The 21st century Bharat has two unique facets to it. First, to its credit, Bharat has extraordinary acclaim for being the oldest thriving indigenous civilization. Second, after surviving the two waves of colonization- Middle Eastern and European, Bharat is still grappling with the third, the Marxist colonization. Incidentally, while another Asian giant, China continually brags of a “Century of Humiliation” and seeks to rejuvenate, centuries of colonization have mellowed down the indigeneity of Bharat. Coloniality, interminably, inextricably etched into the body politic of Bharat, has invariably brought it to a pass when a resurgence of Middle Eastern coloniality is beginning to bare its ugly fangs once again with religious issues dominating its realms.
Having introduced the concept of
colonialism and its etymological sisters in his best-selling predecessor India
That is Bharat: Coloniality, Civilisation and Constitution, J. Sai Deepak’s
second book, in his trilogy titled- India, Bharat and Pakistan: The Constitutional
Journey of A Sandwiched Civilisation, already topping the best-selling
books chart delves on the influence of the expansionist colonialities- Middle
Eastern and European on India from 1740 to 1924. Known for his extreme clarity,
meticulous understanding and sharp articulation based on hard facts from
original sources, the book written in exacting detail keeps the reader stirred
up.
Encapsulating the foundational events
that paved the formation of Pakistan, the book is divided into three sections
in a chronological continuum. As opposed to the popular attribution of the
partition of Bengal seeding the idea of Pakistan, the first chapter explores
the role of a spurt of Islamic reformist movements in setting the stage for an
idea of a special Islamic nation.
Ostensibly, distressed by the fall of
the tottering Mughal Empire, Imams spearheaded Islamic revivalism movements.
Tracing the decline of the Mughal rule to the corrosion of Islam, pioneering
the reformation to its pristine form, Shah Waliullah Dehlawi exhorted Indian
Muslims to see themselves as a part of the global ummah and his conception of
Islam was- “The reason which prompted Allah to create the Islamic community
originally was…, mainly a political one”. His teachings triggered later
Islamic movements in Bharat invariably sowing the seeds for the creation of an
Islamic nation.
Ingeminating –“jihad is the
cornerstone of socio-political equilibrium” and through a fatwa declaring
Bharat “Dar al Harb” or house of war, successive Islamic reformists
systematically reignited the Middle Eastern Consciousness by eternalizing the
long memory both temporal and territorial through their preachings and
writings. What makes this section really interesting is the tact of Islamic
reformists in mainstreaming this pervasive ideology by making society their
stakeholder under different names and ingeniously escaping the seditious laws
of the British. To the detriment of Indic consciousness, political Hinduism or
Hindu nationalism still in its infancy had to contend with the vigorous and
relentless Islamic revivalist movements that rekindled Middle Eastern consciousness
that dominate the discourse as rejuvenating force even now.
Prominent among these movements was
the Aligarh movement led by Sir Syed Ahmed. While Syed Ahmed is credited for
the genesis of Pakistan, another Islamic ideologist, Jamal-al-Din al-Afghani
advocating pan-Islamism laid the template for Khilafat and Pakistan movements. Deploying
the western framework, favouring a covert jihad, and espousing collaboration
between the Christian and Muslim communities, Syed Ahmed strived for Indian
Muslim welfare. On the contrary, though Afghani supported Western Education he proposed
that Indian Muslims performing hijrat should move to Pakistan, Dar-al-Islam
and launch jihad against Bharat, Dar-al-Harb.
These two Islamic ideologists and
reformists contributed to the simultaneous growth of Pan-Islamism and Muslim
Nationalism. Aflush with these reformists while Indian Muslims had a blueprint
and an operating module, the natives abjectly lacked any foresight for Bharat,
the successor of Indic civilization.
The second section discusses the burgeoning
Muslim consciousness culminating in the partition of Bengal in detail.
Comprising three chapters spanning the events from 1899-1909, this section focuses
on the colonial origins of the Indian National Congress, the existence of two
wings of Congress- the Moderates and the Extremists, and the stark differences
in their consciousness, goals and methods. Moderates/ Liberals subscribed to
the method of petition and persuasion as opposed to the Passive resistance of
Extremists. The different perspectives of these factions within the Congress, and
their end goals aren’t strictly etched in stone. Labeled as staunch
Nationalists, some leaders over course of time sublimely slid into the Moderate
faction advocating a different approach altogether.
Seldom dealt with in detail in history
books, the reins to the Indian National Movement were held by the British who
co-opted the moderate faction of the Congress that believed Bharat’s destiny to
be tied with the British fortunes. Indeed, Subramanian Iyer spoke of making, “our
beloved Aryavrata the beloved jewel of the imperial crown”.
Cognizant of India’s enthusiasm to
embrace Western education, the British cultivated the Hindu elites who fit the
bill of- “Indians in blood and colour but English enough in taste, opinions
in morals and in intellect” to neutralize the surging Nationalistic
movement led by leaders with Indic consciousness and revolutionaries who
accepted nothing less than “Swarajya”. The dominance of the severely colonized
moderates, who moved away from the roots led to the promulgation of the
Constitution which largely turned out to be a deracinated document.
Vivisection of Bengal is popularly
ascribed to the British’s famed ‘Divide and Rule’. In reality, the British took
advantage of the pre-existing religious, linguistic, civilizational and
political divide to vivisect the region into a Hindu minority province to curtail
the veritable surge nationalistic aspirations in Bengal. In response to the
unprecedented backlash in the aftermath of the Bengal partition, the British brought
out The Indian Councils Act 1909 terming it as a “safety valve”.
Not being grounded in ancestral
theology and traditions Hindu elites having internalised the European education
compromised on Indic consciousness and embraced secular values. This
psychological and cultural colonisation hardly equipped them to deal with
colonial establishments. As a result, the Indian National Congress, a hub of
Hindu elites willingly genuflected to the British and even accommodated the
Muslim interests.
