Snakes in the ganga

Readers and critics are intrigued by the title of a fascinating new book, ‘Snakes In the Ganga: Breaking India 2.0’, authored by the well-known writer Rajiv Malhotra, and co-authored by Vijaya Viswanathan. Malhotra’s numerous best-sellers have focused on Indian civilizational issues and tend to spur a fair amount of activism.

The authors explain that the title is a metaphor for hidden dangers. Ganga is a safe place, and we don’t suspect any threats when we bathe in it. The book exposes that unknown to most people, some vicious enemies of dharma are lurking beneath the surface. When you are bathing in the river, you are immersed in Mother Ganga, in the feeling of sacredness. You have a feeling of safety and comfort and a hope for rejuvenation. Therefore, you let down your guard and expose yourself totally. You are totally unsuspecting and vulnerable. The last thing you expect is that there are also poisonous snakes nearby.

The byline ‘Breaking India 2.0’ explains these are new dangers compared to the ones discussed in Malhotra’s earlier classic book, Breaking India, written over a decade ago, but the forces this time around seem wider in scope and backing.

These negative forces are infiltrating India’s institutions and polluting them with toxins. The legitimacy of the Indian government is challenged, and all kinds of social problems blamed on its government as well as the Hindu civilization. Dalits, Muslims, feminists, LGBTQ+ and others are aroused to oppose the Indian nation. This is a Breaking India strategy.

The book explains the new academic frameworks and discourse being developed in places like Harvard University that have sinister intentions towards India. It also explains how some of India’s own elites, including some well-known patriots, are knowingly or unknowingly, consciously or maybe unconsciously, actively sponsoring such negative forces.

The book says that the nest where these snakes are being incubated and nurtured are American Ivy League universities. The production of such anti-India knowledge involves a large number of Indians at every level, but the overall leadership at the highest levels tends to be controlled by Westerners.

Many bright young Indians are lured into Harvard’s orbit, tutored and brainwashed before being exporting back to India to spread the dangerous thinking. The authors examine in detail several snake nests at Harvard – various departments and centers in public health, humanities, government, South Asian Studies and other disciplines, all under the Harvard brand.

Even entire institutions are being set up in India where such individuals and ideologies are imported and spread among India’s present and future leaders. Many such snakes are camouflaged as movements like human rights, social justice, women’s empowerment, LGBTQ empowerment, pluralism, free speech, democracy, and other such buzzwords. For details, see: www.SnakesInTheGanga.com

An important point explained in the book is that the DNA of such snakes is Marxism; this poison is spilling into society. The book explains how Marxism is being reformulated and repackaged into ideological systems like Critical Race Theory. The authors are in support of movements like Black Lives Matter but wish to point out how such movements are being dovetailed to fulfil Marxist agendas.

This is a very exciting and provocative book. It could upset some people simply because they are not used to seeing these widely acclaimed ideas and institutions in this light. But there is ample evidence cited, literally over a thousand end notes and several pages of bibliography. And it isn’t just a few individuals here and there that may be considered the dangerous snakes in this thesis, but a pretty large number. This is yet another wakeup call for India!