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That ever so boisterous, ever so heroic, ever so impetuous, ever so youthful and ever so irrepressible stormy petrel of Indian politics Dr Subramanian Swami has come out with a brilliantly slashing book titled Hindus Under Siege: The Way Out. This book, blessed by H S Swami Dayananda Saraswathy, is going to be released by S Vedantam, International Vice President, Vishwa Hindu Parishad, at a public function in Chennai tomorrow.

In this book Dr Subramanian Swami argues that Hindu Civilization, Hindu Religion, Hindu Society, Hindu Culture, Hindu Way of Life? in short our time-honored traditions of Sanatana Dharma? are all under multi-dimensional siege today in India. The siege against Hinduismin in all spheres ?? religious, psychological, physical and cultural? has been described in a vivid, vital, vibrant and vigorous manner by Dr Swami. He has eloquently argued and proved that Hindus must collectively acquire a new mindset immediately on a war-footing to meet the growing challenge from the international forces of Islam, Christianity, Communism on the one hand and the domestic forces of Macaulayism, Nehruvian Secularism, Sonia's Pan-Christendom and no less Pan-Islamic Pseudo-Secularism, wedded to the cardinal objective of destruction of Hindu religion and Hindu society. Hindu society is the only significant society in the world today which presents a continuity of cultural existence and functioning since times immemorial. Most other societies known to human history ? East and West, North and South? have suffered a sudden interruption and undergone a traumatic transformation in history due to the planned dastardly invasion of latter-day ideologies ? Christianity, Islam and Communism. The pre-Christian, pre-Islamic and pre-Communist cultural creations of these societies are now to be met only in libraries and museums, thanks to the labors of antiquarian scholars. According to Dr Swami, Hindu society can meet the same frightful fate if there were no Hindu society to sustain it. This is the point which is not always remembered even by those who take pride in Hindu culture. If Hindus do not unite in India against the lethal forces ? International and National ? which are working round the clock for the destruction of Santana Dharma under the overall Generalissimo of Sonia Gandhi's UPA Government, Hindus also run the risk of perishing like the ancient Greeks, Egyptians or Babylonians. In his Avant Garde book, Dr Swami has come out with radical proposals, programs and prescriptions, letting loose his well known and complete intellectual armory? the bludgeon from the platform, the rapier for a personal dispute, the entangling net and unexpected trident for the Courts of Law and a jug of clear spring water for an anxious perplexed conclave of mute and helpless Hindus.

To quote Dr Swami's brilliant words from his introduction: "Since achieving independence from colonial rule in 1947, we Indians have been unsuccessfully grappling with the following question: Who are we? Are we? This as yet unanswered question represents India's identity crisis. The failure to date to resolve this crisis has not only confused the majority but has also confounded the minorities as well in India. Without a resolution of this crisis, (which requires an explicit, clear answer to the question), the majority will never understand how to relate to the legacy of the nation. In other words, the present dysfunctional perceptional mismatch, between who we are as a people and the legacy of the nation, is behind most of the communal tension and intercommunity distrust in the country. Even in other countries such a question arises from time to time. In the United States, following relatively liberal immigration policies since 1965, the question has again arisen. Professor Samuel Huntington of Harvard has tried to answer this question in his new book: WHO WE ARE?

Dr Swami goes on to ask further equally relevant and pointed questions. What is India? Why are we Indians? Is India an ancient nation, a continuing civilization of thousands of years or is it a relatively recent administrative construct of British imperialists and legalized by the British House of Commons legislation, viz ; the Indian Independence Act of 1947 ? What is the core of India's ethos; Hindu, Secular, or Hindustani? And what does each mean? Citizens of India are of course not sure! That is India's identity crisis.

