At the Cost of Merit : Indian Currents Editorial
“Better red than expert.” It was the slogan formulated by Chairman Mao Zedong during the peak of Cultural Revolution in China. In the Narendra Modi government, the slogan can be paraphrased as “better saffron than expert.” The appointment of Hindutva proponents and sympathisers at the helm :: Editorial (Dr Suresh Mathew)
The RSS mouthpiece Organiser let the cat out of the bag when it made an atrocious statement that the IITs and IIMs are ‘anti-Hindu” and “anti-national”. It is incredulous that an organisation which claims to be torch-bearer of patriotism and nationalism comes out with such ridiculous statement. Only the most prejudiced minds can describe the above institutions of excellence as the Organiser has done. But this is not an isolated instance. From Day One the Modi government assumed power at the Centre, the Sangh Parivar elements have a field day, the latest being the appointment of Gajendra Chauhan as the Chairman of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII).
The vice-like grip of hardcore Hindutva ideology on education and history started showing with the appointment of Y Sudershan Rao, a ‘votary of sanatan Hindu religion’ as the chairperson of the Indian Council of Historical Research. Rao’s works praising the caste system had generated much controversy. The appointment of 87-year-old Lokesh Chandra, who had described Modi as an ‘avatar or god’, as president of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations, had ruffled many feathers. This was followed by the elevation of Girish Chandra Tripathi, an RSS functionary, as the Vice-Chancellor of Banaras Hindu University; Baldev Sharma, former editor of RSS organ Panchajanya, as the chairman of National Book Trust; and Pahlaj Nihalani, who had produced ‘Har Har Modi, Ghar Ghar Modi’ campaign, as chairman of the Central Board of Film Certification. In the last few months, several experts and intellectuals have resigned from Boards and Governing Councils of prestigious institutions as a mark of protest against such appointments. The case of Nobel laureate and noted economist Amartya Sen quitting as Chancellor of Nalanda University protesting ‘political interference in academic matters’ points to the real intention of the Modi government.
The communal obsession of the BJP can be equated to Mao regime’s fixation with Communism. It had done major damage to China’s science and technology. Most scientific research had ceased. Tension between scientists and communist rulers reached its height during the Cultural Revolution. Though the Modi regime does lip service to ‘development agenda’ and ‘Make in India’ slogan, it is on a payback mode for the services rendered by the Sangh Parivar brigade during the general elections. This attitude of ‘you scratch my back and I will scratch yours’ will only take the country backwards. This suits the saffron agenda of taking the country to Vedic times. But the country can ill afford such a move.
