RanjonaNov 14, 2019
I used to differentiate between Hindutva and Hindu but i don't think i shall bother any more. If Hindus don't believe in RSS fundamentalism and bigotry, they should stand up and say so.
Show threadSandip Bhattacharya ☮️

@ranjona I believe we need to leave the space for not two but three distinct groups of Hindus.

a. Those who want a Hindu supremacist state
b.those who don't
c. those who feel Hindus should be privileged in some way but coexist peacefully with others and don't agree with the methods of (a).

While being (b), I see a whole lot of older folks I know, being (c).

Nov 14, 2019 at 3:03amWeb
Show threadRanjonaNov 14, 2019
@sandipb
Define "older". I have a lot of grey hair! I would add a d) Indians who want a democracy
Show threadSandip Bhattacharya ☮️Nov 14, 2019

@ranjona

Absolutely!

(I have my own share of grey hairs. 😂 Lets not go there. Causes me grief every morning)

Show threadRanjonaNov 14, 2019
@sandipb
Embrace it!! I have!
Show threadসঙ্কর্ষণ | sankarshanNov 14, 2019

@ranjona @sandipb hush! A few of us are bald ;)

The gradual conflation of Hindutva and Hinduism with the former standing in as a synonym for the latter needs a better thought out response. Asking someone in majority to share power for an equitable society is indeed asking them to do a hard thing. As for the listing of what kinds are present - that's probably a good theoretical exercise and just that.

Show threadRanjonaNov 14, 2019
@sankarshan @sandipb and yet this "sharing" is the only way democracy can function. I agree it needs work. It's just i will no longer pander to the myth that Hindus are not complicit in the Hindutva agenda.
Show threadসঙ্কর্ষণ | sankarshanNov 14, 2019
@ranjona I agree with you on the myth making. Whoever is still trying to have exposition on the "not complicit" is basically trying for a moral position that is no longer available. I have always said that it was never available and the attempts were a fig leaf. But those were the times when we discussed about how "the fringe is growing"
Show threadRanjonaNov 14, 2019
@sankarshan Ya, the fringe is now the cloth itself.
Show threadAmit Ramesan 🇮🇳Nov 14, 2019

@ranjona @sandipb

People WITH hair have their own problems 😅

Show threadTarique Sani Nov 14, 2019
@sandipb @ranjona yeah? This whole thing started when (c) became increasingly indoctrinated. The (c) are soft targets for manipulation by (a). The narrative goes something like. Support (a) as the idea of being superior is seductive. Accept there will be some collateral damage. Deny supporting facist doings. Lament we did not know this will happen but now we can’t do anything, Sorry
Show threadSandip Bhattacharya ☮️Nov 14, 2019

@tariquesani @ranjona

Agreed. But I am saying this as a person with the privilege of being who I am in India, and with the lack of privilege in where I live right now:

every society has a) evil b) people who are vulnerable to evil

I have accepted that a lot of people are just vulnerable to misinformation and manipulation, and that a lot of people are good in misleading and manipulating. All we can do is to protect the vulnerable among us.

Show threadTarique Sani Nov 14, 2019
@sandipb @ranjona I wholeheartedly agree about protecting the vulnerable amongst us and not ostracising them for having fallen prey to propaganda. The challenge for me is to do it without pulling my hair out or having an intense desire to whack them on the head with some tomes.
Show threadRanjonaNov 14, 2019
@tariquesani @sandipb
Though by vunerable you mean people unable to use their own brain power due to hatred and bigotry and whatsapp?
Show threadTarique Sani Nov 14, 2019

@ranjona @sandipb at the expense of sounding elitist - yes!

We as a race are super efficient aka kanjoos when it comes to using the most evolved organ in our body. 😎

Show threadAmit Ramesan 🇮🇳Nov 14, 2019

Hindutva, by itself,is, as @audreytruschke
put it, morally indefensible.

That's why they have to hide behind Hinduism.

Let's ignore the bigots and work with religious Hindus to explore the dichotomy between Hinduism & Hindutva ; it is only by finding common ground with them can we build a nation that works for all of us.

I realize it can be rather frustrating, Ma'am, but there is no purpose to align to your opponents' strategy.

@tariquesani @ranjona @sandipb

Show threadRanjonaNov 14, 2019
@AmitRamesan @audreytruschke @tariquesani @sandipb
You mean don't antagonise Hindu believers and let them hide behind this convenient veil? Let them come out of hiding or declare themselves.
Show threadTarique Sani Nov 14, 2019

@ranjona @AmitRamesan @audreytruschke @sandipb oooohhh! That will work? 😜

Sorry, there is no alternative to calling bigots bigots. Not taking a side always aides the oppressor

Show threadAmit Ramesan 🇮🇳Nov 14, 2019

If Hindus are hiding behind the veil of Hindutva, it is out of fear. Knowledge sets them free.

Understanding the dichotomy is not going to happen by itself, it needs work.

So, we folks(lib, left, humanists, religious Indians) can decide to argue/fight perpetually against each other even if we are supposed to be on the same side, and win our own small battles, or we can decide to unite together to fight for a concrete result, a greater cause.

Our choice, really.

@ranjona
@KavitaKrishnan

Show threadThe Still CentreNov 14, 2019
@sandipb @ranjona my thoughts on the rise of "hindutva" - i think fear, insecurity, and a visceral unhappiness with the quality of life are being tapped into. You can fool most people into believing in you if you have a highly simplistic but relatable vision of a better world. Like a movie, but with the promise that this can be had, for real, if only... For Hindus, this is Vedic India, the mythical time of the ideal society, which is being evoked to stir emotions and rally people