India has created a big and false myth about non-violence. India’s origin tale bequeaths upon it a romantic national way of life. But the nation is paying very heavily for this artificial narrative. The margin between historical truth and narrative is leakier than the cohorts of non-violence and brother-hood may claim. Indian and Indian thinkers are expert in creating self-serving or sanitised historical tales. Famous writer George Orwell has very rightly said, “Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past.”
Veterans of the Indian National Army (INA), this year participated first time with great pride and fanfare in India’s Republic Day parade. They highlighted the armed fight for India’s independence, from British colonial rule. Four INA veterans in their 90s rode a jeep in the parade to bust the myth that India got independence through non-violence, which was ironically boasted by the 22 tableaux, about the life experiences of the disciple of non-violence, Mahatma Gandhi.
Nation has long overstated or fuzzy how it won freedom and at the odd contrast of the INA and Gandhi at the parade unintentionally decorated those opposite views. The participation, of the INA veterans’ in fact, busted or underlined the Indian republic’s origin myth – that it won liberty through non-violence. This myth has been intensely inserted by the thinkers in the minds of Indians since their kindergarten days.
Nobody can deny the decisive role played by the non-violent independence movement, led by Gandhi and in mobilizing the mass struggle against the British rule and claiming independence. However, the destruction caused by the prolonged World War II, in entire Europe and Asia weakened the British Empire. In the war, around 80 million people were killed which was 4% of the world population.
Despite the victory of Allied forces, a ruined Britain was in no point to control its colonies, including “Golden Bird” India. A number of colonies, without any mass struggle, got independence in the post-World War II era. The British have ruled India through a Machiavellian tactic. They purchase some Indians and by their help, they ruled over India. They left India only after nothing was left to loot and India became one of the poorest colonies of the world.
Had the Indian leaders were active and intelligent enough in safeguarding the nation, they could have averted the Kashmir, Tibet and border conflict with China and Pakistan. Pakistan and China were in deep chaos till 1950, and Indian leaders have enough opportunities to affirm their control over Kashmir, Tibet and other disputed territories on the China and Pakistan border. But the romantic myth of non-violence and brotherhood blinded the Indian leadership.
But India’s senseless and destructive origin myth about non-violence, brotherhood and socialism made her fake peace lover country that thought it could get peace and everything merely by parroting peace, instead of building a strong nation to force peace.
Here’s the absurdity: Countless numbers of Indians citizens have been killed by the Pakistan sponsored terrorists in Kashmir and elsewhere in terror acts and communal riots by such elements. Just in the Kashmir alone, more than fifty thousand people and security personnel have been killed. Pakistan sends terrorists in large numbers to kill Indian citizens and fights its dirty wars. In at least four wars a large number of soldiers died while serving for a peace nick nation, as cannon fodder.
Without a doubt, the present Indian republic was born in blood: As many as two million civilians (Hindus and Sikhs) died by Pakistanis in senseless violence and riots. Lakhs of Hindu and Sikh women were raped and millions more were uprooted in the British-Jinnah conspired partition.
The Khalistan-Sikh terrorists also busted the myth of India, uniquely charting the non-violence and brother-hood. It also defeated all the discourses on non-violence, brother-hood and peace. In that violence of two decades, more than sixty thousands people became a victim of that terrorism and violence. There are post-1947 multiple factors – internal and external – those made us believe that non-violence is only a concept cannot be followed if one wants the safety and peace of its citizens. .
Naxal and Maowadi terrorists also shattered the hope of peace in independent India. First time in the history of democracy, communist governments were elected in India in Kerela, Bengal and Tripura. But the left cader inflicted most brutal kind of violence in all these three states. Encouraged by the victory of left parties, deadly left terrorism gripped the nation, killing thousands of people. The first time, the left parties comprehensively defeating the rival parties, proved to be a Himalayan blunder by the voters.
Similarly, in the North-East states, China trained and armed terrorists’ unleashed terror and bloodbath with the active support from China and the Church. Tribals and Christian converts, undertaking terror activity in the name of freeing these states from Indian rule, resulting in thousands of killings. Emboldened tribal and Christians served a “Quit” notice on the citizens of India.
While the democratically elected Delhi governments could not mount a formidable threat to these terror groups because the nation is still overflowing with recruits, who are getting a fat purse for marketing the idea of non-violence and brotherhood.
Dalits, Gurjars, Jats, and Muslims protest for caste and communal quotas and freebies begin with the burning of national property, riots and killings. Recently, during Bharat Bandh, called by the so-called weaker sections and Dalit groups, brought the nation on the knees. Dozens of people were killed in the riots and the huge property was damaged in arson.
All these incidents and other riots and killings undermine the claim that India is a non-violent nation. However, law-abiding and honest citizens are treated shabbily, with many preferring to go abroad. Against this background, the human right groups and activists also come in support of criminals and wrongdoers. Nobody has initiated a right and proper initiative and process. Such people are always lying low and it needs to give their due. These law-abiding citizens are the unsung heroes are an essential step towards rebalancing the social and political narrative.
A rules-based national order premised on non-violence and brother-hood remains a creditable aspirational goal. But Indian romancing of non-violence and brotherhood as a useful political tool played havoc and crimped national security policy since independence and terror groups and terrorists got a supportive environment to flourish.
The nation cut to pacifism and corruption. The first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru openly grieving in 1962 that China had “returned evil for good” and scowled on non-violence, brother-hood, and materialism. A load of this romantic national belief has forced permanent costs, including the absence of a planned and defence policy. American analyst late George Tanham also criticized this senselessness of non-violence and brother-hood. This has erased the vision and policy of the nation to be a superpower. The inheritors of the Raj, the British-trained “brown sahibs”, have propagated this visionless romanticism.
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