Slogans are like Sangh Parivar, ring hollow of nationalism

For a long time, India has been a self-confident, secular, democratic and modern major power. It has served in the United Nations in several capacities and has been the chief proponent of the policy of non-alignment, deftly playing a role autonomous of the great powers.

In 1971, it contributed substantially to the liberation of Bangladesh in the face of US threats and attempted intervention through the UN Security Council (UNSC). It is a major player in the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) framework and most international fora.

So why, suddenly, has it become so insecure of its nationhood? Adherence to old political formulae and slogans have become a test of patriotism following the sweeping victory of the Sangh Parivar-supported National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in the 2014 general elections. Suddenly, the chanting of slogans like "Bharat Mata ki jai" and "Vande Mataram" is being demanded as a certificate of one's patriotism. Other slogans have been considered inadequate.

Also read: Why Sangh Parivar is the real anti-national

The Constitution, the supreme law of this country, under Part IV, titled "Fundamental Duties", refers to the national anthem and the national flag. There is no mention of a national slogan. It is necessary to note here that according to the ruling of the Supreme Court, the fundamental duties are part of the "basic structure" of the Constitution which is not liable to amendment.

But the Sangh Parivar has chosen "Bharat Mata ki jai" as a mandatory slogan, with no legal sanction. This hypernationalism has reached extraordinary levels. All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) MLA from Maharashtra, Waris Pathan, who chanted the famous secular slogan, "Jai Hind" - identified with the Azad Hind Fauj of Netaji Subhas Bose - was sought to be coerced to chant only "Bharat Mata ki jai." The Congress, Shiv Sena and BJP were united in demanding that the defiant and principled Waris Pathan be suspended from the Maharashtra Assembly. The Assembly subsequently suspended the MLA for not saying "Bharat Mata ki jai".

Since when has a particular slogan been the litmus test of nationalism? Apart from "Jai Hind", there are other secular slogans like "Inquilab Zindabad" of Bhagat Singh and other revolutionaries, the "Jai Bhim" slogan of the followers of Bhimrao Ambedkar, and a very large number of slogans used by the Army.

Also read: Sanghis bringing bure din for Bharat Mata with bogus anti-national charge

Ironically, the Sangh Parivar which was absent in the freedom struggle from 1925 to 1947, is now forcing secularists from the nationalist tradition to accept a particular slogan as proof of nationalism. But we do have constitutionally prescribed nationalist symbols like the national anthem - the "Jana Gana Mana", and the national flag - the tricolour, don't we?.

Since when has the tricolour been unfurled in Sangh Parivar buildings or shakhas? Given the Sangh's dubious record comprising a large number of documented communal killings since Independence, including in Gujarat in 2002, if any entity has to prove its secular, nationalist credentials it is the Sangh Parivar itself.

Given the failure of the Narendra Modi government to fulfil its economic promises, and the uneven development of the country, diminishing job creation, massive outflow of black money, extreme rural distress, including farmer suicides, and high increases in tuition fees in specialised institutes like the IITs, the NDA with its Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) core, needed a diversion.

Using both the government machinery and those of the Sangh and its affiliates, a pseudo-nationalist debate has been started, facilitated by the pro-Hindutva media. Even the idea that "Hindutva" means "Hinduness" is an attempt to appropriate the vast, pluralist Hindu tradition into a narrow, upper caste Hindutva mould.

The critical factors that have kept India united, strong and forward-looking, are secularism, pluralism, the rise of subaltern classes and castes, and a rich history of mass struggles to win rights for the oppressed and thereby build an egalitarian model of development.

In post-Nehruvian decades, the term "egalitarian" has not been commonly spoken of, even by his own party - the Congress, but struggles for rights have continued. India cannot be held to ransom to those who mistake specific slogans for nationalism.