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Is Hindu Rashtra Unnecessary? India Became Hindu Raj in 1947

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Is Hindu Rashtra Unnecessary? India Became Hindu Raj in 1947

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]By: Saeed Naqvi

How indistinguishable the Congress ideologically is from the BJP was the theme of the main edit page article written by French scholars Christophe Jaffrelot and Gilles Verniers in the Indian Express on October 5.

The editor grasped the heart of the matter and gave it an apt headline: Congress and the BJP, “Tweedledum and Tweedledee”. The Jaffrelot-Verniers duet have, for their laboratory, focused on Gujarat – on how principal leaders have swung from one side to the other, repeatedly, like trapeze artistes in a circus.

I suspect this is the beginning of a wider research because the Tweedledum-Tweedledee image is applicable to all regions wherever there is some Congress presence. In most places it looks like the BJP’s B team, and has conceded spaces to it for that very reason.

In recent decades there have been two distinct postures the Congress has struck towards the BJP. In Madhya Pradesh, under the leadership of Arjun Singh and Digvijay Singh, the party has taken the BJP head on. There was no other force to combat.

In Kerala, particularly under K. Karunakaran’s chief ministership, the party turned to the Sangh Parivar, whenever help was required for electoral battle with the Left Front. In fact Karunakaran was a master at ambidextrous politics. On one occasion in Kozhikode he maneuvered the Congress, BJP and Muslim League on the same side to defeat CPM’s T.K. Hamza.

Is Hindu Rashtra Unnecessary? India Became Hindu Raj in 1947 - 1What has been the result of the Congress grappling with Hindutva in Bhopal or flirting with it in Thiruvanthapauram?

State and district level Muslim congress leaders I met last week in Indore, Dhar and Mandu painted a dismal picture of their circumstance. Their party’s high command in New Delhi or Bhopal took them for granted. “TINA (There Is No Alternative) factor applies to us” Mohammad Kamran, youth Congress leader lamented. When a Muslim majority village was gutted, no “senior” (for which read “Hindu”) congress leader turned up to inquire.

Circumstances in Rajasthan are similar. When 10 Muslims were shot dead by policemen in Gopalgarh in 2011, an hour’s drive from Delhi, neither Rahul Gandhi nor Home Minister, P. Chidambaram considered it worth their while to visit despite several delegations imploring them to do so. This was the first instance in the country of police firing inside a mosque.

In Kerala, the frequent Congress dependence on sectarian groups has had the effect of slowly opening the door just enough for Hindutva forces to make a bid for replacing the Congress. That this process has been slow is attributable to the state’s distinct and enlightened social structure.

This did not deter Karunakaran from his efforts to “Brahminize” Rajiv Gandhi who, in his perception, would not graduate from the ranks of the “Baba log” without persistent “ang pradarshan” or ritual prayers at the Krishna temple in Guruvayur. Whether Rajiv transited to becoming a Brahmin or even a Hindu is less than clear. What is certain is that he developed a taste for Guruvayur’s famous rice and milk pudding, payasam, large quantities of which were made available for his extended family’s New Year celebrations at Lakshadweep islands.

Rajiv Gandhi’s unprecedented victory in the December 1984 elections (404 seats in House of 514) was interpreted as Hindu consolidation in response to minority communalism which had resulted in Indira Gandhi’s assassination. Even the party, treasurer, Sitaram Kesari, non communal to his finger tips, interpreted the mandate in majoritarian terms.

In 1986, V.N. Gadgil, among the more enlightened General Secretaries of the Congress, told me in great confidence: “the feeling is widespread among Hindus, that Muslims were being appeased.”

This thinking guided subsequent Congress actions, making it just as indistinguishable from the BJP as Jeffrelot and Verniers found it in Gujarat. How “appeased” the Muslims were became clear in the Sachar Committee report on their social-economic conditions during sixty years of Congress rule. They had, in their social status, tumbled below the lowest Dalits.

