140 "Presenting" the Past
many advantages without enough reciprocity. This reciprocity, from the
Hindu communalists' view, would include Muslims not organizing them-
selves rigorously along religious lines, not converting Hindus to Islam,
and being "Indians" before being Muslims. The Hindutva groups seek
to level even the marginal advantages of the minority communities, and
the minority status itself is being denied. A Hindutva-type commentator
argues, "Hinduism being not a monolithic, but a collection of perpetu-
ally feuding entities, every Hindu is a member of a minority." According
to him, "all that the Government has to do is to extend the non-Hindu
minority privileges to the Hindus also."^98 But the fact remains that the
Hindutva forces, a minority among the Hindus, uphold "a particular view
of nebulous Hinduism" that will enslave "not only the citizens believing
in other religions, but also the Hindus who will aspire for knowledge, for
freedom, and for decent living."^99
While some analysts think that it was just mob hysteria that demolished
the mosque, others argue that it was not just lumpen elements running
amok, but there were other significant forces operating within. Report-
ers covering the Ayodhya incidents in 1990 found among the militants
not just pious devotees but also young men who were venting their pent-
up anger at authority in general. Arguing that the mosque is a symbol of
the constitution, Bharat Jhunjhunwala contends that "the position taken
on the mosque or the Constitution is dictated by the economic interests
of the various groups." According to him, the cooperative and secular
constitution influenced by Gandhian ideals has become "the preserver of
the middle classes and the poverty of the Muslim-Christian minorities"
in the changed economic scenario. The political groupings, the Congress,
the Left, and the BJP, having been inspired by the philosophies such as
Gandhism, Marxism, and Hindutva, respectively, operate from differ-
ent political bases, such as the middle class and minorities, the industrial
working class and the peasantry, and the business community and land-
owning farmers. Unlike the first two political constituencies, the economic
interests of the third group are not vested in the constitution, because it is
an exploiter of them rather than a supporter. The taxation, controls, and
corruption of the bureaucracy and high wages of labor are all reflected in
the policies of the BJP.^100
Putting the economic issue in terms of "security and participation,"
another commentator sums up: "It is not the question of a mosque or a
monument or even of memories of Mughal or Vedic glory. It is the ques-
tion of a sense of security and participation in the making of this coun-
try's destiny"^101 Another explanation given for the Ayodhya crime is that
the mainstream political parties in India have lost their interest in politi-
cal principles and programs and have come to rely on antisocial forces
in political contention. Moreover, there is a distinct lack of an alliance of
political forces against communalism and for socioeconomic development
based on self-reliance and mass welfare. Another theory argues that the