I've been asked to speak upon intellectual terrorism. I will modify it slightly and speak on intellectual subversion, of which intellectual terrorism is one important dimension. When we say intellectual subversion, who are we holding guilty of intellectual subversion in this country? I for one hold Academia, the Media, and the Intellectual Elite – those that have been educated in the English medium schools and institutions of higher learning. These are the 3 broad categories of people who I hold guilty of intellectual subversion in this country.
What have they been subverting? They have been subverting the very idea of Nation that the Hindu community holds. When I say Hindu – let me make a few things clear here, I'm going to be extremely blunt in my exposition: I do not speak to please anybody, neither do I speak to offend anybody, I speak what I perceive to be the truth. And when I say Hindu, I use it as the widely accepted term for those who practise Sanatana Dharma. Sanatana Dharma I say is Hinduism, people who practise Sanatana Dharma are Hindus. It is a part of the intellectual subversion exercise that they have discredited the word Hindu, so that we are a nameless group of people, to which I will come to a little later in my talk. So when I say Hinduism and when I say Hindus, I mean Sanatana Dharma and the Dharmis.
So what have these Intellectual Terrorists perpetrated? They have subverted the idea of Nation. What is a nation? Nation, according our Hindu Indian classical texts, is Rashtra. Rashtra is both territory and the people. There is a historical sense of belonging of the people to that territory. It is territory with well-defined borders. Rashtra has well-defined borders, and Rashtra means the people with a historical and an ancient sense of belonging to that territory. Indian classical texts speak of Hindu Rashtra as being one of the seven components of Rajya. Hindus constitute 85% of the population of this country. We are a nation of Hindus. But we are neither a Hindu Rashtra, nor are we a Hindu Rajya.
And this is the success of the intellectual subversion: that we have neither Hindu Rashtra, nor do we have a Hindu Rajya. What are the 7 components of a Rajya that our classical texts speak of? They speak of the Swami, Amadhya, Durga, Kosha, Danda, Bala, and one more … there are 7 components. Swami or the King would be the State – the head of the govt, the Amathya or minister would be the council of ministers, Durga is the capital, Kosha is the territory, you have Danda and you have Bala. Of all this, it is very important that you have the Hindu ethos truly reflected in at least some of these components.
It is the success of intellectual subversion in this country that a person who attempts to be the Swami is a Roman Catholic European who has neither a historical sense of belonging to this territory, nor an understanding of what this Rashtra is all about.
It is to the success of intellectual subversion in this country that you have a council of ministers who actively propagate and perpetuate the politics of minority ism in various spheres of national public life.
If Danda can be construed in modern terms to be the law and the judiciary, you have a constitution and you have a judiciary which is actively hostile to the Hindu community.
Let me take this step by step. When I say nation, I have an understanding of who belongs and who does not belong. It is to the success of this intellectual subversion that Hindus constantly speak of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam and think Sonia Gandhi and mother Teresa are a part of this Kutumbakam inside this country.
When we have a distinct sense of us and them, we must have a sense of Who is a Hindu. The Them is who is a non-Hindu. If we have a sense of us and them, there is a sense of Indian Hindus, there is a sense of non-Indian people who profess the Hindu religion. Kautilya's Arthashastra did not deny the Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam principle at all, but Kautilya knew who was a National and who was a Non-National. Kautilya encouraged the Hindu way of welcoming refugees, but Kautilya also said Keep the refugees out of your national borders – Provide for them, take care of them, see to it that they feel secure and comfortable, but do not bring them into national borders until their loyalties have been tested and found to be true. Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam does not mean opening up all your doors and allowing everybody to come inside, particularly when you're in a state of weakness.
Let us take Academia first. What are the falsehoods that they have propagated, to subvert the very idea of a nation? They have I think done 2 things:
They have fragmented the Hindu consciousness so that a very large section – or shall I say a very significant section of the Hindu community has been placed outside of national borders and other sections of the Hindu community have been outside the Hindu community itself. By propagating the theory of the Aryan Invasion, Indian academia dominated by the marxists has successfully placed a significant section of the Hindu community outside national borders.