Ranganath Misra Commission’s recommendations to help Muslims out of the plight described by Sachar Committee, was placed on the shelf where it gathers dust to this day.

Srikrishna Commission which named politicians directly involved in Mumbai riots of 1992-93 in which 900 people (majority of them Muslims) were killed and their shops and houses gutted, has remained secret.

It would require amnesia of a very high order to heap all the credit for the brazen saffronization at Naendra Modi’s door. It would require magic or miracle to have advanced the Hindutva cause with such rapidity in three years. Frankly, the ground has been prepared over the past 70 years.

We must not forget, the Hindu Mahasabha, RSS, Akhil Bharatiya Ram Rajya Parishad and elements in the Congress were quite “indistinguishable” one from the other all along.

The founder of the Hindu Mahasabha, Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya was a four time President of the Congress. His vision of India would not have been very different from that of the Banaras Hindu University which he founded.

Rajeshwar Dayal, the first Home Secretary of UP, in his memoirs, A Life of Our Times, mentions an astonishing story about Pandit Govind Ballabh Pant, UP’s first Chief Minister and RSS supremo Guru Golwalkar. The RSS chief was found with a trunk load of incriminating evidence of extensive plans for communal violence in Western UP. The Chief Minister however enabled him to escape.

It all leads to the inescapable conclusion, argued in my book “Being The Other: The Muslim in India”. Having accepted Mountbatten’s June 3, 1947, plan for the Partition of India, Congress de facto accepted the Two-Nation theory while publicly arguing against it. Dissembling was essential to keep Kashmir. On August 15, 1947, India seamlessly glided from British Raj to Hindu Raj. It could have been named Hindustan (just as the other country was called Pakistan). With Hindu at the helm a more honest bargain on sharing power would have been possible. The painful process of a second distillation for a Hindu Rashtra could have been avoided.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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Putin begins two-day India visit today, defence, energy and trade talks on agenda

Russian President Vladimir Putin arrives in New Delhi today for a two-day visit that will focus on defence, energy and trade, including S-400 deliveries and crude oil supply discussions.

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2 hours ago

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December 4, 2025

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Russian President Vladimir Putin arrives in New Delhi today for a two-day visit that is set to focus on defence cooperation, energy supplies, mobility agreements and trade expansion. His trip includes a private dinner hosted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the 23rd India-Russia Annual Summit.

Key highlights of the visit

President Putin is scheduled to land in the capital this evening, where an informal dinner with PM Modi will set the stage for formal discussions on Friday. He will receive a ceremonial welcome in the morning before visiting Rajghat to pay homage at Mahatma Gandhi’s memorial. The two leaders will then meet at Hyderabad House for the annual summit, followed by a working lunch.

India is expected to raise the issue of pending military hardware deliveries, which have slowed since the Ukraine conflict began. The agenda also includes additional S-400 air defence systems — part of a USD 5 billion contract under which three squadrons have already been delivered. Two more units are expected by mid-next year.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has indicated that talks may also touch upon India’s interest in the Su-57 fifth-generation fighter aircraft, with New Delhi currently assessing several next-generation platforms.

Energy cooperation will be another crucial component of the dialogue. Russia is expected to update India on efforts to maintain steady crude oil supplies amid US sanctions that have impacted shipments. Peskov noted that supplies may dip briefly, but Moscow is working to stabilise flows.

On the sidelines, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his Russian counterpart Andrey Belousov are expected to hold discussions on key military programmes.

President Putin’s visit comes as India navigates recent friction with Washington, including steep tariffs — 50 per cent across several categories and an additional 25 per cent linked to Russian crude oil imports.

The Russian President is also expected to brief PM Modi on the latest US diplomatic moves concerning the Ukraine conflict. India continues to advocate for a resolution based on dialogue and diplomacy while refraining from criticising Moscow.

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IndiGo flight cancellations deepen as crew shortage hits operations nationwide

IndiGo’s flight operations across major cities were severely hit on Thursday as crew shortages and updated duty norms forced widespread cancellations, drawing regulatory intervention.

