A slim collection of 22 previously published articles, My Idea of Nation First: Redefining Unalloyed Nationalism, lays out Uday Mahurkar’s personal viewpoint on a wide range of topics upfront. The ‘idea of nation’ here is grounded in the realities of today, even as the essays move through history, whispers, and oral narratives.
The author broadly seems to represent a right-wing perspective, though he is largely rehashing personal articles. There’s no internal integrity across chapters; much less a narrative arc, outlining of an ideology, or even tracing blueprints. No cultural icons are defined and deified. Each article is disparate, couched in probables, and none deep enough to warrant a counterpoint. For example, Why a Section of Muslims Should End Cow Slaughter? sits unperturbed beside Who are the 96 Kuli Maratha Kshatriyas? The rhetoric follows the RSS tradition, though here it’s both sketchy and unfounded, and once again, one waits for a scholar to outline the sterling traditions of Hindutva. The article A Standalone Assessment: Deendayal Upadhyaya and Gandhi quite naturally sings paeans to the former, though the two personalities are mismatched. While in the essay Savarkar: The Father of Our National Security, the author avers that Indira Gandhi followed the principles of the non-politician, non-statesman, and someone unremembered in the footnotes of history, which tests one’s beliefs and patience.
“For example, I think Savarkar was wrong when he said that the cow was like any other animal because the cow should be seen from the prism of scientific temper rather than religion,” Mahurkar writes. Why, then, the macabre dance over beef when the forefather himself saw the cow as just an animal? Then the author repeats as a counterpoint that has no grounds. “Plus, scientific research has now proven that cow dung and urine have life-saving properties that can cure many diseases.” Note, there are no citations or references.
Further, the author lays claim to Swami Pranavananda of the Bharat Sevashram Sangha as a predecessor or inspiration for the RSS. Not the obfuscation. “What is also unknown is the fact that the structure of the BSS… might have influenced the formation of the RSS, as its founder, Dr KB Hegdewar, was studying medicine in Kolkata when Pranavananda launched his movement. Both were reportedly associated with the well-known revolutionary body, Anshulan Samiti, though there is no evidence so far to show that the two knew each other.” “Might” and “reportedly” are insufficient for history books’ demand for verifiable and tested evidence. Each of these articles may have made sense in a newspaper, in their time; however, lumped together in a book, they make for a rather lopsided view. While too few books exist that can educate us on right-wing beliefs and ideologies, they must be refined, presenting cogent arguments and not rehashed rhetoric of propaganda narratives.