In this article I will try to present Vinayak Damodar Savarkar's (VDS for short) and Madhavrao Sadashivrao Golwalkar's (MSG for short) views about the map-problem. Please note that for seculars both VDS and MSG are same. However, more often than not even the non-seculars treat VDS and MSG as same. There are commonalities between them, as well as differences between them. I will try to present my perspective on them.
Caveat:
Caveat:
I digress a bit here. There are wrirings on the web, for example Ajit Vadakayil etc., who allege that VDS was Chitapavan jew who strived to sabotage India's freedom struggle. Similar allegations are made by others about MSG and his relation to Nazism etc.
1. Often even those who criticize VDS, hold GDS (Ganesh, elder brother of VDS) in high esteem, as a true patriot (which he was). Now if VDS was a Chitpawan, GDS too was. Thus being Chitpawan (whatever that means) can not be the issue. We must go by what one/they did.
2. There is a lot of hullabaloo about VDS apologizing to the British crown. Presently, I entertain the following. We must recall that most wars (especially by Abrahamics) usually end up as victory of deception (by Abrahamics) over honor (of non-Abrahamics). So it is important not to fall into the "honor trap". May be as Chitpawan Jew VDS knew how Abrahamics subverted Hindus by making use of such "high morals" of Hindus. And he didn't want to fall into that trap. Why be honest with someone who is dishonest and out to deceive you? I think VDS followed this principle. Elder brother Ganesh never apologized, and he bravely suffered many inhuman tortures. However, that need not make us look at VDS as "inferior". May be the two brothers held different views on how to fight.
3. The most serious allegation is that VDS gave away secrets of "freedom fighters" to the British. While this is damn serious, I am not aware of any concrete evidence which establishes this. I am open to correction.
So I would say that we can suspend making judgement about the persona of VDS till further evidence, however his theories and propositions are for us to see and evaluate independent of what he was.
4. There may be, and are, many valid arguments against MSG (likewise Subhas Bose etc too), but not having non-laudatory views about Nazism is not one of them. It is like, there are many valid arguments against BRAmbedkar, but his being against Islam is not one of them. Coming back, British were much more evil. They used brave Indian soldiers as cannon fodder and yet paid no homage to them. Hindus must realize that both the world wars were significantly won by their soldiers.
5. MSG was supposedly soft regarding Mahomet and Islam. That, for me, is a more valid point against him. I write about this issue later in this article, when I mention racial aspects.
With this caveat, let me begin,
In the first half of the twentieth century, (especially during first world war) monarchies and kingdoms fell apart and in their place there was rise of nation-states. And the question of what constitutes a nation in the nation-state became important. That the state must provide security, criminal justice, etc were a given, but what more, or what less should the state provide also entered the discourse.
Two sets of answers emerged. For nation, ideas of Racial nation and Propositional nation were presented; while for State ideas of Dictatorial and Democratic states came about.
1. Often even those who criticize VDS, hold GDS (Ganesh, elder brother of VDS) in high esteem, as a true patriot (which he was). Now if VDS was a Chitpawan, GDS too was. Thus being Chitpawan (whatever that means) can not be the issue. We must go by what one/they did.
2. There is a lot of hullabaloo about VDS apologizing to the British crown. Presently, I entertain the following. We must recall that most wars (especially by Abrahamics) usually end up as victory of deception (by Abrahamics) over honor (of non-Abrahamics). So it is important not to fall into the "honor trap". May be as Chitpawan Jew VDS knew how Abrahamics subverted Hindus by making use of such "high morals" of Hindus. And he didn't want to fall into that trap. Why be honest with someone who is dishonest and out to deceive you? I think VDS followed this principle. Elder brother Ganesh never apologized, and he bravely suffered many inhuman tortures. However, that need not make us look at VDS as "inferior". May be the two brothers held different views on how to fight.
3. The most serious allegation is that VDS gave away secrets of "freedom fighters" to the British. While this is damn serious, I am not aware of any concrete evidence which establishes this. I am open to correction.
So I would say that we can suspend making judgement about the persona of VDS till further evidence, however his theories and propositions are for us to see and evaluate independent of what he was.
4. There may be, and are, many valid arguments against MSG (likewise Subhas Bose etc too), but not having non-laudatory views about Nazism is not one of them. It is like, there are many valid arguments against BRAmbedkar, but his being against Islam is not one of them. Coming back, British were much more evil. They used brave Indian soldiers as cannon fodder and yet paid no homage to them. Hindus must realize that both the world wars were significantly won by their soldiers.
5. MSG was supposedly soft regarding Mahomet and Islam. That, for me, is a more valid point against him. I write about this issue later in this article, when I mention racial aspects.
