Apu’s World

The activities of the Rama Sene and other such Hindutva outfits in Karnataka, parade under a “love” of Indian culture and a desire to prevent Westernization. In reality, whatever their views on Indian culture, these organizations indulge in violence both because they know that they have (tacit) governmental support and because they perceive that large sections of the population support them in some way or the other. Throw a stone, and you will find someone who says, yes, they shouldn’t be attacking people, but Should girls be dressing this way? Is pub drinking really necessary? Aren’t we becoming too Westernised? Shouldn’t youngsters be focusing on their education instead? , not realising that none of these is the real issue. 

We may or may not be becoming too Westernised. Young people may or may not be drinking too much. The truth is, these are just issues being used by these outfits to promote their agenda, which is, to gain power by creating a culture of fear, exploiting some of the class and religious issues that are lying dormant in society. The ugly truth is that a lot of people fear the rapid empowerment of women that has happened within the span of two decades. Unlike the ‘good, old days’, many women now refuse to let others tell them what they should study, where they should work, what they should wear, how they should spend their leisure time, and most importantly, who they should marry. Of course, we need to keep in mind, this ‘many women’ is still not a majority; nevertheless, it is a highly visible minority, and to the Hindutva groups, a threat that needs to be ‘put in place’. Why? Because ‘our women’ are the so-called pride of the community, and they will continue to be a pride only if they conform to the ideal image of the Bharatiya nari; if not, the entire community is ‘disgraced’. 

The truth is also that in parts of Karnataka, there are issues between the 3 major communities - things are not hunky-dory. Influx of money from the Middle East (which I hear is mainly from Christians and Muslims working there, though correct me if I am wrong, since this is more something I’ve picked up from people etc) has created problems - jealousy, rivalries etc. Such conflicts are a convenient handle for Hindutva groups to exploit, combined with a growing fear of Christian Missionary activities and othering of Muslims due to global Islamic terrorism. 

There are also class issues. The last 10 years have seen an unprecedented rise in incomes, but, only for some people. This isn’t a rebellion of the poor, but certainly, the complete difference in opportunities offered to someone from a Kannada medium and someone from an English medium school, especially in a city like Bangalore (increasingly, even a Mangalore and a Mysore) cannot be missed. The large numbers of under-educated young men who pass out of state-run Kannada medium schools and cannot access the better colleges that will lead to the better jobs - are they not a ready recruitment base for these fundamentalist groups ? The resentment they feel against ‘outsiders’ is there for the power-hungry to exploit. This, we have already seen happening in Maharashtra. 

All of these of course have implications for women, especially for urban, affluent women who are in some ways what the Hindutva brigade would most like to control. Attacks on such women are more visible in the media, giving the attackers more publicity. You rarely catch the fundamentalist groups lecturing women in slums on how they should behave - indeed, it is not uncommon to see women from lower income groups casually smoking bidis, something an upper-class woman would think twice before doing on the street. In a sense, the Hindutva brigade would like the upper-class woman to stick to their templatised version of the Bharatiya nari - for this is the woman who is to ’set an example’. Wealth is aspirational, and if one can bind wealth into a straitjacket, so much the better. Not that fundamentalists may reason out strategy in this fashion, but instinctively, they know whom to target. 

And this templatised version can then be showcased to everyone else, held up as an example or even a requirement. This has already begun - in some colleges in Karnataka, Muslim girls have been harassed for wearing the burkha to college. So, on the one hand, the Bangalorean girl who wears Western clothes isn’t Indian enough for them, but neither is the Muslim who wears a burkha. It comes back to everything conforming to the narrow template of the Indian woman that they have built up, and in this template, the default is Hindu, so naturally, burkhas are out. The idealised pattern of Indian womanhood will gradually be rolled over to everyone who doesn’t already conform to it. 

Already, many of us have started wondering - is it safe to wear jeans? Is this top too short? Isn’t it safer to have a drink at home than go out to a pub? Perhaps, in smaller towns, Hindu girls may also be wondering -Should I talk to a Muslim boy in public? This is the first victory for fundamentalists. They make us question our own behaviour, even when we know that we are not doing anything wrong. We are scared because we know that, should something happen, there will be people, perhaps even among our friends, who say, But, wasn’t it unsafe to have worn something like that? Don’t you think you should have had some men with you at such a late hour?  In other words, we know that even the sympathy we get will not be unconditional. From here on, it is easier for the fundamentalists to make it seem as though this is the norm. After all, what can be so bad about curbing drinking? After all, what can be so bad about promoting Indian outfits? After all, what can be so bad about preventing Muslim girls from wearing the burkha; isn’t it oppressive anyway?*

Not until we recognise the power-hungry nature of such groups and deny them any excuses for violence, can we reclaim our freedom. Class issues, religious issues, issues of migration, issues of opportunity and livelihood, issues of modernity, issues of Westernization - all make the recruitment drive of the Senas (whether in Karnataka or that of the MNS in Maharashtra or similiar groups elsewhere) much easier - but these are not the “reason”  for violence. Ultimately, the desire for power and a world-view which sees violence as a valid option is, and the sooner we recognise that, the better. 

* I do think burkhas are oppressive, whether imposed by social norms or chosen by the individual - I don’t agree with the basic reason behind them. However, I would still champion any woman’s right to wear one of her own volition. 

Related Posts You May Like
1. Protecting Hinduism by Attacking Hindu Women
2. A Climate of Fear
3. Two Cases and Two Verdicts

apu Other Social issues in India, Women & Feminism