Hindu Fascism on Steroids

Democracy underwriting fascism all over the world

Zafar Bangash

Muharram 02, 1441 2019-09-01

Main Stories

by Zafar Bangash (Main Stories, Crescent International Vol. 48, No. 7, Muharram, 1441)

Fascism has consumed the collective psyche of Hindus in India. One would be hard pressed to find many Hindus who do not subscribe to this demonic ideology. If there are divergences, these are only in approach: those who are determined to fully implement this racist ideology with all the horrifying consequences immediately and those that would adopt a more gradual approach.

Narendra Modi, Amit Shah, (Home Minister in Modi’s regime), and others of their ilk are the torchbearers of this demonic ideology. They are in power and now have the capacity to implement this dangerously racist ideology. Their immediate targets are India’s 175 million Muslims but other minorities — Sikhs, Dalits, and Christians — are also not immune from their genocidal hatred.

Muslims are targeted for two main reasons: they are considered “outsiders” or being originally Hindus before their conversion to Islam during the 1,000-year Muslim rule and that Muslims are beef-eaters. Since Hindus worship the cow considering it as their “mother,” Muslims must, therefore, be slaughtered for eating beef. That such ideas are propounded, much less accepted, in the 21st century speaks volumes for what is wrong with the world today.

Both arguments can be easily refuted. Muslims are not outsiders in India. How many thousands of years must a people live in a land before they are accepted as indigenous? If one were to accept the Hindu fascists’ logic, all Europeans would have to leave North America, Australia, and New Zealand. Such absurd notions must be resisted with the full force of logic. Muslims have given much to India including the Taj Mahal, one of the wonders of the world. Hindu fascists however have had the Taj Mahal removed from the list of tourist attraction places. It does not alter history.

As for the beef-eating charge, yes Muslims eat beef, so do Christians but the $4 billion/year Indian beef export business is controlled by Hindus, not Muslims. If the Hindu fascists really care for the cow, they should go after Hindu businessmen, not lynch poor defenceless Muslims. Some have been set on fire; others have been hacked to death while Muslim women have been raped, at the instigation of BJP leaders.

It is, however, important to reveal the origins of India’s fascist movement and how it poses a threat to the safety and security of people everywhere, not just Muslims. The organization that spearheads the fascist movement in India is called Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). It was established in 1925 and today has branches in many parts of the world, including Canada. Its core ideology is to declare India a Hindu nation in which there is no room for religious minorities. It goes further; they call themselves the “Aryan race” — a superior breed — that came from the northwest thousands of years ago and pushed the dark-skinned native Dravidian population south.

Skin complexion is a major obsession in India; lighter complexion is considered superior. Not surprisingly, billions of dollars are spent on facial creams that are supposed to turn one’s skin white. On skin color test, Modi, Amit Shah, and other obnoxious creatures in the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) would not pass muster.

But it is the politico-religious ideology of RSS that is of grave concern. It believes in Hindutva (the Hindu nation) and insists non-Hindus must either convert to Hinduism or leave India. As part of this campaign, four million Muslims in Assam who had lived there for centuries have just been disenfranchised as citizens. This is the tip of the iceberg.

The RSS has six million members throughout India. They receive military training on a daily basis starting early in the morning. Nathuram Godse, the person who shot and killed Karamchand Gandhi (aka Mahatma Gandhi) in 1948 had close links to the RSS. The group has affiliate bodies such as the BJP, labor groups, student bodies, the police and paramilitary forces, Bollywood actors/actresses, etc. that bring its support base to hundreds of millions of people.

The Hindu fascists commonly display Nazi swastikas. They can be seen on shop fronts, pool parlors, markets, homes, temples, vehicles, notebooks, and even property documents. Their obsession and adulation of Nazi insignia has made it even to the internet. It is common to find such slogans as “Hari Om Heil Hitler,” on Facebook next to images of Hitler. Such images are juxtaposed with slogans of “Aum, Hail Aryan, Hail Aryavart,” (“Hail Aryans, Hail Land of the Aryans”). Hitler is openly proclaimed a great leader: “Jai Shree Ram, Heil Hitler” (“Hail Shree Ram, Heil Hitler”), “Nazi the great.” YouTube videos titled “Adolf Hitler, The Greatest Story Never Told,” have garnered over 100,000 hits.

A popular Indian web portal, rediff.com, declares “Hitler was great.” One comment on a YouTube channel run by NewsX, a 24-hour English-language news television channel in India said, “I too love Hitler and am one of his biggest fans! Hail Hitler!” There are also Indian Whatsapp groups discussing Hitler’s “positive contributions.”

Hindu fascists have internalized Hitler’s brand of racism and given it a distinctly Indian flavor, authenticated with a combination of ethnic hatred and Hindu nationalism. The result is the RSS and BJP.

Modi joined the RSS in 1970. Employed by the Gujarat Transport in its teashop, his duties included sweeping the floor (pictures of Modi sweeping the floor are available). His lowly origins — India is a deeply caste-ridden society in which there is rigid hierarchy of castes; Brahmins sit at the top of the caste pyramid while Shudras at the bottom and Dalits even below that — found an outlet in the RSS with its emphasis on Hindu supremacy and hatred of the “other” (in India’s case, Muslims).

Adulation of Hitler has been included even in school textbooks. Hitler’s “achievements” are extolled. In 2004, the Gujarat State Board published school textbooks portraying Hitler as a “hero.” They also glorified fascism. Modi was then the state chief minister. In tenth-grade social studies textbook there are chapters on “Hitler, the Supremo,” and “Internal Achievements of Nazism.”

In order to make absolutely clear where these Hindu fascists draw their inspiration from, in the section on the “Ideology of Nazism” the textbook says, “Hitler lent dignity and prestige to the German government. He adopted the policy of opposition towards the Jewish people and advocated the supremacy of the German race.” Social studies textbooks in the southern state of Tamil Nadu are even more explicit. The 2011 textbooks have chapters glorifying Hitler, praising his “inspiring leadership,” “achievements,” and how the Nazis “glorified the German state” so, “to maintain a German race with Nordic elements, [Hitler] ordered the Jews to be persecuted.”

Hitler’s glorification is not confined to textbooks, disturbing as it is. Bal Thackeray, leader of the Hindu extremist outfit Shiv Sena that is closely linked to the RSS, said in 1967 “It is a Hitler that is needed in India today.” He urged Hindus to form suicide squads to kill Muslims. And he is absolutely explicit about it. “There is nothing wrong if Muslims are treated as Jews were in Nazi Germany,” he said in an interview with Time magazine in 1993. He went on, “If you take Mein Kampf and if you remove the word Jew and put in the word Muslim, that is what I believe in,” he said. Modi is implementing this hate-filled ideology since his election as prime minister.

English translation of Hitler’s Mein Kampf is extremely popular in India. Most mainstream publishers have printed tens of thousands of copies that are readily available even at airport bookshops. This is the template for Hindu fascists’ persecution of Muslims in India today.

The above information is in the public domain. It could not have escaped the hawkish eyes of pro-Israeli Zionists. Yet the Zionists are deafeningly silent about India’s anti-Semitic writings and policies. The Zionist State of Israel considers Modi a close friend and ally. He became the first Indian leader to visit Israel where Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed him warmly and embraced him.