And this is not something peculiar to India. This Aryan Invasion Theory was a colonial construct. It is a white christian construct. And they have played this game in North America, where they have had this ridiculous Bering Strait Theory which said that the native Americans, whom they almost exterminated through genocide and christian colonialism, were themselves migrants from elsewhere. That is to say, they propagated the Aryan Invasion Theory here because, the intellectuals among the Hindu elite who were in the forefront of resisting colonial invasion – the colonial administrators the argument back at them saying "You yourselves have come from outside. We have come a little more recently". To justify the genocide of the native Americans, the white colonial research which came out of Harvard and Smithsonian placed the native American population outside of the North American continent, and they said "You people came here several centuries ago, maybe, but you are as much migrants as we are. There is no such thing as the native American population: You are a migrant we are a latter day migrant."
Udayan Namboothiriji in the previous session said, how could EMS Namboothiripad have gone running to the Soviet ambassador when his homeland or motherland or the Mathruboomi was being attacked? You must understand: islam, christianity and communism – which was a virulent reaction to christian capitalism – none of the 3 ideologies or philosophies subscribe to the concept of homeland, motherland or Mathruboomi. These are aggressive conquering ideologies, they believe all territories are open for conquest. It is only the Hindus and Jews – who are born into their faiths on a territory which they call their home – who have the concept of Mathruboomi, who have a concept of homeland.
The other 3 ideologies or philosophies do not subscribe to homeland.
So by placing a significant section of the Hindu community outside national borders and by declaring that Dalits and Tribals are not part of the Hindu community, the academia – the Indian marxist academia has fragmented the Hindu consciousness. This was success number 1.
They have propagated the untruth that the Indian civilisation has always been pluralist. This concept of pluralism, please understand, is a western colonial christian concept. Christianity also spread by the sword. Today, the developed western nations may have succeeded in branding islam a terrorist religion, and the western christian, white christian nations as the defenders against terrorism, but let's not forget: Christianity also spread by the sword. It was also intolerant.
With the advent of democracy, which is also a christian construct, when political christianity had to accommodate people of other ways of life, and when christianity devised other weapons of conquest – like evangelisation – they made pluralism a virtue in their nation states.
Hindu Dharma has always believed or has always subscribed to diversity. We don't need this christian colonial concept of pluralism inside India. We have always been diverse. Pluralism, please understand, is multiculturalism, which is the new term for pluralism in western democracies. This pluralism or multiculturalism is accommodating the indigestible elements of your society who refuse to become a part of the mainstream:
– Those elements which do not consider this territory to be their Mathruboomi,
– Those elements which do not subscribe to Sanatana Dharma or Hinduism,
– Those that insist that they will live as indigestible elements but they seek accommodation within the broader diverse parameters of Hindu Dharma.
*These* are the pluralist elements. And when white christian colonial western democracies promote the concept of pluralism, this is for the non-white, non-christian democracies like India, whereas they are rejecting multiculturalism in their own countries. The Australian prime minister is saying: Subscribe to the Australian culture, the British PM is saying: Subscribe to the British culture. Australian culture, American culture, British culture, please understand, is white christian culture – whether catholic or protestant. And immigrants and migrants who seek citizenship or residency in their countries are demanded… it is demanded of them that they have proficiency in the English language and that they subscribe the broad cultural values which are rooted in white christianity.
And this pluralism they want India to accept as an integral part of Indian polity. And this subversion – it is *this* intellectual subversion which has launched Sonia Gandhi into the forefront of Indian polity. I personally consider the presence of Sonia Gandhi in Indian polity as much an affront to my sensibilities as the mosque in Ayodhya, Kashi and Mathura. It is an affront to my sensibilities, to my Hindu sensibilities. This is success number 2.
