Nazi Germany and Hindu India : A Comparison
Nazi Germany and Hindu India
It cannot be disputed that there are some striking similarities between the states of 1930s' Germany and today's India. Conceived from the womb of aggressive ethnic nationalism, the ideologies of Nazism and Akramak Hindutva are built on hatred and alienation.
The promotion of a cult around a supreme leader, and using this cult of personality to cynically exploit a hypernationalist mass sentiment and the centrality of violence against the internal enemy.
Germany found its passion in anti-semitism, we did that in Islamophobia. Race and religion. Two sides of the same coin.
It is interesting to note that both the party leaders assumed office having incited massive riots - one after the burning of the Reichstag, and... well, who can forget 2002?
The Colonialist policy of "Divide and Rule" has found a well-practiced form in the divisional politics of both of these radical right-wing parties.
Ironically, Hitler - who propogated Aryan puritaniarism and white supremacy continues to find supporters in the brown skinned people of India.
One of the earliest mentors of many political organisations of today's Sangh Parivar, Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, had a great liking for Hitler's Nazism. In 1938, he wrote-
The Hindu nationalists have also glorified their German counterparts, a trend which seems to have pervaded even India's education system -
in 2004 (when a certain man was the Chief Minister of Gujarat, school textbooks published by the Gujarat State Board portrayed Hitler as a hero in the tenth-grade social studies book, with chapters like "Hiter, The Supremo" and "Internal Achievements of Nazism". An extract from the chapter "Ideology of Nazism" of the same book reads -
This was not a thoughtless evocation, but a carefully planned political move which is rearing its ugly head today.
Their blatant disregard for the tenets of republican constitutions, without actually tiptoeing outside the legal boundaries is a cause to be alarmed.
As Khushwanth Singh wrote in 2003 -
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| The Eagle Carrying The Nazi Swastika |
It cannot be disputed that there are some striking similarities between the states of 1930s' Germany and today's India. Conceived from the womb of aggressive ethnic nationalism, the ideologies of Nazism and Akramak Hindutva are built on hatred and alienation.
The promotion of a cult around a supreme leader, and using this cult of personality to cynically exploit a hypernationalist mass sentiment and the centrality of violence against the internal enemy.
Germany found its passion in anti-semitism, we did that in Islamophobia. Race and religion. Two sides of the same coin.
It is interesting to note that both the party leaders assumed office having incited massive riots - one after the burning of the Reichstag, and... well, who can forget 2002?
The Colonialist policy of "Divide and Rule" has found a well-practiced form in the divisional politics of both of these radical right-wing parties.
Ironically, Hitler - who propogated Aryan puritaniarism and white supremacy continues to find supporters in the brown skinned people of India.
One of the earliest mentors of many political organisations of today's Sangh Parivar, Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, had a great liking for Hitler's Nazism. In 1938, he wrote-
"If we Hindus grow stronger, in time these Moslem friends of the League type will have to play the part of the German-Jews instead."
in 2004 (when a certain man was the Chief Minister of Gujarat, school textbooks published by the Gujarat State Board portrayed Hitler as a hero in the tenth-grade social studies book, with chapters like "Hiter, The Supremo" and "Internal Achievements of Nazism". An extract from the chapter "Ideology of Nazism" of the same book reads -
"Hitler lent dignity and prestige to the German government. He adopted the policy of opposition towards the Jewish people and advocated the supremacy of the German race."
This was not a thoughtless evocation, but a carefully planned political move which is rearing its ugly head today.
Their blatant disregard for the tenets of republican constitutions, without actually tiptoeing outside the legal boundaries is a cause to be alarmed.
As Khushwanth Singh wrote in 2003 -
"The juggernaut of Hindu fundamentalism has emerged from the temple of intolerance, and is on its yatra [on the march]. ... The fascist agenda of Hindu fanatics is unlike anything we have experienced in our modern history."
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