Congress scion Rahul Gandhi, as part of his almost week-long Europe tour, addressed students at a university in Paris on 8 September, where he shared the stage with author and columnist Christophe Jaffrelot, known for deep-rooted hate for Hindus and India. The official X handle of the Congress party shared pictures of the event where the Congress leader engaged in an interaction session with the students and the Faculty of Sciences PO in Paris.
Rahul Gandhi, who often courts controversy with his anti-India statements was joined by the French political scientist who has a history of writing against India and regularly attacks the incumbent Bharatiya Janata Party government and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He furiously opposed the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and labelled it against the “spirit of Indian secularism.”
Opposition to Hindu outfits and claims of victimhood
Christophe Jaffrelot dragged the Jewish people and Israel into his argument and equated the legislation with them. “Such an approach reflects a vision of the nation as an ethno-religious body where those who do not belong to the sons of the soil’s majority are bound to be second-class citizens. This suggests a certain parallel with the Israeli pattern where the state belongs primarily to the Jewish people.”
He didn’t address the perilous threats or oppression faced by the marginalised minorities, particularly Hindus solely because of their religion in the three Islamic neighbour countries of India.
He accused Hindus of having lower self-worth. “You talk of a majoritarian inferiority complex rooted in a lack of self-esteem in the 19th century. Has this sense of vulnerability changed considering that BJP leaders still promote the myth of Muslim population explosion,” he asked.
“The Hindu complex of inferiority vis-à-vis others (including the Muslims) crystallised in the 19th century when the British not only emphasised the division of Hindus along caste lines and sectarian lines, in the Census to begin with but also invented communal stereotypes.” He blamed the British imperialists for the division but didn’t mention the nefarious role played by Muslim extremists and fundamentalist outfits like the Muslim League.
He also attributed the same reason to Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi alias Mahatma Gandhi’s infamous quote, “The Musalman, as a rule, is a bully, and the Hindu as a rule is a coward.”
The author doesn’t criticise the terrorists for waging war against India and spilling the blood of innocent citizens, however, chooses to blame the Bharatiya Janata Party for exploiting the ghastly assaults in its favour. “Then came a long series of Islamist terrorist attacks ranging from Bombay 1993 to Mumbai 2008 that enabled the BJP to exploit a politics of fear and derive electoral dividends.”
He charged Hindu groups like Bajrang Dal with inflicting violence, attacking churches and lynching Muslims. “Is not the term Sangh Parivar a misnomer,” he questioned and opined, “A family stands for love and cohesion. And the Sangh’s members, notably those of the Bajrang Dal, have been accused of attacking churches and lynching Muslim men.”
He added, “The RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh) and its affiliates form a family because the mother organisation is the matrix of a dense network of unions (Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh, Bharatiya Kisan Sangh) and other offshoots like the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), Vidya Bharti, and Seva Bharti. The fact that one of these organisations, the Bajrang Dal, resorts to violence is another story. But the interesting common feature lies in the systematic denial of violence.”
Once again, he maintained complete silence over the multiple Hindu victims of Muslim violence as well as the church attacks which were proven to be orchestrated by criminals and not any Hindu organisation.
He alleged that “it becomes more and more difficult for Muslims to live in mixed neighbourhoods, to marry Hindu spouses, to get some jobs. In this regard, the few available panel surveys show that when the same CV is sent to a company with a Brahmin name, a Dalit name and a Muslim name, the latter are not invited for a job interview as often as Dalits and even less than Brahmins.” These occurrences are uncommon and can happen from either side. The situation is not like apartheid, as he attempted to portray.
Attack on Narendra Modi
He expressed his frustration with the victory of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance in two successive general elections in the years 2014 and 2019, respectively in his book titled “Modi’s India: Hindu Nationalism and the Rise of Ethnic Democracy.” He ranted about how “over the past two decades, thanks to Narendra Modi, Hindu nationalism has been coupled with a form of national populism that has ensured its success at the polls, first in Gujarat and then in India at large.”
He accused the Bharatiya Janata Party stalwart of “seducing a substantial number of citizens by promising them development and polarizing the electorate along ethno-religious lines. Both facets of this national populism found expression in a highly personalized political style as Modi related directly to the voters through all kinds of channels of communication in order to saturate the public space.”
