Hindutva

Hindutva is a right-wing idea based on the following beliefs:

• Believing that the entire Indian subcontinent (which includes countries other than India such as Bangladesh, Nepal & Pakistan) is the homeland of the Hindus.
• Seeing “Hindus” as those who believe India is their motherland (matribhumi) and holy land (punyabhumi).
• Pointing out the history of oppression of Hindus by invaders like Muslims and Christians, and calling for the country to “reverse” the influences that came from these intrusions.
• Opposing Communism for what many think is a weakening of Hindu culture or power. Calling on people to form a “Hindu Nation” (Hindu Rashtra).
• Believing cow-killing in India should be banned.
• Believing all students should have to learn Sanskrit.
• Believing most modern science discoveries were known and described in the Vedas.
• Hindutva is the central idea of the organizations which advocate Hindu nationalism.

Many people who support Hindutva speak of violence against Jihadis and Christian missionaries as a form of “self-defence”. As the Hindutva idea has grown more powerful over the years, many activists have been part in riots against each other’s communities in India.

The Hindutva idea is sometimes called fascist. Although Hindutva is associated with Hinduism, most Hindus today are tolerant or “secular”, and do not support Hindutva. But still “Hindutva drives the real politics in modern India”. These tolerant Hindus describe the supporters of the Hindutva movement as “the Hindu anti-globalization”.

Online petition (December 22nd 2019)

Pieter Friedrich, a South Asian affairs analyst, has initiated an online petition demanding Lindner’s resignation.

The petition alleges that Lindner’s visit to the RSS headquarters “condones” the group’s ideology, which is “inspired by fascist movements.”

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“His visit condones the RSS paramilitary as well as its ideological and institutional inspiration by European fascist movements like those of Hitler’s Germany and Mussolini’s Italy,” the petition read.

“Germany must in no way demonstrate any tolerance for fascism, especially for fascist movements like the RSS, which have a demonstrated record of admiring and seeking to model themselves after Nazi Germany and other affiliated fascist movements,” it stated.

The possibility of a war in South Asia

As we know, Modi’s first term as prime minister marked years of increasing lynching of Muslims, Christians and other minorities by far-right Hindu mobs. Since his second term started, almost every day, we see the same violence on the streets of India. Besides, there is increased Hindu violence against the Kashmiris in the Indian-occupied Kashmir.

During our visit to Kashmir, the common comments that we heard was that the RSS ideology inspired India would not be satisfied with the illegal annexation of Kashmir, and if the world continues to be deaf and blind, India will try to invade Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal in line with its “Greater India” dream.

Because Pakistan and India are two nuclear powers, experts have already begun to calculate the effects of a possible war in Pakistan such as how many million people will die and how many billion people will suffer in the aftermath. Pakistan is, therefore, trying to mobilize the international community and persistently using diplomacy; but as India gets bolder, the risks increase day by day.

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The Kashmiri I met say that they will fight in 2020, as they cannot stand the oppression of India anymore. The commanders on the Line of Control (LOC) between Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Indian occupied Jammu and Kashmir also say that the war is inevitable if India continues like this.