Sir — This refers to the article, “New narrative for a civilisational India” (December 27) by Anirban Ganguly. To impose Hindi-Hindu-Hindustan as the ideals of Indian culture is nothing but an attempt to thwart our great legacy. The ideals of our culture is to achieve unity not only by showing respect to diversity but also by accepting it as our own. In his famous Chicago speech, Swami Vivekananda had said, “We believe not only in universal toleration, but we accept all religions as true.”
Sri Ramkrishna was an embodiment of a real catholic Hindu who himself practiced Islam, Christianity and other religions to live his words — “many opinions, many paths”.
Sri Aurobindo had said, “There are two Hinduisms; one which takes its stand on the kitchen and seeks its paradise by cleaning the body; another which seeks god, not through the cooking-pot and social convention, but in the soul. The latter is also Hinduism and is more enduring than the other.” On being asked about his views on Hindi being the common language of India, Sri Aurobindo had said, “English will be all right and even necessary if India is to be an international state. In that case, English has to be the medium of expression, especially as English is now replacing French as a world — language.”
Now, if we try to impose Hindi and allow intercaste marriage vigilantes, interreligious marriage vigilantes, cow vigilantes and fairy tale vigilantes to make us forget the great teachings of Maha Upanishad — vasudhaiva kutumbakam meaning ‘the whole world is one family’ then it will be against the ideals of what India has always stood for.