The construction of a Hindu temple in Abu Dhabi is being interpreted as a sign of mutual trust and the enhanced relationship between India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). However, it would be an injustice to view the event as merely a matter of ceremonial importance for Hindus or a diplomatic gesture from the UAE. The message from Abu Dhabi is far bigger than is apparent at the current moment. The temple possesses cultural values that have the potential to redefine multiculturalism. Equally importantly, it exhibits Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s mission to explore Bharat’s ability to achieve the goal of the unity of opposites in a world that is rife with hostilities based on religion and culture.
Less than a month before the inauguration of the BAPS temple, PM Modi inaugurated the Ram temple in Ayodhya. It was an event that acquired ideological significance beyond Bharat due to the historical background of conflict between Hindus and Indian Muslims over ownership of the site. The debate centred around ideas of majoritarianism and minority rights. Its resolution and the proactive engagement of the Indian state in the construction of the temple shifted the debate from religion to culture. The temple at Ayodhya represented a reconnection with history and a reassertion of Hindu identity. A de-Hinduised India cannot accomplish the mission of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam and help the world contemplate ideas, concepts and a future for mankind that goes beyond the Western worldview.
PM Modi made sincere efforts to present Hindu views before the global community. This has enhanced the morale and efforts of Hindu ideologues. Earlier, the latter were dependent on Orientalist categories to take part in the discourse on Indian culture. But 2014 proved a game-changer in the field of ideas.
Modi is the first statesman from a post-colonial society who has shown conviction to move towards the decolonisation and de-Westernisation of ideas and culture. Unlike right-wing politicians, he is both an ideologue and a practitioner. In this sense, he is close to the idea propagated by Marxist thinker Frantz Fanon, who believed that decolonisation requires conviction against Western ideas and value systems. In a sense, PM Modi reflects the suppressed aspirations of a large section of the non-Western world, particularly in former colonies.
The inauguration of the temple in Abu Dhabi also redefines multiculturalism, which remains a contested concept in the Islamic world. A Muslim state provided 27 acres of land for a temple. This is a recognition of the fact that religious co-existence is a prerequisite for cultural evolution. The secularism propagated by the West denied the space to the Hindu worldview. In 2016, Modi gifted Salman bin Abdulaziz, the king of Saudi Arabia, a gold-plated replica of the Cheraman mosque in Kerala, the oldest in the country.
Secularism does not just mean togetherness with peace and harmony. It also involves respecting each other’s views. It negates static thinking. Notwithstanding the polemics and propaganda against the RSS-BJP in general and Modi in particular, the Islamic world has its own assessment of the new regime in India. India does not have a history of discrimination based on religion. Parsis and Jews were respectively 1.1 lakh and 24,000 in the 1931 census . Both communities enjoyed equal opportunities and the Muslim population grew from 9 per cent in 1951 to 14 per cent in the 2011 census. Modi has received more than six awards from Muslim countries. This shows that the Muslim world is more comfortable with emerging India than the West. It also demonstrates that the West cannot define the contours of the relationship between non-Western countries.
Earlier, the West’s approach was considered the basis for understanding Arab and Islamic countries. PM Modi’s outreach represents a de-Westernisation of diplomacy. The West has not helped the Islamic world liberalise itself. It created elites among these nations who failed to understand the worth of their own culture beyond their geopolitics. The West exploited religious conflicts to maintain its hegemony.
Religion plays a vital role in shaping foreign policy. India lost decades of opportunity by refusing to acknowledge this. Buddhism originated in India but China used it to mobilise Buddhist countries. However, things began to change in 2014. Buddhists are spread over dozens of countries. It is a travesty that less than one per cent of Buddhist tourists come to India. PM Modi visited countries dominated by Buddhists, including smaller nations like Mongolia. The creation of a Buddhist destination in Kaushambi in Uttar Pradesh saw a huge rise in tourism. India has reached out to the Buddhist population in Nepal. PM Modi’s visits to Buddhist temples in Nepal, Singapore and Japan are important in this regard. He realises the strength of soft power in foreign policy. India can’t match China’s economic resources. It has to use its philosophical and cultural legacy to reach people who remain oblivious to Indian thought, history and philosophy.
The Western concept of modernity is also being corrected and shorn of its bias. Micro cultures of the world are now getting their legitimate space in redefining modernity. India has the opportunity to lead this ideological mission. However, safeguarding this revival from those who would hijack it requires intellectual buttressing. A broader outlook on democracy and liberalism, beyond Western hegemonic ideas, requires that post-colonial societies evolve an alternative discourse in partnership with each other. In this regard, it is necessary to contextualise Hindu philosophy. Neo-liberalism has unsettled families, communities, traditions and religions. Hinduism’s teachings, grounded in realism, can help save humanity from dry materialism
The message from Abu Dhabi is also important for the domestic discourse in India. What Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al Nahyan and PM Modi achieved through mutual understanding can be enlarged and reinterpreted in more contexts. The temple must not be seen as an exception that came about as a result of mutual need. Secularism can survive only with new ideas and new beginnings. Abu Dhabi is both a move towards autonomy for post-colonial societies and an aspiration for a world free from hostilities.
The writer is BJP Rajya Sabha MP
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The Hindu temple in Abu Dhabi is a beacon of decolonisation
10
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15.02.2024
The construction of a Hindu temple in Abu Dhabi is being interpreted as a sign of mutual trust and the enhanced relationship between India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). However, it would be an injustice to view the event as merely a matter of ceremonial importance for Hindus or a diplomatic gesture from the UAE. The message from Abu Dhabi is far bigger than is apparent at the current moment. The temple possesses cultural values that have the potential to redefine multiculturalism. Equally importantly, it exhibits Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s mission to explore Bharat’s ability to achieve the goal of the unity of opposites in a world that is rife with hostilities based on religion and culture.
Less than a month before the inauguration of the BAPS temple, PM Modi inaugurated the Ram temple in Ayodhya. It was an event that acquired ideological significance beyond Bharat due to the historical background of conflict between Hindus and Indian Muslims over ownership of the site. The debate centred around ideas of majoritarianism and minority rights. Its resolution and the proactive engagement of the Indian state in the construction of the temple shifted the debate from religion to culture. The temple at Ayodhya represented a reconnection with history and a reassertion of Hindu identity. A de-Hinduised India cannot accomplish the mission of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam and help the world contemplate ideas, concepts and a future for mankind that goes beyond the Western worldview.
PM Modi made sincere efforts to present Hindu views before the global community. This has enhanced the morale and efforts of Hindu ideologues. Earlier, the latter were dependent on Orientalist categories to take part in the discourse on Indian culture. But 2014 proved a game-changer in........
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