Savarkar

by Vikram Sampath

  Our ancestors might have elevated the cow to a divine status to induce a sense of responsibility towards its protection. But we took that too literally. We should bear in mind that the cow is an object of utility for the human being and not vice versa. Doing so degrades the status of human beings. The object of worship should be greater than its worshipper. Likewise, a national emblem should evoke the nation’s exemplary valour, brilliance and aspirations, and make its people superhumans. Thankfully no wise men have emerged with a dozen Sanskrit verses enumerating the rituals of cow worship. Else we would have had to witness comic scenes of people dressing their cows in beautiful saris, lifting it and placing it on an altar for daily worship!

  History is replete with examples of how our enemies and invaders have used this innocent sentiment of ours against us, by using the cow as a shield even in wars. Seeing a large group of cows in front of the army of the enemies, Hindus renounced their weapons, as they did not want to incur the sin of killing cows. That the Muslim invaders knew this weakness of our society and effectively used it time and again through our long history is documented in the writings of their own chroniclers. To defile our places of worship, all they needed to do was to adorn our idols with bovine flesh before smashing them to smithereens. To save a few temples, a handful of Brahmins and some cows, we ended up sacrificing our entire country to foreign powers. Does this augur well for any nation? These ritual-ridden, illogical, self-destructive beliefs spawned a national and religious cowardice that kept us suppressed for centuries. When Hindu forces marched on Multan, the Muslims threatened to destroy the famous Sun temple there. When Malhar Rao Holkar, the Maratha chieftain, sought to liberate Kashi, the Muslims threatened to defile all things holy to the Hindus. The pious Hindus backtracked at such moments for fear of being responsible for the razing of temples, the humiliation of Brahmins and cow slaughter.

  Had the Hindu soldiers killed those cows used as shields and then annihilated the enemy lurking behind them, would not thousands of cows and temples been saved in successive generations? More importantly, would our Hindustan have been conquered? Hence I argue that taking cow protection to an extreme at the cost of human interests, is lethal, as history has proved to us.

  The symbol of Hindutva is not the cow but the man-lion or Narasimha. The qualities of god permeate into his worshipper. Considering the cow to be divine and worshipping her has rendered the entire Hindu nation docile like the cow. It started eating grass. If we are to now indeed establish our nation on the basis of an animal, let that animal be the lion. Using its sharp claws in one leap, the lion fatally knocks and wounds its opponents. We need to worship such a Narasimha. That and not the cow’s hooves is the real mark of Hindutva. The cow, exploited and eaten at will, is an appropriate symbol of our present-day weakness. But at least the Hindu nation of tomorrow should not have such a pitiable symbol.

  Have horses and dogs not been man’s most trusted companions from time immemorial? A dog offers total and unconditional love to its master, aids man in his hunting expeditions, guards homes and is loyal till his last breath. Yet, we use the term ‘dog’ pejoratively for people we dislike! Why do we not worship a dog too and why be partial only towards a cow, only because she gives us milk? Is the utility of a dog or a horse any less, if that is the only yardstick for worshiping them? Horses, mules and donkeys have played such an important role in major battles against our nation’s worst enemies. Do we then begin a series of worship for these creatures as well, or would it suffice to assiduously undertake a protection mechanism for them?

  When we look at countries such as America we get a sense of what can be achieved when we strip the emotions of divinity and concentrate on the utility factor of animals such as the cow. Huge farms and modern, scientific animal husbandry techniques to increase milk output so that no child in this country goes hungry without milk must go hand in hand with protection. Every care must be taken to ensure that these valuable creatures remain free from diseases and infections, and have healthy progeny. This is the actual Gokul of Krishna that our scriptures talk about. Huge ranches where they can stroll around joyfully exist in America. Whereas in our country where we consume its urine as a divine product, are there any organizations that work for their protection, welfare and development? Is that not the real irony of the matter?

