Gandhi Peace Prize for Gita Press: With its objections, Congress shows antipathy to all things Hindu

Unless one argues that printing Hindu texts and making them accessible is undesirable, opposition makes little sense. Curiously, religious texts of other religions are never opposed based on such concerns

The newly emergent non-traditional centres of Hindu religiosity played an important role. The establishment of Gita Press was also part of this wide spectrum, ranging from reformist to revivalist movements and institutions. (Gita Press website)

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Even at the beginning of the 20th century, it was a widely-held belief that the destiny of Hindus was to fade away and their lands absorbed into either Islamic or Western religio-cultural zones. A polycentric and archaic society riven by numerous social fault lines had no chance to withstand the modern-industrial world and a resurgent Islamic imperialism in the Subcontinent in the form of contemporary Islamist movements. But the last century witnessed the strengthening of the Hindu cultural and civilisational resurgence and consolidation of Hindu polity culminating in the formation of a Hindu nation, albeit not a Hindu state.

The newly emergent non-traditional centres of Hindu religiosity played an important role. The establishment of Gita Press was also part of this wide spectrum, ranging from reformist to revivalist movements and institutions. The impact of Gita Press proved to be immense for three reasons: First was the adoption of Hindi as the medium of printing religious texts; second was the affordability and third, the collection and compilation of even lesser-known texts, making them accessible to most Hindus for the first time.

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Gita Press democratised access to Hindu religious texts through mass printing and professional translation into easy Hindi. Even a low-income household could now afford to buy sacred texts like Srimad Bhagavatam or Ramayan. Upanishads, Yoga Darshan and Shrimad Bhagavad Gita became comprehensible to the middle class and anyone interested in the subject. It also popularised the works of poet-saints writing in regional languages at the pan-India level.

Gita Press did a yeoman service to Hindu society in reviving and sustaining everyday Hinduism among the masses in the fast-changing 20th century and kept the younger generations rooted in the Hindu religion-cultural framework. With vividly illustrated pages, the iconography promoted by Gita Press had the same impact on the Hindu imagination of the divine that the words of Bhakti poets once did. Since 1923, it has sold 930 million copies of over 1,850 religious books in 15 languages.

The decision to confer the Gandhi Peace Prize to Gita Press at its centennial has been widely welcomed. The success of Gita Press in emphasising the moral and ethical framework and everyday Dharma, the goals close to Gandhiji’s heart, makes it the most deserving candidate for the award. Gandhi himself was a regular contributor to the magazine of the Gita Press. The worldview and interpretation of texts propagated by the Gita Press are also close to Gandhi’s religiosity; his debates and disagreements with the editors on several social and political issues notwithstanding.

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But what is surprising is the hostile stand of the Congress party, which denounced the decision by citing a controversial propaganda work. Or perhaps the new Congress under Rahul Gandhi has completely shifted towards the extreme left with its inbuilt antipathy towards anything Hindu. Congress was the default party of Hindus for close to a century, but now it seems to have given up any attempt to regain its lost constituency and is in the complete thraldom of far-left and anarchist ideologues, busy writing an entirely new history of India based on fabricated facts and fake narratives.

The opposition to Gita Press stems from an aversion towards all Hindu texts by a section of the population and old elites. The critics hide behind the argument that it promotes an orthodox version of Hinduism, reinforces caste and gender hierarchies, and contributes to Hindu nationalism. But the interpretation of religious texts is subjective and a matter of continuous negotiations within the Hindu discourse. The role of the Gita Press is primarily that of a publisher, not an arbiter of social change. It is their responsibility to present the texts as they are, and it is up to society and individuals to interpret and apply them in a modern context.

So unless one argues that printing Hindu texts and making them accessible is undesirable, opposition makes little sense. Curiously, religious texts of other religions are never opposed based on such concerns. And Hindu nationalism, or Hindutva, has long been at loggerheads with the orthodoxy, especially on the issue of caste. Gita Press can’t be accused of promoting both simultaneously. Critics who argue that it promotes a monolithic version of Hinduism overlook that it makes available a wide range of texts from different traditions within Hinduism.

The Opposition has adopted the fatal strategy of imposing a cultural war in India like the ones raging across Western liberal democracies. Be it the Sengol, Gita Press, Ram Mandir or the issue of forced conversions, they seem to have concluded that only de-Hinduisation can pave the path to their electoral victory. But they are then betting against history. I remember during a discussion in 2013, members of the liberal establishment smugly argued that Delhi’s elite society is fully immersed in Sufi music and practices and arrogantly dismissed any space for Hindu concerns. Within a year, they were in for a rude shock. And since Gita Press has played a pivotal role in preserving and maintaining India’s Hindu core, their rage is understandable.

Gandhi Peace Prize for Gita Press: With its objections, Congress shows antipathy to all things Hindu

Unless one argues that printing Hindu texts and making them accessible is undesirable, opposition makes little sense. Curiously, religious texts of other religions are never opposed based on such concerns

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