Learning the ABCs of Hate from the Nazis
The rise of German Aryan supremacy and the methods employed by the Nazi party in its persecution of Jews provided early leaders of the Hindutva movement with a model to learn from.
“The only stable emotion is hate”
Hitler, 1926
The RSS founder Keshav Baliram Hedgewar, a Brahmin, believed that cultural and religious Hinduism should be the basis for the establishment of the nation[33]. Hedgewar established a series of centers to propagate this idea. In later years, he delegated much of its leadership to M.S. Golwalkar, who succeeded him as the leader of the RSS.
“Jewish purge is a good lesson to learn and profit by”
RSS Ideologue, Golwalkar
In his book, “We or Our Nationhood Defined,” the RSS ideologue Golwalkar states: “…to keep up the purity of the nation and its culture, Germany shocked the world by purging the country of Semitic races – the Jews. National pride at its highest has been manifested here. Germany has also shown how well-nigh impossible it is for races and cultures, having differences going to the root, to be assimilated into one united whole, a good lesson for us in Hindustan[34] to learn and profit by.” The idea of racial purity in a nation was of great importance to Golwalkar.
“Hitler knows best”
The author of Hindutva, Savarkar
Often called the ‘Father of Hindutva’ Vinayak Damodar Savarkar (1883 –1966), was a Hindu nationalist politician[35], activist, and the author of the book “Hindutva.” Savarkar influenced the founder of the RSS, Hedgewar, to a great extent.
In a speech delivered in 1940, Savarkar stated: ”Nazism proved undeniably the savior of Germany under the set of circumstances Germany was placed in.” He went on to say, “Surely Hitler knows better than Pandit Nehru does, what suits Germany best. The very fact that Germany or Italy has so wonderfully recovered and grown so powerful as never before at the touch of Nazi or Fascist magical wand is enough to prove that those political ‘isms’ were the most congenial tonics their health demanded.”
Banned three times and named a terrorist organization, the RSS has now regained political center stage with Modi’s prime ministership.
Glorifying Nazism in Today’s India
Adolf Hitler, a figure recognized globally as an icon of unbridled hate, is glorified in India and his hateful ideology is shamelessly propagated. There are businesses named after Hitler[36] in the country. Hitler is also praised in school textbooks[37] for his achievements, while his genocidal actions against Jews and other minorities are conveniently ignored. As the following examples show, “Hitler” as an icon is also good business.
Hitler’s Mein Kampf is a Best Seller in India
The Times of India reports that Mein Kampf has been a best-seller since it was first published in India. The Israeli paper Haaretz reports “Mein Kampf has also gone mainstream, becoming a “must-read” management strategy book for India’s business school students[38]…This infamous polemic remains a money-spinner for publishers.”
Translations of Mein Kampf in Indian languages being sold at Amazon
Hitler Sells in India
The Times of India reported that “Hitler’s name sells scores of products[39] on e-commerce sites such as Amazon and Flipkart — coffee mugs, Swastika and Hitler posters, laptop casings, motorcycle helmets like the Stahlhelm worn by Hitler’s troops, T-shirts, cardigans, coasters, spikebusters, extension cords, locks, iPhone covers, jewellery boxes, lamp stands…”
Products Named Hitler are Sold at Amazon India
All of this shows that Indian consumer culture and educational programming are priming its citizens to glorify Hitler. This makes it easier for people to accept the Hindutva ideology of Hindu supremacy as normal for the nation.