  However naive our Hindu practice of cow worship might be, it is at least not cruel. But the religious fanaticism of those non-Hindus whose religion itself is based on hatred for the cow is not only naive but also brutal in their zealotry. They have no right whatsoever to mock the Hindus. The non-Hindus should discard their hatred for the cow and for the sake of national unity and economic progress involve themselves in genuine cow protection. Of course agitate, if you need to, for the closure of the slaughterhouses that have come up everywhere; protect the cow, do not befool yourself into worshipping her.

  I am sure these thoughts of mine will anger several cow worshippers and I am prepared for their angry backlash! But careful contemplation will make them realize the truth in my argument. To those who consider my views as blasphemous, let me say that it is you who are committing blasphemy by stuffing thirty-three crore gods into the poor animal’s belly!

  I am no enemy of the cow. I have only criticized the false notions and tendencies involved in cow worship with the aim of removing the chaff and preserving the essence so that genuine cow protection may be better achieved. Without spreading religious superstition, let the movement for cow protection be based and popularized on clear-cut economic and scientific principles. Then alone can we achieve genuine cow protection like the Americans. A worshipful attitude is undoubtedly necessary for protection. But it is improper to forget the duty of cow protection and indulge only in worship. The word ‘only’ used here is important. First protect the cow and then if you absolutely have to, please worship it too if you so desire!

  On Modernization among Muslims 4

  Just as it is my duty to repeatedly tell the Hindu nation to abandon its silly religious customs, observances and opinions in this age of science, so I will also tell Muslim society, which is an inevitable part of the Hindustani nation, that it should abandon as quickly as possible its troublesome habits as well as religious fanaticism for its own good—not as a favour to the Hindus, not because the Hindus are scared of your religious aggression, but because these practices are a blot on your humanity, and especially because you will be crushed in the age of science if you cling on to an outdated culture.

  You should abandon the belief that not even a word in the Quran can be questioned because it is the eternal message of God, even as you maintain respect for the Quran. But the norms that seemed attractive to an oppressed but backward people in Arabia at a time of civil strife should not be accepted as eternal; make a habit of sticking to only what is relevant in the modern age.

  Oh Muslims! Just think what the Europeans reduced you to after they escaped from the clutches of the Bible, to master the sciences that are beneficial for our times. You were pushed out of Spain, you were subjected to massacres, and you were crushed in Austria, Hungary, Serbia and Bulgaria. Your control over Mughal India was snatched away. They are ruling you in Arabia, Mesopotamia, Iraq and Syria.

  Just as our yajnas, prayers, Vedas, holy books, penances, curses could not harm the Europeans, so too will your Quran, martyrdoms, namaz, religious lockets make no difference to them. Just as the maulvis sent armies to war in the belief that the men who fought under the banner of Allah would never lose, so did our pundits peacefully sit back to repeat the name of Rama a million times. But none of this prevented the Europeans. With their advanced weapons, they not only decimated the Muslim armies, but they even toyed with the fallen flag of Allah.

  And that is why Mustafa Kemal Ataturk has broken the bonds of all religious laws that have kept the Turkish nation backward. He has borrowed civil law, criminal law and military law from Switzerland, France and Germany, to replace the rules in the Quran. The literal meaning of what is
said in the Quran no longer matters. The only question today is what is essential for national advancement in the light of modern science. Turkey can hold its own against Europe today because Kemal has given primacy to modern science in his nation. If Turkey had remained bound within the covers of the Quran, as it was during the reign of Kemal Sultan or the Khalifa, the Turks would still be licking the boots of the Europeans, as the Indian Muslims are doing today. If they want to advance as the Turks have done, Indian Muslims should abandon the religious fanaticism that has been nurtured over a thousand years, and accept modern science.

