Hindu leader says terrorism is foreign to his people
New Delhi (AsiaNews) – “Terrorism and Hindus, terrorism and saffron (i.e. Hinduism), and terrorism and the Sangh are oxymoron and can never be related to each other,” said Mohan Bhagwat, leader of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) as he tried to defend his organisation from charges of terrorism. Yet, a priest speaks to AsiaNews about the many incidents of anti-Christian violence involving Hindu extremists connected to the RSS.
Bhagwat spoke yesterday at the traditional annual Dasara rally at Reshim Bagh, in the city of Nagpur. On this occasion, he said, “There is only one country left in the world on which you can’t put the blame of terrorism and that country is India.”
For the RSS leader, attempts to link the two are designed “to weaken the strength of Hindus in India and, at the same time, appease Muslims”.
Using a handful of incidents involving Hindus to blame the entire Hindu community is improper and unjust. “These are sinister conspiracies to mislead the Hindus through a campaign of lies and to defame Hindu saints and noble citizens,” said Bhagwat. In this particular case, he was referring to Kanchi Shankarayacharya whom he believes to be unfairly accused of murder.
The situation is the fault of the central government, which has started to use the term “Hindu terror”, Bhagwat said.
Speaking to AsiaNews, Fr Cedric Prakash, head of the Jesuit Human Rights Centre, said that Bhagwat’s words “are misleading and meant to hide the fact that some elements in his group are responsible for terrorist acts in the country.”
“What we need to do is to say categorically that no religion can legitimise terrorism and violence,” the clergyman explained. “It is true that some Hindus and Hindu fringes use religious to exploit or terrorise others. It is true that they are not representative of their religion. But no one can deny that followers of Hindutva (Hindu nationalist ideology) have organised groups that have terrorised various parts of the country for more than 60 years. In the last few months, terrorist attacks have occurred in Malegaon, Ajmer and elsewhere.”
“In states like Gujarat, Karnataka and Orissa, which are run by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), state-sponsored terrorism is a fact. Since December 2007, Christians have been the victims of a reign of terror imposed by Hindutva squads, which culminated in the anti-Christian violence of 24 August 2008. Most Christians had to flee their land and abandon their homes. Today, despite government promises, the situation has not changed. Survivors still cannot go home and have not received any compensation.”
.png)
