,
20 tweets,
4 min read
Read on Twitter
As calls continue for German Ambassador Walter Lindner to resign, let's consider a little of the fruit produced by "Hindutva," the religious nationalist political ideology of the Nazi-inspired #RSS paramilitary Lindner paid respects to. #ResignLindner
countercurrents.org/2018/09/hindut…
countercurrents.org/2018/09/hindut…
Over the past 20 years, various governmental and non-governmental organizations have repeatedly warned that the Sangh Parivar (umbrella term for RSS affiliates) perpetrates acts of violence against India’s religious minorities. Much could be added about various...
... terrorist acts which are linked to Sangh groups. Similarly, a great deal could be said about legislation passed to implement the Hindutva agenda. Even more could be said about routine, daily acts of violence. Instead, let’s focus for the moment only on the reports by...
... objective, third-party governmental and non-governmental bodies. In 1997, the United Nations reported on “the existence of Hindu extremism, encountered in varying degrees within ultra-nationalist political parties or parties attracted by ultra-nationalism (RSS, VHP and BJP).”
Furthermore, the UN warned: “Mention must… be made of the activities of the extremist Hindu parties, which are attempting to undermine the communal and religious harmony which exists in India by the political exploitation of religion.” In 1999, Amnesty International reported...
“Violence against religious minorities, mainly Christians, is escalating throughout India…. Attacks have been carried out directly by, or in connivance with, right-wing Hindu groups with links to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, including the VHP.”
Meanwhile, Human Rights Watch reported, “Organizations most responsible for violence against Christians are the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), the Bajrang Dal, and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.” Furthermore, in 1999, HRW described the VHP’s involvement in violence...
... against Muslims and their religious sites: “The most publicized of the VHP’s activities was its campaign to build a temple to the Hindu god Ram at the site of the Babri Masjid, a mosque in the city of Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh…. On December 6, 1992, the mosque was...
... demolished by members of the VHP, the Bajrang Dal, and RSS-trained cadres. The police did not intervene. The incident sparked violence around the country in which thousands were killed.” In 2002, Muslims in Gujarat suffered a pogrom which was allegedly state-sponsored...
... an allegation affirmed by VHP and BJP members who participated in the violence. The U.S. State Department reported, “Mobs in Gujarat… incited and organized by members of the Sangh Parivar, destroyed Muslim businesses and raped Muslim women. The violence resulted in an...
... estimated 2,000 deaths, a majority of them Muslims.” Corroborating that report, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom explained, “International human rights groups have named the VHP, RSS, BJP, and Bajrang Dal as perpetrators of the violence in Gujarat...
... as well as other acts of violence against non-Hindus.” Among those international human rights groups were Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch. Amnesty reported, “Sangh Parivar members, including BJP, VHP, and Bajrang Dal members were named...
... [by victims and eyewitnesses] as instigators or participants of attacks on the Muslim minority.” HRW reported, “The groups most directly responsible for violence against Muslims in Gujarat include the VHP, the Bajrang Dal, the ruling BJP, and the umbrella organization RSS.”
In 2005, the U.S. State Department described the RSS and VHP as “extremist” groups, stating, “Members of the BJP, the RSS, and other affiliated organizations (known as Sangh Parivar) have been implicated in incidents of violence and discrimination against Christians and Muslims.”
In 2007, U.S. Ambassador to India David Mulford warned that the Indian government cannot control “fundamentalist organizations such as the RSS and the VHP” and noted that “the traditional muscle power of the BJP has always been the RSS.” Also in 2007, HRW warned...
... “Right-wing Hindu organizations such as the VHP and the Bajrang Dal have been promoting anti-Christian propaganda in Orissa [Odisha].” In 2008, Christians in Odisha suffered a pogrom which — as in the case of Gujarat — was allegedly state-sponsored...
... (or at least involved organization by elected officials). In 2008, Amnesty reported “renewed attacks by supporters of Hindu nationalist organizations, including VHP and Bajrang Dal, against the Christian minorities and their places of worship in Kandhamal district in Orissa.”
VHP and RSS continue to be implicated in violence against India’s minorities. In 2018, for instance, HRW reported: “An affiliate organization of the BJP, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, announced plans to recruit 5,000 ‘religious soldiers’ to ‘control cow smuggling...
... and love jihad.’ So-called love jihad, according to Hindu groups, is a conspiracy among Muslim men to marry Hindu women and convert them to Islam.” Summarizing the general situation, also in 2018, USCIRF reported: “Conditions for religious minorities have deteriorated over...
... the last decade due to a multifaceted campaign by Hindu nationalist groups like RSS... and VHP to alienate non-Hindus or lower-caste Hindus. The victims of this campaign include Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists… as well as Dalit[s]."
