Author: Dr G L Bhan
Publication: Sangh Sandesh
Date: July - August, 2002
For several years now there has
been a concerted effort by certain organisations to malign Hindus and Hindu
organisations. These organisations and individuals are at pains to associate
Hindus with fundamentalism and terrorism. This onslaught has intensified
following the recent riots in Gujarat, with pressure being put on the British
Government, and other agencies like Inter-Faith to ban VHP-UK. It is now
common practice to denounce Hindus whenever and wherever possible.
Are Hindus fundamentalists? Their
record speaks for itself. They have never practiced religious intolerance.
It was they who gave sanctuary centuries ago to Jews, Syrian Christians,
and Zoroastrians fleeing persecution in their own countries, and more recently
to people of Tibet, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. Not only that, they provided
them full religious freedom and equal civil and political rights.
At the beginning of March, while
the riots in Gujarat were going on, I visited Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka
and Andhra Pradesh on a pre-planned tour. In extensive travels by road,
encompassing towns, villages and cities, I did not come across a single
instance of disturbances or tension between the Hindus and minority communities.
It is important to remember that, despite occasional communal disturbances,
secularism in India remains securely established, and credit must be given
to the majority community for promoting this. If secularism is good for
India, why is it bad for Pakistan and Bangladesh?
Are Hindus nationalists? Yes, our
culture teaches us to be loyal to the country in which we live. Hindus
in Britain are loyal to Britain, and the same applies to Hindus in other
countries including India. It seems that, for some, being nationalistic
is now tantamount to being a criminal.
Are Hindus terrorists? No.
Numerous allegations have been made
against Hindu organisations over recent years to this effect without any
evidence. The shameful aspect is that the print and broadcast media have
conveyed such allegations without hesitation, without prior enquiry to
find whether these have any foundation at all. This is an example of the
media having become so free as to be irresponsible. In broadcasting or
printing such allegations, they damage the reputation of individuals and
organisations. Once the allegations have been found to be unsubstantiated,
they do not bother to issue corrections and apologies. How much more irresponsible
can one be? I will cite just two examples.
A few years ago, allegations were
made on BBC that Hindu organization were attacking Christians, raping nuns
and damaging churches in India. No Hindu was invited to respond to these
allegations. Denials were voiced but these were not broadcast. A comprehensive
judicial enquiry subsequently reported that most of the alleged attacks
had never taken place and that, in the case of events that had happened,
no Hindu organization was involved. A Muslim terrorist organization based
in Andhra Pradesh was found to be involved in the bombing of churches.
These facts were not published or broadcast.
The second example is more recent.
Last month Mr. Shamsuddin Aga alleged on BBC Radio 4 that VHP-UK is a terrorist
organization and that it has collected and sent to India millions of pounds
for terrorist activities. VHP insisted on a right of reply in which we
denied this categorically. [VHP UK has been a registered charitable organization
in this country since 1972. Its accounts are audited properly and submitted
to the Charity Commissioners each year. It has not sent a single pound
to India or to any other country over the years.] Nevertheless Mr. Aga's
allegations would have been heard by many listeners and would have planted
uncalled for doubts in their minds. This is simply irresponsible journalism.
This raises the question - why are
these allegations being made? Two reasons come to mind: i) to link Hindus
and Hindu faith with terrorism. (Words like extremism, fascism and terrorism
are used very freely whenever Hindus are mentioned. 'Keep making such statements
again and again until they stick in people's minds'); ii) to silence the
Hindu voice. VHP has spoken against the atrocities committed against Hindus
in Kashmir, Bangladesh, Pakistan and the Taliban controlled Afghanistan.
This is unacceptable to some quarters. It would seem that we have to be
'tolerant of intolerance'.
The BJP Government continues to
be described as Hindu nationalist, despite the fact that the party has
members from all minorities and that Muslims and Christians hold responsible
positions within the party and within the Government. The attacks on Hindu
organisations, properties and places of worship here have intensified since
the recent tragic events in Gujarat. Ignored is the fact that the riots
were engineered through burning alive of Hindu train passengers - men,
women and children - by a Muslim mob. These unfortunate people including
women and children are described as provocateurs, meaning they deserved
what happened to them. The retaliation in anger by the Hindu community
is described as genocide of Muslims. The fact that, in the tit-for-tat
killings and arson, both communities have suffered is completely ignored.
In relation to these events, VHP-UK
issued two statements. The first condemned the burning alive of Hindu passengers
in a train. The second statement was issued in response to the riots that
followed - condemning all killings and asking the Government to bring all
those responsible for these criminal acts to justice.
Humanity has been experiencing the
scourge of terrorism for some time now. Every right-minded person wants
to see the world rid of this new phenomenon. It is new, and yet it is not
really new. After all, in the days gone by invading and marauding gangs
and armies, whether driven by the desire to grab other people's lands,
to loot and pillage, or goaded by a colonial or proselytizing zeal, have
inflicted violence and injustice on other people throughout history. India
has been at the receiving end of this brutality for over a thousand years.
Nowadays, the terrorists masquerade their real agenda of expansionism and
domination of other people's faiths, cultures and lands, as 'fight for
independence', fight against injustice', etc. They have mastered the art
of influencing the politicians by using vote-banks and of manipulating
the media to suit their purpose. It doesn't bother them when they deprive
their victims of Human Rights, and yet they are ever ready to complain
to the Human Rights bodies when things go wrong for them in actions initiated
by them.
VHP-UK makes it unequivocally clear
that it is utterly opposed to intolerance based on race and religious belief,
of violence and of terrorist practices. It will support the government
and other bodies in every way to fight these evils.
