Investigate Hindutva groups and websites spreading hate against artists and communities

The dangerous campaign against painter MF Husain

Investigate Hindutva groups and websites spreading hate against artists and communities
by Sahmat, 22 November 2008
SAHMAT
8, Vithalbhai Patel House, Rafi Marg
New Delhi-110001
Telephone-23711276/ 23351424
e-mail-sahmat@vsnl.com

22.11.2008

Press Statement

We would like to bring to your attention the reports in the Delhi press today, that a doctor is being investigated for possible connections to the alleged conspirators in the Malegaon blast cases in Maharashtra. The doctor, Dr Ram Pratap Singh is the same man who had filed cases against painter MF Husain in Delhi courts in 2006. In the report in the Indian Express, he is mentioned attending meetings with BL Sharma “Prem”. “Prem” is the same man brought by Raghu Vyas to attack the Academy of Fine Arts in Delhi, run by eminent painter Arpana Caur ten years ago (23rd February 1998). Ajeet Caur was injured in that melee and painter Jatin Das was also attacked.

We at SAHMAT have been trying to alert the general public to the fact that the campaign against Husain is being run at a very high level in the Hindutva groups and has an extremely serious dimension and is very well coordinated. The website of the Hindu Janajagruti Samiti, www.hindujagruti.org, which has led the vicious campaign against Husain has also spread completely distorted interpretations and titles of his work, is run by the Sanatan Sanstha, also alleged to have links with the Nanded blasts. We urge the investigative authorities to investigate these websites which are spreading hate speech against artists, other individuals and communities.

We feel this is an extremely alarming development and should be a wakeup call for us to be more much more vigilant to threats from extremist groups.

Ram Rahman

for SAHMAT

The link to the story in the Indian Express

Non-state actors and the rule of law in Chhattisgarh
by Nandini Sundar, 30 December 2008
(Published earlier in The Hindu)

The path to peace in Chhattisgarh lies in implementing the court’s orders.

— Photo: Akhilesh Kumar
[Caption] Women wait for their turn to vote in Nagarnar, Bastar. In Konta, Bijapur and Dantewada, no one who was adversely affected by the Salwa Judum was able to vote.

Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram’s December 17 statement in Parliament dissociating the Union Government from ‘non-state actors’ like the Salwa Judum in Chhattisgarh is a welcome step. Perhaps he realised the incongruity of India blaming Pakistan for supporting ‘non-state actors’ while continuing to defend vigilantes on its own soil. Perhaps it was a consequence of the Supreme Court’s clear strictures against vigilantism, or perhaps it was just a fallout of the Congress’ failure to wrest the State from the Bharatiya Janata Party, showing once again that the party never benefits from being the B team of the BJP. Outsourcing wars to extremists has been a disastrous policy for the United States and Pakistan, both of whom are facing payback time. India must avoid this trap at all costs.

Following the BJP’s re-election in Chhattisgarh, the party and its cheer leaders have treated the result as a vindication for the Salwa Judum. The ‘peaceful’ nature of the movement was demonstrated the day the results came, when ‘Special Civilian Officers’ (SPOs) ‘celebrated’ by burning grain stores in Regadgatta village in Konta tahsil. That violence is an inherent part of the movement is borne out by the Chhattisgarh government’s October 17 letter to the Bijapur and Dantewada Collectors following the Supreme Court’s earlier strictures.

In its letter, the government says: “Necessary action be ensured for rehabilitation of uninhabited villages, necessary relief money be given in cases of properties damaged by Salwa Judum activists/security forces, besides naxalite violence, after village-wise analysis. Security forces be not allowed to stay in school/ashram buildings.” The police have also been ordered to prepare a list of missing persons and register FIRs on receipt of cognisable offences. Its October letter, then, was a clear admission — even before the elections — of the truth of allegations made by myself, Manish Kunjam and others in two PILs before the Supreme Court and confirmed in a subsequent, court-ordered probe by the National Human Rights Commission. And yet, the Chhattisgarh government and the BJP claimed throughout the election campaign and after that armed vigilantism had been exonerated by the NHRC.

In any case, it is necessary to analyse the Chhattisgarh results more closely before linking the vote to Salwa Judum. The BJP victory is widely attributed to the ‘one rupee/kg rice’ factor, along with free salt, blanket distribution and so on. When the Chief Justice asked during the December 16 hearing on our PIL why the State had done nothing for two months to fulfil its own statements on compensation to the victims of vigilante violence, the Chhattisgarh counsel speciously argued that “the election code of conduct had come into play and [the government] could offer no benefits.”

While the Congress may have tried to match the BJP in competitive populism, it was defeated by internal squabbles. And no amount of bribing, on and off camera, could have made the local Congress leader of the vigilantes, Mahendra Karma, win. For smaller parties like the Communist Party of India, with no prospect of forming the government, giveaways are never an option. Crores are spent on electioneering by major political parties but they never form part of the poll analysis by reporters.

In the three districts affected by the government-inspired violence — Konta, Bijapur and Dantewada — it can safely be said that no one who was adversely affected by the Judum was able to vote. In Bijapur, 70 per cent did not vote, while in Konta nearly 60 per cent did not. In both constituencies, the resettlement camps, which now consist largely of SPOs and their families, voted, quite naturally, for the BJP, the party which has fully justified their excesses.

In Dantewada, which has not had villages displaced, voter turnout was 55 per cent, much of which is accounted for by the urban townships of Bacheli/Kirandul, Dantewada and Geedam. Compared to the average for Chhattisgarh in 2008, which is 70.53 per cent, it is clear that this was not a vote in which the victims of violence had any voice. Boycott call

The low turnout was due to a variety of factors — the Maoist boycott call being the major reason. It was also because at least one lakh have fled as refugees to Andhra Pradesh, where there was no provision to vote. Despite valiantly trying to enforce the pretence of electoral democracy in the region, the Election Commissioner pointed out that these areas “are totally under the control of the Maoists. On the whole, if I have to compare it with holding elections anywhere else in India, I would say this is tougher than Kashmir or the northeast.” Coupled with declining voter turnout (in 2003 it was 60 per cent for Dantewada, 52.4 per cent for Konta, and 37 per cent for Bijapur), this shows the lie behind the BJP’s claim that its policies have been successful in countering naxalism.

If anything, naxalism has grown and thrived on Salwa Judum. The naxalites have gained more recruits in the last three years than in the last 20. This perhaps explains why the Maoists did not allow villages in the interior to vote, why IAF helicopters were fired upon and EVMs looted. Had these villages voted, it would have been a cakewalk for the CPI, which lost by a mere 879 votes in Konta, the size of one polling booth.

The fact that the Maoists assassinated BJP and Congress leaders generated some sympathy for these parties and cost the CPI — falsely accused of being in league with the naxals — some votes among urban non-tribals. One can only conclude that the Maoists wanted the vigilante-based counterinsurgency to continue, and the BJP to win, so that their struggle would have more misery to feed on, and they would be able to indulge in more mindless violence.

