![\"'Danger](\"https:\/\/static.toiimg.com\/thumb\/msid-134352914,imgsize-110236,width-400,height-225,resizemode-4\/file-photo.jpg\" "\\"Ansari")
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nNEW DELHI: Former vice president Mohammad Hamid Ansari on Saturday cited former prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru<\/a>‘s remarks about the \u201cdanger to India\u201d while referring to concerns raised by late constitutional expert and author AG Noorani in his book The RSS<\/a>: A Menace to India.He was addressing the event, titled \u201cRemembering a Polymath: The Life and Times of Abdul Ghafoor Noorani\u201d, organised at the India Islamic Cultural Centre to commemorate the life and works of the jurist and author.Addressing an event, Ansari recalled jurist and author Abdul Ghafoor Noorani’s observations in the introduction to his 2019 book and cited remarks by Nehru that were recorded by former Foreign Secretary Jagat Singh Gundevia during a meeting of Ministry of External Affairs officials.\u2018The RSS: A Menace to India\u2019 was the title of the book published in 2019. The opening lines of the introduction, where A.G. Noorani used a couplet, reflected what he described as the prevailing sentiment among Muslims in India today. In the same introduction, he referred to former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru\u2019s remarks at a Ministry of External Affairs officers\u2019 meeting, documented by Foreign Secretary Gundevia. Nehru had warned that \u2018the real danger to India was not communism, but Hindu right-wing communalism\u2019,” he said.During his speech, Ansari discussed Noorani’s writings and his views on nationalism, identity and political developments in India. He also referred to Noorani’s criticism of what he saw as a shift from civic nationalism towards cultural nationalism.\u201cIn recent years, we have experienced the emergence of trends and practices that dispute the well-established principle of civic nationalism and interpose a new and imaginary practice of cultural nationalism,\u201d Ansari said.\u201cIt seeks to present an electoral majority in the guise of a religious majority and monopolise political power. It wants to distinguish citizens based on their faith, give vent to intolerance, insinuate otherness, and promote disquiet and insecurity,\u201d he added.Ansari raised concerns over what he described as emerging trends that challenge the principle of civic nationalism.During his speech, Ansari said, \u201cSome of its recent manifestations are chilling and reflect poorly on our claim to be governed by the rule of law. It\u2019s a question that has to be answered. These trends need to be contested and contested legally and contested politically.\u201d<\/p>\n Reacting to Ansari’s remarks, the BJP Scheduled Tribe Morcha said the statement brought what it described as Congress’s \u201canti-Hindu politics\u201d into focus. The BJP unit also referred to Rahul Gandhi’s past remarks on Hindu groups and terrorism, alleging that such statements reflected a pattern in the party’s political narrative.<\/p>\n Share your thoughts in the comments<\/p>\n<\/div>\n‘Congress\u2019s anti-Hindu politics in the spotlight’, says BJP<\/b><\/h3>\n<\/p>\n