With this caveat, let me begin,
In the first half of the twentieth century, (especially during first world war) monarchies and kingdoms fell apart and in their place there was rise of nation-states. And the question of what constitutes a nation in the nation-state became important. That the state must provide security, criminal justice, etc were a given, but what more, or what less should the state provide also entered the discourse.
Two sets of answers emerged. For nation, ideas of Racial nation and Propositional nation were presented; while for State ideas of Dictatorial and Democratic states came about.
Notice that we are ignoring the economic aspect here. Except that we wish to emphasize that democracies are inherently socialistic in their economic models. It less often leads to welfare, rather it more often leads to cronyism.
Racial nation model is that a nation is a group of closely related people by blood (therefore language, culture etc). Propositional nation model proposes some ideas of justice and then how to go about ensuring justice. The Marxist model presented a call for International unity against injustice. Injustice was defined to be class-exploitation by haves of have-nots.
This too is a long story and well beyond the scope of this article. For us, it suffices to say that, India did not fit in into any of these categories. It was not a monolithic race (I do not know what modern genetic studies say, I am not an expert), nor had people formulated any single proposition that could be used as unifying theme. At the same time, deep down all Indians (read Hindus) felt that they were one, and they were inspired by Vivekananda's speeches which forcefully brought out aspects which provided at least some glimpses of the timeless unity that we have had.
In this backdrop, VDS attempted his formulation for India. I think that VDS was not only quite intelligent, he also had (to begin with) a lot of compassion for the Indian muslims, who he saw as brothers of Hindus who had converted for some reason or ther other, and in most likelihood under duress. He built his theory of Hindutva, and in it we can see his compassion for "racial Indian people". Thus his hindutva can be seen as racially compassionate proposition. Most probably he was also aware of the pitfalls of internationalisms, so he put forth his perspective which focussed on a territorially bounded region.
As part of building further background, let us consider SriRamakrisha-Vivekananda and Ramdas-Shivaji pairs. SRK was abstract and storehouse of spiritual energy and Vivekananda was concrete and a pragmatic appliance which could manifest the energy drawn from his guru. A similar model can be used to understand Ramdas and Shivaji. In my opnion, VDS wanted to start a movement which will be even more concrete (sociopolitically and socioeconomically) version of the relatively abstract ideas that were proposed by Vivekananda. In this sense, we can also view Vivekananda-VDS as Ramdas-Shivaji pair. (Please note that these analogies are approximate).
However, VDS was not merely intelligent and compassionate, he was also a very pragmatic man. Thus VDS at once set out to tackle real on the ground problems. Casteism, untouchability, inter-caste marriages etc. were questions that he wrote boldly about. Similarly he forthrightly wrote about whether Hindus should get English education, whether they should join armed forces, whether they should acquire and use modern technology, etc. He promoted whatever he thought would strengthen political strength and unity, and he opposed whatever he thought would enervate political unity and strength. He was one of the first who thought that ghar-wapasi could be and should be attempted, and was also the first to realize that ghar-wapasi was not enough and might not succeed either. One may disagree with the solutions he provided, but one can not deny that VDS DID attempt solving problems (in a political way) which most were unwilling to attempt.
Racial nation model is that a nation is a group of closely related people by blood (therefore language, culture etc). Propositional nation model proposes some ideas of justice and then how to go about ensuring justice. The Marxist model presented a call for International unity against injustice. Injustice was defined to be class-exploitation by haves of have-nots.
This too is a long story and well beyond the scope of this article. For us, it suffices to say that, India did not fit in into any of these categories. It was not a monolithic race (I do not know what modern genetic studies say, I am not an expert), nor had people formulated any single proposition that could be used as unifying theme. At the same time, deep down all Indians (read Hindus) felt that they were one, and they were inspired by Vivekananda's speeches which forcefully brought out aspects which provided at least some glimpses of the timeless unity that we have had.
In this backdrop, VDS attempted his formulation for India. I think that VDS was not only quite intelligent, he also had (to begin with) a lot of compassion for the Indian muslims, who he saw as brothers of Hindus who had converted for some reason or ther other, and in most likelihood under duress. He built his theory of Hindutva, and in it we can see his compassion for "racial Indian people". Thus his hindutva can be seen as racially compassionate proposition. Most probably he was also aware of the pitfalls of internationalisms, so he put forth his perspective which focussed on a territorially bounded region.
