<div align="justify">For the RSS, the leading flag-bearer of the Hindutva politics and the most significant motivating force behind the BJP governments at the Centre and states, there is no confusion about the destiny of India: it must be converted into a Hindu State by hook or crook.<br /><br />It was made clear on the eve of independence when the Organiser of RSS, in an editorial (August 14, 1947) declared: “Let us no longer allow ourselves to be influenced by false notions of nationhood...in Hindusthan only the Hindus form the nation and the national structure must be built on that safe and sound foundation…the nation itself must be built up of Hindus, on Hindu traditions, culture, ideas and aspirations.”<br /><br />Carrying it forward, the most prominent ideologue of the RSS, Guru Golwalkar, declared Muslims and Christians as ‘internal threats’ No. 1 and 2, respectively. The RSS, its leaders and cadres always propagated the theory that Hindus were at perpetual war with these two minorities, specially the Muslims.<br /><br />Reiterating the same, current Governor of Tripura, Tathagata Roy, in a tweet wrote, “The Hindu-Muslim problem won’t b solved without a Civil War”. He claimed that it was from the diary dated January 10, 1946 of the Hindutva icon, Syama Prasad Mookerjee.<br /><br />It may be noted that Mookerjee closely worked with the Muslim League in serving the British rule and was deputy chief minister in the Muslim League ministry of Bengal in 1942 when Congress was banned. Tathagata’s digging up of the above quote shows that he believes in its relevance today.<br /><br />The recent brazen unhindered violence at Baduria and the adjoining Basirhat in West Bengal’s North 24 Parganas district, perpetrated by the Muslim mobs targeting common Hindus while protesting against an objectionable Facebook post denigrating Islam by a teenager of the area proves that apart from the protagonists of Hindutva politics there are criminal elements among Muslims who want the RSS and Tathagata Roy to be proved right.<br /><br />This violence targeting innocent Hindus not only weakens the democratic-secular narrative against the rising Hindutva violence targeting Muslims, Christians and Dalits but provides RSS another opportunity to pose itself as the defender of the ‘persecuted’ Hindus.<br /><br />This fact cannot be ignored that whenever mobs inspired by the Hindutva hatred attacked Muslim community as a whole for any ‘crime’ of a Muslim individual or group like massacre of Muslims in Gujarat in 2002 as revenge for burning of train coaches at Godhra, the same was hugely condemned.<br /><br />Whenever Muslim localities and properties were attacked as revenge against some objectionable posts by some Muslims or latter targeted for carrying ‘beef’, the public opinion generally decried such engineered violence.<br /><br />The 24 Parganas has no history of violence between Hindus and Muslims, not even in pre-Partition days. The present violence is the outcome of tussle for supremacy between a Muslim ‘strongman’ who is patronised by the ruling TMC and a Hindu ‘strongman’ backed by BJP/RSS. Both of them present themselves as saviours of their respective <br />communities.<br /><br />The saddest part was the criminal attitude of the law and order machinery of the area. The controversial FB posting had gone viral three days prior to the attacks on Hindus. Police and higher district officials remained mute spectators to this. It seems as if they were waiting for this kind of flare up so that polarisation is complete.<br /><br />Muslim mobs which roamed freely attacking Hindus and destroying their properties for couple of days claimed that they were doing it for the sake of honour of Islam. This zeal for saving the honour of Islam did not extend beyond the boundaries of an Assembly constituency.<br />Muslims beyond this limited area did not bother about it. Does it mean that only Muslims of this segment were true Muslims and the rest fake? The fact was that it was not a religious issue but a ploy to settle political feuds.<br /><br />This lawlessness and criminal attacks by a section of Muslims in 24 Parganas also shows how plethora of Islamic organisations/institutions which are found in dozens in every Muslim mohalla, though claiming to be guardians of the religion, are least bothered about strategic ends of the community.<br /><br />They fail to realise that ‘revenge’ politics only provides legitimacy to the hate and violence strategy of the Hindutva gang. The BJP state president and a seasoned RSS leader has already declared that panchayat election in West Bengal in 2018 would be the ‘quarter-final’ while the 2019 Lok Sabha poll would be the 'semi-final' before the Assembly election in 2021 which is the ‘final’.<br /><br />Polarising society<br /><br />The RSS/BJP are working overtime to polarise the society which Muslim organisations and all those who want a democratic-secular Bengal to survive should never be allowed to get legitimacy.<br /><br />It is unfortunate that when the violent attacks by Hindutva organisations on minorities are under serious scrutiny in India and abroad, the communal Muslims by indulging in senseless violence are providing legitimacy to Hindutva terror.<br /><br />In Bengal, Hindus and Muslims co-exist with no division so far as language, dress and cuisine are concerned. If some are anxiously waiting to see if such a mass can be divided by the intrigues of the religious zealots, then democratic-secular India would become highly vulnerable.<br /><br />It is true that during this spell of violence against Hindus, there were many examples when Muslims saved and sheltered their Hindu neighbours. It may be true that those who perpetrated violence against Hindus came from outside. But it does not reduce the degree of culpability of local Muslims.<br /><br />They should have fought these criminal elements and saved their neighbours. This would have strengthened the secular fabric of our country and denied any legitimacy to the politics of polarisation. Unfortunately, we are witnessing a sad scenario when Muslim communalists seem to be competing with Hindutva communalists in undoing democratic-secular India.<br /><br /><em>(The writer taught political science at the University of Delhi)</em></div>
