6 "Presenting" the Past
By attaching epic qualities and rhetorical tone to history, events become
atemporalized and history is made timeless. The mythic time-schemes leak
into historical, realist time, giving ample leeway to socialize Us and show
Them their place. This circular narrative, which keeps returning to the
same point over and over again, utilizes popular symbols and sentiments
and modern communication technologies and techniques. To tighten the
grip over the homogenous in-group, national history is narrowed down to
a place, a spot, a building, with an out-group villain and in-group victims.
So history becomes a sacred blend of cultural logic, social organization,
ideological convictions, political program, and future "vision." This all-
purpose psychedelic history can be anything and indeed becomes every-
thing.
The most important characteristic of the Hindutva program, however,
is its ingenious use of history as propaganda and propagandizing history
effectively through various organizations, channels, and media. After all,
the role of propaganda has been very crucial in Indian civilization since
ancient times to preserve the social order of the caste system and uphold
the political authority of the "divine" royalty.^10 Propaganda, by definition,
is a means of social control that relies on techniques that induce individ-
uals and social groups to follow nonrational and emotional drives. The
broad principles of propaganda are, of course, to fit the situation into a
rigid pattern of Us versus Them and an unresolvable conflict of good ver-
sus evil; to appeal to the emotions with little reasoning, logic, argument,
or ideational content; to reach for individuals and social groups by inter-
preting the ends of propaganda to suit the purposes and prejudices of
various constituencies; and, finally, to keep the propagandist and his or
her motives and clients distinctly in the background.^11 Deciphering the
subjective principles that appear to underlie the propaganda plans and
decisions of the Nazi propaganda minister, Josef Goebbels, Leonard Doob
presents a whole list.^12 A cursory comparison of Nazi propaganda prin-
ciples with Hindutva historical discourse is quite pertinent, as the propa-
ganda-oriented Sangh Parivar thrives mainly on history.
First and foremost is the need for a central authority to plan and execute
the propaganda directives and oversee the various agencies' activities
that have propaganda consequences. The RSS plays this role so effectively
that it does not even face the complaints or constant reorganization that
afflicted the Nazi propaganda machine. Goebbels believed, as does the
Sangh Parivar, that propaganda should be facilitated by leaders with
prestige. The sarsanghchalak and pracharaks of the RSS are as powerful and
unquestionable in the production of Hindutva history as were the Fuhrer
and his associates in evolving Nazi ideology.
Second, propaganda is a matter of expediency, not morality, and there-
fore the credibility determines whether the propaganda output should be
true or false. Hindutva history, likewise, is one of expediency and is based