Unless we answer this question clearly, finally, unambiguously and authoritatively as to who we are, Indians will flounder, flip-flop and generally be devoid of healthy patriotism. This is not to suggest that any person's identity is uni-dimensional. The nature of a person's questioning mind in a pluralistic democracy makes identity a multi-dimensional concept. But a national identity dimension is an imperative for a nation to become vibrant and dynamic. What we are concerned with here is the lack of a national identity, not how to make such an identity the sole concern. When the nation is in danger, national identity must take precedence. That is what Chanakya meant by the concept of Chakravartin. Dr Swami says that the core fundamentals of our national identity, through a correct perception of our history, will help to restructure and reform our society on that basis and will make it cohesive and united. To achieve such a restructure, of course, requires a complete de-falsification of Indian history (now Arjun Singh's, Union Hindu Religion / Rights Destruction Minister (HRD), all these italics within the two brackets mine!!), rejecting that portion that has been contrived by British imperialists and their Indian compradors ( worthies like Arjun Singh ! ), to snap the linkages to our real past.

Sir George Hamilton, Secretary of States for India, sowed the seeds of Two-Nation Theory of Jinnah on 26 March, 1888 when he wrote: "I think the real danger of our rule is not now but say fifty years hence. We shall therefore break Indians into two sections holding widely different views. We should so plan the educational text books that the differences between community and community are further strengthened." Dr B R Ambedkar, the only true nationalist after our independence, had challenged this view as far back as 1916, when as a PhD student in Columbia University, he wrote a paper for an Anthropology Department seminar as follows: "Ethnically, all people are heterogeneous. It is the unity of culture that is the basis of homogeneity. Taking this for granted, I venture to say that there is no country that can rival the Indian peninsula with respect to unity. It has not only geographic unity, but it has over and above all a deeper and much more fundamental unity ? the indubitable cultural unity that covers the land from end to end". Sadly and even more so badly for all truly nationalistic Indians (Hindus definitely not excluded!!), according to Dr.Manmohan Singh, Arjun Singh, Sonia Gandhi and all the known political thugs from the other political parties forming part of the utterly pernicious alliance (UPA) today in New Delhi, Sir George Hamilton was a truer patriot who fully supported the erection of communal Quota Raj of UPA Government today.

A nation is a soul, a spiritual principle. Two things, which in truth are but one, constitute this soul or spiritual principle. One lies in the past, one in the present. One is the possession in common of a rich legacy of memories; the other is present-day consent, the desire to live together, the will to perpetuate the value of the heritage that one has received in an undivided form.

Man does not improvise. The nation, like the individual, is the culmination of a long past of endeavors, sacrifices, and devotion. Of all cults, that of the ancestors is the most legitimate, for the ancestors have made us what we are. A heroic past, great men, glory (by which I understand genuine glory), this is the social capital upon which one bases a national idea. To have common glories in the past and to have a common will in the present; to have performed great deeds together, to wish to perform still more these are the essential conditions for being a people. One loves in proportion to the sacrifices to which one has consented, and in proportion to the ills that one has suffered. One loves the house that one has built and that one has handed down. The Spartan Song- "We are what you were; we will be what you are" is, in its simplicity, the abridged hymn of Hindutva today.

Swami Vivekananda said: "Arise, Awake and Go Forth as Proud Hindus". This message forms the basis of Dr Swami's definition of the following five maxims which should constitute the fundamentals of Hindu Unity today:

Firstly, a Hindu, and those others who are proud of their Hindu past and origins, must know the correct history of India. They must learn the concept of India as Hindustan (not Soniastan or Secularistan!)

Secondly, according to Hindu belief, all religions equally lead to God, and not that all religions are equal in the richness of their theological content. Respecting all religions, Hindus must forcefully demand from others that such respect is a two-way obligation. Muslims and Christians shall be part of the Hindustani parivar or family only if they accept this truth and revere it.

Thirdy, Hindus must prefer to lose everything they possess rather than submit to tyranny or terrorism.

Fourthly, the Hindu must have a mindset to retaliate when attacked. The retaliation must be massive enough to deter future attacks. Fifthly all Hindus to qualify as true Hindus must make an earnest effort to learn Sanskrit and the Devanagiri script in addition to their own mother tongue and must pledge that one day in the future, Sanskrit will be India's link language since all the main Indian languages have large percentages of their vocabulary in common with Sanskrit.

Dr Swami declares with majestic aplomb: "These five fundamentals constitute the concept of VIRAT HINDU UNITY".

