The unfortunate reality of India today is that Hindu extremists — egged on by their ideological fellow travellers in government — are constantly coming up with new ruses to make life for the country’s Muslim minority increasingly difficult.
The latest controversy has emerged from India’s Uttarakhand, where leaders from several far-right groups in India have issued calls for the ethnic cleansing of minorities in the country, especially targeting its 200 million-strong at a recent three-day gathering.
A report, published on Indian website, stated that “hate speech conclave” was organised by Hindutva leader Yati Narsinghanand, where multiple calls to kill minorities and attack their religious spaces were made.
“Like Myanmar, our police, our politicians, our army and every Hindu must pick up weapons and conduct a safayi abhiyan (clean-up). There is no other option left,” Swami Prabodhanand Giri, president of the Hindu Raksha Sena, was quoted as saying by NDTV.
Sadhvi Annapurna, the general secretary of Hindu Mahasabha, also gave a call to arms and incitement to genocide. “If you want to eliminate their population, then kill them. Be ready to kill and be ready to go to jail. Even if 100 of us are ready to kill 20 lakhs of Muslims, then we will be victorious, and go to jail,” The Wire quoted her as saying.
However, All India Professionals’ Congress, a department of the Indian National Congress, has condemned in the strongest possible terms the genocidal statements made by Hindutva leaders. “Will the Union of India and other institutions remain mute spectators?” it asked.
Indian media also reported that BJP leader Ashwini Upadhyay and BJP Mahila Morcha leader Udita Tyagi also attended the three-day summit giving the event a level of political encouragement from the ruling party.
Of course, opposition to Muslim religious and cultural practices seems to be the natural choice for a ruling party whose ideological comrades proudly demolished the Babri Masjid. Indeed, the BJP has transformed its ideological shibboleths into state policy by introducing discriminatory citizenship laws designed to disenfranchise India’s Muslims.
While the shock troops of Hindutva will try to justify the hate-filled campaigns undertaken, the fact is that New Delhi can no longer hide the grotesque wrongs that are being committed against India’s Muslims and other minority communities under the BJP/RSS combine.
It is clear from the utterances of leaders from far-right groups that theirs is a fascist ideology that accepts no pluralism or diversity. If this is the path India wants to avoid, it needs to isolate hatemongers and assure its religious and caste minorities that they, too, are equal Indian citizens.
