August 15 vs August 5 vs August 7

When Prime Minister Narendra Modi lays on August 5 the foundation stone for building the Ram temple in Ayodhya a new entry will be made in the register of dates important to Hindutva It is possible in times to come August 5 could emerge as a competing template to that of August 15 for remembering our pastIndias freedom in our memory began with that memorable speech of Jawaharlal Nehru on August 1415 1947 At the stroke of the midnight hour when the world sleeps India will awake to life and freedom Nehru spoke of Indias period of illfortune Nevertheless the past is over and it is the future that beckons us now he saidIn that speech Nehru imagined India as an inclusive nation All of us to whatever religion we may belong are equally the children of India with equal rights privileges and obligations We cannot encourage communalism or narrowmindedness for no nation can be great whose people are narrow in thought or action he said Nehrus was a bold assertion amidst the Partition violenceYet a few still believe India may have attained freedom but it has not shed its slavish mentality Around a fortnight after becoming the prime minister on May 26 2014 Modi said in Parliament The slave mentality of 1200 years is troubling us His was not a stray remark A year earlier as Gujarat chief minister Modi said on August 15 From very early days since India became slave to others this country has been struggling for almost 10001200 yearsIndias enslavement in the national consciousness is dated to the East India Companys victory in the Battle of Plassey in 1757 Modi however pushed back Indias subjugation all the way to Mohammad bin Qasims conquest of Sindh in 712 CE He is not the sole Hindutva leader who perceives Muslim rulers as foreigners who conquered and enslaved IndiaFor Hindutvavadis it matters little that Muslims no longer rule the country or that they are among Indias most marginalised communities They think India will remain only notionally free or suffer from slavish mentality as long as Hindu sentiments are not privileged their rights recognised as superior and the symbols of their enslavement remain intactAmong these symbols was the Babri Masjid which was claimed to have been built on the orders of Mughal Emperor Babur after demolishing a temple that had stood at the very spot in Ayodhya where Lord Ram was said to have been born From Hindutvas perspective the demolition of the Babri Masjid on December 6 1992 symbolised the emergence of Hindus from the chrysalis of slavish consciousnessFor this reason perhaps the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh which mounted the Ram Janmabhoomi movement would observe December 6 as shaurya diwas or bravery day until 2018 It was not celebrated last year because the Supreme Courts verdict handing over the Babri Masjid site to the Hindus trumpeted the Sanghs final triumphJust as August 8 1942 the day on which the Quit India Movement was launched was overtaken by August 15 in the calendar of momentous events leading to Indias Independence December 6 has been relegated in importance to August 5 It is possible another date such as the inauguration of the temple after its construction will be assigned even a greater significance than August 5Given the petition in the Supreme Court challenging the Places of Worship Act 1991 which freezes ownership of all religious sites as had existed on August 15 1947 it is hard to tell when Hindutvavadis will finally conclude that they no longer need to appropriate mosques to prove they have shed their slavish mentality Such efforts will wound and scar India as had happened between 1989 and 1992 the most militant phase of the Ram Janmabhoomi movementThis bloody past will be forgotten at the laying of the foundation stone for the Ram temple which is just one expression of Hindutvavadis quest to acquire what they think is real freedom Its other expression is Jammu and Kashmir which on August 5 had its special status annulled its people placed under lockdown for months their rights squashed and their access to the internet still limited It would seem the real meaning of August 5 is that attempts to overcome slavish mentality must also entail denial of rights to others their humiliationAs August 5 looms before us it is not misplaced to wonder at the collective amnesia over yet another date mdash August 7 On this day 30 years ago then Prime Minister VP Singh announced the implementation of 27 per cent reservation for the Other Backward Classes altering the very structure of casteclass representation in government jobs Indeed what dates are remembered depends on their importance to those in power mdash and the version of history they wish to popularise Those who tirelessly wish to create history should at least remember what Nehru said on August 1415 1947 No nation can be great whose people are narrow in thought or actionThe writer is a senior journalistSend your feedback to mailbagmiddaycomThe views expressed in this column are the individuals and dont 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