People's Democracy

HISTORY is at the centre of political discourse today. This became obvious as the Convention organised by SAHMAT on ‘Communalism and History’, in New Delhi on November 6, rolled out. Eminent social scientists had gathered to deliberate on the issues emerging from the withdrawal of the current NCERT history texts written by well known historians like Bipan Chandra, Romila Thapar and Satish Chandra, and the efforts to have them rewritten by people close to the Sangh Parivar.

Among the scholars who addressed the Convention were Professor Irfan Habib, Professor Amiya Bagchi, Professor Bipan Chandra, Professor KN Panikkar, Professor Arjun Dev, and Professor Satish Chandra. Four hundred-odd people attended, the convention, filling the hall to overflowing a majority of them students and teachers of the four Universities in Delhi.They along with others intervened vigorously in the lengthy discussions, raising both ideological issues, as well as reflrcting their experiences in the classroom. Together they provided a heartening indication of the concern being felt by the academic community and ordinary citizens on this matter.

Professor Bipan Chandra opened the convention by underlining the significance of history in the right-wing political project. There exist a number of radical political scientists and economists in this country,Chaandra pointed out, whose works represent ideas quite contrary to those of the Sangh Parivar, but their books have not been attacked, nor have they been maligned and vilified in the way that secular and left historians have been. This, he said, is not because the studies in economics and political science are not sharp enough. The reasons lie in the nature of political discourse today of which history is an integral component.

In order to justify their anti-minority stance the right-wing is forced to take recourse to a falsified history that has little bearing on reality. For example, if the Hindu communalists have to create popular sanction for the Hindu rashtra, which will necessarily give only second class citizenship status to the minorities, then there is a pressure to show the latter as aliens, as not of this land, etc. Therefore, there is this emphasis on ‘proving’, by hook or by crook (mostly by adopting crooked means of concocting evidence) that the Aryans were the original inhabitants of this country, and the only original inhabitants.

Professor Bipan Chandra's second major point was that the raison d’ etre of a communal party is its communal ideology, without which it ceases to exist. Therefore to wish, hope or argue, as some people do, that the BJP has agreed to give up its plank while in government is not possible. The party is structured around a communal ideology, without which it would be rendered meaningless. The basic idea behind its politics is to spread fear and insecurity, and feelings of separation through organising people along religious lines, and presenting their interests as separate and mutually antagonistic.

The historical roots of communalism, he argued, must be traced to the British writings on Indian history and society, and clarified that while he was not opposed to the rewriting of history texts per se, he was opposed to its rewriting along lines that were unscientific, devoid of logic and based on communal ideology. He underlined the importance of understanding that introduction of communal overtones in school texts becomes an important vehicle for the creation of communalism in the minds of the children, thereby ultimately spreading it throughout the country.

Professor Amiya Bagchi argued that communalism and racism represent the same variety of distortion of human society, and both are instruments in the hands of the upper classes for keeping the exploited in their places. This holds true also for casteism, and it is not a coincidence that Gujarat, where casteism is so strong, is also the stronghold of Hindutva politics.

He illustrated how the strength of today’s communalism is based on the incompleteness of the tasks of the freedom struggle, particularly in the area of land reforms, where the landlord element has a strong stake in upholding the communal ideology. He also discussed the deliberate creation and elaboration of stereotypes of dress, cultural practices and other such elements, as factors in giving shape to Hindutva politics of hatred towards the minorities.

Similarly and not accidentally, Professor Bagchi pointed out, there are also linkages between modern communalism and imperialism, illustrated by the similarities between Hindutva claims and the West’ claims of superiority of European culture, and contribution to human development. He reminded the Convention that much of what we know as Greek and Roman culture today was recovered through the Arabs, and that many of the elements that we recognise as parts of European civilisation, were of Asian, not Vedic origin. Another contrast he point out was the far greater openness and development in India under the Moghuls, than under British rule.

Professor Irfan Habib linked the falsification of today’s rewriting of history by the RSS-linked ‘historians’, to the negative and treacherous role played by the RSS in the freedom movement. He underlined the context in which the RSS took root as one in which it rallied people along divisive lines, arguing for Muslims as the main enemy, while giving support to the British. They hardly have a glorious history to present, and are, therefore, indulging in its falsification. Being the originators of the two-nation theory they can hardly claim to being nationalistic today.

Tearing to shreds their whole arguments and stands, with biting wit and sarcasm he exposed the entire enterprise not only for its bias, but also for its utter falsification of history, based as it is on concocted evidence and irrationality.

The RSS are putting forward such incredible claims such as the 'first man' was born in Haryana, that the Indus Valley civilisation is a Vedic civilisation -- also centred around present-day Haryana, that all that is best in human culture has emanated from the Vedas, that Indians helped the Egyptians to build pyramids, and so on. Such absurd claims that were initially confined to the RSS shakhas, are now finding their way into academic journals, controlled by them, and with significant support from foreign-based so-called scholars such as Conrad Elst and NS Rajaram. The redrawing of chronology backwards to claim greater ancientness has no basis in evidence, Professor Habib pointed out.

By their emphasis on the origins of all significant cultural elements being mooted in the "Hindi" belt of the North, and through the Sanskrit language, they are also denigrating and denying the strength and contribution of the Dravidian culture and languages rooted in the South, and thus creating another source of tension and divisive politics.

He also pointed out that the new persons being assigned the task of rewriting the school history texts, have no other qualification other than their unqualified support to Hindutva politics.

Professor D N Jha pointed to the perfidy of the BJP-linked officials at the NCERT, who at a press conference gave one set of chapterisation for the new books to be written, but when details were given to the CBSE, one saw another and the real content, which incorporates some of the concerns of the RSS in history writing.

Professor Arjun Dev spoke of the manner in which the new syllabus and the whole enterprise is being done in a surreptitious manner, bypassing the legitimate academic and consultative bodies.

Professor Satish Chandra pointed towards the politics and danger involved in rendering all texts open to scrutiny of religious leaders, which then certainly lose out on credibility and the scientific-secular core of Indian historiography.

Professor KN Panikkar discussed the underlying connections between the different moves and policy actions of the BJP government with regard to education. He showed the connection between privatisation and communalization. He said the communal falsification of history is aimed at transforming the Indian state along religious lines into a Hindu Rashtra, and therefore has implications much beyond the classroom. The entire enterprise must be thoroughly exposed and opposed for its anti-people content.

Pointing to the RSS efforts to write history of each district, these he urged, must be countered with our own emphasis on local history, through which people will see their own experience of their own area as opposed to what the communalists are claiming. They will be able to counterpose their own collective past and historical experience, to the claims of the communalists. He called for a broad secular platform to counter the communal onslaught on education.

The Convention ended with a statement specifying the reasons why the BJP’s communalisation of education must be opposed.