The many political and social problems facing modern Indian society resonate with the activities of radical nationalist organizations. Most of them adhere to the concept of "hindutva", i.e. "Hinduism", which presupposes that India is a country of Hindus, i.e. representatives of Hindu culture and Hindu religions: Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism and Sikhism. The formation of nationalist organizations began in the colonial period of the modern history of India. Currently, there are a number of Hindu nationalist organizations operating in the country, some of which we talked about in the previous parts of the article. Most of these organizations were formed in the western state of Maharashtra. The key figures of Hindu nationalism were also Marathas by nationality - Tilak, Savarkar, Hedgevar, Golvalkar, Takerey. However, subsequently, some organizations were able to expand their activities beyond Maharashtra, and even beyond India itself.
One of the largest international organizations of followers of Hindu nationalism and the concept of "Hindutva" is "Vishwa Hindu parishad" - "World Council of Hindus". Its creation was prompted by the desire of Hindu nationalists to consolidate their efforts to establish the Hindutva principle as fundamental to the political life of India. On August 29, 1964, another Krishna Janmashtami, a festival dedicated to Krishna's birthday, was held in Bombay (now Mumbai). At the same time, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh congress was held, in which not only members of the organization took part, but also representatives of all dharma communities in India - that is, not only Hindus, but also Buddhists, Jains and Sikhs. By the way, the XIV Dalai Lama himself, who by that time was already living in India, took part in the congress on behalf of the Buddhists. The leader of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, Golwalkar, speaking at the congress, said that all Hindus and followers of Indian religions should consolidate to protect India and the interests of Hindus. It was to achieve this goal, according to the statement, that the creation of the World Council of Indians was started.
Its president was Swami Chinmayananda (1916-1993) - the world famous Hindu guru, the founder of the Chinmaya Mission, which promoted the teachings of Advaita Vedanta. “In the world” Swami Chinmayananda was called Balakrishna Menon. Born in the southern region of Kerala, he studied at Lucknow University in his youth, worked as a journalist, was active in the Indian independence movement and was even imprisoned. Shiva Shankara Apte (1907-1985), also a journalist by profession, one of the leaders of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, became the General Secretary of Vishwa Hindu Parishad. Speaking at the congress, Apte stressed that in the current situation, Christians, Muslims and Communists are competing for influence on Hindu society. Therefore, it is necessary to consolidate the Hindus and protect them from foreign ideologies and religions. The basic principles of the new organization were determined: 1) the establishment and promotion of Hindu values, 2) the consolidation of all Hindus living outside India and the protection of Hindu identity on a global scale, 3) the unification and strengthening of the Hindus in India itself. The banyan tree, sacred to the Hindus, has become the symbol of Vishwa Hindu Parishad.
Further popularization of the World Council of Indians was associated with changes in the political situation in the country and with the deterioration of Indo-Pakistani relations. The rapid growth of the organization began in the 1980s and was associated with the launched campaign in Ayodhya. This ancient city, located in the state of Uttar Pradesh, was once the capital of the large Hindu state, Chandragupta II. It is considered the birthplace of the god Rama and is revered as one of the most important sacred cities of Hinduism. However, in the Middle Ages, the territory of Uttar Pradesh became an object of Muslim expansion and became part of the Mughal state. In the 16th century, Emperor Babur founded the Babri Mosque in Ayodhya. It stood for almost four centuries, but in the early 1980s. Hindu nationalists stated that the mosque was built on the site of the temple of the god Rama destroyed by the Mughals. The campaign "for the liberation of Ayodhya" began, in which the activists of "Vishwa Hindu parishad" took part.
Vishwa Hindu Parishad's massive actions to “liberate Ayodhya” began with protest demonstrations and constant lawsuits. The organization tried to force the closure of the Babri Mosque and referred to the abandoned state of the religious institution as an argument. As a result of the campaign, the organization gained support from the broad masses of the Hindu population, primarily the radical youth. In 1984, the youth wing "Vishwa Hindu Parishad" - "Bajrang Dal" was created. It spoke from a more radical position. The Campaign for the Liberation of Ayodhya was popularized through the resources of the Bharatiya Janata Party, making it one of the most talked about in the Indian media. Marches "for the liberation of Ayodhya" began. But the government of the Indian National Congress preferred to ignore the growing problem. As it turned out - in vain.
On December 6, 1992, the "March on Ayodhya", in which over 300 thousand Hindus took part, ended with the destruction of the Babri Mosque. This event was received ambiguously in Indian society. In a number of regions of the country, riots began in the form of street clashes between Hindus and Muslims. The unrest was accompanied by human casualties, 1-2 thousand people died. The investigation into the incident in Ayodhya continued until 2009. A government commission led by former Supreme Court Justice Lieberhan concluded that the destruction of the mosque had been prepared and carried out by Hindu nationalist organizations. However, representatives of Vishwa Hindu Parishad issued a statement that their actions were motivated by the growing contradictions between Hindus and Muslims in India. The World Council of Hindus has sharply criticized the policies of the Indian National Congress, which was accused of supporting Muslim and Christian minorities and infringing on the interests of the Hindu majority. At present, like other organizations that share the concept of "hindutva", "Vishwa hindu parishad" stands under the slogans of Hindu religious nationalism - for Hindu identity, for the priority rights of Hindus on Indian soil.
