By Mike Ghouse
The words Hindu Terrorism and Hindu Terrorists are offensive to Hindus, and rightfully so, and it is offensive to this Muslim as well.
Neither Hindus are terrorists nor Hinduism is, it is a group within Hinduism that follows Hitler and Mussolini’s ideology of the supremacy of their group that is dangerous to India’s cohesive social structure, and sadly it is creeping into the United States of America. It is identical to ISIS and Al-Qaeda who want to force others to obey them or live under them as second class citizens or disappear somewhere.
I have relentlessly fought against the phrases Islamic Terrorism and Muslim Terrorists over the years. Fox New’s Stuart Varney agreed not to use those phrases, and Sean Hannity had also agreed once, but with ISIS he resumed his attacks. Those phrases are not only offensive but downright stupid; let me explain why.
When you witness harassment and lynching of Christians, Muslims, Dalits, Sikhs, Atheists, Hindus, and others, you are tempted to blame Hindus and express your anger by recklessly calling them “Hindu Terrorists” or even blaming the religion. In the last few weeks, I have made a point in several meetings. Neither Hindus are terrorists nor are the Muslims.
That is what happened in Iraq, the lynching and harassment of Christians, Shias, and Yazidis led the people to call them “Muslim Terrorists.” The wrongs doers did not follow their religion, had they followed, they would not have killed a single human. Quran forbids killing even a single soul, let alone suicide. Hinduism respects every form of life. In both cases, the average Hindu and the average Muslim condemn these acts.
There are words to identify these men. They are called ‘Islamists” if they claim to belong to Islam, and ‘Hindutvadis” if they claim to belong to Hinduism. They are political movements and are a threat to peace, harmony, and security of a nation. They simply don’t respect the otherness of the other.
Look at this way, if a rapist is running around in your neighborhood, everyone is cautious and watches out for strangers. You are careful to close the doors, accompany your wife, sister, mother, and daughter when you are out. But when the rapist is captured and punished, we all feel secure again and breathe fresh air.
The killers, lynchers are no different than rapists; we need to capture them; it will free the society from anxiety. and trust and righteousness will return to the community.
Blaming the religion does no good because you cannot kill, hang, bury, or shoot the faith as it is intangible, and it amounts to barking in the dark. What a stupid thing to do.
The source of terrorism comes from the cult leaders. These men are good orators and dupe ‘some” people that they are superior to the others. They convince the simpletons that their way of life is threatened. These simple men fall for them and spend their whole lives hating and scheming to annihilate the other or show them their place instead of living their lives and letting others live theirs.
These men are in every religious, social and cultural group. Osama Bin Laden, Abu Bakr Baghdadi in the case of Islam, and Hedgewar, Veer Savarkar, and Guru Golwalker in the case of Hinduism.
“Hinduism is a religion, guiding one to live a meaningful life, whereas Hindutva is a political movement claiming Hindu belief to be superior to others. Hinduism guides people towards moksha or salvation from the conflicts of life and frees you, whereas Hindutva guides people to acquire political power and subjugate all others.”
Hinduism places emphasis on humility and not arrogance. Indeed, if any one believes that his/her faith is superior, he or she has not understood the religion. Simply put the purpose of life in Hinduism is four-fold, to achieve Dharma, Artha, Kama, and Moksha. Dharma means living righteously and act morally and ethically throughout one’s life. Artha means honest work to live a good life and Kama is about fulfilling desire and passion in one’s life. Finally, it is Moksha – freedom from the cycle of life, and to me, it means living a freely with least tensions and least conflicts – that that is what paradise is all about.
Even though the word Hindutva has Hindu in its name, it is not Hinduism from any stretch of the imagination. It is a political movement like Al-Qaeda, ISIS, Nazi, right-wing Zionism (not Zionism), Neocons, and others.
The Hindutva movement has been described as “almost fascist in the classical sense,” adhering to a disputed concept of homogenized majority and cultural hegemony. Savarkar’s ideology meant the socio-political force to unite all Hindus against foreign influence.” It is like Christians in America wanting to give a boot to all others who are not Christians, and that is what the Hindutva forces want to do in India to boot Christians and Muslims.
