2009/7/17 Thaths <[email protected]> > On Fri, Jul 17, 2009 at 4:39 AM, Kiran K > Karthikeyan<[email protected]> wrote: > > I've always nursed the idea that Hindu fundamentalism's continued rise, > the > > reasons you've stated notwithstanding, is due to a blind rejection of > some > > (valid?) concerns of Hindus. > > Could you list the top 3 such concerns?
Perhaps I should start with some context. I was involved in student politics during my engg college, where the Congress (KSU) and RSS (ABVP) student wings contested elections as one against the SFI (student wing of the CPI). I never joined the ABVP, primarily because I was atheist. But I was the President of the KSU during my final year. The points below are what I heard as the arguments the RSS (who used to conduct a shaka near college and many students used to attend) and other ABVP members used to make to get students to join the ABVP. I saw a lot of my friends join the ABVP, and then echoing the same arguments. I cite these because they are what I've seen used, and also because I have seen them work. I also have visited the RSS local office quite a few times (because of the alliance) and have been subjected to the same arguments. These are some that come to mind, but of course they may not be the top three. They might also not be applicable to every Hindu in India, but is just a sample of what they might be. 1. The feeling that Hindus are in some ways second class citizens who have had their way of life changed (land reforms which overnight left many high caste Hindus in Kerala penniless overnight is one example) significantly, but Muslims still retain their privileges and rights (polygamy, madrassas, etc.). 2. The reservations given to Muslims in Kerala. It would have been OK if it was the poorer and disadvantaged students who took advantage of this, but more often than not it was those who already had a few relatives in the Gulf, were reasonably well off, and could have easily afforded private/payment seats. Basically the entire "creamy layer" argument. On the other hand, many Hindus don't make the cut, and are forced to study in other states where the fees are 20-100X (my entire fees was around Rs. 8K for 4 years) and then there were only 7 engg colleges in the whole state. 3. The tendency of Muslims to not mix freely with those of other religions and then looking down upon those Muslims who missed prayers, going to the mosque on Fridays, used to drink etc. Basically social ostracization of those who didn't follow the tenets of Islam and forcing them back into the fold. The argument was that Hindus should also "unite" in this manner to strengthen the religion. Before the debate starts, let me state that there is really no point to establishing whether these are right or wrong. The point is that they work in practice because it somehow resonates with Hindu youth, even those who have had a decent education and come from educated families. Kiran
