On the cusp of the Rama installation at Ayodhya, secularism seems to be raising its ugly head again, causing a disturbance to the ethos of India. The false ideals of secularism have infected all our parties since independence. Rama and Ayodhya belong to the nation, and everyone, irrespective of varna, jati, language, and faith, needs to be proud of the installation of the vigraha of Rama, who is the highest ideal for not only the country but for all of humanity.
Secularism was a solution for European Christendom at a specific time in its history, and it was never meant to be a uniform solution for all non-western cultures. In a society where the “spiritual” intertwines with every single aspect of “material or profane” life, be it arts, politics, economy, or sciences, the attempt to separate them becomes an intense attack on Indian culture. Problematically, in the understanding of Sanatana Dharma as a proper religion in the Abrahamic mould, there is a fear, now confirmed, that it may become more intolerant.
Sanatana Dharma, or, more properly, a conglomerate of many traditions, is all about inclusivity, harmony, mutual respect, interaction, and allowing diversity. Across centuries, many alien faiths came with the intention of destroying it but became absorbed into the larger ethos of Sanatana culture without losing their independence. A genuine and organic syncretism was the result, which was typical of Indian culture at a social level. This is exactly the integration that some of the madrasas and the evangelists resist.
The notions of “secularism” that pervaded our politicians, academicians, and intellectuals allowed them to give more prominence to the “molehills of munificence” of Aurangzeb by way of a few temple constructions to the “mountains of malevolence” in his gross iconoclastic activities, as Sita Ram Goel rued. On the other hand, the entire character of Rama and Rama Rajya is critiqued through the lenses of questions like “Why did he leave Sita? Why did he kill Vali from behind? Why did he kill Shambuka?” Secularism, in its attempts to falsify or obliterate history, implicitly associates the present-day Muslim brethren with the invaders of the past. This was the wrong approach to our history, causing immense damage to both Indian Hindus and Indian Muslims.
Islam; colonials soaked in Christian values; Congress with secularism as its ideal; and the present ruling apparently soaked in Sanatani values successively ruled India politically. Unfortunately, each has caused and is causing progressively more damage to Indian culture. With Islam, the danger was at a direct physical level; with colonialism, it was a trapping of our minds permanently; with Congress, it was the secularism ideal causing divisions; and with the BJP, there is both “hyper” secularism and converting Sanatani traditions into harder forms and proper “doctrinal” religions. The solutions for a harmonious India remain bleak as polarisation increases due to ill-informed politicians and intellectuals. The true solution for India is to understand the noxious nature of secularism and to stop treating Sanatana Dharma as a religion.
RANDOM MUSINGS 