The tide of Hindutva was inaugurated by Raj Narain Bose (maternal grand father of Aurobindo Ghosh) and Nav Gopal Mitra in undivided Bengal in the 19th century. Two strong currents of thoughts, ideals, and aspirations met together and strove for supremacy in Bengal in those days. One was a current of Hindu Nationalism - of the revived life, culture and ideals of the nation that had lain dormant for centuries and had been discarded as "lower and primitive" by the first batch of English-educated Hindus, especially in Bengal. The other was the current of Indo-Anglicism - the onrushing life, culture and ideals of the foreign rulers of the land, which, expressing themselves through British law and administration on the one side, and the new schools and universities on the other, threatened to swamp and drown the original culture and character of the people going back to the dawn of history.

Bankim Chandra Chatterjee offered the next milestone for those marching on the road of Hindutva by the publication of his novel Anand Mutt in 1882. Swami Vivekananda awakened the Indians and the Western world to the glorious wisdom of Hindutva. Swami Dayananda Saraswathi, founder of Arya Samaj, made us aware of our glorious Vedic heritage. Aurobindo Ghosh was another sage whose thinking enriched the philosophy of Hindutva. In 1909 he wrote: "An Indian Nationalism, largely Hindu in its spirit and traditions, because the Hindu made the land and the people and persists, by the greatness of his past, his civilization and his culture, and his invincible virility. The "Nation Idea" India never had. By this I mean the political idea of the Nation. It is a modern growth. But we had in India the cultural and spiritual idea of the Nation". This is the quintessence of Hindutva. Bal Gangadar Tilak, Vir Savarkar, Dr Hegdewar, Guruji Golwalkar have all built up this great edifice of Hindutva. Hindutva is not a word but a history. Hinduism is only a derivative, a fraction or a part of Hindutva or Hinduness!! Dr Subramanian Swami's new book clearly proves that our struggle for establishing a Hindu Nation based on Hindutva is a continuing movement, and not a condition; a sacred and eternal journey and not a harbor.

Let me summarize the fundamentals laid down by Dr Swami for creating a new Hindu Renaissance. The First Fundamental is the national acceptance of the concept of India as Hindustan. Hindustan does not mean that the land belongs to the Hindus. Even on that score a citizen has a claim to Hindustan by birth. In fact, whoever has lived in India, has had forefathers who were Hindus. Paradoxically, Bharat has a religious connotation, while Hindustan does not. One has to read the Vishnupurana to recognize that. Instead of calling "India that is Bharat", our constitution makers should have said "India that is Hindustan". Hindustan has to be defined as a nation of Hindus and those who accept that their ancestors are Hindus. The concept also includes refugee minorities who accept the core values of the Hindu culture and are therefore recognized as a part of the Hindu nation. In other words, Dr Swami rejects the notion of India as a multinational state as advocated by the communists and the pseudo-secularists in the Congress and other Islam-Embracing, Christianity-Coveting and Anti-Hindu political parties. Instead India, that is Hindustan, has an organic cultural core which is Hindu in character.

The Second Fundamental is the paramount national need for an Enlightened Secularism resting on a Common Cultural Heritage. Since India is a land of different religious faiths, we need a concept of how people bond together and mutually accommodate their religious aspirations without conflict. He rejects the Marxist view of secularism as Aggressive Left Secularism. In this context he cites the example of Marxist M.Ps stupidly objecting to our Prime Minister lighting lamps at public functions as non-secular! Enlightened Secularism means: a) State neutrality to all religions b) Equality of all religions before Law c) Uniform laws for all religious groups to adhere to d) The majority has a special responsibility to foster harmony with minorities, but necessarily founded on the concept of mutual obligation. Minorities must thus concede majority concerns / rights as well. Secularism cannot be a one-way obligation. e) Acceptance of Sanskritization process for cultural integrity. Dr. Swami makes it clear that the State and Religion are separate. The State should enact laws which, without interfering with the essential fabric of culture and religion, integrate society and promote a national outlook. Dr Swami rightly observes that Nehru subscribed to the Marxist concept of secularism and failed to define what historical roots ought to be the part of the modern India and what was to be rejected. In the name of scientific temper, he destroyed the soul of Mother India by rejecting most of our glorious past as "obscurantism". It is on this vicious principle that he rejected the concept of a Uniform Civil Code for India.

