(This is the first in the series of articles that I would like to write on 'actions India should take to avoid a demographic disaster and continue to exist as a Nation still in the 22nd Century'.)
About 10 years ago, the RSS Join General secretary gave a press meeting urging the Government of India headed by the UPA government that 'It needs to take effective steps to manage its borders'. (1)
10 years have passed since then & the BJP government has been at the central government for about 9 years now. The BJP government has taken some steps to develop the border states. But it's not just about development or infrastructure that will solve the problem. The problem is about demographics and security. Religious demographics directly relate to national security. Anyone who disagrees with this statement has to rethink their understanding of Islam and their learning of Indian history, or even world history.
I will try to simplify the above point by quoting the late J N Dixit (former Security Advisor to Indian PM), "India is secular only because it is a Hindu Nation." (2) For people who confuse Nation with State, stating that a Hindu nation means a theocratic state, let me further clarify the point in the following statement "India will remain secular only as long as Hindus remain the majority". If you still do not understand the importance of demographics just look at Pakistan, Bangladesh, Christian-sponsored separatism in the Northeast, Sri Lanka, the downfall of Lebanon & creation of Hizbollah. etc. The list is too long depending on how far you go back in history & how far you go around the world.
Let's get back to the Indian state of Jammu & Kashmir. Article 370 has gone. Has Kashmir become a safe place for non-Muslims to settle there? Yes. It is safer than 10 years ago, much better than the 1990s. But it will never be completely safe again unless the demography changes. How can we restore the demographics for a plural and open society that existed in Kashmir even 200 years ago?
The answer lies in 'Kibbutz'. (3)
Kibbutz means "Israeli Settlement". The first Kibbutz was an agricultural settlement established in 1909. Now we have agrarian and high-tech Kibbutz all over Israel. The first Kibbutz were based socialist model now there are also private entities. Each Kibbutz is a fort with people trained and equipped to defend it. (4) In Indian analogy, "it is a combination of an economically self-sufficient Indian village fused with the security of a Shivaji Maharaj fort".
The kibbutz is the building block of Israel (or) You may call it the 'Lego of Israeli nation building'. That's the reason Arabs hate them.
I don't think anyone in India has gone to Israel and studied how Kibbutz is developed and run. It's a strategic project worth doing. About 8 years ago when Narendra Modi was planning to visit Israel, I wrote a letter to the Indian PM's office that can be summarised as follows "The 'Technology of Kibbutz' is more important to India than a desalination device from Israel. Please bring up this request from the Indian side during the discussions with the Israeli side". I got a response from PMO thanking me for my input. I don't think any action was taken on the study of the Kibbutz. I am disappointed but not surprised given BJP government is good at tactical actions but lacks strategic thinking. I wish either the Indian government or nationalist think tanks like VIF take up the strategic study of the Kibbutz with the aim of replicating it in India. Time is running out for India.
Even though Kashmir is taken as an example, we may need it for Kerala, Northeast or West Bengal in the near future.
Hope someone takes it up. Otherwise, it will end up being my retirement project of 'Starting a Kibbutz in Kashmir'. If so, wish me an early retirement. :-)
References:
1. Sri Dattatreya Hosabale's press meet reference. https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/take-effective-steps-to-manage-indias-borders-rss-tells-govt/articleshow/24764638.cms
2. J N Dixit was a speaker at the ABVP National Conference in 1998. I was part of the volunteer team and worked for about 3 weeks full-time (Vistarak) for the conference. Those were pre-Internet days, I could not find any recordings/text as a reference, so far. I am quoting what I heard from him first-hand at the conference hall.
3. I avoid quoting Wikipedia given its leftist control of articles but here is a quick reference. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kibbutz . I will replace it with a better source soon.
4. https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/israel-hamas-war-meet-25-year-old-israeli-woman-who-saved-her-kibbutz-from-hamas-operatives-4475252