The main target of criticism of Vishwa Hindu Parishad in recent years has been Islamic fundamentalists. The WHP accuses them of expanding into India and criticizes the government for not taking real action to protect Hindu identity. Hindu nationalists are especially concerned about the unhappy prospect of the spread of terrorist activity by radical fundamentalist organizations operating in the Near and Middle East to India. The hostile attitude towards Islam on the part of Hindu nationalists is due to the fact that the latter view Islam as a religion that was planted on Indian soil by invaders who came from the West - from the territory of the Middle East. At the same time, Muslims are accused of the fact that in the past their fellow believers destroyed Hindu temples and forcibly converted Hindus to Islam. The VHP also has a negative attitude towards Christianity, only for other reasons - Hindu nationalists associate Christianity with the era of colonization of India. Missionary activity of Christian priests, according to nationalists, was one of the forms of spiritual and ideological colonization of Hindustan.
At present, the WHP puts forward several basic requirements that can be considered as the goals of the political struggle of the World Council of Indians. The first of them is to achieve the construction of the temple of the god Rama in Ayodhya. In addition, the VHP demands to prohibit the conversion of Hindus to Christianity and Islam, to stop the missionary activities of these religions in India. The most important principle is the introduction of a complete ban on the killing of cows on the territory of India, which should force non-confessional groups to adhere to Hindu customs. India, according to Vishwa Hindu Parishad, should be officially declared a Hindu state - Hindu Rashtra, in which Hindus, Jains, Buddhists and Sikhs will receive priority rights. The VHP also pays great attention to the problem of terrorism, demanding tougher responsibility for participation in terrorist organizations. The organization also requires the adoption of a new Civil Code, binding on all residents of the country, regardless of their nationality and religion.
Repeated massive and bloody clashes between Hindus and Muslims in different states of India are associated with VHP. One of the largest clashes occurred in 2002. On February 27, 2002, a passenger train caught fire, in which a large group of Hindus were returning from a pilgrimage to Ayodhya. The fire killed 58 people.
The fire broke out when the train passed the city of Godhra, in the east of the western Indian state of Gujarat. Rumor has accused the Muslim of the arson of the train, who allegedly acted out of revenge of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad organization for the destruction of the Babri mosque, especially since the VHP activists were also on the train. In Gujarat, riots broke out, which went down in history as the 2002 Gujarat Uprising.
The most violent clashes took place in Ahmedabad, Gujarat's largest city. Quite a lot of Muslims live here, and it was they who became the target of the attack of the Hindu radicals. Up to 2,000 Muslims died in bloody clashes. 22 people were burned alive by a mob of raging radicals in revenge for the train fire. The government was forced to send military units to Ahmedabad to pacify the protesters. Curfews have been imposed in four cities in Gujarat, and government officials have called on Hindu nationalists to end the violence. At the same time, the police detained 21 Muslims. The detainees were suspected of involvement in the arson of the train.
Vishwa Hindu Parishad, being a right-wing radical organization, nevertheless opposes caste prejudices, since it seeks to unite all Hindus, regardless of caste. By the way, the leaders of the VHP claim that it is the Hindu nationalists, and by no means the representatives of the Christian missions, who bear the main burden in the struggle against caste prejudices. Likewise, WHP opposes enmity and disagreement between representatives of different "dharmic" religions - Hindus, Jains, Buddhists and Sikhs, since they are all Hindus and must unite their efforts to establish the principles of "Hindutva". In the ranks of the VHP there are both relatively moderate Hindu nationalists and representatives of extreme radical trends. Higher radicalism in the youth wing of the organization - Bajrang dal. Translated, this means "Army of Hanuman" - the legendary monkey king. The number of this organization, according to the leaders, reaches 1.3 million people. In India, there are several large "shakhis" - training camps in which the soldiers of the "Army of Hanuman" improve their level of physical and educational training. The presence of these camps allows opponents of the VKHP to assert that the organization is militarized and prepares militants to participate in riots and pogroms of non-confessional groups of the population.
The head of Vishwa Hindu Parishad is currently Pravin Bhai Togadiya (born 1956), an Indian doctor, an oncologist surgeon by profession, who has been involved in the Hindu nationalist movement since his youth. Back in the late 1970s, Pravin Togadiya worked as an instructor in one of the training camps for members of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. Pravin Thenia is from Gujarat, where he enjoys great influence. Several media outlets link him to the 2002 events in Gujarat and argue that Togadia's influence allowed nationalists to lobby for their positions in the Gujarat police. As a result, the state police detained Muslims on charges of involvement in the arson of the train. However, Togadiya himself calls himself an opponent of violence within the Hindutwa movement and does not welcome violent methods of struggle. But the Indian government, until recently, treated Togadia's activities with great apprehension. Criminal cases were opened against him, and in 2003 the politician was placed under arrest.
Thus, analyzing modern Hindu nationalism, one can draw the following main conclusions on its ideology and practice. Most Hindu nationalists adhere to the concept of "Hindutva" - Hinduism. This elevates them above narrow religious fundamentalism, since in this concept not only Hindus belong to Hindus, but also representatives of other religions of Indian origin - Buddhists, Jains and Sikhs. Secondly, Hindu nationalists are distinguished by a negative attitude towards the caste hierarchy, a desire for the emancipation of untouchables and women, which sets a progressive vector for a number of areas of their activity. Hindu nationalists see the main danger for India in the spread of an alien culture and religion, with the Islamic community causing the greatest rejection on their part. This is due not only to historical grievances, but also to the constant confrontation between India and Pakistan.
The rise to power in India of the Bharatiya Janata Party, considered the largest among the Hindutva organizations, can be seen as the beginning of a new period in the history of Hindu nationalism. Now the Hindu nationalists have no sense in rejecting all the initiatives of the government, they are turning only into a radical faction that can constantly put pressure on the cabinet of ministers in order to achieve another promotion of the ideas of "Hindutva" at the state level.
