By Don Aguiar
Mumbai, Jan 28, 2022: Most secular educated and sociopolitically active Indians today know there is something called Woke (awakened) Culture or Wokeism that is sweeping politics/politicians, universities, colleges and the common man across democratic India, it is dominating new age popular culture.
It reminded me of a tweet by a young girl claiming vegetarianism is a tool of caste oppression. I’m pretty sure all of us have read such bold but selective claims made with supreme confidence that has made us doubt our own sanity.
All OTT platforms have the same themes on loop – caste, gender, Islamophobia, etc. In India, it has already progressed to become an electoral force too. But what is this woke (awakened) culture? A political movement? A social theory? Economic model? Or something that encompasses all this and more, like a Hindutva movement?
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his party member show signs that it is indeed a new age Hindutva movement. As India has struggled against invasions by Abrahamic religions for a millennium, this comparison is relatable.
Us vs. them false dichotomy
The world is divided into believers and nonbelievers, oppressors and oppressed. This language has easy appeal as it satisfies our genetic tribal urges of belonging to a group while pretending to espouse egalitarian values. Of late, stand-up comedians are booked for criticising Government of the day while authorities are reluctant to act against those who give hate speech calling for genocide. When open calls for genocide are being made by the dispensation this travesty isn’t lost on secular India and the world.
Destroy the ‘other’
Seeking complete destruction of opponents is common. Be it cancelling someone who said something ‘wrong’ or completely wiping out civilizations. There is no room for co-existence. Dehumanizing the opponent is key. The glee when Muslims were killed in Assam followed the logic that ‘while I hate human suffering, Muslims are not human’.
Republic Day 2022 will stand out in history. There will be no salutes offered on behalf of a “grateful nation” at the Amar Jawan Jyoti or the eternal flame that has burned for 50 years to honor the fallen soldiers, at India Gate. The Amar Jawan Jyoti flame was taken and ‘merged’ at the relatively new National War Memorial (NWM) at an afternoon ceremony on January 21.
The Amar Jawan Jyoti, was inaugurated by the then prime minister, Indira Gandhi, on January 26, 1972, as a memorial for Indian soldiers who made the supreme sacrifice. It was constructed after India defeated Pakistan in the 1971 war. Republic Day 2022 would have marked Amar Jawan Jyoti’s golden anniversary, however, it now has been extinguished at its original place and ‘merged’ at the NWM that was inaugurated by Prime Minister Modi, on February 25, 2019. According to the government, the move was carried out because India Gate is “a symbol of our colonial past.”
Membership matters. Not your actions
Your membership to the group and adherence to gang code decides your value, not the merit of your actions. Gang members will always be backed, even if they are terrorists or rapists. Therefore, there is no mention of common human morality in Hindutva literature.
Prime Minister Modi, “as the leader of India,” is yet to speak up against the recent, and growing calls for genocide of Muslims. Global human rights watchdogs Amnesty International USA and Genocide Watch, have said, “Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Islamophobic policies and tolerance of open incitement by Hindu extremists for a genocide of Muslims are pushing India towards mass violence against and massacres of Muslims.”
It is perhaps for the first time that such a direct ‘prediction warning’ has been sounded at a global level, even as headlines continue to report the regular targeting of Muslims, Christians and other minorities.
Blind faith
You cannot question Hindutva faith or put it to scrutiny. If you question, you are a heretic or a caste/race/gender traitor and you deserve even worse treatment than your enemies.
Expansionist victimhood
Enemy making, enemy seeking is core. Enmity is forced upon the target group. But an aggressor needs a grievance, hence always talk victimhood. The enthusiasm with which Christians are being harassed on false accusations of conversion and Muslims on love-jihad follows this logic.
Dogma based
Dogma is supreme. Complete submission to dogmatic rules, no exception. When an LGBTQ activist merely mentioned that the Modi government may not be anti-LGBTQ based on his reading of their policies, he is promptly cancelled. He went against the rule ‘Modi is right-wing; right-wing is anti-LGBTQ.’
Indoctrination of the young
Meticulous emphasis is placed on indoctrination at a young age. Constant lowering of teaching age for Critical Race Theory or Gender Studies is proof. Young people and women in show positions are considered very useful foot soldiers.
Self-righteousness
An unshakeable belief that you are right, even by ignoring or rejecting empirical or scientific data. When data was presented to take action on those who support the genocide call against the Muslims at the Dharam Sansad in December 2021, the data was simply ignored and all that was projected was that they were fringe elements, best ignored.
Controlling history
Expansionist religions have always sought to control the recording and reading of history. The iconic hymn “Abide with Me” – such a solemn and key part of the Beating Retreat ceremony post Republic Day has been dropped this year. A hymn which is synonymous with honoring those killed in the Great Wars, of which Indians played such a key part.
The Indian government’s decision to discard a Christian hymn that has been an annual fixture at the Beating Retreat ceremony at Republic Day celebrations since 1950 has drawn flak from many citizens including opposition leaders. The hymn, Abide With Me, which is popular across Christian denominations, was said to be a personal favourite of Mahatma Gandhi, the father of the Indian nation.
Why must a song be removed from an official program after so many decades? Why, just because it’s a Christian hymn? It is very sad that an old Christian hymn, which is no longer a Christian hymn but a secular hymn, has been dropped from the Republic Day parade; this decision is a result of an “ideological war” going on between the differing ideologies of Mahatma Gandhi and his assassin Nathuram Godse.
There is a loud political message in dropping ‘Abide with me,’ ‘merging’ Amar Jawan Jyoti that has been sent to the nation. This is being seen as a political statement by most, as yet another ‘stamp’ of the current Bharatiya Janata Party led government, which is also busy ‘rebuilding’ the entire Central vista, including the Parliament which will wipe out our History, our glorious past, just because the communal RSS has played no good role, worth mentioning.
World history as we know it today is almost exclusively recorded by missionaries from Abrahamic faiths. Wokeism is no different. Try to post facts related to woke-sensitive topics on Wikipedia, and you will know how determined they are to record misleading narratives.
Replacing old Gods
Hindutva movement recognise that as long as old systems of reverence and beliefs remain, minds cannot be fully controlled. Hence the stress on removing idols and Hindu forms of worship or celebration. Traditional culture is enemy number one.
Here it is pertinent to note that this similarity between the present expansionist Hindutva movement and Wokeism goes back to the very roots of Wokeism. The genesis of Wokeism lies in the country with a history of centuries of zealous religious movements.
The foundation of Wokeism, Critical Theory, comes from Germany, where Christian theologian Martin Luther had proposed Protestant reforms in the 16th century. Luther’s reforms were then implemented in England and America and shaped those countries, not unlike how Wokeism is being ruthlessly implemented in those countries today.
As to why the rightwing and some Indian academic institutions are following the same path that has a much simpler explanation – aping the ‘superior West.’