If the Maoists and the Chhattisgarh government are genuinely interested in the welfare of the citizens of Bastar, the path is clear. Despite the NHRC’s attempts to whitewash the violence by using State-sponsored activists as interpreters, taking the SPOs and the police at face value and ignoring the testimony of the relatives of those killed by the Salwa Judum, its report is forced to record the burning of villages by the vigilantes, the complicity of the State police and administration in sponsoring aggressive rallies and the arson and looting that accompanied them; the forcing of villagers into camps; inhibition of movement, extra-judicial killings by SPOs; suspect encounters and non-recording of deaths, and the initial recruitment of minors as SPOs. The Supreme Court has given Chhattisgarh time till January 28 to file an Action Taken Report on compensation and FIRs/enquiries regarding extra-judicial killings. Salwa Judum excesses

If Mr. Chidambaram is serious, he must ensure that the Chhattisgarh ‘experiment’ is not replicated in Orissa, Manipur and elsewhere. There has to be a clear disclaimer of the Home Ministry’s policies of supporting “local resistance groups” and appointing armed civilians as SPOs to man the frontlines of counter-insurgency campaigns.

Second, he must make sure the Union and State governments recognise the large-scale killings by Salwa Judum, the security forces and the naxalites and begin prosecution proceedings, apart from giving compensation to the relatives of victims, whoever they are, at the same rates. At present, only the relatives of those killed by the Maoists are compensated.

Given the current denials by the Chhattisgarh government and the intransigence of the Maoists, victims will not come forward on their own. There has to be an independent body, preferably a judicial enquiry, which will ensure due recognition to each citizen who has been killed. The Maoists for their part must allow villagers to claim compensation, rebuild the schools they have destroyed and stop their targeted assassinations. The path to peace eventually lies in dialogue and justice; if both parties obstruct this, the future will continue to be bleak.

(The author is Professor of Sociology at the Delhi School of Economics.)

Malegaon Bomb Blasts and Hindutva Extremists
by Asghar Ali Engineer, 3 December 2008
Malegaon Bomb Blasts and Hindutva Extremists
by Asghar Ali Engineer, 3 December 2008

Why ’Sanatan Sanstha’ and ’Hindu Janajagruti Samity’ should be Banned
by Subhash Gatade, 21 December 2008
sacw.net, 21 December 2008


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’DESTRUCTION OF EVILDOERS’ AS ’SPIRITUAL PRATICE’!

[It is really difficult to believe how an organisation which supposedly ‘aims to present religious mysticism in a scientific language for the curious and to guide-seekers’ and which ‘conducts weekly spiritual meetings, discourses, child guidance classes, workshops on spirituality, training in self-defence and campaigns to create awareness of righteousness’ to further these aims can double up as an organisation which can invite prosecution under ‘laws meant for unlawful and terrorist organisations’.

But any impartial observer of the activities of ‘Sanatan Sanstha’ and ‘Hindu Janajagruti Samiti’ would concur with the view that these organisations should not be allowed to spread their venomous agenda among innocent people any further.

Whether it is their recent intervention during the International Film Festival held at Goa (November 24, 2008) where they did not allow the screening of an M.F. Husain film or the few months old bomb blasts in Maharashtra where members of these organisations have been found to be involved—the danger which these organisations pose to communal harmony in our country does not bear repetition.]

I

The International Film Festival held at Goa in the last week of November 2008 would be remembered for altogether wrong reasons. The manner in which India’s greatest living painter M.F. Husain’s short film, ‘Through The Eyes of a Painter’, made way back in 1967, was dropped at the last moment under pressure from the Hindu supremacist organisations—namely, the Hindu Janajagruti Samity and the Sanatan Sanstha—would be discussed, debated and condemned for a long time to come. The sheepish manner in which the authorities capitulated before the ‘threats’ issued by these self-proclaimed defenders of Hinduism evoked widespread condemnation.

The Times of India in its editorial (November 27, 2008) commented: Husain is, by general acknowledgement, one of India’s greatest artists... There is no reason why the organisers should be cowed down by a fundamentalist group and hold back the screening... Surely, the Goa Government has the resources to ensure that unruly activists do not disrupt film screenings. The permanent venue of the IFFI (International Film Festival of India) must be a place that cherishes liberal values and the artist’s right to freedom of expression. It can’t be held hostage by radical elements who are enemies of art and culture.

Perhaps very few people even know that the aforementioned film, which was ‘..[p]art of a larger bouquet on illustrious artists, writers and poets like Raja Ravi Varma, Amrita Shergil, Picasso, Rabindranath Tagore, Mohammed Iqbal and Mirza Ghalib’, had won many international awards. Definitely this had no effect on the members and sympathisers of these supremacist organisations. It is no coincidence that out of 1250 cases pending before various police stations across the country against M.F. Husain, 900 have been filed in Goa alone, where the concerned organisation(s) are known to have a wider network.

Protesting against the capitulation of the powers-that-be before the likes of the Hindu Janajagruti Samity, a memorandum, signed by leading artists and cultural workers of the country underlined another sinister fact about these organisations. It said:

The Hindu Janajagruti Samity and its affiliated organisation, the Sanatan Sanstha, are, as you would know, under investigation by police and intelligence agencies for their possible complicity in a number of terrorist actions in the country. Indeed, the option of declaring them ”unlawful” organisations, is reportedly under active conside-ration. (Sahmat, November 26, 2008)

Perhaps it needs be noted at this juncture that the Maharashtra ATS (Anti-Terrorist Squad), led by the late Hemant Karkare, had sometime ago filed a thousand-plus page chargesheet against activists of these organisations for engaging in terrorist acts. And it was also contemplating to file a supplementary chargesheet to bring forth the role played by these organisations themselves to promote a culture of violence.

The arrests in the Thane and Vashi bomb blasts had also brought to the fore the silent emergence of Hindutva terrorism in western India—especially Maharashtra and Goa. The bomb explosion in Nanded in April 2006 at the house of an RSS activist and the busting of a Hindutva terrorist module and the repeat of a similar explosion in February 2007 in the same city which also witnessed two deaths could be said to be two major incidents to mark the emergence of homegrown Hindutva terrorism. It is no mere coincidence that three major stalwarts of the idea of Hindutva—Savarkar, Hedgewar-Golwalkar and Bal Thackeray—hail from this area only. And the dilly-dallying resorted to by the powers-that-be vis-a-vis these explosions in Nanded was a clear signal to these forces that they can move ahead with impunity.

It is true that the terrorist acts by the members of the SS and HJS were a precursor to what unfolded in the Malegaon bomb blast, the probe into which exposed the wider Hindutva terrorist network involving senior leaders of the Sangh Parivar at various levels with the likes of Sadhvi Pragya Bharati and Major General Purohit acting as the real executioners of the sinister plot. The late Heman Karkare had also hinted at the possible connections between Major Purohit and the terrorists of the Hindu Janjagruti Samity.

II

THE arrest of sevaks of the Sanatan Sanstha, a religious group that is behind the Hindu Janajagruti Samiti for planting bombs in theatres at Thane and Vashi brings a new dimension to terrorism. Seven people were injured when one of the bombs the sevaks planted exploded in the parking lot of Thane’s Gadkari Rangayatan theatre on June 4.

Ramesh Hanumant Gadkari, Mangesh Nikam, Santosh Angre and Vikram Bhave, the four bombers, are all full-time activists of the Sanatan Sanstha, living in ashrams run by the organisation........

