War On Religious Intolerance: White House Versus The Sangh

NEW DELHI: The Vishwa Hindu Parishad has bared its fangs at United States President Barack Obama and the White House in a strong response to the latter’s expressed concerns about ‘religious intolerance’ in India. In a virtual declaration of war the right wing affiliate of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party has urged the “black” US President to protect the “blacks” in the US first. Clearly the VHP in its expressed concern has thrown political correctness to the winds, using a term that has long since been replaced with African-Americans in global parlance.

US President Barack Obama’s visit to India, tom tommed as a foreign policy coup by the government, has proven costly for Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The ‘ten lakh’ suit that he wore on one of the days added to the angst of the poor Delhi voter, and the diplomatic ‘coup’ fell flat during the visit itself when President Obama hit out hard against religious intolerance.

And as if to make it clear that his remarks in Delhi were not off-the-cuff but to be taken seriously, the US President referring to his visit to India made it clear in Washington that Gandhi himself would have been ‘shocked’ about the attacks on the minorities.

The Delhi remarks did not elicit a response from the government, but angered the BJP and its mentor the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. Given the fact that the US President speaking just after a supposedly great visit marked with bonhomie and ‘chemistry’, it became difficult for PM Modi to contradict the references to religious intolerance at the Siri Fort speech. Although it must be said that PM Modi’s continual references to the US President as “Barack” saw many a diplomatic face flinch and clearly did not help in cementing a relationship that seems to have frayed from within already. The ‘achievements’ of the visit such as the civilian nuclear agreement have apparently failed to glue it together.

The Washington remarks seem to have opened the floodgates in what could well become a declared war by the BJP’s affiliate organisations against the US. The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) called Pres. Obama a "stooge of the Church.” And went a step further in urging PM Modi to identify and weed out Indians suspected to be battling for the Church.

VHP joint general secretary Surendra Jain told reporters that the US President should look to his country and address the “atrocities” against the African-Americans. "He (Obama) is himself black. Despite that, he has not been able to stop the atrocities being committed on blacks," he said.

Jain insisted that Pres.Obama was under the influence of Christian missionaries adding, "Obama seems to like his natural allies more than his friend. He made such statements in India and abroad after meeting certain people here on his visit. It is well known that Church plants people in politics. Obama has not been a good guest."

The VHP has supported the Hindu Mahasabha in its campaign against Valentine’s Day where it has threatened to marry off couples seen together. The VHP claimed that gang rapes take place because couples are open in their affections on Valentine’s Day. Jain said, "There should be no violence (on February 14), but those who love each other must get married. In the name of love, do not indulge in naked display of lust. It is because of these celebrations that incidents like (Delhi gang rape) happen."

Jain said the US is only worried about Christians and never talked about atrocities on Hindus in Bangladesh. "Obama should have rather asked Christian missionaries to stop conversion. It is because of their antics that there is communal disharmony in India. We ask the government to identify and weed out such people in politics who are planted by the Church," the VHP leader said. He dismissed the continuing attacks on churches in delhi as a simple “law and order problem.”

In his aggressive response Jain said,"Even temples get vandalized, but do we say Christians have done it? Christians are protesting for political mileage and finance.”

President Obama’s remarks and the reaction in both countries could substantially alter the impact of the visit, and the supposed efforts by both sides to open a new chapter in strategic relations. Senior Ministers Arun Jaitley and Rajnath Singh in the Modi Cabinet also protested against President Obama’s remarks, albeit in more sober language than that used by the VHP, insisting that India was a diverse country and protected her minorities.

The New York Times has taken up the issue almost as a campaign. It has questioned PM Modi’s “silence” about the communal incidents in India. The editorial by the NYT Board titled “Modi’s Dangerous Silence” reads:

“What will it take for Prime Minister Narendra Modi to speak out about the mounting violence against India’s religious minorities? Attacks at Christian places of worship have prompted no response from the man elected to represent and to protect all of India’s citizens. Nor has he addressed the mass conversion to Hinduism of Christians and Muslims who have been coerced or promised money. Mr. Modi’s continued silence before such troubling intolerance increasingly gives the impression that he either cannot or does not wish to control the fringe elements of the Hindu nationalist right.

Recently, a number of Christian churches in India have been burned and ransacked. Last December, St. Sebastian’s Church in East Delhi was engulfed in fire. Its pastor reported a strong smell of kerosene after the blaze was put out. On Monday, St. Alphonsa’s Church in New Delhi was vandalised. Ceremonial vessels were taken, yet collection boxes full of cash were untouched. Alarmed by the attacks, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India has urged the government to uphold the secular nature of India and to assure its Christians they are “protected and secure” in their own country.

There is also concern about the mass conversions. Last December, about 200 Muslims were converted to Hinduism in Agra. In January, up to 100 Christians in West Bengal “reconverted” to Hinduism. Hard-line Hindu nationalist groups, like the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), make no secret of their support for a “homecoming” campaign designed to “return” non-Hindus to the fold. More than 80 per cent of Indians are Hindu, but Pravin Togadia of the VHP says his organisation’s goal is a country that is 100 per cent Hindu. The only way to achieve that is to deny religious minorities their faith.

The VHP is reportedly planning a mass conversion of 3,000 Muslims in Ayodhya this month. The destruction of the Babri Mosque there in 1992 by Hindu militants touched off riots between Hindus and Muslims across India that left more than 2,000 people dead. The VHP knows it is playing with fire.

Mr. Modi has promised an ambitious agenda for India’s development. But, as President Obama observed in a speech in New Delhi last month: “India will succeed so long as it is not splintered along the lines of religious faith.” Mr. Modi needs to break his deafening silence on religious intolerance.”

Clearly this story has not ended, and there will be a sequel.