  On the Age of Machines and Scientific Temper 5

  The era that our country is now entering is the one that Europe had entered two centuries ago. This means we are 200 years behind Europe. Economists have termed this as the age of machines. The kind of opposition from traditionalists and proponents of the status quo that we are witnessing today in India is similar to what Europe also experienced 200 years ago. This is an inevitable outcome each time traditional beliefs and value systems are challenged by modern science. During Europe’s transition into the industrial and mechanized era, it was widely apprehended that the demoniac machines would result in undermining religion, humans would become emotionless like machines, we would lose our arts and culture and there would be a rampant spurt of unemployment. It was believed that the very prosperity that the use of machines promised would itself be destroyed by their introduction. These shrill warnings of doomsday raged across Europe along with a ‘Back to Nature’ clarion call.

  In India too religious beliefs held us back from adapting to machines earlier than now. Lisbon witnessed a catastrophic earthquake in the eighteenth century. Religious leaders of Europe declared that the earthquake was the result of the Protestant treachery against the Roman Catholics. It was God’s way of punishing human beings because Protestant marriage ceremonies were led by women, that Protestant priests were allowed to marry, and the Pope’s sermons were no longer considered infallible. And how did society react to these meaningless religious proclamations? By launching a crusade to annihilate the errant Protestants.

  How can such religiously blinded souls understand physical and scientific explanations for earthquakes, let alone try to use seismology to design machines that could perhaps help them predict the risk of an earthquake or mitigate disasters? Finally, Europe could truly embrace the machine age only when such naive religious beliefs were dismantled by a scientific temper.

  However, it is our misfortune in India that even someone as influential as Gandhiji invokes his ‘inner voice’ to attribute the recent massive Bihar earthquake as God’s punishment for the barbaric caste system! I still wait to hear what his inner voice will tell us about why Quetta was rocked by an earthquake! As if political leaders were not enough, our religious gurus are not far behind in raising such beliefs. The Shankaracharya and other religious leaders have sworn by scriptures to let us know that this earthquake was caused by attempts to dismantle the caste system. It is funny how the logic works both ways! What can one say about the common masses when such influential leaders hold such superstitious and naive views on scientific matters? They are obviously gripped by the unfounded and inexplicable fear of God and his machinations, which they see in every physical phenomenon. Is there a monsoon deficit? Then let’s read the Mandaka Sutra of the Rig Veda, invoke the frogs and make them croak the rains in! Are ships sinking due to floods? Let’s chant the Varuna Sukta and offer coconuts to the Lord of the Ocean. Has there been a plague epidemic? The easiest panacea is the sacrifice of a goat. On Eid commemorate a mass slaughter of innocent animals and cows, and presto! your God overhead is suddenly mighty pleased with you! Is God too as corrupt and self-serving as our honourable collector who will not act till he is offered a handsome gift of a dozen ripe mangoes? Does any rationale or logic support this kind of credulous and gullible beliefs?

  But science and scientific temper rely on cold logic and reason. These are physical phenomena that can be experienced and repeated under controlled conditions. If water is boiled to a known temperature, it will turn to steam, irrespective of any God’s wishes or your failure to read the mantras or namaz! A machine does not punish us for forgetting to propitiate that frightful god you so fear. This scientific temper is the foundation and cornerstone of the machine age and modernization, which will lead to prosperity for India.

  Are machines a boon or a bane? Those berating machines as a bane must realize that each of our human senses is several times more potent than any machine can ever hope to be. The machine acts as a handmaiden of man. If he uses it for destructive purposes, it can cause mass destruction. However, the same machine if put to good use by a virtuous and intelligent human mind can work miracles. The subject of debate therefore is not at all about the machine and its virtue, but that of humanity. Unemployment is not a side effect of mechanization but of inequitable distribution of resources and wealth and, for this, it is the social structure and evils that are to be blamed. If they are rectified, these problems too would be automatically solved.

  If a country has managed to successfully augment its food production and textile manufacture by more than tenfold through mechanization, and yet the people of that country are hungry and unclothed, do we lay the blame at the doorstep of the poor manufacturing machines? It is through science, modern thoughts and industrialization that we can ensure that every man and woman in India will have a job to do, food to eat, clothes to wear and a happy life to lead.