The third idea that they are propagating is the concept of South Asia. This concept of South Asia, which has *no* legitimacy, is political construct with its origins in American think-tanks, where they seek to subsume – please understand one thing: If there is one thing that both islam and christianity are afraid of it is Hindu nationalism. Hindu nationalism poses the biggest conceptual threat to both islam and evangelical church. The third idea they are propagating is the concept of South Asia where they hope that India's territorial borders and her Hindu identity will be subsumed in the larger muslim-dominated region of Pakistan and Bangladesh. When they say South Asia I don't think they have Bhutan and Sri Lanka in mind. When they say South Asia, they primarily mean India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.
The most subversive act undertaken by Indian academia is the kind of history they have written for us: It is a defeatist history. It is a history which says that the Indian nation was invaded upon hordes and hordes of people, and that they emasculated Indian society; that Hindu society was weakened because of them – putting us in a defeatist frame of mind. But is this true? This is not true.
I have one of the most brilliant papers – compiled by Dr MD Srinivas of the Centre for Policy Studies in Chennai. And look at what he's saying. It was the Hindu community … Islam had already overridden Europe, Africa and large parts of Asia. But Hindu community kept off the islamic invaders who could not get hold of a foothold even in India between 600 and 1200 ad. Islam could not get a foothold here. And which were the samrajyas and rajyas which held them off? The Chalukyas, the Rashtrakutas, the Karkotas of Kashmir, the Rajputs. They kept islam away from getting even a foothold in India uptil the 12th century.
Once islam got its foothold here, there were still large parts of India which were never under their control. Large parts of South India, Assam, Orissa – they were never under the muslim rule for any great significant period of time. The Madurai sultanate was thrown out within 30 years. You had Marathas, you had the Vijayanagara Kingdom – the Samrayjas. You had the Bundhelas, you had the Sikhs, you had the Jats, who raised powerful military organisations to combat islam. And the islam that came to India was jihadi islam. Jihadi islam is not a phenomenon of the 20th or the 21st century. When islam came to India it came as jihadi islam. It is only jihad that the Hindu community has faced from 600 ad. We never allowed them to set up any kind of government 'til 1200. But even after we lost militarily to islam (islam was a world-conquering force, let's not forget) – and when we lost militarily, see what we threw up. Sanatana Dharma in the form of Acharyas, Bhakti movements, Shaastras, the commentaries, the Bhaashyas – the abundance of Sanatana Dharma religious literature, which came through after we lost militarily. Sanatana Dharma has been the core of Hindu Rajya. The Rajyas and Samrajyas of southeast Asia had Sanatana Dharma as their core. And Sanatana Dharma influenced west Asia, central, east Asia, southeast Asia.
And we have an external affairs ministry today, which has made sure that India is surrounded, in every state adjoining her, by ideologies and religions actively hostile and inimical to Sanatana Dharma and the Dharmi here:
Nepal has fallen victim. Bhutan is well on its way to falling victim. Bangladesh, Pakistan. We have lost Sri Lanka also. India failed to step into Sri Lanka. Musharraf has stepped into Sri Lanka. India failed to step into Nepal, China, America and the maoists have overrun Nepal.
Hindu Rajya means: Territory under my control and territory under my influence. It is the subversion of Intellectual India that we believe in a doctrine, which says: Give in, surrender, overrun, welcome and decapitate us.
What is destroying India today is intellectual subversion in polity, which gives them the ideology upon which the UPA government – and even the NDA government to a certain extent – function. How else can you explain the fact that the NDA government handed over Rajgat to Nirmala Deshpande? It was our government which did that. How else can you explain the fact that it was the NDA which made MK Narayanan a member of the National Security Advisory Board? It is intellectual subversion – We are so afraid of people calling us intolerant. When are going to say Yes, there is an Us and there is a Them, There are those who belong and those who do not belong. But you are welcome, you will be provided with all comforts, respect, the freedom to practise your religion – but you cannot be part of the Hindu Rashtra, you cannot participate in power. Do we have the courage? We had the courage, and that is why we remained a Hindu Rashtra and a Hindu Rajya.
