Former Vice President Hamid Ansari has triggered a political controversy after quoting a reported observation by former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru that Hindu right-wing communalism, rather than communism, posed a danger to India.
Ansari made the remark while delivering the A.G. Noorani Memorial Lecture in New Delhi on September 18. He was speaking about the work of late constitutional expert and author A.G. Noorani and his 2019 book, The RSS: A Menace to India.
What Hamid Ansari said
During his speech, Ansari referred to the introduction of Noorani’s book and said Noorani had cited an observation attributed to Nehru.
Quoting the passage, Ansari said: “The danger to India, mark you, it is not communism. It is Hindu right-wing communalism.”
Ansari said the observation was recorded by former Foreign Secretary Jagat Singh Gundevia after a meeting involving officers of the Ministry of External Affairs.
The former Vice President was discussing Noorani’s views on communalism and the concerns he had raised about the position and feelings of Muslims in India.
Why the statement has become controversial
The controversy centres on the political meaning of Ansari’s decision to highlight Nehru’s warning about Hindu right-wing communalism.
The statement contrasts two political currents — communism and Hindu right-wing communalism — and identifies the latter as the greater danger in the quoted observation.
However, Ansari presented the words as a quotation from Nehru that Noorani had included in his book. He was not presenting the sentence as a new statement originally made by him.
The historical quotation itself has also appeared in academic and historical discussions about Nehru’s views on communal politics.
BJP attacks Ansari’s remarks
The Bharatiya Janata Party criticised Ansari’s remarks.
BJP national spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari alleged that Ansari’s statement reflected the position of the Congress and claimed that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had earlier made similar remarks about Hindu groups.
Bhandari also attacked the Congress, accusing the party of being hostile towards Hindus. These are political allegations made by the BJP and were not independently established by the remarks made at the Noorani lecture.
Earlier controversy over Mahmud of Ghazni remarks
The latest row comes after another controversy involving Ansari.
In an earlier interview, Ansari was criticised over remarks concerning historical figures described in Indian history as foreign invaders. He was reported as referring to Mahmud of Ghazni as an “Indian lootera” while discussing how historical figures are described.
BJP leaders criticised those remarks and accused Ansari of portraying foreign invaders in a favourable manner.
BJP leader Shehzad Poonawalla also criticised Ansari over the comments concerning Ghazni, while Bhandari used the controversy to attack the Congress and its political positions.
Debate over communalism and Indian politics
Ansari’s latest remarks have once again brought the long-running political debate over communalism, secularism and nationalism into focus.
The central issue is the interpretation of Nehru’s reported warning and its relevance to present-day India. Ansari used the quotation while discussing Noorani’s writings, while BJP leaders have interpreted the remarks as an attack on Hindus and the political right.
The competing reactions show how historical statements about communalism continue to be part of contemporary political debates in India.
