Rise of Hindu Extremism in India

hindu extremism

By C. Andrew

The Hindu chauvinism is a centuries old phenomenon in which Dalit and other untouchable castes had been persecuted. In modern world, Vinayak Damodar savarkar laid the foundations of Hindu nationalism/extremism in 1923, when his seminal work Hindutva (Who is a Hindu?) became the source of principles that shaped the ideology of Hindu nationalism / extremism. This was followed by the establishment of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in 1925, aimed at ensuring the unity of Hindu community to from Hindu Rashtra (Hindu Nation). After independence, the RSS came up with its own political wing, the Bhartiya Jan Sang, but failed to mobilize the Hindu community to form Hindu Rashtra. However, the RSS had rebirth in 1980 when the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) was launched as its political face. Since then, it has successfully socialized its narrative within the Indian society, aimed at marginalization of minorities. Babri Mosque incident of 1992 and anti-Muslim riots in Gujarat in 2002 reflects the gradual internalization of extremist narrative propagated by the RSS and the BJP.

Indian PM Narendar Modi, a staunch advocate of the establishment of Hinidutva as the dominant ideology in secular India, assumed power as the prime minister in 2014. Under Modi administration, according to India’s home ministry, in 2015 India experienced a 17% increase in communal violence. Mob-killing became the order of the day – of 63 attacks reported since 2010, out of which 61 took place uner Modi’s government. Hinduisation of India has damaged the professed secular fabric of society, resulting in inequality, political and administrative discrimination, patriarchal control, threats to physical security of minorities and consolidation of exclusionary practices. “However, the reality is far different. In fact, India’s pluralistic tradition faces serious challenges… (and) during the past few years, religious tolerance has deteriorated and religious freedom violations have increased in some areas of India.” The study notes that of India’s 1.2 billion people nearly 80 per cent are Hindus, with an estimated 172.2 million Muslims, 27.8 million Christians, 20.8 million Sikhs, and 4.5 million Jains. The Muslim population makes India the third largest Muslim country in the world, after Indonesia and Pakistan.

The Evangelical Fellowship of India’s Religious Liberty Commission has tallied 134 attacks on Christians or their churches in the first half of 2016, nearly as many as the annual totals for both 2014 and 2015. As far as the Muslims are concerned, they were targeted on the basis of land disputes, their traditional livelihoods selling beef or cow products, and social interaction with Hindus. In this regard, several well known authors, filmmakers and other civil society members returned national and State sponsored awards to protest; what they said was the growing religious and cultural intolerance in the country. It is important to mention that the passage of the Maharashtra law banning cow slaughter and beef distribution and consumption as a State government initiative disproportionately effecting Muslims, who have traditionally dominated to beef and buffalo meet trade. After Hindu mob killing of an individual accused of cow slaughter in Dadri, Uttar Predesh, religious groups reported official hate speeches against Muslims increased. Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar remarked that Muslims can stay in India, but they will have to give up eating beef. Mostly, Muslims live in India deprived of basic necessities such as electricity, roads and municipal services. In some State such as Maharashtra, banks denied loans to Muslim businessmen. Muslims face worse discrimination in respect of jobs.

Although India’s constitution supposedly protects freedom of religion and prohibits discrimination based on one’s faith, instances of violence against religious minorities have been increasing in recent years. A report by the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) includes numerous examples of persecution and claims that “members of the ruling party have ties to Hindu nationalist groups implicated in religious freedom violations, used religiously divisive language to inflame tensions, and called for additional laws that would restrict religious freedom. “Several India states enforce anti-conversion laws that mandated investigations into conversions out of Hinduism. These laws are “only concerned about conversions away from Hinduism” and “create a hostile and, on occasion, violent environment for religious minority communities because they do not require any evidence to support accusations of wrongdoing”. In practice, these laws have had violent consequences. In July 2016, for example, a Pentecostal minister was abducted and beaten – and authorities arrested the minister “on the basis of the state’s anti-conversion law.” Cases of attempted forces conversions to Hinduism have also come to light, in the spring of 2016, “six Gondi tribal Christian families fled the village of Katodi after their Hindu neighbors attacked and threatened them in order to forcibly convert them to Hinduism,” according to the USCIRF. A few months prior, the RSS radical activists “reportedly placed sign boards in railway stations throughout India that said Christians had to leave India or convert to Hinduism or they will be killed by 2021.” Even Amendments are being undertaken in text books and school syllabi such as “non-vegetarian are prone to social mal-practices, Muslims leaders’ were barbaric, Christians are anti nationals and creation of Pakistan did not lead to converting Indian Muslims into patriots; they are still a menace.

          In addition to religious persecution, social discrimination is also prevailed in India. Dalit people are considered ‘untouchable’; higher caste people would not marry a Dalit, invite them into their home or share food with them. Dalit children sit separately from other children in schools. Almost 1 out of every 3 govt schools in rural areas, prohibits children from sitting together, Dalits are prevented from entering police stations in 27.6% of rural villages, Public health workers refuse to enter Dalit homes in 1 out of 3 rural villages, almost half of Dalit villages are denied access to water soruces, Dalit nd non-Dalit people cannot eat toghther in 70% of rural villages. Besides, it is reiterated that India under the guise of democracy and secularism, in its subsequent regimes dominated by politicians from the parties projecting Hindutva have been using brutal force ruthlessly against any move to free Assam, Kashmir, Khalistan, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tamil Nadu and Tripura where movements of liberation continue in one or the other form. As regards the discrimination against the Sikhs, Indian Army led by General Kuldip Singh Brar, supported by troops and armaoured vehicles had broken all records of the state terrorism and extra-judicial killings through the barbaric Operation Blue Star which occurred between 3-8 June 1984, ordered by the then Prime Minister Indira Ghandhi to control over the Harmandir Sahib (Golden Temple) complex, the holiest shrine of the Sikhs in Amritsar, Punjab. In this context, in their book, “The Sikh Struggle”, Ramnarain Kumar and George Soberer writes, “The army killed every Sikh who could be found inside the temple-complex. They were hauled out of rooms, brought to corridors on the circumference of the temple and with their hands tied behind their back, were shot in cold blood. Among the victims were many old men, women and children.” However, all visitors were locked up in rooms for two days without any food, water, or electricity and were starved to death. Besides, the Haramndir Sahib remained under the army control for many months.”

          It is worth mentioning that India is the most vulnerable country for minority women’s rape even foreigners visiting Indian on holiday’s are no exception. The US State Department’s most recent International Religious Freedom report for India reveals that Christians have faced “an increase of harassment and violence, including physical violence, arson, desecration of churches and Bibles, and disruption of religious services.” Moreover, “local police seldom provided protection, refused to accept complaints, and rarely investigated incidents” of persecution.

          It can be concluded that India’s polices to encourage persecution of religious and social minorities have given impetus to the separatist movements which pose a serious threat to the India federation and these movements will be resulted into disintegration of the Indian union as of the case of Soviet Union.    

الكاتب : سمير حسين زعقوق

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