The Incurious Case of Dinanath Batra

Dinanath Batra is yet again in the limelight due to his Hindutva agenda. This time his voice is more dominant due to the fact that there is a Rightist government at the centre which is backing him. He wants to afflict the entire education system with his narrow minded, communal agenda. He dreams of creating an undivided India (Akhand Bharat) on the basis of "Indian cultural values”. Dinanath Batra, an active member of the RSS, has been working for the “betterment” of the Indian education system through the Shiksha Bachao Andolan Samiti, by which he aims to imbibe Indian values not only in the education system but also in individual personalities.

He believes that children in school should be taught to draw an undivided map of India which should include Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Tibet and Myanmar. He says that right from the ancient times, Indian culture has influenced these nations and hence, they share the same cultural outlook, making it possible for them to reunite to form Akhand Bharat. Batra talks of Indian values and culture in such a way so as to suggest that there is no other civilization or culture in the world. He thinks that all these vivid cultures are influenced by Indian values and are part of a single unbroken chain. For Batra, Indian culture is synonymous with Hindu culture which promotes activities like feeding cows, wearing country made clothes (swadeshi), abstaining from cutting cakes on birthdays etc. How does this represent Indian culture? These are rituals performed only in a specific religion. When Batra talks about this “Indian culture”, he forgets that India is a diverse society which comprises of not only the Hindus but also Muslims, Sikhs, Christians and various other religious minorities. Indian culture is a multi-ethnic, multi-religious culture, not the Hindu culture which is promoted by Batra and the RSS.

Photo courtesy: Wikipedia

The prime symbol of this culture is India’s Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, formerly a committed RSS pracharak. But the economic policies he promotes, has no space for indigenous swadeshi products. That he is ready to go to any extent to bring foreign capital in the country is visible in the fact that he recently proposed 49% FDI in insurance and has already passed FDI in defence. He aims to bring the same neo-liberal economic reforms everywhere, be it railways or communication. When RSS and BJP are trying to implement these policies across the nation, which indigenous awareness is Mr. Batra talking about? Where does this Indian culture go when the BJP endorses selling all national resources to multinational firms and stake holders?

Lest we forget, Dinanath Batra is the same man who was responsible for forcing Penguin to pulp Wendy Doniger’s book ‘The Hindus: An Alternative History’ because he along with his organization Shiksha Bachao Andolan Samiti thought it to be anti-Hindu. He is also the man who was, along with ABVP (BJP’s student wing), responsible for the scrapping of A.K. Ramanujan’s ‘300 Ramayanas’ from Delhi University’s history syllabus. Batra also believes that sex education in schools is harmful to the youth. The latest recommendation by him is that 14th August (Pakistan’s Independence Day) should be celebrated as “Akhand Bharat Smriti Diwas” and should be included in the list of India’s national holidays!

By including such fabricated, propagandist views in school textbooks we’re not only demeaning other cultures but also questioning the very existence of our neighbouring countries. What signal are we giving to them? Are we telling them that they should abandon their culture and become a part of the “Indian culture” because it’s superior? And what makes it so superior, the fact that Indian society is divided along caste lines? The truth is that advocates of the “Indian culture,” like Batra and his organization, consider the caste system to be paramount and legitimize exploitation of Adivasis and Dalits on the basis of it. This “Indian culture” is the culture of feudalism, the culture of serfs and kings. It is not the culture of common citizens who keep the motto of harmony and cooperation alive by their daily actions. Actual Indian culture is not built on the hypocrisy of religion and caste. It is not the first time that these issues have come to the fore. Intellectuals have taken to task not just Dinanath Batra but his entire organization on earlier occasions too. In sharp contrast to the sectarian and divisive politics that the likes of Batra indulge in, many intellectuals have come forward in support of a plural and vibrant culture, time and again. The common people of India have always been supporters of a pluralistic culture, not a monolithic culture which represents a single religion or a particular class/caste of people belonging to that religion. In fact, for the common people, this pluralist ethos is a part of their heritage.

In the midst of all this are people like Batra who take advantage of this diversity and indulge in divisive politics. Recently he has been in the news for asking NCERT to remove English and Urdu words from Hindi textbooks. According to him, the inclusion of these words is also an insult to “Indian culture”. A renowned Hindi writer has said about language that it is like a serene river which while flowing, keeps incorporating words in its stream. In other words, borrowed words play a big role in the evolution of a language. Dinanath Batra seems awfully concerned about the status of Hindi, but one does not see this kind of concern for other Indian languages which, for administrative reasons or due to Hindi’s dominance, do not get the same status. In fact, some of the tribal and regional languages of India, which are as much part of the Indian culture as Hindi, are fast vanishing.

It is unfortunate that Indian culture is being found in myths and mythology when it actually resides in people’s behavior, in their work, in their songs and dances and in the common heritage that they share. This is something that Dinanath Batra and RSS will never understand because they’re working under a political ideology. They only want to impose their unscientific views on society, especially on children, for some narrow political gains. Treating Gujarat as a laboratory for Batra, BJP and the RSS, the Gujarat government has introduced 7 textbooks written by Batra in 35,000 schools! Anybody can guess that this is part of a larger conspiracy to radically alter (read: break down) the academic environment in the country.

It is no coincidence that since BJP has come to power, voices in favour of “Hindu Rashtra”, Article 377 and Uniform Civil Code, and against Article 370, have got emboldened. Lately, there is a sudden increase in the number of communal incidents in different parts of the country be it, Ahmedabad, Moradabad or Sahranpur. In Meerut too, such circumstances are being created. There is a threat to communal harmony everywhere. In a recent conclave in Delhi, many people from different parts of the country reported how even petty, day-to-day fights and arguments are being given a communal colour. If such incidents continue to take place in a diverse society like ours, the future looks very grim.

The reality is that as a nation we’re heading towards a dangerous place. It is a place where there is no space for dissent, diversity or discussion. It is a place where only Batra’s Hindu culture will thrive and all other cultures will be silenced. To avoid being pushed into this dark place, we need to resist. We need to resist as Indians who represent the vibrant, diverse culture of India against the monolithic Hindu culture of “Akhand Bharat”.

Disclaimer: The views expressed here are the author's personal views, and do not necessarily represent the views of Newsclick.