August 22, 2017: India's culture has been its representative in the global arena. The cultural background of the country can be traced back to thousands of years. The Vedas, written thousands of years ago, still dictate our lifestyle and thoughts.
But this remarkable cultural heritage was infused with Marxism and Communism by India's leftist leaders. David Frawley, in his recent article, traces the impact of leadership on Indian traditional culture.
But, Pandit Vamadeva Shastri also known as David Frawley- the Director of American Institute of Vedic Studies observes how the exclusive Indian culture was outsourced to the left by Pandit Nehru. "Congress outsourced education and cultural development to the far left, Marxists and Communists, with which Nehru had much affinity," says Frawley in his website vedanet.com. Nehru was vocal about his different idea of the country that goes away from its genuine culture. Nehru, along with his followers, rejected the Indian past.
Although the country had become politically independent, the intellectual progress continued to be dependent on the west, courtesy of the "Delhi elite, which though located in India, kept their minds residing outside the country." Traditional Indian culture was criticized by these very people.
Indira Gandhi cannot be said to have continued this trend, but she too "supported the same westernized elite for whom Indian civilization was a dangerous myth to be eliminated for modern progress," writes David Frawley.
Dr. Frawley also highlights that the influence of Marxism on Indian education was known to very few people in the West. Additionally, the West was also unaware of the socialist stand of the Indian economy.
It was the RSS through the expression of BJP that sought to retain Indian values and culture. But the efforts proved futile as it was perceived backward and antique to stick to Indian cultures. As David Frawley rightly observes, "Much of this was owing to Marxist propaganda that has always demonized its opponents, which the Congress dominated media gladly followed."
There was hope in 1999 when BJP took the power through PM Vajpayee, but not much changed in the mindset of the nation. Rather, "India fell back into the old leftist rule with a vengeance and a massive corruption and nepotism under the UPA in 2004 that continued for ten years," notes Dr. Frawley.
The 2014 elections saw the formation of Modi government in India. India's new leader, Narendra Modi, came to national politics with "the power of vision, personal charisma, a forward development agenda and tremendous work to usher in a new India."
Modi envisions a technologically advanced India through older Indian ethos. The PM plans on introducing "social media, cashless society, smart cities and a radically improved infrastructure."
David Frawley acknowledges Modi's love for Indian traditions. The PM has come up with a lot of programs to help the poor masses of the country. "He is not afraid to be a Hindu or to attend Hindu functions, while at the same time excelling as a modern technocrat," explores David Frawley.
Modi's beliefs in Hinduism are not confined to sectarian thoughts, rather, a broad spiritual pursuit of "Yoga, meditation, universal consciousness, and self-realization."
David Frawley believes that humanity can be inspired through a renovated and revitalized India. The Nehruvian idea of India is slowly dying as PM Modi builds a competitive India in sync with its traditions.
– prepared by Saksham Narula of NewsGram. Twitter @Saksham2394