I Learned To Be Proud Of India From The RSS

Long before India arrived on the world scene, long before Julia Roberts took to Hinduism, and long before Mr Mukesh Ambani joined the list of the richest people in the world, I was proud to be an Indian. It was something inculcated in me by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). That was when the RSS had not degenerated to playing second fiddle to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Vishwa Hindu Parishat (VHP). VHP started taking the lead in affairs related to Hinduism in the late 80s and relegated RSS to a second position. The BJP took over in 1989 and relegated VHP to the second and RSS to the third position. The RSS of today is entirely different from what it used to be.

Back in the 70s, the RSS was a bunch of middle-aged men who were convinced of the importance (not superiority) of Hindu thought, and its propagation. There was no militant Hindutva then. Yes, a few ‘radical’ youths did shout slogans against Pakistan in a camp I attended but that was all. When I asked the seniors in the organization why they have slogans like “Hindu-Hindu Bhai Bhai” (and not “Hindu-Muslim Bhai Bhai,” which is the Congress slogan really) they said, when you get stronger as a community, other communities will come calling on you as brother. That sounded reasonable. I no longer subscribe to the RSS doxa. I am more of a Hindu than the intolerant, intolerable RSS.

“What is Hinduism?” asked my friend, a devout Roman Catholic. I was not in a position to define it. “What is the central doctrine of Hinduism?” Another meek reply: “I am not sure…” This went on for some time. Then I said, after some deep thought: It is all about tolerance. True, Hinduism tolerates belief in all manner of gods; and even atheism! The other thing about Hinduism is renunciation. The greatest virtue is not remaining a bachelor, not doing good deeds all your life, but giving it all up.

When Bill Gates was baffled

In 1997, when Bill Gates visited India for the first time, someone in the audience got up and asked: “Are you thinking of giving some of your wealth for charity?” This visibly baffled Bill Gates. “I haven’t thought about it,” he said. Now he is coming to India and China together with Mr Warren Buffet (another Richie Rich) to appeal to the billionaires to give away money in charity. I don’t understand why people have to accumulate wealth by fair means (and more often foul means) and then give it away to poor people. If the folks in the top twenty-five richest people of Fortune’s list stop making more and more money and resorting to the destruction of the planet (let us face it, you cannot get richer by kinder means), the world would be a much better place.

Mistake Clerk
In banks and other offices in Britain, according to P G Wodehouse, there is a clerk dedicated to take a dressing down from the manager when an angry customer comes and complains about some wrong doing. The ‘mistake clerk’ is promptly dismissed, only to be taken back into service soon after the angry customer leaves the premises. Now, it appears that the Congress party has found a mistake clerk in Mr P V Narasimharao at the center; and Dr Y S Rajasekhara Reddy at the state level. All previous wrong doings (like letting off Warren Anderson of Union Carbide; and all of the mining-lease irregularities) are attributed to PV and YSR respectively.

Lepers along the hospital road
In the middle of Hyderabad, in Vidyanagar, there is a hospital called AMS Durgabai Deshmukh hospital: by the side of its wall, there is a road lined with lepers, whose only means of support is begging. This has been the case for the past 20 years that I have been familiar with Vidyanagar. Nobody gives a second thought; the kindly ones drop a rupee or two in their bowls. Isn’t it a shame that in India, which is home to two of the top 25 rich people has this unseemly sight in the middle of the silicon hub of India? It’s a silly-con hub.