RSS Leader Calls for End to Colonial Mindset in India
RSS general secretary Dattatreya Hosabale made a strong statement on Thursday. He said India must discard what he called the Macaulayist mindset. This colonial-era thinking has dominated the country for too long. Hosabale spoke at the World Book Fair in New Delhi. He was releasing former BJP MP Tarun Vijay's book 'Mantra Viplav'. The event highlighted the need for a narrative shift in India.
Echoing PM Modi's Vision for 2035
Hosabale's remarks align closely with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent calls. The Prime Minister has repeatedly stated that India should shed the legacy of T B Macaulay by 2035. This year marks two centuries since Macaulay's influential 'Minute on Indian Education'. In that document, Macaulay famously expressed his desire to create Indians who were English in mindset but Indian by blood.
Hosabale emphasized that we live in an era of narratives. These narratives do not need to be true to be powerful. He explained how outsiders have historically captured India. They exploited the economy and colonized Indian minds. This led to what he termed 'mantra viplav' or the subversion of Indian belief systems.
Historical Distortions and Colonial Scholarship
The RSS leader pointed to Western scholarship during colonial times. He mentioned Max Muller as an example. Muller was appointed with a specific agenda according to Hosabale. This agenda pushed narratives like the Aryan migration theory. It suggested Aryans came from outside and pushed Dravidians southward. Another narrative claimed India was not one nation but many.
Hosabale described Indian knowledge as a vast ocean. He said this knowledge needs fresh engagement and interpretation for modern times. He called for using Indian terminology instead of Western terms. We should study the terms given by our civilization, he insisted. Understanding their meaning and context is crucial. Some people find Sanskritised words difficult. But English words we study are equally challenging, he noted.
BJP Leaders Support the Call for Change
BJP Rajya Sabha MP Sudhanshu Trivedi also spoke at the event. He said the current fight to reclaim Indian knowledge is even more important than the freedom struggle. Trivedi criticized a section of the intellectual establishment. He said they remain addicted to Macaulay, Marx, and Mughals. As the Prime Minister stated, we must emerge from the Macaulayist mindset 200 years after Macaulay's Minute.
Author Tarun Vijay delivered sharp remarks as well. He said when a society gets poisoned, it dies. He identified left-liberalism, secularism, and Jihad as ideological poisons. Hindutva serves as our answer to these challenges, Vijay asserted. We are on the path to victory, he claimed. He compared Maoism to historical invaders like Ghori and Ghazni. Left extremism is not the correct term, he argued. It should be called communist terrorism. The Ram temple and Somnath stand as symbols of our victory, he concluded.
The event underscored a growing push within certain circles. This push aims to redefine India's intellectual and cultural landscape. It seeks to move away from colonial influences. The goal is to embrace indigenous knowledge systems by the 2035 deadline set by the Prime Minister.
