For all those who were comfortable in the belief that Marxism is passé, and the Communist party is over, the book, Snakes in the Ganga, will come as a rude shock. The authors, Rajiv Malhotra and Vijaya Viswanathan have traced the history of the revival of––what they have conclusively proved as––divisive ideologies that have sprung up in new avatars.
But, this time, these ideologies and their operators are not in any one geography like the former USSR, but in multiple places such as universities, not-for-profit organisations, publishing houses and other academic centres. Thus, it becomes even more difficult to tackle this hydra-headed ‘snake’, especially when it infests an unsuspecting and pious ‘Ganga’.
For the friends, and also foes, of Malhotra, this book is not new, nor are his views. His earlier book, Breaking India, depicted in detail the nefarious activities of some of the US and European churches, think tanks, industry-funded foundations and human rights groups. It exposed the divisive agenda of these groups by exploiting the fault lines in society such as the north-south divide, Aryan-Dravidian theory and the Dalit versus rest differences. Snakes in the Ganga is the continuation of the same but in a new form.
Many Indian authors and thinkers have attempted to probe the extent of the ‘colonisation of the Indian mind’, and its highly damaging effect on the social milieu. It is so deep-rooted in the Indian psyche that practically every aspect of society––politics, religion, education––is heavily influenced by the divisive seeds sown by the British Raj. The north-south divide was singularly responsible for catapulting the Dravidian parties to power in Tamil Nadu, which also witnessed anti-Hindi agitation turning into a political movement. The British policy of divide and rule has been adopted now by neo-Marxists, well entrenched in the academic circles of the US, argues Malhotra.
“In fact, America has become the global hub for developing and propagating this latest manifestation of Marxism. The new paradigm known as Critical Race Theory began with good intentions––to fight against the injustices suffered by Black Americans at the hands of White Americans.
But in its merger with Marxism and Post-modernism, Critical Race Theory is on a dangerous trajectory towards a similar destructive impact that Communism and other Marxist experts caused worldwide. It shares many Marxist principles,” the book states. It essentially blames the entire divisive game plan being played out in India on the American universities and “Marxist”, or rather “pseudo-Marxist”, groups in some of these academic institutions. Malhotra has likely done extensive research on every
one of these institutions and outfits that churn out, what he calls, anti-India (read anti-Hindu) venom.
Questioning the ill effects of colonialism is not new in Indian academic circles. Writers like Sita Ram Goel and Ram Swaroop have written extensively about the need to erase its impact from the minds of Indians. What Malhotra has done through his new book is to express similar ideas, substituting British Raj with American Raj. Ironically, having lived in the US for a major part of his life, he and his co-author have not been able to provide a convincing answer to the craze among a section of Indians for “anything that is American”. The American dream continues to enchant graduates as well as prospective motel owners.
Even while strictly adhering to the policy of neutrality and maintaining strategic autonomy, keeping America on the right side is an important aspect of India’s foreign policy. Is the Indian mind being “Americanised”, resulting in blind acceptance of some of the good and many of the bad ideas broiled in the melting pot in the West? Going by the nearly seven decades of a colonial hangover, the snakes in the Ganga look real. But is the Indian mind so weak and gullible that it can be overrun by a motley crowd of a handful of “unemployed Marxists”, and that too from the citadel of capitalism? Sounds far-fetched.
Yet, the book powerfully argues the need to filter ideas emanating from the US and the perils of superimposing its race conflicts on social strife in Indian society. For that matter, even in America, the sooner the society comes out of the racial differences, the better it would be for their politics. But, that is not what the book concerns itself with. As a staunch Indian and Hindu, Malhotra, with his deep knowledge of Sanskrit and Indian knowledge systems, emphasises on the need to clean up Ganga of the poisonous snakes. The larger question is who will do it and how. Probably, one will have to wait for another time from the authors.