All reformers including Narayana Guru, Basavanna fought against Hindutva: Vijaya Bhaskara

Kalaburgi, Aug 20: Various political and social organisations including Communist Party of India, Indian National Congress, Janata Dal-Secular, Karnataka Dalit Sangharsha Samiti, Dalita Shoshita Samaja Sangharsha Samiti, and Samata Sainik Dal on Sunday organised a public meeting titled ‘Save Constitution and wipe out communalism’ at the Kannada Bhavan here.

Speaking on the occasion, Vijaya Bhaskara, State council secretary of CPI called upon all Left, progressive and democratic forces to come together to fight against right-wing outfits, including the BJP and the RSS, which according to him are “fascist forces” attempting to destabilise democracy and impose a “Brahminical hegemony.”.

“Jawaharlal Nehru thought what the country had got in 1947 was not real independence. He chose B R Ambedkar to lead the team that drafted the Indian Constitution because he believed that the great man would build the Constitution keeping in mind the real liberation of millions of oppressed communities. It is because of Ambedkar that ideals such as democracy, equality and social justice are embodied in the Constitution”

“Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh leader Golwalkar rejected the Constitution, calling it westernised. His real concerns, however, were that the Constitution was determined to make India a democratic nation based on equality and social justice, rejecting the Manusmriti-preached social hierarchy that actually translated into a Brahmanical hegemony over the rest of society,” he said.

He called the apparent anti-Constitution sentiments and actions of right-wing forces today a continuation of the Golwalkar legacy.

Drawing a clear difference between Hindutva and Hinduism, Mr. Bhaskar held that the former was a political agenda to impose a certain social order while the latter was simply a faith. “All those reformers, including Sri Narayana Guru and Basavanna, were not part of the Hindutva ideology. They were indeed against it and fought it. Hindutva is a divisive ideology that polarises communities along their religious identities,” he said.