Hindutva : U R Anathamurthy

I read these books ( both in Kannada and English) recently and here is my take on it.

It seems like Prof UR Ananthmurthy was restless while writing this book and he indicates this indirectly in the preface by saying I might not have much time as I am writing this towards the fag end of my life but feel compelled to do so.

When he said he doesn’t want to live in a country where Mr Modi is prime minister he was bashed by one and all especially the right wing which he clarifies as a statement of “ symbolism “ and says that he continues to live and oppose the PM, since it is his fundamental right.

In the most part of this book Prof UR Ananthamurthy argues how Gandhiji s “ Hind Swaraj “ is more inclusive than Veer Savarkar s “ Hindutva “ which he considers as skewed with incomplete understanding of Hinduism.
However he doesn’t forget to mention the qualities of Savarkar like promulgation of abolishing caste , education to all , his commitment to what he believed and how he communicated them etc .Under the umbrella of hinduism.

URA doesn’t mince words as usual, doesn’t think in binary like most of us do now a days ( media especially) but yet makes a case against majoritarian regimes and their failures drawing examples from different contexts ! He is sick of the usage of the phrase “ In the interest of the nation “ by a faction whom he thinks gets away by doing or floating anything they think is the best forcibly.....probably he considers that as evil ? This particular word evil repeats in the book many times leaving us guessing what does he mean by it exactly? Is it real or imagination ?

I feel he is also clearly biased in his selective examination of history and facts ....how can one give a verdict without even having a trial ? Why do Intellectuals create mountain of a mole hill ? Why do they don’t see the other side of the story ?

Despite all this , this book is a very crisp guide on understanding different point of views which we can discuss and debate ...it also convinces us to a good extent the relevance of ideology in politics and its impact on society!

We Kannadigas atleast should be proud ( whether we agree or disagree to URA s point of view ) that there existed an intellectual who was ready to explain his point of view in detail even when he was struggling with his age, health etc.

( The English translation is also quite good )