12-09-2008, 11:26 AM
<!--QuoteBegin-Bharatvarsh+Dec 9 2008, 02:59 AM-->QUOTE(Bharatvarsh @ Dec 9 2008, 02:59 AM)<!--QuoteEBegin--><!--QuoteBegin--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->I am confused as to how Hindutva or any ideology that's based on nationalism can ever be free of conflict, because inherent in such philosophies is the 'us vs them' attitude. So I'd like some clarification on that.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Savarkar who coined the word Hindutva always said that ultimately nationalism was too narrow of an ideology and that one day it too will have to go away in favor of humanism but he said that with an important caveat, as long as others in the world are not ready to give up their own nationalism Hindus should not do so either. If the world voluntarily moves toward discarding narrow nationalism in time then the Hindus too shall shall take part in it but as long as others aggressively maintain their religious/national identity as Muslims, Christians, British etc it is SUICIDAL for Hindus alone to give up a sense of nationhood and have a free for all attitude regarding their own soil, and he was right.
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I agree that Hindus should defend themselves, but do we need nationalism to do that? It hasn't helped thus far, and pitted against powerful enemies, it's a lost cause. A more logical approach is to convert the working class (from the enemy camp) to internationalism, that way they can be our allies. Otherwise, it's impossible for people from diverse backgrounds to get together. We need a common thread to connect people from different countries, and workers consciousness is one such thing. Scandinavian countries are a diff. story, because they don't have as many enemies, besides they're still part of the 'western' block, and they can always fall back on other western nations. India's situation is entirely different.
What I am trying to say is that, Nobody is going to care for us Hindus, because except in the subcontinent, there aren't many Hindu countries out there, it's mostly western and Islamic. So why would they stick their necks out for us? They wouldn't. But workers from their countries would. An Islamic Pakistan would never be friendly with Hindu India, but let's say Pakistan and India both become workers state. Then it's in their best interests NOT to fight, and instead cooperate. The fact they're workers itself would be a common ground on which relationships can be built. Hindus and Muslims may fight, but Hindu workers and Muslims workers won't, because they have something in common: they're both workers.
Savarkar who coined the word Hindutva always said that ultimately nationalism was too narrow of an ideology and that one day it too will have to go away in favor of humanism but he said that with an important caveat, as long as others in the world are not ready to give up their own nationalism Hindus should not do so either. If the world voluntarily moves toward discarding narrow nationalism in time then the Hindus too shall shall take part in it but as long as others aggressively maintain their religious/national identity as Muslims, Christians, British etc it is SUICIDAL for Hindus alone to give up a sense of nationhood and have a free for all attitude regarding their own soil, and he was right.
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I agree that Hindus should defend themselves, but do we need nationalism to do that? It hasn't helped thus far, and pitted against powerful enemies, it's a lost cause. A more logical approach is to convert the working class (from the enemy camp) to internationalism, that way they can be our allies. Otherwise, it's impossible for people from diverse backgrounds to get together. We need a common thread to connect people from different countries, and workers consciousness is one such thing. Scandinavian countries are a diff. story, because they don't have as many enemies, besides they're still part of the 'western' block, and they can always fall back on other western nations. India's situation is entirely different.
What I am trying to say is that, Nobody is going to care for us Hindus, because except in the subcontinent, there aren't many Hindu countries out there, it's mostly western and Islamic. So why would they stick their necks out for us? They wouldn't. But workers from their countries would. An Islamic Pakistan would never be friendly with Hindu India, but let's say Pakistan and India both become workers state. Then it's in their best interests NOT to fight, and instead cooperate. The fact they're workers itself would be a common ground on which relationships can be built. Hindus and Muslims may fight, but Hindu workers and Muslims workers won't, because they have something in common: they're both workers.