Ashoka, Nehru, and the Hindutva: It's time for India's public discourse to be free of post-truth

THE recent controversy over Ashoka, the Great only proves the power with which post-truth has captured our public discourse. The controversy has reinforced the apprehension that the attack by Hindutva forces on the ideological foundation of the Indian nation will only intensify. Ashoka has been the symbol of a polity where different faiths and cultures can harmoniously live and grow.

The adoption of the Lion Capital of Ashoka at Sarnath by our founding fathers as the National Emblem was not inspired by aesthetics but by the message it contained. Had the author written the play out of literary needs or historical inquiry, it would have hardly evoked any ripples. A closer look at the whole exercise only reveals that it is part of the Hindutva project of building a counter-construct against the ideology of the independence struggle. The play obviously forms a part of the Hindutva-inspired post-truth because it takes full liberty in portraying Ashoka in a negative manner.

Author Dayaprakash Sinha is a former IAS officer in Uttar Pradesh and has been an office-bearer of the cultural cell of the Bhartiya Janata Party. The play premiered in 2012 and received little attention from readers or literary figures. No one took his portrayal of Ashoka seriously. The angry response is the result of the decision of Sahitya Akademi to award the work. For the first time, a play has been selected for an award. Sinha rose to prominence after receiving the Sahitya Akademi award and the Padma Shri in 2020. Clearly, his argument that Ashoka is a negative character in Indian history and that accepting him as an icon is flawed has received support from the Modi regime.

Interestingly, the protest against the negative portrayal of Ashok came from an unusual corner. Since a few years back, Kushwahas, a backward caste in Bihar, have been claiming to be the descendants of Ashoka, and they took the negative portrayal as an offensive against their caste identity. The JDU, a major partner of the BJP in the NDA government in Bihar, also took it as an assault on the provincial identity of the State, since Ashoka ruled from his capital at Pataliputra, the modern city of Patna.

Undoubtedly, the opponents to the play lack any deeper insight and largely ignore the grand design of Hindutva politics. In this exercise, they are unable to decipher the piece of post-truth. They have also failed to see the transition of the Hindutva project from a vaguely conceived concept of historical revision that traces India's subjugation to foreign rule to Qutabuddin Aibak's taking over the reign of Delhi and declaring a Sultanate in India after the death of Muhammad Gori, the ruler of the Ghurid empire. Declining Ashoka the status of an important icon of ancient India and portraying Pushymitra Sung as the defender of India against foreign invaders is part of a larger narrative that disapproves of heterodox sects and religions, including Buddhism and Jainism. The basic idea is to dismiss Buddhism and Jainism in preference to Brahmanism. The implications are far-reaching.

In fact, Hindutva has shifted from anti-Muslim fanaticism to an ideology that rejects pluralism and diversity in ancient Indian culture and philosophy as well. The ultimate goal of the RSS has been to dismantle the utopia the freedom struggle built under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi. At best, they appeared to be appropriating the legacy of the freedom movement and, at worst, justifying their role in the struggle. Now they seem to have gained the confidence to challenge the ideology of the Independence Struggle in its totality. We should not forget that Ashoka is an essential part of the narrative of the Independence Struggle. The core of this narrative is to build a democratic polity wherein people of different faiths and cultures can live in harmony.

It is not new that organisations and leaders create myths. Myth-making is integral to politics and social reform, and leaders and organisations have been assiduously indulging in it. But everyone follows an unwritten code of respecting the truth. Social and political leaders take great care to ensure that their myths are founded on reality.In recent years, this self-imposed restriction has vanished worldwide, and lies have taken over. The Indian case seems to be the worst one where no current public discourse is free from post-truth, be it history, be it literature, or science. There is no regard for facts, and those who are supposed to scrutinise them are, instead, sponsoring them.

We can see how Jawaharlal Nehru continues to be the worst victim of the RSS-sponsored post-truth. Though Mahatma Gandhi has been a victim of veiled attacks since pre-independence days, now the attacks are direct and poisonous.

There are many ways of making myths. People like Mahatma Gandhi did it with their charisma, and others invoked it by weaving a story around historical icons or events. While Gandhi made myths with the help of his personal charisma, Lokmanya Tilak used Shivaji as a symbol to unite the people against the foreign rulers. Maharshi Aurbindo used Mother Goddess to do the same. Neither Mahatma Gandhi, Tilak nor Aurbindo were accused of propagating lies. All of them are known for their integrity and absolute display of their adherence to the truth. However, the Hindutva attempt to recast history and create myths is generally abetted by lies and half-truths. They do not feel shy about sponsoring a narrative that is based on a falsehood. Stories about Nehru are the best examples of post-truth. They involve all the important events of the Indian freedom struggle, including the martyrdom of Bhagat Singh, Netaji's Subash Chandra's war against the British, and the partition of India. The false propaganda to dismiss his role as the nation builder of independent India has been on since Narendra Modi took over as prime minister. The public discourse in India requires immediate liberation from the RSS's post-truth.

(The author is a senior journalist. He has experience of working with leading newspapers and electronic media including Deccan Herald, Sunday Guardian, Navbharat Times and Dainik Bhaskar. He writes on politics, society, environment and economy)

The Hindutva Rhetoric

♦ Hindutva-inspired post-truth because it takes full liberty in portraying Ashoka in a negative manner

♦ It is not new that organisations and leaders create myths. Myth-making is integral to politics and social reform, and leaders and organisations have been assiduously indulging in it

♦ Hindutva has shifted from anti-Muslim fanaticism to an ideology that rejects pluralism and diversity in ancient Indian culture and philosophy as well

♦ Though Mahatma Gandhi has been a victim of veiled attacks since pre-independence days, now the attacks are direct and poisonous

♦ The public discourse in India requires immediate liberation from the RSS's post-truth