‘Danger to India not from communism, but Hindu right-wing communalism’: Ansari cites Nehru; BJP hits back | India News
NEW DELHI: Former vice president Mohammad Hamid Ansari on Saturday cited former prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru‘s remarks about the “danger to India” while referring to concerns raised by late constitutional expert and author AG Noorani in his book The RSS: A Menace to India.He was addressing the event, titled “Remembering a Polymath: The Life and Times of Abdul Ghafoor Noorani”, organised at the India Islamic Cultural Centre to commemorate the life and works of the jurist and author.Addressing an event, Ansari recalled jurist and author Abdul Ghafoor Noorani’s observations in the introduction to his 2019 book and cited remarks by Nehru that were recorded by former Foreign Secretary Jagat Singh Gundevia during a meeting of Ministry of External Affairs officials.‘The RSS: A Menace to India’ was the title of the book published in 2019. The opening lines of the introduction, where A.G. Noorani used a couplet, reflected what he described as the prevailing sentiment among Muslims in India today. In the same introduction, he referred to former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru’s remarks at a Ministry of External Affairs officers’ meeting, documented by Foreign Secretary Gundevia. Nehru had warned that ‘the real danger to India was not communism, but Hindu right-wing communalism’,” he said.During his speech, Ansari discussed Noorani’s writings and his views on nationalism, identity and political developments in India. He also referred to Noorani’s criticism of what he saw as a shift from civic nationalism towards cultural nationalism.“In recent years, we have experienced the emergence of trends and practices that dispute the well-established principle of civic nationalism and interpose a new and imaginary practice of cultural nationalism,” Ansari said.“It seeks to present an electoral majority in the guise of a religious majority and monopolise political power. It wants to distinguish citizens based on their faith, give vent to intolerance, insinuate otherness, and promote disquiet and insecurity,” he added.Ansari raised concerns over what he described as emerging trends that challenge the principle of civic nationalism.During his speech, Ansari said, “Some of its recent manifestations are chilling and reflect poorly on our claim to be governed by the rule of law. It’s a question that has to be answered. These trends need to be contested and contested legally and contested politically.”
‘Congress’s anti-Hindu politics in the spotlight’, says BJP
Reacting to Ansari’s remarks, the BJP Scheduled Tribe Morcha said the statement brought what it described as Congress’s “anti-Hindu politics” into focus. The BJP unit also referred to Rahul Gandhi’s past remarks on Hindu groups and terrorism, alleging that such statements reflected a pattern in the party’s political narrative.
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“A remark from Nehru that Hamid Ansari highlighted, once again putting Congress’s anti-Hindu politics in the spotlight. Alongside Rahul Gandhi’s past remarks on Hindu groups and terrorism, that such statements reflect a pattern in the party’s political narrative,” BJP said in a post on X.
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