In sharp contrast, prioritizing Muslim
welfare, Muslim League persisted in their demand for demographic electorates
and sought greater political representation through Simla Deputation. Succumbing
to colonization while Hindu elites abandoned the learning of the Indian
Knowledge Systems and moved away from their roots, the Muslims on the other
hand strengthened their Old Islam.
The last section brings together all
the aspects undergirding the pretentious “ganga jamuni tahzeeb” credited
for the boom of the Khilafat movement, the annulment of the Bengal partition,
the World War I, the flimsy courtship of the Indian National Congress and
Muslim League, 1916 Lucknow Pact the Home Rule Movement, the rise of Gandhi as
national leader, non-cooperation, Malegaon, Khorat, Gulbarga and Malabar riots.
Aside from the debates within the
Congress over India’s support to the British during WWI, this section forms
essential reading for comprehending the Muslim supremacism and Muslim
exceptionalism that stoked the Muslim consciousness rooted in the Middle
Eastern Coloniality. A surge of this consciousness and the driving force of
pan-Islamism laid the foundation for the Khilafat Movement impelling the Indian
Muslims to opportunistically woo Hindus and pressurize the British to preserve
the authority of the Ottoman sultan.
The astute powerplay of Indian Muslims
in the prelude to the Khilafat movement exposed their duplicitous
transactionalism. Muslims demanded a communal electorate, and communal veto
over religious issues and expected Hindus to accommodate their interests while
they would barely nudge from their stated positions. Consequently, the
precarious Hindu-Muslim unity thrived on the untenable unilateral sacrifices by
the Hindus and their disavowal of customs, rituals and heroes. This of Hindu-Muslim
solidarity ended with the stabilization of the Ottoman Empire stabilized.
In short, Muslims played every trick
in their book to safeguard their interests and their astute prevarication vouches
for the same. After Jazirut-al-Arab (Iran, Iraq, Palestine, Syria, Arabia were
freed from non-Muslim interference, the Indian Muslims quickly shifted their
loyalty to the British and proclaimed Muslim exceptionalism. Adducing the
majority-minority divide, Muslims sought special treatment and requisitioned
more than a proportionate political representation in the Imperial Council for
being the former rulers of Bharat. Shifting their camps and allegiances with
ease, unceremoniously parting ways with the Hindus, to contain the Hindu
majority the Indian Muslims invoked the popular trope of “people of book” and
an implicit brotherhood and pledged their loyalty to the British.
Unsurprisingly, the line of defense
and unrepentant justification employed by the Muslim elite in the wake of the
brutal and barbaric riots then was no different from so-called secular debates
of the present times. The remorseless excuse of Ajmal Khan, the follower of
Gandhi for Malabar riots was “stray incidents as acts of few misguided
individuals and that the rest of the Moplahs are as ready and strong in
condemning them. Still, I shouldn’t like the fair name of Islam to be tarnished
in the slightest degree”. This is similar to the common lament routinely mouthed
by liberals without batting an eyelid even now. The “continuity of thought”,
long memory of their bygone superiority laced with ingrained pride embodied in
the thought process of the Indian Muslims conspicuously contrasts the phenomenal
careless abandon of the Hindu elite and their overenthusiasm to demonstrate
secular bonafides.
The similarities and divergent
approaches adopted by Muslim and Hindu elites back then are no different from
the contemporary times. The endless parallels like- the marginalization of the
voices that sought spiritual, cultural, and political decolonization by
moderates and leftists during the national movement by branding them as
“extremists” is a rampant practice now. For centuries colonialists have employed a strategy/
software to subjugate colonies. Subjected to waves of colonization, the entrenched
colonized Bharatiya minds helplessly succumbed to these tacts of colonialities.
Sai Deepak in his brilliantly
researched book lays out bare the strategies employed by the Colonialists and the
mind-boggling inability and guileless naivety of the Hindu elite in deciphering
the colonialist strategies. He brings to bear his enviable experience in
Constitutional Law in establishing with evidence, the template unleashed by Colonialities
on Bharatiyas.
Replete with facts, mined from diverse
sources, the book elucidates the extent of the inextricable colonization that
inundated the mind gates of Bharatiyas. Akin to the Q&A session where Sai
Deepak pointedly answers the questions and never wastes a word, his style of
writing is an extension of his characteristic clarity and brevity. The rather pithy
conclusions at the end of the chapters embody some critical observations that
fire up the reader’s thought process. Extensive research and a humongous scale
of research enrich the book. Embellished with excerpts from primary sources,
the reader is bestowed with the luxury of making his own observations. Teeming
with useful references often embedded within the body of the text, for
important themes, this book can serve as a reference guide for any inquisitive
reader and specifically for scholars on decolonization studies.
Supplementing his invigorating
lectures with his books on colonization, Sai Deepak has implacably created a
new churn in the psyche of receptive Bharatiyas. This book besides furthering
the non-existent or rather fledgling decolonial studies in India will enkindle
Bharatiyas living in a la la land who continue to deny even a smidgeon of threat
to Indian civilisation from outside and within. Towards the end of the book, any serious
reader would feel betrayed and cheated by the successive Indian leaderships
that ordained generations of Bharatiyas to study contorted whitewashed history.
This is a must-read book for every Bharatiya who aspires to reignite and revive
indigeneity.
India is going through a phase that
portends the advent of another Khilafat movement (the author conjectured during
the book launch). On the face of it, it might look like an overstretch but a
deep dive into the book shall awaken Bharatiyas from a spectacular slumber
induced by colonization.
Published by Bloomsbury India.
@ Copyrights reserved.