The Third Fundamental relates to the strategy for economic reform in a globalize world. Nehru rejected the economic programs advocated by Gandhi or Sardar Patel before independence and adopted the Soviet model. It suited the interests of two powerful vested groups within our country: One, the feudal compradors whose progeny during British rule received English education and then entered the bureaucracy through Civil Service examinations. The other group was Left-Inspired Indian intellectuals educated in the 30s and 40s in Oxford and Cambridge (the "Kim Philby" group). The latter group gave Nehru the necessary intellectual ballast, and used their friendship with Nehru, to secure posts in key points in Government, press, academic and diplomatic service in India after 1947. The economic perspective that Dr Swami advocates for National Renaissance is radically different from the other competing ideologies like Capitalism, Socialism and Communism. He whole heartedly advocates the socio-economic philosophy of Integral Humanism which was propounded by Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya who had clearly foreseen the dangers of globalization and mechanical imitation of the West even in the mid 1960s, long before even the process had started. Another great intellectual Dattopant Thengadi wrote a monograph on the conflict resolution called for between market economy and Hindu human values. It is prudent to stay with the globalization process and search for ways and means to carve our own corner and niche in it. Dr Swamy advocates a new economic program to make Hindustan's participation in the globalization process, socially tolerable and morally adequate. Dr Swami makes out a strong case for a national system of education designed to empower our teeming millions with IT savvy self-employment skills, and also to develop a secular patriotic ethos that courageously resists fundamentalism and terrorism. Such an orientation will enable the country to remain focused on development issues instead of the commercial or political fortunes in perpetuity of one family called the Nehru Family!

The Fourth Fundamental has been outlined by Dr. Swami in these words: "If a market-oriented economy that fosters self-reliance in individuals and protects the weak through a safety net is ideal for renaissance, an effective National Security Doctrine in which the goal is to defend the assets of the nation and to achieve for India a polar position in the international power structure, is best suited for the country and conducive for our national renaissance". He clearly shows that the national security of a nation is a composite of the GDP, defense capability, effective and innovative population, technological capacity, national health and environmental stability. India has been lacking in collective political will during the last six decades of our independence to realize India's potential to its fullest capacity mainly because of our identity crisis. Our National Security Advisory Board is like any Rotary Club or Lion's Club, its formal structure lacking an ideological support framework and concept of national identity. By following the current TERRORISM-EMBRACING NATIONAL INSECURITY DOCTRINE of the UPA government in New Delhi, India is bound to collapse and balkanize like the USSR, Yugoslavia, Lebanon or fragments like Columbia into separate countries or areas with rampant terrorism, narcotic rackets and AIDS, stark poverty and unemployment.

The Fifth Fundamental for Dr Swami is declaring Sanskrit as the link language and Devanagiri as common script. Nothing divides our nation today more than linguistic and caste differences. After our independence, these differences have been promoted as a crucial plank of national policy by the Congress Party under Nehru, Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, Narasimha Rao and now Sonia Gandhi. Dr Swami makes out a strong case for making Sanskrit the official link language of India by adducing valid reasons. In this context he refers to the recent discovery by NASA in USA about the multiple uses of Sanskrit language for computer processing in the realm of Artificial Intelligence (AI). To the chagrin and dismay of all the anti-national pseudo-secularists in New Delhi, NASA has discovered that Sanskrit, the world's oldest spiritual language, is the only unambiguous spoken language on the planet.

To conclude, Hindustan must wake up to her destiny which is to revive her spiritual culture and share it for the benefit of all mankind. This requires that the intellectual elite of the county cease denigrating the soul of India in hasty and superficial attempts to be secularly stupid and modern and inhumanly humanitarian. It requires a new Hinduism that corrects the social evils of the older Hinduism while maintaining the greater spiritual basis of the eternal tradition for a new awakening to Sanatana Dharma. Such an awakening is essential not only for India but for the entire world. This in short seems to be the quintessence of Dr.Subramanian Swamis clairvoyant message to all our countrymen in his new book.

V Sundaram, IAS, Retd.

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