Police say that they had planted a bomb outside a mosque or dargah on the Pen highway last Diwali, to check its intensity, but it did not explode. Nikam had earlier set off a bomb in the house of a family in Ratnagiri that had converted to Christianity, and was on bail awaiting trial. [‘Terror’s new face’, Herald, Panjim, June 19, 2008]

As a recap of the events one could say that the bomb blasts at theatres in Vashi (Visnudas Bhave Auditorium, May 31) and Thane (Gadkari Rangayatan Auditorium, June 4), which fortunately did not kill anyone, would have joined many such blasts where the real culprits could never be identified, if the ATS had followed the oftbeaten track of stigmatising a particular community and thus restricting the scope of investigation. One crucial link which the police already had was that the play which was to be staged in these two auditoriums, named Amhi Pachpute, had evoked a strong reaction from the members of the Hindu Janajagruti Samiti (HJS) and Sanatan Sanstha (SS) earlier. The HJS and SS members had even held a joint protest to register their opposition to the manner in which ‘Hindu mythological figures had been shown in poor light’ in the drama. Interestingly, HJS members had similarly held violent protests earlier when another play by the same author, ‘Yada Kadachit’, was staged. (‘Quitely, hardline Hindu outfits build a network across Maharashtra, Goa’, The Indian Express, June 23, 2008)

The arrested terrorists alongwith their accomplice, Dr Hemant Chalke, provided many crucial details to the ATS team. It was the same group which was involved in a bomb explosion at the Panvel cinema hall in February when Jodhaa Akbar was screened. They had also planted a bomb outside a mosque/dargah on the Pen Highway last Diwali. It was worth noting that these terrorists, who owed their allegiance to the HJS and Sanatan Sanstha did not regret their act. They reportedly told the investigators that “We are proud of what we did to deter those who were trying to show our gods and goddesses in poor light.”

The aggressive statements by the culprits emphasised the arrival of Hindutva terrorism in India—a charge which was already in the air but never conceded by anyone. Not to be left behind, Bal Thackeray, the supremo of the Shiv Sena, praised these ‘brave Hindus’ but chided them for using improvised techniques and exhorted Hindus to form ‘suicide squads’ to tackle the ‘menace of Islamic terrorism’.

The Sanstha denied any knowledge of the accused’s activities and said that they did it on their own. It was clear that the protestations of innocence were not taken at face value and the police decided to thoroughly investigate the affairs of the Sanatan Sanstha as well as Hindu Janjagruti Samity which have been formally registered as charitable organisations in Goa. Definitely they cannot evade responsibility for the act as their literature talks of ‘elimination’ of ‘evildoers’ and claims that it is a ‘religious duty’ to combat and counter the ‘enemies of Hinduism’.

The editorial in Herald further added that :

..[S]anatan Sanstha and the Bajrang Dal, two Hindu fundamentalist organisations that are both linked to the bomb blasts, are the main constituents of the broad joint front called the Hindu Janajagruti Samiti, which has been holding public meetings all over Goa claiming Hinduism is in danger, and making provocative speeches.

III

THE arrest of these Hindu terrorists belonging to the Hindu Janajagruti Samiti and Sanatan Sanstha and the blowing of the lid over the operations of these organisations was followed by the demand from different quarters of society to ban these fanatic Hindu organisations. Apart from the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Samajwadi Party (SP) or Jamiat Ulema-e-Hindi, many other organisations/individuals raised their voice in unison.

Looking at the fact that it was for the first time that organised involvement of the Hindutva terrorist groups in bomb blasts in India was being clearly seen, secular organisations underlined the need to have a fresh look at terror attacks in India and toning up the Central and State agencies to look for the real culprits. It was also pointed out that barring the 1993 Bombay bomb blasts which have been investigated, investigations in most of the other bomb blasts in the country have reached a dead end. With the security agencies following a preconceived path and focussing on one possibility. a situation has been created wherein the end product is demonisation of the Muslim community and the rise of Islamophobia in India. In fact it has become the usual pattern which has been well imbibed by the police and security agencies, where a blast anywhere in the country would be claimed as the handiwork of ‘Islamic terrorist organisations’, sketches would be prepared and innocent people would be arrested without any proper proof and would be put to endless torture. It was pointed out that the Jaipur bomb blasts saw the police releasing sketches of suspects at least twice without any valid explanation about the withdrawal of the earlier sketches of drawings. If there is intervention at the level of human rights activists or at any other higher level all such ‘culprits’ would be released with a warning that they do not disclose anything to anyone. And if the near and dear ones of the innocent people are not able to gather enough support from any quarter, they would be booked under various trumped up charges and sent to jail. (Politicisation of terror, Tarique Anwar on June 19, 2008, 8:06 pm. www.twocircles.net)

A write-up in The Indian Express (June 23, 2008), titled ‘Quietly, hardline Hindu Outfits build a network across Maharashtra, Goa’, explained the working of these organisations which ‘work like wheels within wheels’ and mobilise Hindus on “a cocktail of Ramrajya, Hindu Dharma, and ‘dharamkranti’ religious revolution”. A notable feature of the HJS and SS is while there is no formal membership and the funding is through donations, satsangs/religious gatherings are an important feature of mobilisation of people. Apart from many centres in different parts of India, they have centres in New Jersey, Brisbane, Melbourne, Dubai and many other places. It also provides details of the newly launched outfit ‘Dharamshakti Sena’ pictures of whose inaugural rally show young men dressed in military fatigues. The ‘Sena’ was established in 16 districts of Maharashtra towns and cities on Gudi Padwa day this April.

Dharamshakti Sena chief Vinay Panvalkar has travelled extensively across Maharashtra after the establishment of the outfit and is reported to have delivered inflammatory speeches. At a meeting held in Pune, he is quoted as saying: “Hindus are cornered from all sides, but there is no retaliation from them.” At another meeting in Thane, he says: “The war in future will be a Dharamyudh and Dharamshakti Sena will be the guiding force.”

As has been already reported, the arrested Hindu terrorists have claimed that they were working on their own initiative, and the leadership of the Sanatan Sanstha and Hindu Janajagruti Samiti have also categorically denied any role in these acts. Interestingly, in one of their own publications they have also condemned the acts even as they sympathised with their grievances. But any close watcher of the whole situation knows that it would not be possible for the leadership of the Sanatan Sanstha and Hindu Janajagruti Samiti to hide behind the formal explanations for long.

Apart from the trysts of the terrorists with bombs and violence, the police is rather baffled with the recovery of explosives from different parts of Maharashtra at the behest of the arrested activists:

According to ATS officials, while 19 gelatin sticks, two circuits with remote controls, a circuit without a remote and 20 detonators were found buried in the ground at a spot in Varsai village near Pen, three circuits with remote controls, a circuit without a remote, 12 batteries, a timer and a voltmeter were recovered from the bed of a stream in Pen. Another recovery of similar objects was made from a location in Satara. “The recoveries in Pen were made on details obtained during the interrogation of Vikram Bhave (26), while that in Satara was based on information provided by Mangesh Nikam (34),” said Additional Commissioner of Police, ATS, Parambeer Singh.
[Express News Service, posted online: Saturday, June 21, 2008]

A senior officer of the Anti-Terrorism Squad told the media that the meticulous planning which had gone into organising the bomb blasts shows that it cannot be at the initiative of a few persons only and they have all the options yet open before them. According to him, various members of these organisations are being questioned. If there role is found in the planning or the execution of these incidents, the ATS would write to the Central Government and seek that they be banned.