As part of building further background, let us consider SriRamakrisha-Vivekananda and Ramdas-Shivaji pairs. SRK was abstract and storehouse of spiritual energy and Vivekananda was concrete and a pragmatic appliance which could manifest the energy drawn from his guru. A similar model can be used to understand Ramdas and Shivaji. In my opnion, VDS wanted to start a movement which will be even more concrete (sociopolitically and socioeconomically) version of the relatively abstract ideas that were proposed by Vivekananda. In this sense, we can also view Vivekananda-VDS as Ramdas-Shivaji pair. (Please note that these analogies are approximate).
However, VDS was not merely intelligent and compassionate, he was also a very pragmatic man. Thus VDS at once set out to tackle real on the ground problems. Casteism, untouchability, inter-caste marriages etc. were questions that he wrote boldly about. Similarly he forthrightly wrote about whether Hindus should get English education, whether they should join armed forces, whether they should acquire and use modern technology, etc. He promoted whatever he thought would strengthen political strength and unity, and he opposed whatever he thought would enervate political unity and strength. He was one of the first who thought that ghar-wapasi could be and should be attempted, and was also the first to realize that ghar-wapasi was not enough and might not succeed either. One may disagree with the solutions he provided, but one can not deny that VDS DID attempt solving problems (in a political way) which most were unwilling to attempt.
Coming to MSG, on most racial compassion and territorial inspiration issues, MSG was similar to VDS. MSG was focused on answering the question: what kind of nation India is? While VDS focused on winning political freedom from foreign rule. Thus MSG and VDS differed regarding what actions were to be undertaken. As persons, MSG was supposedly very spiritual, and VDS was an atheist. MSG favored "spiritual" Hindutva over VDS's "political" Hindutva. This also led to disagreements and divergent actions.
Thus, while VDS started Hindu-Mahasabha, a political party; MSG's RSS turned out to be closer to Ramkrishna Mission of Vivekananda. While MSG thought (Correct me if I am wrong) Islam could be accommodated within "spiritual" Hindutva, VDS quickly (and rightly) realized that Islam (and therefore, in general muslims) were adversaries of Hindus. While VDS dabbled in ghar-wapasi and quickly nearly abandoned it, RSS is still almost obsessed with it.
Later, therefore, VDS became quite bitter about RSS. He thought of it as a wasteful enterprise which was destined to fail. Now I don't fully agree with VDS, but I sympathize with VDS more than I do with MSG. One could conjecture that MSG thought much longer term, etc., but these are endless debates. Our dharma, sanAtana dharma is surely not about sacrificing long-term for the short-term or vice versa. Rather, it is about striking the right balance. It could even be that different individuals can strike different balances. VDS was vindicated when RSS realized that it had to enter active politics, even if by proxy, through Bharatiya Jan Sangh (now BJP).
I guess that RSS is closer to being racialist. I do not consider race realism as wrong per se. However, we must not ignore the following: people who are highly religious will sacrifice race for religion, and vice versa. Indians (if they are a race) are highly religious (you can see Indian muslims, christians being more religious muslims and christians than many other races). So Indian non-Hindus are easily excitable on religious grounds, even against their own racial brothers (Hindus).
Further, I think we need not consider MSG and VDS as contradictory, we can use their understandings as complementary. For example, if we ignore Gandhi's suicidal rather Hindu genocidal non-violence, his "solution" (in terms of Swadeshi/Khadi) was an economic-solution for the war against British imperialism.
Thus, while VDS started Hindu-Mahasabha, a political party; MSG's RSS turned out to be closer to Ramkrishna Mission of Vivekananda. While MSG thought (Correct me if I am wrong) Islam could be accommodated within "spiritual" Hindutva, VDS quickly (and rightly) realized that Islam (and therefore, in general muslims) were adversaries of Hindus. While VDS dabbled in ghar-wapasi and quickly nearly abandoned it, RSS is still almost obsessed with it.
Later, therefore, VDS became quite bitter about RSS. He thought of it as a wasteful enterprise which was destined to fail. Now I don't fully agree with VDS, but I sympathize with VDS more than I do with MSG. One could conjecture that MSG thought much longer term, etc., but these are endless debates. Our dharma, sanAtana dharma is surely not about sacrificing long-term for the short-term or vice versa. Rather, it is about striking the right balance. It could even be that different individuals can strike different balances. VDS was vindicated when RSS realized that it had to enter active politics, even if by proxy, through Bharatiya Jan Sangh (now BJP).
I guess that RSS is closer to being racialist. I do not consider race realism as wrong per se. However, we must not ignore the following: people who are highly religious will sacrifice race for religion, and vice versa. Indians (if they are a race) are highly religious (you can see Indian muslims, christians being more religious muslims and christians than many other races). So Indian non-Hindus are easily excitable on religious grounds, even against their own racial brothers (Hindus).
