‘Enmity Will Be With Your Kin Or Your Neighbour’

News: Historian Shruti Kapila explores the role of violence in 20th-century Indian political ideas in her book ‘Violent Fraternity: Indian Political Thought In The Global Age’.

How India is different from the West on violence?

The history of the west shows that the state was the legitimate author of violence. But the Indian story is different. For example, during the 1857 revolt, Indians killed the British. But for the next 90 years, the role of the British in promoting violence has been ignored.

According to the author, India completely rewrote the script of modern politics, not only in the relationship between the state and violence but also in republic and democracy.

Why Hindutva was a theory of violence in search of its history?

Hindutva was a new idea created by Savarkar. But the ideology has been articulated throughout history. Savarkar himself looked for elements in India’s past which might relate to political Hinduism. But he never found one.

Most of his books were organised around the theme of war. He gave a very productive role for violence. He thought of violence as a dynamic force. So he was critical of figures like Ashoka because they were non-violent. He even argued Ashoka has thwarted the idea of nationality in India.

For this reason, He went on to held Buddhism as an essential problem in India. So, according to Savarkar, only violence can overcome history.

On the other hand, Ambedkar remarked that India is in conflict between Buddhism and Hinduism, because Buddhism was shunned out of India, caste emerged as a political relationship full of violence.

Where does Gandhiji fit in?

Gandhiji was radical and provided the most powerful democratic values. His ideologies were not oriented towards institutions. Instead, they were oriented towards the self.

He, along with Tilak, believed that life and death are individual properties. He believed that people need to remake the self before they even think about political change. According to him, it was a moral duty of a person not just to protect his own religion, but also to let Muslims practise their own religion.

Source: This post is based on the article “‘Enmity Will Be With Your Kin Or Your Neighbour’” published in Times of India on 12th February 2022.