The silence of the BJP leadership over the hate speeches at the recent Dharma Sansad (religious parliament) in Haridwar only shows its willingness to tolerate any activity – however harmful to society – that will polarise voters along communal lines just before polls. The utterances of participants such as Yati Narsinghanand, Sagar Sindhuraj Maharaj and Swami Prabodhanand Giri urging Hindus to take up weapons for a war against Muslims have no place in our composite society, in fact, they sound like the call of the Taliban. Also in attendance was former BJP spokesperson Ashwini Upadhyay, who practices at the Supreme Court, and who was arrested for raising alleged inflammatory and anti Muslim slogans at Jantar Mantar in August. Giri, the Mahamandleshwar of Juna Akhara, asked people to be ready to kill or get killed: “There is no other option. That is why police, politicians, the army and every Hindu have to take up weapons to participate in this cleaning campaign, just like in Myanmar.” Narsinghanand – who faces several FIRs in UP and Delhi for his inflammatory statements – said that should a Muslim become PM in 2029, then given the history of Islam, 50 per cent of Hindus will be converted, 40 per cent will be killed and only 10 per cent will be left in the next 20 years. Dharamdas Maharaj from Patna criticised Manmohan Singh's speech in the Parliament that minorities had the first right over resources and said that had he been an MP at that time and had he been carrying a revolver, he would have emptied all six bullets into Manmohan Singh. Sagar Sindhuraj Maharaj from Roorkee advised people to manage with a mobile phone worth Rs 5,000 but ensure that they buy firearms worth Rs one lakh. Annapurna Maa, the Mahamandleshwar of Niranjani Akhada, said that she wouldn't think twice before taking up a weapon if anyone was a threat to Sanatan Dharma and Hindutva.
Do such statements behove a monk who has renounced the world in search of spirituality? Some of them even have the title of Mahamandaleshwar – superior of a religious province – used by the Dashanami order of renunciates founded by Adi Shankaracharya. Now, this religious scholar from Kerala covered the length and breadth of India on foot and was instrumental in reviving Hinduism at a time when Buddhism held sway, purely through discourse and debate. It is surprising that the pontiffs of the four monasteries set up by Adi Shankaracharya are mum on this affront to Hinduism. Are their religious sentiments not being hurt? In fact, the way Sanatan Dharm has been weaponised to suit political ends is insulting for anyone who calls himself a Hindu. It is heartening to see soldiers stand up and ask the question. Tweeting the video clip of the Dharma Sansad, Admiral (Retd) Arun Prakash wrote: “Why is this not being stopped? Our soldiers are facing enemies on two fronts and we are facing communal bloodshed, internal unrest and international embarrassment. Is it so difficult to understand that if national harmony and unity are in danger, national security will also be in danger?’’ Agreeing with him, former General Ved Prakash Malik wondered why the administration was not acting on it. So far, none of the big names have been touched. Two days after the 'sansad', the Haridwar police booked Wasim Rizvi aka Jitendra Tyagi. A former chairman of the Uttar Pradesh Shia Waqf Board, Rizvi recently converted to Hinduism at a ceremony endorsed by Narsinghanand. The DGP of Uttarakhand came up with this gem of an explanation for his arrest: “That's because a complaint was filed by a local resident who mentioned only 'Wasim Rizvi and others'.” Three days later, two more persons – Dharm Das and a woman named Annpurna – were arrested. The arrests are under the mild Section 153A of the Indian Penal Code which deals with promoting enmity between two groups of people. As the CPI(M) said, the delayed FIR in the Haridwar hate speech case is a mockery of the law. All this happened in the Good Governance Week.
It is time to ask how the bigots are selling the idea that a religion that has withstood the onslaught of Buddhism, Islam and Christianity is in danger of losing its identity. How the fear of being swamped by Muslims is being spread when the fifth National Family Health Survey reveals that India's population is not exploding but stabilising. According to Census 2011, the growth rate of the Muslim population witnessed a 5.3 per cent drop compared to the previous decade whereas the growth rate of the Hindu population fell by 3.2 per cent in the same period. How this concept about the unfinished agenda of Partition is being re-planted in our minds after 70 years of co-existence, after fighting four wars shoulder-to-shoulder, after our great victories over hunger, disease and illiteracy. Hinduism is not in danger but the economy is, our democracy is, our jobs are. Among the first to retrench employees in the lockdown were temples, including the fabulously rich Tirupati shrine. The Haridwar hate speeches should not be allowed to go unpunished because the BJP seems to have made a habit of it. Look at how Anurag Thakur was rewarded with a cabinet berth despite raising slogans like “Goli maaro saalon ko…” in his election campaign. In fact, people are beginning to wonder if such episodes are engineered. It is time the judiciary takes suo motu notice of the Haridwar case. India cannot be allowed to be a schizophrenic nation that aims for electrical power from atomic fusion and political power from societal fission.
