Hindutva unleashing violence to create artificial majority: Arundhati Roy
HYDERABAD: Citing instances of intolerance by dominant caste, class, and communal elements in the country, Booker Prize winner Arundhati Roy said fascism begins with a deep social crisis, and it is seen as a threat to the existing social hierarchy.
She was speaking at the 13th commemorative meeting of human rights activist K Balagopal, titled ‘Hindutva: on-going decimation of Constitutional values and the need to restore our democracy’ here in the city on Sunday. In her talk ‘This fascist movement,’ Roy reflected on the consequences of Covid-19 lockdowns, which forced migrant workers to hit roads, the implications of the Russia-Ukraine war, islamophobia, crony capitalism, and other issues. She expressed anguish over the ever-increasing possibility of a nuclear war.
Asserting that India is more like a continent with thousands of dialects, hundreds of languages, religions, ethnicities, and castes, she said, “We are a country of minorities. There isn’t any majority in this country, and all the violence of Hindutva to create a majority an artificial one doesn’t exist. But, the anxiety of numbers has driven some people to propagate the idea of Hindutva for political interests,” she said.
Discussing how ‘Hindutva economic fundamentalism’ was reigning large in the current regime, she said, “Modi took a flight to Delhi to take charge as PM on a plane with the name Adani flashing across it. Eight years later, Adani becomes the second richest man in the world.” She added that the demonetisation and lockdowns had bankrupted the political parties in the country.
“Now, the election is like a race between a BMW high-end car and a bullock cart. But remember, bullock carts and the cycle can go to places where a BMW cannot. That’s our hope,” she said. Clifton D’ Rozario of All India Central Council of Trade Unions (AICCTU), while speaking on ‘Fascist assault on the working class’, threw light on some government policies. He said, “Few days after the Adani group entered the beach sand mining business, the Central government lifted the ban on beach sand mining. It is that kind of collaboration they are having.”