I agree with Vinayshil Gautam. The story of civilization of Bharatam Janam (Rigveda) is the story of Sarasvai-Sindhu (Hindu) civilization. It is also a fact that the word bharatiyo means 'metal workers' in Gujarati. Bharatiya means 'relating to or originating' from India, aka Hindu, that is Bharat.Kalyan
TOO MANY OPINIONS, NOT ENOUGH FACTS
Friday, 05 September 2014 | Vinayshil Gautam | in Oped
The recent ill-informed debate over the word ‘Hindu’ shows why a little knowledge is a dangerous thing
The quality of public discourse has been steadily declining and needs to be arrested. The quality of enquiry, the quality of interrogation, interpretation of the data which normally precedes discussion, is poor.
One is not referring to the number of public denigrators of Prime Minister Narendra Modi who have now turned vocal adulators. One is not even talking of the new found enthusiasm of media personnel who now see him in a ‘sunny’ mode.
Some persons ‘discovered’ within days of Mr Modi assuming power that the Prime Minister is going to put India back on track. Books under print were re-labeled and re-packaged. ‘Rewards’ are yet to come! Headings and sub-headings touched fresh depths. Some magazines even captioned stories as: “Modi embraces poor”. But they were only trying to make a living. They can be forgiven.
The cause for concern is much deeper. In the last two years, public discourse has progressively moved from name calling to heckling.
As public life stands today, there really are no major controversies. Hence, controversies are being created. Public bashing, duly aided and abetted by untalented anchors, continues. The examples are too many to critique but some reflections on the quality of enquiry and the quality of marshalling of argument is essential.
To begin with, let us take the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. For several people in the country anything which originates from the RSS is wrong and has to be debunked. Hence, the industry of RSS baiters is feverishly working over time.
One may or may not agree with the RSS on all the solutions that it proposes but then again, is there any agency with which everybody agrees? What is beyond doubt is that the RSS is devoted to the Indian nation and has a stake in how to work for the country’s welfare.
The organisation has the right to project its solutions, within the constitutional framework, just as much as anyone else. What is regrettable is the uncouth argumentation of adversaries that is presented without due research.
Consider the controversy over the word ‘Hindu’. There is no concept of the Hindu in any of the ancient Indian texts. Those who are now labeled ‘Hindu’ mostly believe that they belong to the Sanatana Dharma. Sanatanameans eternal. Unlike many other religions, Sanatanis do not believe in a prophet, in that sense of the word. It is their way of communion with the divine consciousness. They are entitled to it, just as anyone else is entitled to their route to ‘godhood’.
The point to be made, however, is different. Those who have studied the past of this country, not necessarily just professional historians, are aware that the word ‘Hindu’ came into the lexicon after the Greek learnt of the Sindhu river, which is know as the Indus to the anglicised.
Facts, however, show that phonetically the sound ‘S’ does not exist in the Greek alphabet. The Greeks cannot pronounce ‘S’. So wherever there is the ‘S’ sound, the Greek pronunciation converts it to a ‘H’ sound.
When the Greeks learnt of the Sindhu (Indus) river, they referred to it as the the ‘Hindu’ river, much in the same way as the Sindhu river became Indus to the other Europeans.
In their imperial quest, when the Greeks from Macedonia marched through the Khyber and the Bolan passes, they found it convenient to refer to all those who lived across the Sindhu (Hindu) river as Hindus. Thus, a new word was added to the vocabulary.
To the many hoards of foreigners who travelled through the region, this trend caught on and those who lived beyond the Sindhu River were labeled Hindus. The land where such people lived became Hindustan or, literally, the land of the Hindu.
Positions can be taken on any debate through predilection and prejudices. All one is pleading, here, is for an informed discussion.
As far as the argument of the Congress spokesperson that the Constitution of India talks of a Bharat, not a Hind, there is little to say. Perhaps he should condemn the first Prime Minister of this country for having given the slogan of Jai Hind from the ramparts of the Red Fort. Jawaharlal Nehru did not say ‘Jai Bharat’. It’s the Congress that launched a movement to correct this aberration.
http://www.dailypioneer.com/columnists/oped/too-many-opinions-not-enough-facts.html
RSS neither nationalist nor fascist, says Christian priest after research
KOCHI, August 22: The name of the research institution is Sorbonne University, Paris, France. The researcher is Dr (Father) Vincent Kundukulam of St Joseph Pontifical Seminary, Aluva, Kerala. The thesis for the doctoral research is: Le RSS Et L'Eglise En Inde (RSS and Church in India).
