New Delhi: Speaking at the A.G. Noorani Memorial Lecture on Friday, former Vice President Hamid Ansari referred to the book *The RSS: A Menace to India* by the late constitutional expert and historian A.G. Noorani. Citing an earlier statement, he noted that Jawaharlal Nehru had expressed concern about Hindu right-wing communalism—rather than communism—as a threat to India.
In his speech, Ansari also talked about Noorani’s work, constitutional values, civil liberties and minority rights. After his statement, discussion regarding this has started in political and social circles.
Which statement of Nehru did Ansari refer to?
Quoting Noorani’s book The RSS: A Menace to India, Ansari said that in the preface of this book, Noorani had written what Nehru had said in a meeting of officials of the Ministry of External Affairs. Quoting Nehru from Noorani’s book, Ansari said that the threat to India is not communism but “Hindu right-wing communalism”. Ansari had made this claim in his speech on the basis of the reference given in Noorani’s book.
What is written in Noorani’s book?
A.G. Noorani’s book The RSS: A Menace to India was first published in 2019. In this book of about 547 pages, the author has written in detail on the formation of RSS, its history, ideology and its role in Indian politics.
In the book, citing documents related to RSS, thoughts of leaders and historical events, the author has presented his analysis on the role of the organisation.
What did AG Ansari say about Noorani?
Ansari described Noorani as knowledgeable on issues related to constitutional law, history and civil liberties. He said Noorani’s life and writings reflect his commitment to justice, civil liberties, minority rights, secularism and constitutional governance.
Ansari also recalled Noorani’s personal nature and his past meetings with him. He told that his friendship with Noorani had deepened during their meetings in Delhi.
What has Ansari said before on RSS?
Ansari had also expressed his views on RSS during the launch of Noorani’s book in 2019. At that time he had said that linking Indian nationalism only to majority religious identity raises serious questions about the pluralistic nature of the country.
In his recent speech also, he discussed the same topic while keeping in front of Noorani’s book and Nehru’s statement recorded in it.
Why did the debate start on Ansari’s statement?
Ansari’s speech describing Hindu right-wing communalism as a threat to India has sparked political debate. Some reports have presented this as Ansari’s direct attack on RSS, whereas in the context of the speech, Ansari had said this by quoting Nehru’s alleged statement recorded in Noorani’s book.
Therefore, while understanding the statement, it is important to distinguish that Ansari had cited a historical statement in his speech, while the historical background and context of that statement can be a subject of separate debate.