However, the author conveniently ignored the fact that the prime minister’s spectacular electoral performance was possible because of his multiple innovative and socially empowering schemes like Digital India, Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojna, Ayushman Bharat Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana, and several others which have made a significant difference in the lives of millions of Indians particularly, those from the lower strata of the society.
He claimed to have interviewed Indians across the country and concluded, “Modi’s government has moved India toward a new form of democracy, an ethnic democracy that equates the majoritarian community with the nation and relegates Muslims and Christians to second-class citizens who are harassed by vigilante groups.” Unsurprisingly, like other detractors of the prime minister, he also failed to back up his assertions with evidence or offer any empirical data to prove his outrageous accusations.
He lamented about Hindu nationalism and charged that it “has resulted in attacks against secularists, intellectuals, universities, and NGOs (Non-Governmental Organisations).” He allegedly explained, “How the political system of India has acquired authoritarian features for other reasons, too.” He called the Bharatiya Janata Party power-hungry and “eager to govern not only in New Delhi but also in the states.”
He claimed that the government had over-centralized authority at the expense of federalism and had eroded institutions that were essential to checks and balances, including India’s Supreme Court. More importantly, he is consistent in not providing any proof to support his tirade.
Casting aspersions on Indian Judiciary
“When you talk of deinstitutionalising India in your book, is it fair to read a common chord in the treatment meted out to Judge Loya, the lawyer Gopal Subramanium and Justice Akil Kureshi,” the writer inquired. He stated, “The procedures followed for appointing judges are pillars of democracy. A democracy is not only based on elections, it has to respect the independence of the institutions in charge of the rule of law. This independence is guaranteed only if the executive power is not in a position to influence the way judges are appointed.”
Additionally, he vented his anger about the repeal of Article 370, “On the one side you talk of the Supreme Court’s relationship with the government moving from truce to surrender, on the other, many see in the delay in the apex court hearing cases relating to Article 370 and the CAA as proof of this perceived loss of independence of the court. Is it a fair assessment?”
He ranted, “I see no contradiction. Surrender may take different forms. The Supreme Court does not necessarily need to approve decisions made by the government; like the election bonds, it can also sit on files and say nothing for years. The result is almost the same.”
He also accused the police of being anti-minority bias because “the percentage of Muslims behind bars is much larger than their proportion in society.” He charged, “The police and vigilante groups such as the Bajrang Dal and the Gau Raksha Dal work together in many different contexts, including the patrolling of the highway in the name of cow protection. Unofficial and official power structures tend to merge.” He also called India a “de facto Hindu Rashtra.”
Dismantling Global Hindutva Event
Dismantling Global Hindutva: Multidisciplinary Perspectives (DGH) was a three-day virtual conference organised in 2021 which aimed to target Hinduism in the name of fighting Hindutva. Christophe Jaffrelot was a speaker there and as expected Hinduism, Bharatiya Janata Party and RSS. There he talked about Hindutva and the evolution of the RSS and the Sangh Parivar and its growth in the United States.
Rahul Gandhi’s anti-India statements
Meanwhile, the Wayanad MP proclaimed, “Certainly, there is an increase in discrimination and violence in India, and there is a full-scale assault on democratic institutions in India, which everybody knows and is internally and globally commented on,” on his recent trip to Europe.
He alleged that minorities and other communities are under attack in India. “Of course, minorities are under attack, but so are other communities, Dalit communities, Tribal communities, and lower-caste communities are also under attack.”
Notably, while Gandhi claimed that minorities are under attack in India, he maintained a deafening silence on the inflammatory remarks by members of I.N.D.I alliance, a bloc of opposition parties of which his party, Congress, is a part. Recently, Udhaynidhi Stalin, Tamil Nadu Minister and a senior leader of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) which is an important alliance partner made hateful remarks against Sanatan Dharma and compared it with mosquitos and coronavirus and urged for its “eradication.”
He garnered support from the Congress party including son of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Karnataka Minister Priyank Kharge, son of veteran Congressman P Chidambaram and Lok Sabha MP Karti P Chidambaram and Tamil Nadu Congress spokesperson and General Secretary Lakshmi Ramachandran for his outrageous statement.
It is noteworthy that Rahul Gandhi has a notorious legacy of hobnobbing with anti-India individuals and attacking the country even on foreign soil.