To Fr Kundukulam goes the credit for being the first Christian priest to do a doctoral thesis on the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, that too in a foreign university. He is also the first clergyman to author a book on the RSS titled RSS: Enthu? Engott? (What is RSS and Where is it headed for).In fact, a former clergyman, Anthony Elenjimittam, had published a book titled RSS: Bharathiya Samskruthiyude Kavalsena (RSS: Watchdog of Indian Culture) way back in 1951, but he had ceased to be a priest and had taken to social service when the book was published.
What motivated Fr Kundukulam to conduct a research on the RSS was his conviction that the Catholic church should closely study the philosophy, organisational structure andworking of all the socio-politico-cultural movements in the society in which it operates, imbibe the best in them, and invite a dialogue on their negative aspects.
The phenomenal growth of the RSS in post-Independent India, with its tentacles firmly rooted in all walks of life, all nooks and corners of the country, kindled his curiosity. In Madhya Pradesh, he came across a European who had been doing a doctoral thesis on `Hindu nationalism' in the Sorbonne University.
``When I broached the idea of writing a book on my research findings on the RSS, some of my co-religionists cautioned me that the RSS men would beat me up if I wrote something against them. I have in my assessment of the RSS tried to be as objective as possible. It is of immense satisfaction to me that my book is well-received in the church and RSS circles,'' said Fr Kundukulam in an interview with The Indian Express at the Pontifical Seminary.
The conclusion drawn by Fr Kundukulam is that RSS cannot be considered as a nationalistorganisation in the sense in which the term `nationalism' is generally interpreted in India. Nationalism represents the collective consciousness of the people transcending all barriers of caste, religion, etc. A nationalist is one who is primarily indebted to the nation. Religion has no place in nationalism. In this sense, Fr Kundukulam argues, RSS whose primary loyalty is to the Hindus can hardly be called a nationalist organisation. In his view, RSS is a multi-faceted organisation which is political, cultural, religious and voluntary in nature and approach. Different facets gain upperhand at different times depending on social and political exigencies.
At the same time, Fr Kundukulam argues against branding the RSS ideology as fascism, Nazism, fundamentalism and communalism. He said the terms fascism, Nazism, and fundamentalism are much abused terms in India. They have a distinct connotation in the European context that can hardly apply to the Indian milieu.
The term fundamentalism was first coined inthe context of the emergence of the Protestant movement in the Christian church in America in the twenties. The ideology of the RSS and the way in which it is interpreted by the Sangh leaders borrowing modern terminology have no camparison to the sense in which the term fundamentalism was used in America. So also, fascism and Nazism do have distinct meanings in the socio-political contexts that prevailed in Italy and Germany which have no bearing in the Indian context.
Fr Kundukulam felt that communalism is not at all a part of religion. Communalism is nothing but mobilisation of people on communal lines to serve a specific cause. RSS can, therefore, be said to be communal only in a limited sense. BJP, the political arm of the RSS, during its rule at the Centre has not committed any acts that could truly be described as fundamentalist, fascist, or communal. In fact, one of the first acts of A B Vajpayee after taking over as Prime Minister last time was to call on Mother Teresa and Delhi Archbishop, hesaid.
Fr Kundukulam felt that the socio-political milieu of India offers a fertile ground for the RSS to grow. One admirable aspect of the RSS, Fr Kundukulam says, is its flexibility to move with the times and to adopt the best from other socio-cultural-religious movements. It learnt the rudiments of social work from the missionary organisations of the church and mass mobilisation techniques from the communists.
He admires the RSS for the dedication and discipline of its cadres, the simple life style of its pracharaks, the moral teaching it imparts to the younger generation in its daily sakhas, and the voluntary labour put in by its cadres at critical times such as natural calamities.
Indian society, Fr Kundukulam feels, is in a ``vicious circle'' with the majority Hindu community suffering from a ``psychological inferiority complex'' on account of its failure to have a proportionate say in the governance of the country in spite of its numerical superiority and the minorities always suspicious of themajority community. The growth of minority fundamentalism would only strengthen the RSS.
``India can prosper only by strengthening the forces of democracy and secularism and ensuring economic justice to the people,'' concludes Fr Kundukulam who is now busy working on the second edition of his book.
http://expressindia.indianexpress.com/ie/daily/19980823/23550294.html