Apart from interrogation of different associates of these Hindu terrorists, the ATS also needs to take a close look at the plethora of literature published by the Sanatan Sanstha and Hindu Janajagruti Samiti and different issues of their regular newspaper and magazines and other material. A close look at the functioning of the organisations and the methods of their indoctrination, which place the “Guru” (teacher) at the supreme level, makes it clear that it would not be difficult for the ATS to nab the people who ‘remote control’ the activities of their gullible followers.

IV

IT is definitely no Kafkaesque scenario where one fine morning someone experiences metamorphosis of a different kind.

It is a real world, a world which talks of ‘spiritual salvation’ and ‘awareness of righteousness’, a world which supposedly ‘aims to present religious mysticism in a scientific language for the curious and to guide-seekers’, which ‘conducts weekly spiritual meetings, discourses, child guidance classes, workshops on spirituality etc.’ but this is just one part of the whole story.

The other part of the story is that here ‘destruction of evildoers’ is an integral part of ‘spiritual practice’. And this ‘destruction’ is to be done at ‘physical and psychological level’. Interestingly, to facilitate this ‘dharamkranti’ (religious revolution) the seekers are also provided with training in arms—rifles, trishuls, lathis and other weapons.

Enter the strange, unbelievable albeit real world of the Sanatan Sanstha (www.sanatan.org) and Hindu Janajagruti Samity.

It needs to be told that apart from the ‘magnum opus’ of the founder of the SS and HJS, Jayant Athavale, which is called Science of Spirituality—a book of 21 volumes—and other texts about ‘Divine Kingdom’, ‘Arts for God Realisation’ and ‘Spiritual Experiences of Seekers’ etc., a very important text in the training of the seekers is Texts on Defence where seekers of divine kingdom are also imparted training with air rifles. (Vol 3 H - Self Defence Training, Chapter 6, pages 108-109)

It would be opportune to discuss a portion from this text which trains the seeker in ‘Firing’. In 7 a. it trains the seeker in standing stance (kada pavitra) [shooting in the standing posture] in section 7 b. it discusses sitting stance (baitha pavitra) [shooting in the sitting stance]. It also shows a photograph of Vinay Panvalkar wearing a hat showing the different positions.

7 B. Sitting Stance (baitha pavitra) [shooting in the sitting stance]

1. Load the rifle according to steps ‘A to F of point 6. Loading the rifle.’

Then proceed as given below.

2. Ready to fire—one (fire ke liye sajja—ek) :

Once this command is given touch the right knee to the ground. Bending the toes of the right foot support the foot on its ball. At that time the left knee should be bent and kept in front of the right one.....

Another write-up in Goan Observer also displays seven photographs of Vinay Panvalkar which have appeared in another of the Sanatan Sanstha’s publication [Swasaunrakshan Prashikshan (Self-Defence Training)]. While four photographs show training by rifle, two photographs show how to attack someone with a long Trishul and the last one is the usual fight with bare hands. The same write-up makes an interesting point vis-a-vis the HJS/SS and RSS/VHP/Bajrang Dal.

According to the write-up,

..It would appear that these hardline organisations have come up because of the disillusionment amongst hardcore fanatic Hindus that the BJP and the RSS have compromised their core values for political gains. In fact though the Sansthan boasted of over two lakh members when it started in 1999, many members were expelled because they were proved to be ‘corrupt’. Unlike the RSS, VHP and Bajrang Dal activists, the activists of the Sanstha maintain a very low profile which makes it difficult to combat their mischief.

The same page carries a photograph of Jayant Athavale, the founder of the HJS and SS, in military fatigue exhorting the people to ‘become Hindu Naxalites to combat the Naxalites who are the biggest enemies of Dharamrajya’.

Jayant Athavale’s magnum opus, Science of Spirituality, in its chapter ‘Spiritual Practice of Protecting Seekers and Destroying Evildoers’ (Vol I, E, pages 64-65), underlines the importance of the guru to undertake spiritual practice’. It clearly absolves the seeker from any act of destroying evildoers. It says:

B 2. One chanting continuously: The action of destroying evildoers becomes a non-action only if done along with chanting the Lord’s name, as then it becomes a mere act (Kriya). Then the Law of Karma (Action) does not apply.

B 3. One who is permitted by saints or Gurus to undertake this spiritual practice: Destroy evildoers if you have been advised by saints or Gurus to do so. Then these acts are not registered in your name.

According to the book,

Timetable of the spiritual practice

a. Year 1997-1999 A.D. (3 Years) : Impressing upon the mind that ‘destruction of evildoers’ is a part of the spiritual nature.

b. Year 2000-2006 A.D. (7 years) : Actual destruction of evildoers at physical, psychological and spiritual levels.

c. Year 2007-2022 A.D. (16 Years) : Generating the potential to run the kingdom of the Absolute truth.

d. Year 2023 - 2025 A.D. (3 Years) : Commencement of the regime of Absolute Truth (divine kingdom)

Vol 4 of the book, ‘Texts about the Divine Kingdom’, focuses on Social Upliftment, National Security and measures someone’s ‘spiritual progress’ when he is compelled to ‘kill someone’. (pages 48-49) 6 C 4. Test of Spiritual Progress: One will perceive how much spiritual progress one has made only when he is compelled to kill someone. It is easy to make statements like ‘everything is Brahman (God)’. When actually performing the act of killing, if the mind remains steady and does not waver at all like Arjun’s did, only then can one say that one has realised Brahman.

It also presents its ideas about who would ‘bring about a revolution’: 6 D. Only warrior seekers (Kshatravir) can bring about a revolution. 6 D 1. Warrior-seekers who have an unparalleled combination of a selfless attitude, unity, intense motivation to undertake the mission and faith in it The Lord. It is not an easy task to oust evil politicians. To achieve this, one will have to combat their ruffian party workers, the police force and the Army under their command. Therefore, this is certainly not the work of selfish politicians. The people have experienced in the last 54 years after independence that despite granting opportunity to various parties to assume power, replacement of one politician by another does not bring about any change in society.

For an organisation which is so ultra-sensitive about the slightest imagined insult to Hinduism—imagined or real—the literature of the Sanatan Sanstha is rife with attacks on other religions. Apart from valorising violence through its literature and actions, the organisations have achieved notoriety for abusing other religions and their prophets. For example, in one of the issues of Sanatan Prabhat (December 9, 2005), a newspaper brought out by it from many districts in Maharashtra and Goa, it ‘exposes the real nature of the Bible’ by calling it a ‘manual for teaching immorality’ and discusses in detail ‘ the rape of a sister by a brother’. There are frequent references to the Bible, alleging that it promotes incest and other immoral practices. It is part of its usual practice to show a Pastor with horns whose sole agenda is proselytisation. In September 2004, Sanatan Prabhat carried a statement saying that the body of St. Francis Xavier should be destroyed. It has also carried other scurrilous articles about Goa’s patron saint. Its humiliation of Islam and Prophet Muhammad created a near-riot like situation in Miraj (in the first week of November 2005) and the imprisonment of the editor of Sanatan Prabhat.

