Arun Shourie’s new book on Savarkar comes at a critical moment for India

No scholar tin impeach Shourie of bias. Unlike galore critics of Savarkar, helium has not been a lifelong foe of the BJP and the RSS. He was, aft all, a prima curate successful Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s government. He gives Savarkar owed recognition for his spirited run against untouchability successful Hindu society. Savarkar’s bold and unorthodox views connected cattle extortion are elaborately highlighted. His superlative account, The Indian War of Independence of 1857, published successful 1909, is unsurpassed successful extolling the tone of Hindu-Muslim unity that animated Indians’ communal conflict against British regularisation astatine the time.

But these are not the reasons for which Savarkar (1883-1966) has go the “new icon” of the Hindu Right. Indeed, contiguous his admirers would similar to suppress his views connected cows and Hindu-Muslim unity successful 1857. What has made him the top Hindu leader aft 2014 is that helium provides ideological and inspirational substance to anti-Muslim hatred, which has travel to energise the enactment basal of the caller BJP and prolong it successful power. This basal equates Indian patriotism with assertive Hindu supremacism, of the benignant Savarkar advocated each done his beingness aft his merchandise from Andaman’s Cellular Jail, wherever helium had been incarcerated for a decennary (1911-21). No RSS person — not adjacent K B Hedgewar, its founder, oregon M S Golwalkar, its longest-serving main — offers much incendiary enactment to polarising Hindu nationalism than Savarkar.

Shourie successful this publication is astatine his champion arsenic a fearless iconoclast. He punctures the widely-held content that Savarkar was a towering revolutionary person of India’s state movement. After dissecting his 9 mercy petitions, successful which helium pledged loyalty to the British if helium was released from prison, Shourie conclusively shows however Savarkar, from 1921 until 1947, “did what helium had pledged to bash ─ that is, to beryllium of work to the British”. He did truthful successful 2 ways. At a clip erstwhile the broadest and strongest nationalist unity was needed to decision the mighty assemblage empire, helium contributed to the part of the state question some socially and politically. Social unity was fractured by projecting Muslims arsenic the existent enemy, not the British. Political unity was weakened by targeting the Congress astatine each crook arsenic the existent enemy, not the British. “He hurled pejoratives astatine Gandhiji”, calling him “a walking plague”, Shourie writes. “He poured scorn astatine the Quit India movement.” Unlike Subhas Chandra Bose, “he supported the British successful their warfare effort”.

Of course, Savarkar’s Hindu Mahasabha was not unsocial successful this game. Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s Muslim League played an adjacent much coercive, and consequential, relation successful yet partitioning India, which was successful immoderate lawsuit a strategical extremity of the British. But Savarkar, similar the Muslim League, had his ain “two-nation mentation — a mentation that was truthful convenient for the British”. “Savarkar began advancing this unbridgeable separateness [between Hindus and Muslims] overmuch earlier Jinnah alighted connected the aforesaid thesis.”

An admirer of Mussolini and Hitler, Savarkar was against ideology and advocated a one-man government. He was a votary of Hindu eugenics for promoting, nether authorities control, “healthy, beardown and handsome progeny”. In Six Glorious Epochs of Indian History, a publication helium completed successful his 80th year, helium said that Islam and Christianity “can ne'er beryllium described arsenic tolerant of different religions”. Hence, his prescription: “In respect of these intolerant overseas religions”, usage “extremely enraged intolerance”, “retaliate [to] their atrocities with super-atrocious reprisals”, “meet cruelty with super-cruel blows”, “violence with utmost violence”. Saying the Hindus had “a perverted thought of woman-chivalry”, helium adjacent scolded Shivaji for being lenient towards Muslim women. Hence, Shourie’s warning: In warring the Islamic State done Savarkar’s “Hindutva State”, what volition really beryllium established is “An Islamic State successful saffron”.

Shourie lists immoderate of the “consequences of the hatred that Savarkar espouses”, which are already visible. His “ideology provides a rationalisation to the neighbourhood bully arsenic overmuch arsenic it does to the bureaucrat and judge. Pull retired the motortruck operator and termination him; overturn the small handbasket of a helpless, mediocre bangle-seller and bushed him up; frighten schoolgirls; bushed up couples to deter ‘love-jihad’; importune that radical boycott shops owned by oregon employing Muslims; request that Muslim tenants determination out; bulldoze houses… Values erased. Norms gone. The fist is all. Soon the panic spreads to Hindus — those who talk up against specified bulldozer attraction of citizens, those who rise immoderate question astir the 1 decreed mentation of faith…Society and authorities get bogged down successful specified issues. The indispensable tasks are neglected…The authorities and nine are near successful the grip of worse and worse scoundrels…Again, look astatine what Pakistani institutions and radical person been preoccupied with since it declared itself to beryllium an ‘Islamic State’ and the ditch into which it has descended arsenic a result.”

What compelled Shourie to constitute this risky book? Its past leafage provides the answer. India is presently locked successful a future-defining conflict betwixt Hinduism and Hindutva. “The essence of Hinduism is the inner-directed search. Hindutva, by contrast, is simply a task to capture, dominate, retain, twist and crook the state. For the inner-directed search, adherence to truth, humility, service, ethical behaviour successful wide are the sine qua non. Hindutva, by contrast, shouts by each means that we seizure and predominate the state, that we subjugate nine by each means ─ falsehood and force, intimidation and cruelty, deceit and bribery ─ successful a connection immoderate is ‘necessary’, which, successful practice, means immoderate the Leader, so the Leader of the infinitesimal fancies. No surprise, therefore, that the infinitesimal a religion is dragooned and made an instrumentality successful the pursuit of the authorities and its purposes, it gets devoured ─ look astatine what has happened to the Christianity of Jesus, look astatine what has happened to Islam of the Sufis.”

“And so, my plea,” Shourie passionately concludes: “Save Hinduism from Hindutva.”

The writer was an adjutant to erstwhile Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.