The day we opened all doors indiscriminately and the day we used Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam as our defining characteristic – without the strength, but from weakness – we have allowed intellectual subversion to weaken us to such an extent that 50 years after independence, the power returned to Hindus – but what kind of Hindus? Hindus who are ashamed to be Hindus, regressive Hindus, deracinated Hindus, Hindus who had no faith in their own civilisation. It is Hindus who speak badly of the caste system. It is Hindus who speak badly about our Hindu acharyas and gurus. It is Hindus like CP Ramaswami Aiyar who advocated government control of temples. Intellectual subversion.
Media. The media has played no less a destructive role. Please understand. The money for media…
How many times has the Sangha Parivar bemoaned the fact that we are unable to bring out a national newspaper which will give the leading English dailies a run for their money. Because we think we do not have the resources. Then think of the kind of money that is going into The Hindu, The Times of India, NDTV, CNN-IBN – please understand that this is money coming from outside. When these channels function, they do not have national interests in mind. They have to answer to the hands that is pumping money into their channels and papers. Is it any wonder they are anti-Hindu?
A very subtle, a very very subtle, intellectual subversive activity is taking place and I'm afraid there is a large section of even intelligent Hindus who have bought into this argument. That we need to partner the US and the developed western nations to fight islam. Not realising that jihadi islam was first pacified and used by the western nations in Afghanistan and in Kashmir. The west has pacified and used islam to serve western colonial interests in non-white, non-christian nations.
If we understand this clearly, we will not make the mistake of thinking that we have to partner western nations in our war against jihad. Also understand that the western nations are the most bitter critics of Hindu nationalism. You only have to read the annual reports which the US state department churns out on religious freedom, human rights and patterns of global terrorism. The language it uses against Hindu nationalism.
Why did they refuse Visa to Narendra Modi? It was to send a strong signal to NRIs, and would-be NRIs in India, that if you want accommodation in the US, you have to distance yourself from Hindutva and Hindu nationalism. No meaningful partnership or cooperation is possible with communism, islam or christianity. We must allow them to wage their cosmic wars – and if they are warring with each other, sit back and enjoy the fun. Don't think you are going to participate with one of them – none of the three is going to accept Hindu nationalists, Hindu nationalism, Sanatana Dharma or the Dharmi as their equal partners. If anything, they will try to use the gullible sections of the intellectual elite to serve their purpose.
The last segment which practises intellectual subversion:
I particularly hold a very significant section of the IIT pass-outs who have relocated in the United States for this intellectual subversion. When I did some research on anti-Hindu, non-government organisations (NGOs), I found that most of these NGOs – like AID, Asha, Akhila Raman, Angana Chatterjee and the others – are all well-entrenched in American universities. These are communists, who are function from American universities, who openly write in support in naxalism, who have participated in the CPI-ML congress: Mahashweta Devi, Arundhati Roy, Praful Bidwai – you name them – they have links with naxals and they are well-entrenched either in American universities or encouraged by Indians/Indian communists from American universities. And a very large section, significant number are IIT-ites.
Raju Rajagopal is an IIT, Ram Puniani is IIT, Sandeep Pandey is IIT, Balaji Sampat is IIT. There is a significant IIT component: The intellectual elite moving into intellectual subversion.
What is the remedy? I'm afraid this is going to stick in the craw of most of us who think tolerance is our defining virtue. I'm afraid Hindu society forgot the valour of the Hindu Rajyas, Samrajyas and Hindu society, which staved off islamic rule, which fought the colonialists, which is even today fighting the communists at the level of the society.
Hindu intellectual elite has a self-imposed image of tolerance which is not real. We have forgotten the Kshatriya blood which is intrinsic to both our intellectual activity and to our public life. There is no Kshatriya blood in the Hindu leadership today. There is no Kshatriya blood.
Sabarimalai happened, Pujya Kanchi acharya episode happened, there is an EVR statue right in front of the Srirangam temple. What is the response of Hindu organisations, the Hindu intellectuals and Hindu society? Has there been a response? Has there been an intellectual response? Has there been a physical response?