Interestingly, all talk of Hindu unity in the worldview of the HJS falls at the altar of caste and other regressive practices in our society Believers are exhorted to guide offenders away from the path of incorrect practice. The volumes in the series support the regressive and obscurantist practices of the past, including the caste system, talking repeatedly about the proper role of various castes in society.
Herald (Panjim, June 22, 2008)

Herald (Panjim, June 22, 2008) concludes with the observation: After having created an ideological framework which creates a fundamentalist mindset and makes it the ‘duty’ of the true seeker to defend the faith against all those who are projected as attacking it, it is disingenuous of the HJS and the SS to disclaim responsibility for the acts engaged in by their members. Ex-members of these organisations talk about the cult-like atmosphere that is created, with unquestioning obedience being stressed. Members are then brainwashed into believing that Hinduism is under siege. Against this background, and with all the talk about ‘defence’ and ‘elimination of evildoers’, it is hardly surprising that adherents begin to explore ways of taking direct action to defend the faith. In this regard, the philosophy of the HJS and the SS is not all that different from the philosophy of terrorists, whom they claim to oppose.

V

“violence towards evildoers is non-violence itself” and “it is a sin not to slay an evildoer”! —Jayant Athavale

IN a detailed write-up in Goan Observer (‘Protecting Hinduism : Sanatan Style’, Pradnya Gaonkar, June 28, 2008) the ‘covert activities of self-professed protectors of Hinduism, the Sanatan Sanstha and the Hindu Janajagruti Samiti, have been looked into. The author writes that The Chief Minister, Digamber Kamat, and the Leader of the Opposition, Manohar Parrikar, not to mention the IGP Kishen Kumar, should be more concerned over the terrorist activities of the Sanatan Sanstha and the Hindu Janajagruti Samiti than chasing imaginary Naxalites. Apart from their strong presence in Goa at rural levels, the author also brings to the fore the political patronage received by them at the highest levels.

The investigations done by Goan Observer

..[r]evealed that Jyoti Sudin Dhavlikar, wife of the MGP leader and Transport Minister in the Digamber Kamat Government Sudin Dhavlikar, is in charge of the Goa unit of the Sanatan Sanstha. Goan Observer also understands that the IGP, Kishen Kumar, despite being directed to investigate the activities of the Sanatan Sanstha in Goa, did not follow it up seriously because of political pressure... The Marcaim MGP MLA, Sudin Dhavlikar, and his brother are crucial to the continued survival of the Digamber Kamat Government which explains why the Chief Minister is not enthusiastic about investigating the credentials of the Sanatan Sanstha.

The Self-Defence Manual of the Sanatan Sanstha ..[w]hich is mandatory reading for its activists, reveals the insidious nature of the communal propaganda being carried out by the ‘charitable organisation’. Surely, there can be nothing charitable about images showing young men in military uniform shooting dead a man typically dressed like a Muslim. The defence of course would be that the young men were shooting the ‘Muslim’, who is also shown armed, in self-defence. The Sanatan Sanstha’s Swasaunrakshan Prashikshan contains explicit instructions on what parts of the anatomy should be targeted for causing maximum damage, shows how the trishul can be used as an offensive weapon and has an entire chapter on how to use air rifles. Except that the training imparted for using air rifles can be used for handling AK-47s also. The images of the activists wielding the gun shows them wearing T-shirts identifying them as soldiers of the Sanatan Sanstha and exhorts activists to kill ‘evil’ and uphold Hindu values.

The study also throws light on the process of indoctrination which follows a policy of targeting young minds and systematically brainwashing them. It is much on the lines of

...[o]ther Hindu fundamentalist organisations like the RSS, the Bajrang Dal and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad,

The fact that the moving spirit, if not the founder of the Sansthan, Dr Jayant Balaji Athavale, was a clinical hypnotherapist has been reflected in the methodology adopted by the Sanatan Sanstha for indoctrinating and brainwashing young minds. Young people who attended the satsangs (weekly meets of the members of the SS) of the Sanstha narrate that they are required to fill pages with the name of the Kuldevta and obtain mental peace. The satsangs were cleverly packaged to convert young open minds into fanatical defenders of the Sanatan Sanstha version of dharma. The publication of the Sanstha revealed that it is committed to militant defence of Hinduism, which it claims is under threat not only from the minorities but from members of the Hindu community themselves who are either not conscious of the threat to Hinduism or not committed enough to Hinduism to aggressively protect it from real or imaginary threats.

VI

IT is for everyone to see that organisations like the Hindu Janajagruti Samiti, Sanatan Sanstha and Dharamshakti Sena and their open espousal of violence against ‘evildoers’ under the garb of ‘spiritual practice’ cannot be allowed to continue any further.

Whatever might be the claims of the accused in the bomb blasts—that the whole operation was at their own initiative—it is clear to any layperson that their organisations can never escape the blame for preparing the conditions so that ‘seekers’ unleash violence against religious minorities for the espousal of spirituality. A cursory glance at the writings and speeches of the leaders of the SS and HJS makes it clear that in a democratic set-up they need to pay for their hate-filled speeches and for promoting the division of society on communal lines. For all its talk of spirituality it is becoming extremely clear that the likes of Jayant Athavale are essentially zealots for the formation of a Hindu Rashtra in secular India. In one of his exhortations (Sanatan Prabhat, August 16, 2005) he talks of the ‘inevitability of building of Hindu Rashtra to avoid the breaking of the India at the hands of the irreligious’.

It was only last year that the HJS had organised a photo exhibition in different parts of Goa and Maharashtra to present their version of the ‘attacks on Hindus in Kashmir and Bangladesh’ This particular exhibition evoked a strong reaction from a wide cross-section of people with its one-sided pictorisation of events. The exhibition had been prepared by Frank Gautier, a saffron sympathiser from Europe. The exhibition was basically a photo-documentation by Francois Gautier—a well-known apologist of the Hindutva project. The object of the exhibition was to supposedly ‘educate the average Hindu about the violence by Muslims on the Hindus of Kashmir and Bangladesh’, but, as the pictures and illustrations reflected, the real ‘aim was to ensure that local Hindus see the local Muslim as the natural and necessary enemy’. (Gomantak Times, Panjim, October 2, 2007: ‘An Invitation To Hate and Spread It’, Jason Keith Fernandes)

It is high time that measures are taken at the policy level so that the likes of Jayant Athavale and Vinay Panvalkar and all their followers are restrained from taking up any cause which could ‘provide fresh impetus to forces of exclusion’.

If the government dithers over taking any action against leaders of the HJS or, for that matter, Sanatan Sanstha, then one will have to get ready for a protracted struggle against these forces. A mass movement for the defence of secularism and democracy would be a fitting answer to all such forces based on hate and exclusion.

Till the time we prepare ourselves for launching such a movement, legal interventions should also be tried. People conversant with law or its different statues can tell you what sort of clauses from the Indian Penal Code would apply in the case of the hate-filled propaganda by them. If convicted, they will have to spend at least three years in any Indian jail.

