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Op-Ed SEPTEMBER 17, 2021 | The Indian Eye 14

What is the furore over

Golwalkar and savarkar texts?

Views and opinions from the top commentators in Indian media

indutva is a political re- territories along linguistic lines
ality of our times and in a nod to linguistic pluralism
Hwe need to understand being integral to India’s demo-
how it works intellectually. Sa- cratic ethos. If the Bharatiya Ja-
varkar and Golwalkar are the nata Party were not so intent on
most significant proponents of promoting a ‘Hindi-Hindu-Hin-
this ideology. Without reading dustan’ narrative to realize its
them, how can you have an idea problematic ideological mission,
of this project which has over- it would perhaps have pursued a
run India and is attractive to more inclusive approach.”
many minds? -- Editorial, The Telegraph
A syllabus is not a set of
propaganda material. When ameriCa’s ‘Gentle’
we include readings of differ- Pressure
ent kinds, we expect them to
be read and examined critically Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman he World Health Orga-
from all angles. Obviously, you during the launch of the book Savarkar 'A Contested Legacy 1924-1966' nization (WHO) and the
do not compromise with some authored by Vikram Sampath, in New Delhi (ANI) TUS have been in dialogue
fundamental values. Genocide for those who oppose them. In the basis of census data, which with India regarding vaccine ex-
or racial supremacy cannot be India, historical figures tend to count the number of people ports. The former has made this
treated as valid viewpoints. But become larger than life, to be who identify Hindi as a mother publicly known. It has urged In-
we do need to understand how idealized or shunned. We per- tongue rather than their spo- dia to begin exports so that the
genocidal ideas turn into com- shortfall in COVAX numbers is
mon sense. sonalize and glorify. But includ- ken language. Moreover, their met and the vaccination drive
For that, we would need to ing someone in a curriculum is number may well be inflated be- moves ahead in low-income
study those who successfully to grapple with their thoughts, cause the census categorizes as countries.
see them respond to their situa- many as 50 other regional lan-
drove their masses towards such tions, the historical currents that guages — Bhojpuri, Rajasthani At a press conference on
an ideology. produced them, their human and Chhattisgarhi — as Hindi. the COVID-19 situation in
How do you understand fas- Africa, at WHO headquar-
cism if you do not read Mussoli- compromises and subterfuges. Second, even the increase in the ters in Geneva on September
ni or Mein Kampf? Reading texts of all shades can actual Hindi-speaking popula- 14, Seth Berkley, the CEO of
But we fight our syllabus bat- lead young people to see the tion can be attributed to demo- GAVI, responded thus to a que-
tles in a very unacademic man- many-sidedness of anyone held graphic factors — higher fertili- ry on the resumption of Indian
up as a Great Man, whether by ty rates and migration — rather
ner. It remains all about repre- the right or the left, or even by than the purported popularity COVID-19 vaccine exports:
sentation, be it historical figures “India has a very important role
or writers. We never look at the centrists, who often falsely claim of the language. Such mislead- to play in the global vaccination
making of a syllabus from the to have no biases. Savarkar and ing narratives are detrimental efforts. They have the largest
pedagogical angle.” Golwalkar should be read, just to the fate of regional languag- manufacturing facilities in the
-- Apoorvanand, as their polar intellectual oppo- es — by some estimates, of the world. It was one of the reasons
sites should be.”
780 languages in India, about
The Indian Express -- Editorial, The Times of India 600 are potentially endangered. we went to them early to try to
left, riGht and WronG Clearly, then, commemorative make sure they would take up
tech transfer and scale up their
occasions — the Hindi Divas
hether or not one forKed tonGue is an example — would benefit manufacturing”.”
-- Vivek Katju, The Quint
agrees with Savarkar or he push for Hindi is of- such vanishing tongues more
WGolwalkar, their ideas ten justified by the argu- than Hindi. The need to safe- Every week, we look at what
are now alive in this country. Tment that the language is guard the multilingual nature
Excising them from the curric- spoken by a majority of Indi- of India has been historically the top commentators in the
ulum serves no purpose. Con- ans. This assumption is flawed recognized — the States Reor- Indian media are talking about
and bring to you a slice
textualizing and engaging with for two reasons. First, the con- ganization Act, 1956 revised the of their opinions and comments
their ideas is more useful even clusion is drawn primarily on boundaries of India’s states and

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