of the Indian government and been a sympathizer of Pakistan’s. Is it merely coincident or willful attempt to reach out to anti-India lobby in America? British Prime Minister Churchill called India in 1947 ‘rascals, rouges and freebooters’ according to him India is not a country, it is divided into caste and fragmented into religions, very soon it would get demolished like house of sands. America thought on the same line. But India survived and regained more cohesiveness in terms of a country, better understood as a ‘Rashtra’ The federal structure became healthier despite being a few challenges, female conditions improved speedily and social status of Dalits are much better.
Then question which was raised by Rahul Gandhi ‘the idea of India’ is generated by American think tanks and propagated by certain political leaders of India. Let’s revisit what did he say and how did it unfold? The Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha was addressing a gathering of several hundred Indian Americans in Herndon, a Virginia suburb of Washington DC. “First of all, you have to understand what the fight is about. The fight is not about politics. That is superficial,” “The fight is about whether a Sikh is going to be allowed to wear his turban in India or not. Or he, as a Sikh, is going to be able to go to Gurdwara.
That’s what the fight is about. And not just for him, for all religions,” said Rahul. After conflating communal divide, he jumped to challenge the federal spirit of India. Criticizing the RSS for their policies and vision of India, he said, “What the RSS is basically saying is that certain states are inferior to other states. Certain languages are inferior to other languages. Certain religions are inferior to other religions. Certain communities are inferior to other communities. This is what the fight is about.” “…that is the ideology of the RSS. Tamil, Marathi, Bengali, Manipuri. These are all inferior languages.”
After understanding the context of Rahul Gandhi’s statements and direct linkages of American think tanks in creating anti-India hate wave. There are numerous examples of creating a narrative against India and then implanting it accordingly. Take the example caste conflicts in India. Caste factor was very conveniently connected with race. The Dalits of India was put in the category blacks of Africa. How was it done? There was a mega project sanctioned by the government of America, facilitated by a think tank. The scholars were identified from India and very easily narratives was constructed and placed in syllabi of India universities. Thousands of PhD research were completed in Indian academia on the name of identity politics by showcasing India is not a cohesive nation-state, it pulled apart by different identities. The critical race theory or post-modernist approach prove time and again. The Oxfam reports or reports generated by different international organizations which have wide acceptability and credibility across the world, do the shabby jobs by targeting certain country. India has been always their prime target. The people who undertake the projects and mandates which are being designed are highly biased.
Indian knowledge system is nothing but a black magic or sheer superstitious stories according to American think tanks.. The scores of fellowships are yearly awarded to selected Indian scholars over period of time, create a strong team for American narratives. The selected items like, secularism, federalism, women empowerment, Dalit card and Kashmir issues are the most important charitable ones. They beautifully package with silver coating by bringing human right and democracy. The American credibility of democracy is on display. The world is watching it very carefully.
It should be properly understood that hate India became more focused since the BJP government under Modi came to power. The idea of India changed. Now India stirred to regain its age old status as a Vishw Guru. The American Think Tanks tools were dismantled or prohibited to proliferate into Indian Education System. The Indic perspectives of knowledge were given larger space. This change of mind challenged the American hegemony.
American scholars are very smart. They believe in empirical research. If the particular issue is raised by the people where they belong to, then it becomes the truth is coming out from horses’ mouth. Who could be a better person than the leader of opposition? That is how Rahul Gandhi’s intellectual stimulations come from American think tanks. He targets RSS.
His understanding of ‘Idea of India’ has completely blurred. According to him Hindu terror groups are more dangerous than LeT, Lashkare-eTaiba. There is a solid proof. In controversial comments, Rahul Gandhi has told US ambassador to India Timothy Roemer that growth of “radicalized Hindu groups” posed a bigger threat to the country than militant groups like LeT, according to a leaked American diplomatic cable in 2009. Rahul, during a conversation with the envoy at a luncheon hosted by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at his residence in July 2009 in honour of visiting secretary of state Hillary Clinton, also referred to the tensions created by some of the more polarizing figures in the BJP such as Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi, the cable said. “ Responding to the ambassador’s query about Lashkar-e-Tayyaba’s activities in the region and immediate threat to India, Mr Gandhi said there was evidence of some support for the group among certain elements in India’s indigenous Muslim community,” the cable notes. “However, Gandhi warned, the bigger threat may be the growth of radicalized Hindu groups, which create religious tensions and political confrontations with the Muslim community,”
Had Hindus been radical and fundamentalists, half of the world would have been Hindu nations. But it is not. Hinduism itself is plural. It nurtures diversity and accommodates everyone. Therefore, the leader of opposition must think twice before painting negative pictures of India. The political tussles and jockeying look interesting within the boundaries of Indian parliament, when it crosses the boundaries the same tone and textures sound toxic.
Prof Satish Kumar, Political Science, IGNOU, New Delhi