The old secular Hindu was my mainstay in the first 37 years of my life in India. I never thought of him very much as my life was overwhelmed by the secular Muslims that surrounded me in my predominantly Muslim neighbourhood in Khadki, Pune where my father determined I would spend the first 17 years of my life. The next 20 years I chose where I would be. I chose to be among Christians serving religious goals. The old secular Hindu by a conscious absence from my mind nevertheless made my life in these non-Hindu contexts joyful and livable.
The old secular Hindu was my friend at school, my teacher in the class, my only obsession in boyhood – my country’s cricket team heros – Sunil Gavaskar, Gundappa Vishwanath, Karsan Ghavri, Kapil Dev, Dilip Vengsarkar, Sandip Patil and others. The old secular Hindu was Gandhi, Nehru, Indira, Jagjivan Ram, Rajiv, and scores, even hundreds of other political leaders. Of them all I loved Sharad Pawar and Vithalrao Gadgil the most – Maharashtrian Congressmen. I remember Gadgil as that exquisite Marathi Brahmin who was reticent but dignified and committed to all, favoring none and despising or alienating no one. So is Sharad Pawar, Maharashtra’s strong Maratha (Kshatriya) - a very measured, calculating, decent, and nonviolent leader.
I don’t see them as Hindus. They never showed themselves to be Hindus. And hence I have always seen them as Indians; as very good Indians. They endeared themselves to my imagination as a little Indian boy as Indians; only Indians and nothing else.
They must all have had that small puja room (worship room) in their homes which Hindus never fail to have, and are certain to have been ardent God fearers. But they never showed it in public life.
In public life they were all committed to their duties and relationships. They were decent, measured, and charming. They endeared themselves to all and received love in return. Under their leadership India was peaceful and happy. India was united and strong. Indians were secure, friendly, and trusting. I want the old secular Hindu back as India’s leadership mainstay.
In recent times that old secular Hindu gradually departed the public arena and became unseen. He either lost his sheen and left the public spotlight or transformed into a bigot. The old secular Hindu made way for the religious fundamentalist, tyrant, and hater of others who has divided society and poisoned it.
The new Hindu bigot is not the only one to blame for the communal fragmentation of my beloved India. The intolerant Hindu might actually have seen tyranny and bigotry emerge in the other faiths and contribute to separatism, strife, religious fundamentalism, and bigotry within those faiths and take a hostile position against his faith and culture. It is likely to have worried and scared him. He may have felt a renewed threat to his identity and faith, spurring him to action to take back the nation to secure his cultural identity.
I have watched the other communities and see no hope for my beloved India in their rise. They do not have the ability and the cultural formation the old secular Hindu had – to limit religion to the private space and focus on public duty and broad-based relationships. The alternatives to the old secular Hindu are all inadequate. They are madly obsessed with their religions, communities, dominance etc and have no objective sense of community, national service, and justice. They will be major failures and will cause serious chaos if their agendas, numbers, and influence grow. The country will be chaotic and unmanageable.
I want the old secular Hindu back. I want him to serve as the visionary who will inspire new life and commitment to a focus on public duty and broad-based relationships in the secular space. That is the only hope for a united, peaceful, prosperous, and strong India.
(I have written this article inspired by the unfortunate death of Tanjavur's Lavanya at St. Michael's Boarding School yesterday January 20, 2022)
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