In a deeply personal and reflective piece, the author, a Hindu, expresses their dismay at the propagation of hate speech and violence by those who claim to represent their religion. They reject the Sangh Parivar’s assertion that they speak for all Hindus, emphasizing that these hateful actions do not align with the true values of Hinduism as preached by great leaders like Vivekananda and Mahatma Gandhi.In a deeply personal and reflective piece, the author, a Hindu, expresses their dismay at the propagation of hate speech and violence by those who claim to represent their religion. They reject the Sangh Parivar’s assertion that they speak for all Hindus, emphasizing that these hateful actions do not align with the true values of Hinduism as preached by great leaders like Vivekananda and Mahatma Gandhi. The author points to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s false accusation that Rahul Gandhi had labeled all Hindus as violent, using this distortion to stir up anger and fear among the Hindu community. They highlight Modi’s history of using such tactics, including during his tenure as Chief Minister of Gujarat, to polarize society and consolidate his power. The author strongly condemns the BJP’s attempts to paint all Hindus as intolerant and violent. They point out that the vast majority of Hindus are peace-loving and condemn the hateful rhetoric and actions of a small minority. They criticize Interior Minister Amit Shah for his infamous hate speech against Muslims and question the sincerity of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Adityanath in condemning Gandhi’s speech while they themselves have engaged in divisive actions. The author calls upon Indians in the diaspora, especially Hindus, to reject the appropriation of their faith for political purposes. They urge Hindus to speak out against hate speech and violence, declaring “Not in our name!” They emphasize that true Hinduism promotes tolerance, generosity, and non-violence, values that are being distorted by the Hindutva ideology. The article concludes with a quote from Congressman Shashi Tharoor, who eloquently articulates the disconnect between the hateful actions of Hindutva proponents and the true teachings of Hinduism. The author hopes that Tharoor’s words will resonate with Hindus worldwide and inspire them to reclaim their faith from those who seek to misuse it for political gain.
As a Hindu, I can fully relate to Rahul Gandhi’s fear expressed in his inaugural address in Parliament on July 1 that some of those who commit violence and hate speech are proud to call themselves Hindus. I am also deeply disturbed by the Sangh Parivar’s frequent claim that they speak for all Hindus. They absolutely do not.
It is clear that Gandhi was addressing the Bharatiya Janata Party in the Lok Sabha when he accused them of not being real Hindus because they “did not stand for the truth”. No one heard him accuse the entire Hindu community of being violent until Prime Minister Narendra Modi falsely claimed that he had done so.
The truth is that anyone who has listened to Gandhi’s speeches, or seen his empathetic interactions with people from all walks of life in India during his Bharat Jodo Yatra, knows exactly what he meant with his speech: too much hatred and violence has been unleashed by the BJP and its ideological kin in the name of all Hindus.
There was no better justification for what Gandhi had just said about the BJP’s uneasy relationship with the truth than Modi’s blatant twisting of his words to claim that he was vilifying all Hindus. But Modi is a master at the art of twisting facts. When he was chief minister of Gujarat, Modi incited the mob during election campaigns by falsely claiming that his critics were vilifying five crore Gujaratis. The fact that no one blamed all Gujaratis for the 2002 violence seemed to matter little. Repeated often enough, Modi’s fictional story stuck until his rise to power in Delhi. Author and activist Mukul Dube wrote at the time in The Path of the Parivar: Articles on Gujarat and Hindutva:
“The genius of the ‘honor of Gujarat’ argument is that it conveniently places the ordinary, peace-loving Hindus of the state in the same logical category as the monsters who committed unspeakable crimes and their instigators… The guilt of a relatively small group of criminals is widely disseminated and thereby evaporated. People who would never dream of murdering or raping other human beings are told in fiery language that they have been accused of precisely these offenses – and because they believe this, they react with anger.”
“The genius of the ‘honor of Gujarat’ argument is that it conveniently places the ordinary, peace-loving Hindus of the state in the same logical category as the monsters who committed unspeakable crimes and their instigators… The guilt of a relatively small group of criminals is widely disseminated and thereby evaporated. People who would never dream of murdering or raping other human beings are told in fiery language that they have been accused of precisely these offenses – and because they believe this, they react with anger.”