<div align="justify">For the RSS, the leading flag-bearer of the Hindutva politics and the most significant motivating force behind the BJP governments at the Centre and states, there is no confusion about the destiny of India: it must be converted into a Hindu State by hook or crook.<br /><br />It was made clear on the eve of independence when the Organiser of RSS, in an editorial (August 14, 1947) declared: “Let us no longer allow ourselves to be influenced by false notions of nationhood...in Hindusthan only the Hindus form the nation and the national structure must be built on that safe and sound foundation…the nation itself must be built up of Hindus, on Hindu traditions, culture, ideas and aspirations.”<br /><br />Carrying it forward, the most prominent ideologue of the RSS, Guru Golwalkar, declared Muslims and Christians as ‘internal threats’ No. 1 and 2, respectively. The RSS, its leaders and cadres always propagated the theory that Hindus were at perpetual war with these two minorities, specially the Muslims.<br /><br />Reiterating the same, current Governor of Tripura, Tathagata Roy, in a tweet wrote, “The Hindu-Muslim problem won’t b solved without a Civil War”. He claimed that it was from the diary dated January 10, 1946 of the Hindutva icon, Syama Prasad Mookerjee.<br /><br />It may be noted that Mookerjee closely worked with the Muslim League in serving the British rule and was deputy chief minister in the Muslim League ministry of Bengal in 1942 when Congress was banned. Tathagata’s digging up of the above quote shows that he believes in its relevance today.<br /><br />The recent brazen unhindered violence at Baduria and the adjoining Basirhat in West Bengal’s North 24 Parganas district, perpetrated by the Muslim mobs targeting common Hindus while protesting against an objectionable Facebook post denigrating Islam by a teenager of the area proves that apart from the protagonists of Hindutva politics there are criminal elements among Muslims who want the RSS and Tathagata Roy to be proved right.<br /><br />This violence targeting innocent Hindus not only weakens the democratic-secular narrative against the rising Hindutva violence targeting Muslims, Christians and Dalits but provides RSS another opportunity to pose itself as the defender of the ‘persecuted’ Hindus.<br /><br />This fact cannot be ignored that whenever mobs inspired by the Hindutva hatred attacked Muslim community as a whole for any ‘crime’ of a Muslim individual or group like massacre of Muslims in Gujarat in 2002 as revenge for burning of train coaches at Godhra, the same was hugely condemned.<br /><br />Whenever Muslim localities and properties were attacked as revenge against some objectionable posts by some Muslims or latter targeted for carrying ‘beef’, the public opinion generally decried such engineered violence.<br /><br />The 24 Parganas has no history of violence between Hindus and Muslims, not even in pre-Partition days. The present violence is the outcome of tussle for supremacy between a Muslim ‘strongman’ who is patronised by the ruling TMC and a Hindu ‘strongman’ backed by BJP/RSS. Both of them present themselves as saviours of their respective <br />communities.<br /><br />The saddest part was the criminal attitude of the law and order machinery of the area. The controversial FB posting had gone viral three days prior to the attacks on Hindus. Police and higher district officials remained mute spectators to this. It seems as if they were waiting for this kind of flare up so that polarisation is complete.<br /><br />Muslim mobs which roamed freely attacking Hindus and destroying their properties for couple of days claimed that they were doing it for the sake of honour of Islam. This zeal for saving the honour of Islam did not extend beyond the boundaries of an Assembly constituency.<br />Muslims beyond this limited area did not bother about it. Does it mean that only Muslims of this segment were true Muslims and the rest fake? The fact was that it was not a religious issue but a ploy to settle political feuds.<br /><br />This lawlessness and criminal attacks by a section of Muslims in 24 Parganas also shows how plethora of Islamic organisations/institutions which are found in dozens in every Muslim mohalla, though claiming to be guardians of the religion, are least bothered about strategic ends of the community.<br /><br />They fail to realise that ‘revenge’ politics only provides legitimacy to the hate and violence strategy of the Hindutva gang. The BJP state president and a seasoned RSS leader has already declared that panchayat election in West Bengal in 2018 would be the ‘quarter-final’ while the 2019 Lok Sabha poll would be the 'semi-final' before the Assembly election in 2021 which is the ‘final’.<br /><br />Polarising society<br /><br />The RSS/BJP are working overtime to polarise the society which Muslim organisations and all those who want a democratic-secular Bengal to survive should never be allowed to get legitimacy.<br /><br />It is unfortunate that when the violent attacks by Hindutva organisations on minorities are under serious scrutiny in India and abroad, the communal Muslims by indulging in senseless violence are providing legitimacy to Hindutva terror.<br /><br />In Bengal, Hindus and Muslims co-exist with no division so far as language, dress and cuisine are concerned. If some are anxiously waiting to see if such a mass can be divided by the intrigues of the religious zealots, then democratic-secular India would become highly vulnerable.<br /><br />It is true that during this spell of violence against Hindus, there were many examples when Muslims saved and sheltered their Hindu neighbours. It may be true that those who perpetrated violence against Hindus came from outside. But it does not reduce the degree of culpability of local Muslims.<br /><br />They should have fought these criminal elements and saved their neighbours. This would have strengthened the secular fabric of our country and denied any legitimacy to the politics of polarisation. Unfortunately, we are witnessing a sad scenario when Muslim communalists seem to be competing with Hindutva communalists in undoing democratic-secular India.<br /><br /><em>(The writer taught political science at the University of Delhi)</em></div>