However, the question remains: who will gather enough courage to ‘bell the cat’?

Hindutva Mix of Biceps and the Bhagvad Gita
by Jyotirmaya Sharma, 24 November 2008
An amusing spectacle is unfolding on most news channels these days: the top leadership of the BJP strenuously arguing that it is wrong to speak about ‘Hindu’ terrorism. These are the same people who demolished the Babri mosque, coining the slogan Garv se kaho hum Hindu hain (Say it with pride that we are Hindus). They are the same people who encourage and incite lumpens to attack M.F. Husain’s exhibitions in the name of preserving ‘Hindu’ culture. The same who glorified and justified the wilful killing of thousands of Muslims in a premeditated, planned and systematic fashion after the Godhra tragedy in the name of ‘Hindu’ pratishodh (reaction, retaliation). Among them are also people who have invented the most hateful, diabolical and misleading formulation in recent times, arguing that ‘all Muslims may not be terrorists, but all terrorists are Muslims’. Among these very people are individuals who have flouted every norm and tenet, every single article of faith of the Indian Constitution in the name of preserving Hindu asmita (sense of self). Among them are also people who certify Jinnah’s secular credentials, but brand anyone talking about coexistence, civility and debate as pseudo-secularists.

Having said this, I agree with them that there is no ‘Hindu terrorism’, just as there is no ‘Islamic/Muslim terrorism’. But there is something called Sangh parivar terrorism, just as there is al-Qaeda terrorism. Neither Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur nor Osama bin Laden represent their respective faiths, nor do their organisations represent the people who they claim to represent. To push aside misplaced legalism, just as the charges against the sadhvi are yet to be proved in a court of law, even Osama bin Laden has not yet been indicted by a court of law anywhere in the world. The only difference between Osama and Pragya is that the former is unlikely to contest an election in the future and become a member of an elected body. In the case of Pragya Thakur, given the way in which criminal investigations are conducted, there is a strong possibility of her becoming a people’s representative, as she would only be following a ‘great’ tradition. Just as Osama hides in the impregnable mountains of Afghanistan, the likes of Pragya will hide behind the fig leaf of the democratic ‘will of the people’. This is why very few people in the country speak about political, electoral and administrative reforms, and the Indian polity has been penetrated by criminal elements of both communal and secular hues. If a hundred people tell a lie and another hundred believe in it, it does not become the truth — this classical formulation has been conclusively reversed in our country.

The predicament of the Sangh parivar is akin to having a tub bath, where one only floats in one’s own dirt and filth. From the 19th century onwards, apologists of Hindu nationalism have sought to portray Hinduism as a unified, seamless and monochromatic faith. The mess that is Hindutva is a result of this ideological confusion and intellectual laziness. While it argued, on the one hand, that Hinduism was a tolerant, peaceful, inward-looking, all-embracing faith; on the other hand, there was a call to all Hindus to regain their Kshatriyahood and resort to the virtues of biceps and the Bhagvad Gita.

Every proponent of Hindu nationalism encouraged and promoted the idea of retaliatory violence, be it Swami Vivekananda, Sri Aurobindo or V. Savarkar, in the name of preserving righteousness and a fictional unbroken, centuries-old Hindu tradition. All of them were ensnared by 19th century definitions of religion and attempted to mould their own faith, as they understood it, in ways that were alien to the diverse strands of ‘Hinduism’.

Without exception, all Hindu nationalists from the 19th century onwards argued that religion was the core of Hindu nationalism, and moreover, that it was the only core of nationalism. They further argued that if the former was true, then, nationalism was the only religion. It is this formulation that allows the likes of Vajpayee and Advani to argue, to this day, that Hindutva stands for idealism whereas nationalism is their ideology. They say so in the belief that this linguistic and rhetorical contortion will go unnoticed, and it often does. It also manifests in contemporary times as Indian middle-class aspirations of envisioning India as an economic and military superpower. Very little time and energy are expended in discussing the constellation of values that will constitute the heart of this putative superpower. Like their 19th century predecessors, the Hindutva votaries are satisfied as long as they can vanquish their real and imagined enemies, at home and abroad, and impose their national socialist understanding of the idea of will to power.

No nation is either entirely tolerant or wholly wedded to violence. Any civilisation is a composite of the pure and the tainted, and from the struggle between the two emerge values that are sublime, civilised and truly human. This struggle is neither a given, nor is it a zero-sum game, and it impels human beings to make choices. Choosing peace, tolerance, civility and truth is not a sign of weakness as the apologists of violence and retribution will make people believe, but a way of sublimating the beast within us. Buddha, Mahavir and Gandhi were not weak men. Why, then, are their spiritual children afraid to take this crucial leap? I posed this question to a Japanese writer, who also writes on questions of identity and nationalism. He paused for a moment and said: ‘They did not have the burden of contesting and winning elections.’

(Jyotirmaya Sharma is a Professor of Political Science at the University of Hyderabad)
Sangh Parivar Turns Hysterical

India: BJP is playing with fire
by Praful Bidwai, 24 November 2008
Nothing speaks as eloquently of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s massive Rightwards shift as the fact that even Prime Ministerial-hopeful LK Advani has had to fall in line with his party colleagues’ hard-Hindutva position on the Malegaon blasts issue. His November 18 statement attacking Maharashtra’s Anti-Terrorism Squad for being "politically motivated" and making "unsubstantiated allegations" against "Sadhvi" Pragya Singh Thakur and Lt Col Prasad Shrikant Purohit is a major departure from his earlier attempt to appear moderate or middle-of-the-road and saying that "terrorism has no religion" and the law must take its own course. As the sangh parivar feels the heat from the ATS investigation into the Hindutva terrorist network, the BJP has turned hysterical and termed the probe a "huge conspiracy" by the United Progressive Alliance. It has abandoned all pretence of political decorum and decency in venomously branding its opponents terrorist sympathisers and "ISI agents". Party spokesperson Prakash Javadekar is outdoing even normally abusive sadhus by claiming that the Congress "encourages terrorism", and has no right to accuse sadhus and the Army "of being involved in terror blasts"-regardless of the evidence, too elaborate to recount here. Besides, it’s ludicrous to confuse one stray officer with the entire Army.

VHP leader Pravin Togadia has expectedly gone further by alleging that Congress president Sonia Gandhi is "supervising" the ATS investigations out of "revenge against the Hindus": "Is the ATS going to subject even God to narco tests?" Although the BJP falls shy of this, its line of demarcation from the VHP-Bajrang Dal has got blurred. BJP president Rajnath Singh insists that the votaries of "cultural nationalism" (Hindutva) can never be terrorists-by definition. He clams to possess "certain facts" which exonerate "saints" like Thakur and Amritanand.

Let’s leave aside for the moment all the evidence, including the use in Malegaon of a motorcycle registered in Thakur’s name, numerous other links between the network and bomb blasts since 2002, or the fact that Army personnel present at Purohit’s interrogation have endorsed the ATS version.

Let’s also not ask why Mr Singh hasn’t disclosed the relevant "facts" or moved a court against the arrests. What matters is that the BJP demands that the law of the land shouldn’t apply to sadhus and sadhvis, and argues that the detention of a handful of shady sadhus like Amritanand alias alias Dayanand Pandey is a conspiracy against an entire community! This is deeply offensive to the idea of justice and fairness.