Modi’s response to Gandhi’s speech in Parliament was, to me, an exact replica of his strategy in Gujarat: make every Hindu feel personally attacked by the opposition parties – in this case by Gandhi – by any means necessary.
But apart from that, a man who only a few weeks ago labelled all 200 million Muslims as infiltrators has no moral credibility whatsoever to complain that Gandhi negatively stereotyped all Hindus.
I am Chinese and I am Chinese
I’m a little afraid of the fear, but I’m afraid I won’t succeed
The site is now online, online and RSS feeds are now online – we are online and we are online, we are online नहीं सकता। photo.twitter.com/v2BaEcQRTS
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) July 1, 2024
follow the leader
Minister of Internal Affairs Amit Shah was quick to double down on Modi’s accusation: “The Leader of the Opposition has categorically said that those who call themselves Hindus talk about violence and commit violence. He does not know that millions of people proudly call themselves Hindus. Linking violence with any religion is wrong. He should apologise.”
Who can disagree with the sentiment that “associating violence with any religion is wrong”? However, when such a noble thought comes from the mouth of someone known for his infamous report of hate speech it is unbelievable against Muslims.
But Shah has no qualms about promoting disinformation. Five years ago, he gave a pep talkThe BJP’s “IT Cell”as the party’s propaganda unit is called, admires their ability to make all kinds of messages go viral: “We are able to convey any message we want to the public, whether it is sweet or sour, true or fake.”
Minister of Finance Nirmala Sitharaman was among the first to share a misleading, edited video of Gandhi’s speech, triple-crossing Modi’s false claim that Rahul had labeled all Hindus as violent: “Sheer brutality by LoP @RahulGandhi calling everyone who calls themselves Hindu “hinsak”/violent shows @INCIndia“’s hatred and contempt for Hindus…”
Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Adityanath‘s reply to Rahul was pure hyperbole: “Hindu is synonymous with tolerance, generosity and gratitude. We are proud to be Hindus!… You should apologize to crores of Hindus of the world Rahul ji! Today you have not hurt a community but the soul of Mother India.”
Tolerance and generosity are not exactly the virtues Adityanath is known for. His actions against Muslims, including bulldozing of homes without due process, have come to epitomize the worst of India today. I am ashamed that he wears the saffron robes of a Hindu monk while presiding over the policy of “Muslim erasure” in his state.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar was not far behind the others in the chorus of Amens over Modi’s false accusation against Rahul: “This is the leader of the opposition now. Attacking Hindus while professing brotherhood for all…”
In case it is the height of hypocrisy to demand that Rahul apologize for something he did not say in his speech in Parliament. If there is anyone who needs to apologize to all Hindus for deliberately twisting Gandhi’s words and causing violence In some parts of the country, they are the BJP stalwarts who blindly followed the Prime Minister in his insults to the Congress leader.
‘Not in our name’
There were times when Indians in the diaspora were mere spectators and admirers of Indian democracy in action. But that changed once the BJP began co-opting the Hindu faith into its political goals. Since then, Indians in the diaspora, especially Hindus, have become unwitting stakeholders in Indian politics, with the right and responsibility to call out the misdeeds of Modi’s Hindutva government and say loudly, “Not in our name!”
No one could have said it better than Congressman Shashi Tharoorwho strongly opposed the ‘assumption that the spreaders of hate speak for all or even most Hindus’:
“To discriminate against someone, to attack someone, to kill someone, to destroy someone’s place of worship, is neither part of the Hinduism preached so beautifully by Vivekananda, nor of the Hinduism propagated in twentieth-century India by Mahatma Gandhi, whose advocacy of ahimsa and satyagraha brought Hindu values into the national movement while accommodating all other faiths… The Hindutva ideology is, in fact, a virulent distortion of Hinduism.”
This article has been republished from Scrollen.inRead the original article.
