Religious diversity in any country is a beautiful aspect that becomes a testament to others, but to sustain that religious diversity and plurality, a lot has to be suffered by the native religions. Unfortunately, with daily political and social interactions, these sufferings, intentionally or unintentionally, drift away from discourse. Or it will be more appropriate to say that it is also taken for granted for the greater good of society.
But the question is, if the soul of any community is targeted on a regular basis, can a society thrive or can a society happily remain religiously pluralistic? The question will pinch many as it calls for an introspection of the increasing hatred against Hindus and their religion, Hinduism in India.
As of now, it has become a fashion to speak ill of Hindus and walk away as if nothing has happened. What more can be given as evidence to prove this reality when Udhayanidhi Stalin, a state minister and son of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, who later assumed charge as Deputy CM, compared Hinduism to dengue and malaria, calling for it to be wiped out? Forget about an apology, only clarifications flew around with lots of allies standing as shields to back such brazen anti-Hindu statements and downright hate speech against Sanatan Dharma.
In line with the same, PDP leader in Jammu and Kashmir and daughter to former state CM, Iltija Mufti equated Hindutva to a disease that has affected millions. In a highly controversial post, Iltja Mufti said, “Ram the deity must hang his head in shame & watch helplessly as minor Muslim boys are whacked with chappals only because they refuse to chant his name. Hindutva is a disease thats afflicted millions of Indians & sullied a Gods name.”
Mufti was reacting to a purported video alleging that some Muslim boys were thrashed and coerced to chant, ‘Jai Shri Ram.’ The veracity of the video in question is yet to be ascertained, as many such claims made in the past turned out to be blatantly fake news.
Nonetheless, the video in question is an issue of law and order that must be taken into consideration in only that way, but mudslinging an entire religion in the name of such limited incidents can not be justified. Mufti is herself coming from that part of India where Hindus suffered genocide not once but at least seven times, the onus lies on her shoulders to apologise to Hindus.
She also said that the slogan ‘Jai Shri Ram’ is not about ‘Ramrajya,’ but it is now being linked to lynching. Following her provocative and unwarranted statement, she issued a clarification that Hindus could easily anticipate, such rhetoric is often heard in attempts to pacify and defuse tensions.
She said that she was talking about Hindutva and not Hinduism which is peaceful. She differentiated both by arguing that Hinduism is associated with Mahatma Gandhi and Hindutva is associated with Savarkar spread in India in the 1940s to establish the hegemony of Hindus.
Later, Iltija Mufti made another post, wherein she stated that the “senseless violence” carried out in the name of Islam has led to ‘Islamophobia,’ and a “similar situation” is happening with Hinduism.
Though it may not look like one, her clarification is even more dangerous and anti-Hindu. With her clarification, she tried to toe the line of Rahul Gandhi wherein all efforts are being made to detach Hindutva from Hinduism and portray it as a negative aspect. She also tried to compare it with violence carried out in the name of Islam (basically terrorism).
Here comes the biggest suffering of Hindus that is taken for granted. As a society, Hindus have been compromising on every aspect when it comes to religious plurality. Every single act of domination over Hindus goes unaccounted for because the community often does not speak about it. However, one thing that goes undigested for Hindus, like any living community, is a threat to their existence. This threat, believe it or not, is from Islamic fanaticism and terrorism.
The terrorists who openly threaten and dream of annexing India, the only country where Hindus are safe, get a free pass from the Islamo-leftist ecosystem. No so-called liberal Muslim criticises them unless asked to and in many cases, even when pressed they take pride in condoning Islamist crimes or whitewashing it. Instead, a call to erase these types of elements abroad and crush the ones harbouring such elements in India is termed Islamophobia. The violence in the name of Islam is whitewashed with absolute impunity.
In pursuit of this whitewashing of the crimes and veiling the ideology of Islamic fundamentalism, leaders like Rahul Gandhi and Iltija Mufti try to equate it with Hindutva. However, there is a basic difference in both.
As far as Hindutva is concerned, it is not different from Hinduism as propagated by the ecosystem to draw a wedge. Hindutva is the quality of being a Hindu. How could it be different? Besides, if Hindutva is posed as a threat because of its aggressive action to protect Hindus, it is also a part of Hinduism and should not be apologetic for Hindus, instead, they should take it with pride.
On the other hand, comparing it with violence perpetuated by Islamists is unjustified as both have some key differences. Firstly, Hindutva calls for the protection of minorities when endangered while Islamic extremism thrives to conquer society and calls every other sect, and religion infidel.
Secondly, Hindutva has a space of mutual coexistence while Islamic fundamentalism calls, at a certain point, for the imposition of Sharia and moulding the society according to the traditions of Islam.
Lastly, apart from religion, Hindutva bats for the preservation of any civilisation across the globe, which in the case of Islamic fundamentalism is limited to butchering and killing for Islam only.
Despite such glaring differences, the deliberate attempt to malign the Hindutva is not only a hit on Hinduism but an open threat to the fabric of Indic civilisation. The concept is completely alien to Hindu society which finds no difference in Hinduism and Hindutva, other than being a religion and its properties.