The absurdity of the BJP defending terrorism after making it a central plank of its election campaign should be self-evident. Yet, that’s the unmistakable message that emanated from the sangh parivar’s November 16 Panipat conclave, at which Mr Rajnath Singh and Uttarakhand Chief Minister BC Khanduri joined hands with viciously anti-secular sadhus and resolved to launch a campaign against the UPA for its "vilification of Hindu saints and Army officers".

Nothing can condone, leave alone justify, the presence of these two leaders, one an elected public official with Constitutional responsibilities, and the other the topmost office-bearer of one of India’s biggest political parties, at a meeting with an outrageously communal agenda, which launched the "Hindu Dharam Raksha Manch" and a "Save the sant samaj" agitation.

There is a real danger that the Panipat meeting will go down as a rabid version of the BJP’s Palanpur conclave of 1989 which resolved to build a Ram temple at Ayodhya. This is precisely what the parivar achieved three years later by razing the Babri mosque. It is utterly shameful that the BJP became part of the disgustingly communal Panipat venture. The parivar has decided to brazenly defend Hindutva terrorism in the belief that the public buys into its propaganda that it’s a patriotic force and means well by the Indian nation. In reality, the parivar seeks to destroy the essential character of this society as a plural, multi-cultural, multi-lingual, multi-religious entity through an anti-secular counter-revolution. It is driven by prejudice, hatred, and blind revenge against real or imagined past injustices.

Crass militarism and violence against non-Hindus have been integral to "cultural nationalism"-decades before the Ramjamnabhoomi mobilisation began in the mid-1980s. Hindutva’s history is one of assassinations, bloody riots and pogroms targeting the religious minorities, whom it brands as foreigners with allegiance to "alien Gods".

Who can forget that Nathuram Godse killed Gandhi because for the parivar, to which he belonged, the Mahatma a "pro-Muslim" because he tried to prevent communal riots? If the Godses and Narendra Modis are "patriots", this nation will only breed assassins and terrorists acting in the name of a community whom they don’t represent. India will be doomed. For years, the RSS-Jana Sangh-BJP tried to distance themselves from Godse by claiming he was not an RSS member in 1948-although he had been one earlier, for years; as a Hindu Mahasabhaite, he was inspired by the same ideology of communal hatred. Today, not just the RSS, but even the BJP, blatantly defends Abhinav Bharat’s Himani Savarkar, daughter-in-law of VD Savarkar’s brother Babarao, and daughter of Gopal Godse, brother of Nathuram.

The principal difference between Hindutva extremism and other forms of religious extremism is that the former tries to pass itself off as nationalist by virtue of claiming to speak for a majority of the population, which by definition cannot be separatist. This view is dangerously majoritarian and exclusivist, and hence anti-democratic. Majoritarian extremism is also more widespread and enjoys a degree of state patronage and indulgence. The emergence of the Hindutva terrorist network cannot be seen in isolation from the climate of divisiveness, parochialism and chauvinist nationalism and the culture of hatred that the BJP has promoted in its cynical pursuit of power. Violence is integral to this culture. Indeed, it is part of the party’s strategy of political mobilisation. This culture has percolated over the years into police forces and the national security apparatus, which views terrorism through an Islamophobic prism. All governments are affected by this to some extent or other. As hate speech and hate crimes are increasingly granted impunity, and ethnic hatreds become part of normal public discourse, civil servants and the police no longer feel constrained not to air their communal views, or worse, to act on them without fear of anything more than a transfer of posting. Take the crass communalisation of the Maharashtra police, who moved a application in a Dhule court in the October 5 case of communal rioting, which brazenly stated: "It is an established fact that Muslims are the masterminds behind all terrorist activities across India." They also exonerated the Hindu Rakshak Samiti, which participated in the violence, in which seven of the 10 people killed were Muslims, by saying its activities were "mere retaliation to what has been happening in the country for the past few years." The BJP is now hardening its rabid Hindutva posture. If the Rajnath Singh line prevails, as is happening, and if the BJP does relatively well in the Assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Delhi, it will see its victory as a vindication of its defence of the saffron terror accused. This will encourage it to mount a grossly communal and divisive campaign in the Lok Sabha election, the like of which India hasn’t seen, with potentially terrible consequences for this society and polity. Already, disturbing signs are discernible in the BJP’s evolution. Mr Narendra Modi has emerged as the undisputed successor to Mr Advani. He has gained legitimacy through Tata Motors’ decision to shift the Nano project to Gujarat, and been lionised by Big Business. The RSS has tightened its grip on the BJP. As membership and attendance in its shakhas plummets, the RSS will try to play a more active role in other parivar outfits, including the BJP, and of curse the VHP-Bajrang Dal. After the Panipat conclave, the BJP’s stance is set to harden.

This demolishes the wishful argument that incumbency in power would impel the BJP towards "moderation" and sobriety. The BJP, quite simply, isn’t that kind of party. It will always occupy the dark region between parliamentary politics as an instrument of power, and its foundational loyalty to the sangh parivar and its hate-driven ideology and violent politics. It’s now playing with fire. It must be stopped.

It goes without saying that the unearthing of the Hindutva terrorist network presents a major challenge to the Indian state. It has become a litmus tests for its secular credentials, indeed its loyalty to the Constitution. The police must investigate the network impartially and professionally. They must refrain from making premature statements to the media before the investigations are completed and solid evidence is obtained. The Union home ministry has done well to ask the states to furnish reports on the activities of Hindutva groups. It should now act on them by banning the VHP-Bajrang Dal and the RSS. True, bans have their limitations. But their value in delegitimising extremists must not be underrated. They can put the more dangerous organisations in the parivar on the defensive and enable the government to prosecute BJP members connected with them.

Hindutvawadis in American politics
by Ayub Khan, 21 November 2008
sacw.net, 21 November 2008


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The appointment of Sonal Shah to Barack Obama’s transition team has rightly garnered the headlines. But this is just the tip of the iceberg. Activists, writers, scholars, and others bearing right wing Hindu extremist ideology have been gradually carving themselves a niche in the American politics, academia, and intelligentsia.

With all the attention of successive administrations almost singularly focused on Muslim extremists, their Hindu counterparts have managed to avoid scrutiny and gain prominent positions in universities and the political arena. Their objective is to follow the path of the Zionist lobbying groups and they have made no qualms about their intentions.

They started off small in the 1960s by inviting politicians to community, writing letters and generally making their presence known. By early 90s they had graduated to hold effective lobbying power and made public announcements of allying themselves with the Zionist groups.

They couched their agenda in nationalistic terms thereby further concealing their actual intention which is to convert India into a Hindu nation. Their divisive ideology effectively negates the idea of India as a secular, plural, and progressive nation. This concealment caused them to obtain control of several prominent Indian organizations.

The rise of the ultra-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party further emboldened their aspirations. During the the late 80s and early 90s they hosted a number of leaders from the BJP who have hitherto been persona non grata for mainstream Indian organizations in North America. The formation of the BJP led government created further opportunities for the Hindutva supporters. This created tensions within the Indian community and led to the notion of groupisms within their large mainstream organizations like the Federation of Indian Associations. In some instances it even led to suits, countersuits, and defamation allegations.