Haaretz writes. “Hitler and Mussolini have inspired the fountainheads of the Sangh Parivar. “In 2004, when Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat, school textbooks published by the Gujarat State Board portrayed Hitler as a hero and glorified fascism. The tenth-grade social studies textbook had chapters entitled “Hitler, the Supremo,” and “Internal Achievements of Nazism.” The section on the “Ideology of Nazism” reads: “Hitler lent dignity and prestige to the German government. He adopted the policy of opposition towards the Jewish people and advocated the supremacy of the German race.” Further praising Hitler’s “inspiring leadership,” “achievements,” and how the Nazis “glorified the German state” so, “to maintain a German race with Nordic elements, [Hitler] ordered the Jews to be persecuted.”
A growing contempt for India’s minorities manifests itself racist remarks passed with casual insouciance.
We are Our Nationhood Defined a book by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) ideologue MS Golwalkar.
“”…To keep up the purity of the nation and its culture, Germany shocked the world by her purging the country of Semitic races – the Jews. National pride at its highest has been manifested here. Germany has also shown how well-nigh impossible it is for races and cultures, having differences going to the root, to be assimilated into one united whole, a good lesson for us in Hindustan to learn and profit by,”
Hinduism has always been a pluralistic tradition, and it has welcomed Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Baha’i, Zoroastrianism, and other cultures into its fold. All religions have thrived in India, just like they do in the United States.
The Quran says, don’t let your hatred for one make you unjust. So, don’t let your hate for the killers make you unfair towards Hindus or Hinduism. We all have to live together, and we should avoid language that deepens the chasm between people.
Religion is never the problem, it is the small band of people that create a mess.
To get a complete picture of the dangers of Hindutva in India and here in the United States, please read the links provided below
Here is an unnecessary Long but pointed dialogue between Bhakt Bannerjee and Devdutt Patnaik https://youtu.be/sVigXMCw1mY
Hindutva V. Hinduism
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Dr. Mike Ghouse is a thinker, author, speaker, newsmaker, and an interfaith wedding officiant. His new book American Muslim Agenda is available on Amazon. He is committed to building cohesive societies and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day. His information is linked-in.
References
- Nazi loving Hindus, Hitler’s Hindus – https://www.haaretz.com/opinion/hitlers-hindus-indias-nazi-loving-nationalists-on-the-rise-1.5628532
- Dossier on RSS – the Paramilitary Hindutva organization https://countercurrents.org/2020/09/rss-as-a-terrorist-outfit-evidences-from-its-archives/
- Sadhavi Prachi – Muslim Mukt Bharat – https://www.theweek.in/content/archival/news/india/sadhvi-prachi-calls-for-muslim-free-india.html
- How to Exterminate Muslims in India https://centerforpluralism.com/how-to-exterminate-muslims-in-india/
- USCIRF Report – https://www.uscirf.gov/sites/default/files/India.2017.pdf
- NPR on Hindu Nationalism in India https://www.npr.org/2019/05/03/706808616/the-powerful-group-shaping-the-rise-of-hindu-nationalism-in-india
- Sadhavi Niranjan – Muslim Mukt Bharat – https://www.asiatimes.com/2018/01/opinion/modi-davos-rhetoric-differs-actions/
- The Disappearing Muslim in the Indian Republic. https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/the-fast-disappearing-muslim-in-the-indian-republic-bjp-mla-hindu-saffron-religion-5034205/
- Muslim Mukt Bharat – Vinod Dua (4:00 – 8:35) https://www.siasat.com/attempts-are-being-made-muslim-mukt-bharat-vinod-dua-1589236/
- Modi’s dream of Muslim Mukt Bharat – https://strafasia.com/modis-dream-of-muslim-mukt-bharat/
- It was never about the cow, it is Muslims they are after – https://www.dailyo.in/politics/vhp-wants-muslim-mukt-bharat-milking-dadri-murder-akhlaq-modi-government/story/1/11088.html
- Modi Articles by Mike Ghouse https://theghousediary.com/modi-articles-by-mike-ghouse/
- More will be added