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2 hours ago

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December 4, 2025

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IndiGo flight

India’s largest airline, IndiGo, faced another day of widespread disruption on Thursday as hundreds of passengers across major cities were left stranded due to continued flight cancellations triggered primarily by a shortage of crew under revised duty norms.

Flight disruptions worsen across major airports

IndiGo’s operations remained heavily impacted in Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Ahmedabad, with airports witnessing long queues and frustrated travellers. More than 30 departures from Delhi were scrapped early in the day, while Hyderabad recorded about 33 cancellations. Bengaluru airport confirmed that 73 IndiGo flights were cancelled on Thursday, and Mumbai also saw significant disruptions.

Sources told media that the total cancellations could exceed 170 flights through the day.

Passengers took to social media to highlight severe delays, with some alleging they were kept waiting for more than 12 hours without accommodation or timely updates.

IndiGo cites operational challenges, promises stabilisation

Acknowledging the strain on its vast network of over 2,200 daily flights, IndiGo apologised to customers and attributed the disruptions to multiple factors, including technological issues, winter schedule adjustments, harsh weather, airspace congestion and the new crew rostering rules known as Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL).

The airline said it has initiated “calibrated adjustments” to stabilise operations over the next 48 hours.

Crew shortage under revised FDTL rules behind the crisis

A key driver of the ongoing chaos is the shortage of flight crew, especially pilots, following the implementation of the second phase of updated FDTL norms on November 1.

The revised rules mandate longer rest periods, extend night hours, and reduce allowable night landings. Airlines had initially opposed the changes but were required to comply following a court directive.

According to the aviation regulator, IndiGo cancelled 1,232 flights in November alone — 755 of them due to crew and FDTL constraints.

DGCA seeks answers as OTP plunges

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has summoned IndiGo officials for a review meeting. The regulator said it is assessing the reasons for continuing disruptions and the airline’s recovery plan.

IndiGo’s on-time performance dipped to 67.7% in November, down from 84.1% in October, driven by constraints from crew availability, ATC system failures, airport restrictions and weather factors.

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12 Maoists killed, 3 security personnel lose lives in major anti-Naxal operation in Chhattisgarh

A major anti-Naxal operation in Chhattisgarh’s West Bastar region resulted in the killing of 12 Maoists, while three DRG personnel lost their lives amid intense gunfire.

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16 hours ago

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December 3, 2025

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Security forces have intensified their combing operations in the dense West Bastar forests after a fierce encounter left 12 Maoists dead and claimed the lives of three DRG personnel.

A coordinated offensive involving teams of DRG Bijapur-Dantewada, STF, CRPF and CoBRA unfolded deep inside Maoist-dominated terrain early Wednesday. According to Bijapur SP Dr Jitendra Yadav, the forces came under sustained Naxal gunfire around 9 am, triggering a prolonged encounter.

By afternoon, the bodies of 12 Maoist cadres had been recovered, while weapons seized from the area included SLR rifles, INSAS rifles, .303 rifles and other ammunition. Bastar Range IG Sundarraj P confirmed that identification of the deceased Maoists is still underway.

Three DRG personnel killed, two injured

The operation came at a grave cost, with three DRG personnel — Head Constable Monu Waddi, Constable Dukaru Gonde and Jawan Ramesh Sodi — losing their lives. Two others sustained injuries but are reported to be out of danger after receiving medical care.

Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai paid tribute to the fallen personnel and lauded the forces, stating that the action reflects a clear weakening of Maoist networks in the region. He said arrangements for treatment of the injured have been ensured and reiterated the government’s commitment to ending Maoist violence.

Forces strengthen search and area sealed

SP Yadav said additional reinforcements have arrived and the encounter zone has been fully cordoned off for intensified operations. Continuous combing is underway to locate remaining Maoist cadres.

Chhattisgarh Home Minister Vijay Sharma noted that forces have been consistently making gains in anti-Naxal missions, calling the latest action a significant strike against Maoist groups.

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