Despite the conflict the Hindutva supporters continued to grow in the American political landscape. Probably their first big catch, which largely went unnoticed, was the nomination of Bhailal Patel to the transition team of Illinois Gov.Rod Blagojevic in 2002. Bhailal Patel, president of a financial services company and then president of one faction of Federation of Indian Associations, was named to the governor’s Consumer Affairs and Regulatory Policy Committee.

Patel makes no qualms about his his support for the Hindutva and its ideology. In 2003, he praised Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi with the following words:

"Chief Ministers from 14 non-BJP ruled states came to tell the Gujarati people which way to vote. Their shrill anti-BJP tirade was further supported by Congress party president, Sonia Gandhi - the famous reader of prepared speeches. This is the first time ever that such a large group of chief ministers had joined hands, aided and abetted by a prime ministerial berth aspirant, to defeat a political party in state elections. Despite their stentorian harangues, or perhaps because of it, the masses of Gujarat were aroused - they unceremoniously voted out all those who had the audacity to attack India’s ancient culture and Hindutva." (BJP Today, Mar.1-15,2003-Vol.12, No.5).*

Another Hindutva supporter waltzing in the political circles is Dr.Bharat Barai, former president of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad-America. Public records indicate that he donated $6,900 to the Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign. He also donated to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee ($5,000) , All America PAC ($5,000), and to the campaigns of Joe Biden ($2,800), Mitt Romney (2,300), Jesse Jackson Jr. ($2,300), Joe Donnelly ($2,300), Barack Obama ($1,000), among others.

The ranks of the likes of Barai and Patel among political parties is increasing and so is their influence. While American politicians avoid like plague anyone who is even remotely linked to any kind of extremist Muslim ideology or individuals, they have no qualms about embracing the proponents of Hindu supremacist ideologies. It is about time that they live up to the American values of religious freedom and tolerance and disassociate themselves from proponents of any kind of extremist ideology.

Tolerating Terrorism of the Hindu Right
by Ram Puniyani, 28 November 2008
Things have been changing by the day on the issue of terrorism investigation since the proof of Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur’s involvement in the Malegaon blast has come to the surface. So far the word Islamic terrorism has been in the air in the post 9/11 phase when the US administration ensured that media takes up this new word and propagates it. The social common sense that ’all terrorists are Muslims’ went to such a pass that many a lawyers taking up the cases of terror suspects were not only beaten up but also some of the Bar Associations passed the resolutions, contrary to their own professional ethics, that they will not take up the cases of the terror suspects. The basic adage that one is innocent till proved guilty was turned upside down. The legal aid to many of these suspects was meager if at all.

Matters change with Sadhvi being arrested by the Maharashtra ATS. The RSS associates, VHP, Shiv Sena rushed to put together the team of lawyers to stand for the terror accused. The Shiv Sena is calling a bandh in support of Pragya and Co. We are hearing strange arguments; Hindus can’t be terrorists as it is not in their genes. This statement also subtly hinted that terrorism is in the genes of ’some’ other community. But lets be clear terrorism is not a genetic problem, it is due to social, political and economic reasons.

It was stated that Maharashtra Government is doing all this at the behest of the Government, reducing all investigations to being merely politically motivated one. Not that these things don’t happen but one has also to see that in the prevailing situation where the social mind set accepts the formulation that ’all terrorists are Muslims’, to suspect a non Muslim will require more than a mere grain of truth to venture and touch any non Muslim and that too one with divine robe adorning on one’s body or the one wearing the green fatigues of army with its holy cow image. Logically no officer in the right frame of mind can even dare think of such a move unless impeccable evidence is there.

In pre-Sadhvi period of terrorism RSS affiliates accused the Congress of being soft on terrorism, in turn encouraging terrorism. They came up with the formulation that they will provide a Government with Zero tolerance for terrorism, meaning a total high handed ness in case of terror accused. Now the matters stand turned upside down and no question of zero tolerance for terror accused, special efforts are being made to ensure that popular pressure is built up to save the likes of Sadhvi, Acharya or Lt Col. Not only that, the issue is being communalized and many right wing political parties are offering the accused the tickets for the forthcoming elections. At the same time propaganda is launched that the holy person like sadhvi is being targeted for political reasons or that the noble institution of army is being sullied by the Congress Government. Both these are baseless as the investigation seems to be proceeding with extreme caution and the leads provided by Sadhvi’s motor cycle, used in Malegaon blasts is being pursued meticulously.

Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur and the Lt Col. Prasad Purohit have alleged that they were tortured in the police custody. A major morning newspaper reports that the training camp conducted by Abhinav Bharat, instructed the trainees that in order to deflect the investigation, all should be done to implicate the investigation authorities themselves. So one does not know whether they were tortured or they have been tutored to say so. One waits with baited breath for the real truth to come out. It goes without saying that torture of accused in police custody is not a matter of surprise, it must be condemned and there is no place for compromising with the human rights of accused, who so ever one is. One will condemn the authorities if the torture of Sadhvi and company has taken place.

So far no one from RSS affiliates talked of human rights of accused. Now this section is talking that the terror accused are being tortured and that their human rights are being violated. One must ensure the truth behind this. While police is capable of using its usual arms twisting methods to extort confession, one will doubt if the police can dare touch a saffron robed sadhvi or green uniformed Lt Col. Let the inquiry decide, whether it is a genuine complaint or a ploy to deflect the investigation.

One interesting aside to the investigation of acts of terror is that so far during last few years, the Muslim youth were caught hold of after every terror attack, for a couple of days the media was abuzz with the same news and then once they were produced in the court for the lack of evidence many of them were quietly let off. This part was generally not in the news. While a wrong person is accused, that person does suffer all the humiliation etc, the additional point is that because of this the real culprit merrily keeps planning the further things. And that seems to be the case. As despite the leads provided by Nanded blasts, where two Bajrang Dal workers were killed while making bomb. Despite this the other acts of terror were not investigated on this line, so one after the other the tragedy kept happening. Hopefully with this the further blasts will be arrested in the tracks.

Overall the logic of the events as unfolding makes it clear that the RSS affiliates have been caught with their pants down. How so ever much they deny the ideological and organizational difference, it seems that there is lot of proof to point the finger towards the Abhinav Bharat and ex workers of ABVP as a part of the plot of Malegaon blasts, Ajmer blasts and Samjhauta express blasts. The proximity of the accused to many a top brass of the organizations is being reported day in and day out.

To deflect from the issue a campaign has been started to defame the ATS, the Mahrashtra Government and even Sonia Gandhi. Rumors are being spread that these are the one’s who are framing and torturing the accused. One is amazed at the double standards of those saying this. Till yesterday when the police was blindly apprehending the Muslim youth for all these crimes, especially police was being cheered for the investigation. In the aftermath of Ahmedabad blasts and the series of bombs found in Surat, hanging on trees and all that, Modi took the credit for showing the way to deal with terrorism. Now with his own ideological associates accused in the acts of terror, another type of offensive has been launched to wriggle out of the situation. One hopes that truth alone will prevail and guilty, irrespective of their religion, holiness, and military uniform are given punishment for the suffering they have inflicted on the nation.