Further, I think we need not consider MSG and VDS as contradictory, we can use their understandings as complementary. For example, if we ignore Gandhi's suicidal rather Hindu genocidal non-violence, his "solution" (in terms of Swadeshi/Khadi) was an economic-solution for the war against British imperialism.
Just as an aside, imagine what would have happened if we had combined VDS-political-pragmatism and Gandhi-economics in terms of Khadi-guns and Khadi-grenades against the British.
Now, I am in a position to present VDS and MSG views on the map-problem. I understand that this will ruffle a lot of feathers. So I must mention as I mentioned in my previous article, while it is caricatural but intended to bring out essential and differentiating features. Also, that I am no scholar (nor do I intend to become one) and open to correction.
VDS description/view:
Past: It was a glorious period, and was also mostly highly advanced in terms of knowledge of the material world. They had most ingredients of "modern science" too.
Hindus lost because, inter alia, they neglected political pragmatism, and pursued impractical idealism, VDS initially thought that racial solidarity and cultural pride would overcome malignant natures of Islam and Chriastianity, but later realized otherwise, and understood them as adversaries.
Present: Major corrections are needed. Political pragmatism is foremost among them. Cultural pride must be accompanied by concrete practical actions.
Desired Future: A culturally vibrant India which has regained its glorious past, along with modern science, technology, development, equality, and most important of all, political pragmatism.
Hindus lost because, inter alia, they neglected political pragmatism, and pursued impractical idealism, VDS initially thought that racial solidarity and cultural pride would overcome malignant natures of Islam and Chriastianity, but later realized otherwise, and understood them as adversaries.
Present: Major corrections are needed. Political pragmatism is foremost among them. Cultural pride must be accompanied by concrete practical actions.
Desired Future: A culturally vibrant India which has regained its glorious past, along with modern science, technology, development, equality, and most important of all, political pragmatism.
and
MSG description/view:
Past: It was a glorious period, and was also mostly highly advanced in terms of knowledge of the material world. They had most ingredients of "modern science" too.
Hindus lost because, inter alia, they swerved from their spiritual ideals and therefore lost moral courage.
Islamic/Christian invaders were bad and they strove to destroy Hindu Civilization. But that was because they were Arabs and Europeans, and materialistic. Hinduism has spiritual wherewithal to absorb the essence of Islam and Chriastianity which are good. When that happens, Indian muslims, and Indian christians will be assimilated in the pan-Hindutva vision.
Present: Major corrections are needed, but the corrections are in spiritual and cultural plane. If we replenish spiritual pursuit then the resultant cultural rejuvenation will resuscicate our spiritual nation.
Desired Future: We will regain most of the Past along with modern science, technology, development, and equality. And it will be long lasting for it will be based on and accompanied by a spiritual awakening.
Past: It was a glorious period, and was also mostly highly advanced in terms of knowledge of the material world. They had most ingredients of "modern science" too.
Hindus lost because, inter alia, they swerved from their spiritual ideals and therefore lost moral courage.
Islamic/Christian invaders were bad and they strove to destroy Hindu Civilization. But that was because they were Arabs and Europeans, and materialistic. Hinduism has spiritual wherewithal to absorb the essence of Islam and Chriastianity which are good. When that happens, Indian muslims, and Indian christians will be assimilated in the pan-Hindutva vision.
Present: Major corrections are needed, but the corrections are in spiritual and cultural plane. If we replenish spiritual pursuit then the resultant cultural rejuvenation will resuscicate our spiritual nation.
Desired Future: We will regain most of the Past along with modern science, technology, development, and equality. And it will be long lasting for it will be based on and accompanied by a spiritual awakening.
More intelligent people must consider combining: Political pragmatism and love for Hindus of VDS, de-globalization (inspired, say by, Gandhi, but without necessarily rejecting modern technology) as part of economic war against globalism, extending Ambedkar's understanding of Islam to all Abrahamisms (including Judaism), MSG's love for "spiritual" unity of Hindu-Civilization.
In order to save ourselves as Hindus of Akhand Bharat. We need not sacrifice Akhand-Bharat for International-Hinduism, nor do we need to sacrifice Hinduism for Indian-subcontinental-unity. I will write on this some other time, but I prefer a Hindu Civilizational Territory over Extended Akhand Bharat.
In order to save ourselves as Hindus of Akhand Bharat. We need not sacrifice Akhand-Bharat for International-Hinduism, nor do we need to sacrifice Hinduism for Indian-subcontinental-unity. I will write on this some other time, but I prefer a Hindu Civilizational Territory over Extended Akhand Bharat.
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