Kiran

IN the garb of secularism and world biggest democracy, India has been exploiting the minorities throughout the post-colonial period. Through a well-planned strategy, the areas inhabited with people other than Hindu majority were kept backward and deprived of basic facilities of life. The worst among all was the economic deprivation and providing no facilities for the basic education for these poor minority masses. Among Hindu even, the low class Dalit were discriminated alongside the minorities. These Dalits are indeed, “Untouchables” are over 180 million in India face all sort of violence, discrimination and humiliation at the hands of upper class Hindu. They are tainted by their birth into a caste system that deems them impure, less than human.
Besides, Sikhs forming approximately 1.9% of Indian total population are being discriminated and relegated in all sphere of life in Hindu dominated India. In the post 1980s campaign, the Sikhs are looked down and considered as anti-state and anti-India. Today, RSS is directly targeting the Sikh community in India. Sikh community leaders are showing grave resentment and anger over RSS wicked designs of Hindutva, aimed at establishing hegemony of Hindus over India. Sikhs in India are under suppression; however, voices have been raised by large Sikhs community leaders in Australia and Canada. Modi, a well-known RSS representative in BJP government and a flag bearer of the Hindutva ideology of RSS is behind the intimidating plot, rendering full governmental support and protection to the perpetrators.
Christian forming almost 3% of Indian population are equally discriminated and humiliated in India. They are also facing the fanatic onslaught of the RSS for conversion into Hinduism. Through a massive campaign against Muslim, the major minority group in India, forming over 15% of total population, Indian Muslim are discriminated, humiliated and forced to convert into Hinduism or else leave India. The New York Times in its Opinion page of August 17, 2017 wrote an article, entitled, “India’s Muslims and the Price of Partition”. The prestigious newspaper mentioned salient of the Indian policies towards Indian Muslims. As per the contents of this article, the Modi’s India demand Muslims that, “They should reconvert to Hinduism” this is a unanimous call from the Hindus, the BJP and its militant wing, the RSS in particular.
The logic, Hindu majority has, since Indian Muslims were converted from Hinduism during Muslims rule in India, therefore, they have to reconvert into Hinduism. Besides, the Muslims in India must sing, “Vande Mataram,” the national song of the Hindu, which would prove Muslims loyalties with India. Yet another demand from the children of Muslims is to ‘perform yoga in schools to show respect for Indian culture.’ It is a pity that, Muslims are barred from eating the beef and slaughtering of cow is totally prohibited, being the mother of Hindus. The punishment for cow slaughtering includes five years sentencing to life imprisonment.
Very recently, a Hindu group, known as, “Hindu Jagran Manch” indeed an offshoot of the RSS, has started a campaign to marry the Muslim girls with Hindu boys. The basic theme of this group is to ‘reverse love jihad’. Love Jihad is a mythical story, in which Muslim men love the non-Muslim women for converting them into Islam. Just imagine how the suppressed Muslims in India can launch such a campaign of love Jihad? Taking this self-made postulation as an excuse, ‘Hindu Jagran Manch’ has started to haunt for Muslim girls who would be asked to marry the Hindu boys.
The beginning of this campaign will be from Uttar Pradesh (UP), the biggest Indian state, where a hard liner RSS Chief Minister is Yogi Adityanath has made the lives of minorities miserable. According to BBC News, March 29, 2017, Yogi is a ‘saffron-robed Hindu priest, highly controversial figure’ in India. Critics describe him as India’s most divisive and abusive politician who used his election rallies to whip up anti-Muslim hysteria and upon becoming Chief Minister; he unleashed a reign of terror against Muslims.
As planned, Hindu Jagran Manch within six months, “2,100 Muslim girls will be married to Hindu boys.” Ajju Chauhan, the President of UP Hindu Jagran Manch said in a statement that, “We will give our reply in the language they understand. We are giving a target to all district units in this regard and we will welcome at least 2,100 Muslim daughters-in-law into Hindu households. I am confident that we will fulfill the target.” As per Ajju Chauhan, “will interact with Muslim girls and convince them that they will be safer and happier if they marry Hindu boys because there will be no threat of second marriage or ‘talaq’.
As per Pew Research Center analysis- 2018, out of 198 countries, India ranked as fourth worst in the world for religious intolerance. It is to be mentioned that, “Pew analyzed cases that involved hate crimes, mob violence, communal violence, religion-related terror, the use of force to prevent religious practice, the harassment of women for not conforming to religious dress codes, and violence over conversion or proselytizing.”
This indeed is an indirect approach to convert the Muslims into Hinduism. Otherwise, there are direct attacks on Muslims for conversion into Hinduism or leaving the India. This new strategy under Modi and Yogi will be the worst campaign in India, which need immediate attention of the UN and international community. This would be worst form of human rights violations by a country which historically touts itself as a secular state, one where all religions are recognized and can peacefully co-exist.