  On Cinema 6

  ‘The movies are one of the beautiful gifts of the 20th Century. This is the machine age. We are surrounded by things made with the help of machines. The world of entertainment cannot be an exception to this rule. Please understand that I refuse to condemn the advances made in technology. I would like modern machines to spread rapidly so that the whole of humanity is happier.

  ‘I dislike any restrictions on the innovative spirit of the human mind. That is because modern progress and modern culture have emerged out of innovation. The very essence of the progress made by humanity over the past many years in science and knowledge can be found in contemporary cinema. There is no better example of the use of modern technology than the movies, and that is why I will never back any restrictions on them.’

  These remarks by Veer Savarkar are a stinging answer to the contempt with which Mahatma Gandhi has spoken about movies. When I asked Savarkar whether he was implicitly criticizing Gandhi, he asked me: ‘Is there anything common between Gandhi and me?’

  He went on: ‘I saw my first silent movie when I was a student in London, and I liked it immensely. I have seen some talkies as well, but not too many. I doubt the theatre can compete with the movies. It will barely survive in a corner just as the folk arts barely survive in our villages today. But its best days are behind it. There is no need to feel bad about this. What is the use of the wooden plough in the age of the tractor? The wooden plough will be used only where there are no tractors. I deeply oppose the charkha philosophy of going back to nature. Films are even superior to novels. However well written be the biographies of national heroes such as Shivaji, Pratap or Ranjit, there is no doubt their stories will be more enjoyable and impactful on the screen. Films can even be used to educate our youth. We see life reflected very well on screen.

  ‘It is better to borrow a good thing rather than have nothing at all. But one should not blindly copy the work of others. As in all other fields, it is essential that our people are nationalists in the field of cinema as well. Everything else comes after that. The film industry too should believe that it would do everything possible for the progress of the entire nation. Our movies should focus on the positives of the country, keep aside the negatives and have pride in its victories. There is no value in making movies on national defeat or on our failings. These should be forgotten. Our youth should be inspired by movies that focus on the positive side of things.’

  Yeravada Jail, 1923

  In 1923, Vinayak was shifted from th
e Ratnagiri District Prison to the Yeravada Central Prison in Poona. He had been lodged there earlier in 1910 and this seemed to him like a flashback to the long, eventful and tough decade that had followed. Here, he found many inmates of Cellular Jail who had been repatriated to the Indian mainland. This included the revolutionaries of the Lahore Conspiracy Case. Yeravada, however, presented an interesting confluence of opposing ideologies of the Indian freedom struggle—the revolutionary convicts, as well as Gandhi’s non-violent satyagrahis, non-cooperation activists and Khilafatists. About the latter, Vinayak writes:

  The Non-co-operators and the Khilafatists had not seen even two years of prison-life. They were raw, vainglorious men, and they bragged of their suffering before those who had passed through ten years or more of transportation for life in the Cellular Jail of the Andamans—the brave Sikhs who had never winced under the severest hardships! They vaunted their worthless ‘Satyagraha’ and their short imprisonment for it before these terrorists and presumed to despise them! I began here to criticize severely all these followers of Gandhi that their eyes might see clearly . . . They hated the name of Hindu Sanghatan as detrimental to the nation. I denounced fiercely these honest but perverse notions. I would go up a tree, others would gather in the courtyard opposite, and political prisoners would keep a watch occupying strategic positions around them. Thus we carried on discussions on politics from day to day. I was then transferred to the courtyard itself, when every alternate day regular meetings were held and discussions carried on to disillusion these novices of their strange notions on politics. I followed the same method here that I had adopted in the Andamans—holding meetings, giving lectures and arranging discussions. Gradually all of them joined in them. Winning Swaraj by Charaka [sic], supporting the Khilafat movement as the duty of the Hindus, and ridiculous definitions of non-violence, I exploded them all by invincible logic and by an appeal to history. And these honest young patriots were at last won over to our side from their jejune politics, and from their inexperience and ignorance of the world around them. 7