The Dangers of Hindutva Extremism
Author(s): EMAN Network
India has recently seen a spike in sectarian tensions and civil disturbances brought about by a rise in Hindu nationalism, including mass killings, coordinated attacks, and vigilante attacks directed toward the country’s largest minority, the Muslim population. Among the prominent nationalist organisations that aggressively defend the Hindutva ideology are groups connected to the country’s ruling party – the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP), and other notable organisations including the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a right-wing Hindu nationalist paramilitary volunteer organisation. Hindu nationalist movements are mainly supported by the emotional sense of being under siege. The common denominator of defining the Hindutva ‘Self’ often revolves around the Indian Muslims. According to Hindutva zealots, the presence of the Muslim ‘Other’ is vital to maintaining Hindu nationalism since it can be used to symbolise all that is wrong India.
India is home to more than 200 million Muslims – the second largest concentration in the world after Indonesia. Furthermore, in the coming decades, India will have the distinction of having the largest populations of two of the three largest religions in the world – Islam and Hinduism – according to new religious projections data from Pew Research Center. The danger of Hindutva extremism and its core tenet that portrays Indian Muslims as generally antagonistic to Hindu India is likely to produce long-term challenges to the the multi-religious country, particularly as India’s global standing rises under a current right-wing populist government. Hindu extremists in India have become increasingly anti-Muslim in recent years, particularly as they seek to establish an India based on faith-based Hindu teachings. The emergence of Hindu nationalism, headed by RSS ideology in politics, has witnessed a significant shift in segments within India’s culture.
The anti-Muslim discourse and hate speech are abundantly fueled during Indian election seasons. Aggressive remarks and provocation are frequently used to generate sympathy and mobilise votes against Muslims. Such extremist practices are often observed in the current party’s ruling states, Uttar Pradesh and Uttara Khand. The election seasons in these particular states are marked by violence against Muslims, such as mob attacks and the closure of Muslim-owned businesses. Similar abuse is also directed at other religious minorities in India, such as Christians. Among other incidents, 200 Hindu nationalists attacked a house church in January 2022, injuring the pastor and two members of the congregation. It is a common belief among Hindu extremists that all Indians should be Hindus and that the country should get rid of Christianity and Islam. This extremist ideology makes Hindus spare no efforts to achieve this goal.
Yogi Adityanath (profile can be viewed here), a hardline Hindu Monk and Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, is known for backing and leading a number of campaigns aimed at overriding the rights of Muslims and other minoritiesin India. A video featuring Adityanatah went viral in 2014 as he reportedly stated: “If [Muslims] take one Hindu girl, we’ll take 100 Muslim girls. If they kill one Hindu, we’ll kill 100 Muslims.” There has been a lot of Hindu nationalist rhetoric asserting a Muslim conspiracy, claiming that Muslims in India are seducing, marrying, forcing conversions on Hindu girls, and even trafficking them. Known as “Love Jihad”, this conspiracy is claimed to be pertaining to both reducing the Hindu population in India as well as undermining Hinduism itself. Adityanath’s rise to power and contempt for democracy has enraged the hardline element of Hindu nationalism, and a number of Hindu right-wing militants have made significant inroads into the Uttar Pradesh state apparatus.
In August 2020, the founding president of the Bajrang Dal organisation, a Hindu nationalist militant organisation that forms the youth wing of the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), Vinay Katiyar who is considered among the most prominent BJP politicians in Northern India, issued a statement promoting violence and incitement against Indian Muslims. In his speech, he openly stated that “Muslims shouldn’t even be living in this country, they’re the ones who partitioned this country based on their population, so why do they need to live here? They were given separate territory, they should go to Pakistan or Bangladesh, what business do they have here.”
In January 2022, the extremist Hindu Monk, Yati Narsinghanand, was accused of inciting religious violence against Muslims in India. During a three-day summit of right-wing supporters and other religious leaders in Uttarakhand state, in December 2021, Narsinghanand and other extremist leaders are claimed to have called on Hindus to equip themselves for “genocide” against Muslims. A video of the gathering went viral, featuring a woman telling the crowd not to worry about going to jail for killing Muslims. She was captured saying “Even if just a hundred of us become soldiers and kill two million of them, we will be victorious … If you stand with this attitude only then will you able to protect ‘sanatana dharma’ [an absolute form of Hinduism].”
Recently, the national general secretary of the Backward Classes Morcha of the BJP Yashpal Suvarna stated that India will ban wearing Hijab in public places: “The need for Hijab ban is widely debated in the European countries now. Hence India which is going to be a ‘Hindu Rashtra [nation]’ will adopt the Hijab ban even before those countries announce it.’’
Additionally, the Hindustan Times reported that the Bharata Rakshana Vedike, a Hindutva group in Karnataka state, asked Hindus not to employ cab services and transport operators run by Muslims. This comes on the heels of the BJP’s calls for the boycott of Muslim vendors, Halal meat, wearing of the Hijab in education institutions in Karnatka, and banning the use of loudspeakers during prayers in the state.