There are very, very highly respected voices from amongst the Hindu community, which is actually saying "We have no objection to the EVR statue anywhere in Srirangam, just not in front of the temple." We have forgotten the concept of Temple Town: the whole town is a temple! One of Vigil's members when I said Hindu Rashtra, I mentioned territory. The territory also comprises the character and content of public spaces. Let me tell you the politics of public spaces and the intellectual subversion associated with it. I think In 1999 the Pope came to India 2 days before Deepavali. And he declared his intention of planting the cross in Asia in the 3rd millennium. The first victim of the church planting mission in Asia is South Korea. In 1900 South Korea was less than 1% christian. In the 1970s it was around 18.5% christian. In 1990 it is 40% christian. Just as what is happening to Kerala. I think in Kerala, according to somebody with whom I travelled by train, slightly over 50% is Hindus – the rest is all gone. Seoul city, from the heart of Seoul city to Seoul airport is a 20km stretch. On either side of this 20km stretch, at every 3 feet, there is a towering church at every 3 feet. And these are not the small christian prayer houses with the asbestos sheet or a thatched roof – these are towering churches in the heart of Seoul to the Seoul airport. Scores of churches completely disproportionate to the christian population or the numbers of those who come to congregate in these churches. Then why are they standing there? Public Spaces. The churches are standing there as a symbol of subjugation, as a symbol of dominance, as a symbol of money power that "I will occupy your public space". The presence of EV Ramasamy Naicker, I am 100% sure, it is christian money which has going into the Dravida Kazhagam which has instigated them to plant EVR statue in front of the Rajagopuram. The land was allotted to them in 1972. From '72 'til this date they did not dare to plant the statue there. There was continued Hindu resistance. All of a sudden how did they get the courage or the money to go and plant it? They did it in 2007. Soon after the Kanchi acharya issue, soon after the Sabarimalai issue, soon after we showed them "You can keep on rubbing our noses in the dirt, the Hindu community is incapable of any kind of Kshatriya response".
Towering churches in Seoul. You enter the Tambaram railway station by train, there is this huge cement pillar, on this huge pillar, there is a huge jesus christ standing like this (open arms). When you enter from a train, this is the first thing that you see. Yesterday I was horrified when I came to the Madras Central Station – I think this must have come up a month ago – I am entering the Madras Central Station, right beneath the bridge: a huge cement pillar, a huge jesus christ, outside the Central Station, standing like this (open arms).
Occupation of public spaces. This is a political intent. This is not a religious intent. "I am dominating you. I am subjugating you." Do we have the sense to see this? I am told that the EVR statue in front of the Srirangam temple is not the only perversion. I believe on the Thiruvananthapuram beach is a Devi temple. And right in front of the Devi temple there is a 50 foot sculpture of a naked woman. Not far from the temple there is a church and the mosque, but this naked woman is standing not in front of the church or the mosque, but only in front of the temple. So when the communists speak of atheism, when the 'dravidians' speak of atheism, they don't speak of anti-muslim god or anti-christian god – it is only anti-Hindu.
I disagree with Udayan Namboothiriji when he talks about islam. Islam is a threat which you see as a sword, against which we still do not yet have weapons. Christianity is Cancer. It invades your body, with sweet words it tells you I am part of you and then eats you away. Communism of course is a blight on humanity. I cannot have partnership with any of the three. And all the three inside India have intellectual backing. If Arundhati Roy can write a book for Afzal Guru, if Nirmal Deshpande and Mahashweta Devi – they have all been awarded the Padmavibhushan by the Congress government – they partcipate in a naxalite congress. If christian conversion can be legitimised by India's academia, the subversion of Indian nation – the Hindu Rajya and the Hindu Rashtra – is backed only by intellectual subversion. If they are terrorists, blame us. We are happy victims of terrorism. What stops us from becoming Kshatriyas? What stops us from writing good books? What stops us from producing monographs which will threaten them? What stops us from physically removing these jesus christ statues and the EVR statue? Ask yourself that question and you will understand why intellectual subversion has worked in this country. The victims of intellectual subversion unfortunately is the Hindu Rajya and the Hindu Rashtra and only Hindus have themselves to blame. Namaskaram.
Related: Ten Points for Indira Gandhi