NOTE: THE HINDUS FOR HUMAN RIGHTS BLOG IS A SPACE FOR A HEALTHY EXPLORATION OF IDEAS PERTINENT TO OUR MISSION. THE VIEWS AND OPINIONS EXPRESSED IN THIS BLOG ARE THOSE OF THE AUTHOR AND DO NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT THE OFFICIAL POLICY OR POSITION OF HINDUS FOR HUMAN RIGHTS.

by Sapthagiri Iyengar, HfHR Cofounder

Three months ago I left New York, and along with it a life I had cultivated for the past twelve years. I moved back to India, my country of birth. My intention was clear when I moved back. I have but one objective: to reclaim Hinduism from the clutches of Hindutva, which has got nothing to do with a religion that is deeply rooted in the philosophy of Satya, Dharma and Ahimsa.

In the past three months, I have been dismayed at the state of affairs in India. Even as Hindutva invokes Hindu principles, it violates those principles in its every action. The autonomy of Kashmir has been revoked and the residents turned into captives in their own place of dwelling. Religious minorities, especially Muslims, have been selectively targeted with state sponsored segregation policies like NRC which they plan to roll out nationally. Elected leaders like Pragya Thakur are openly praising extremist icons like Godse, and celebrating them as national heroes, testing the waters for when to formally announce the martyrdom of Godse’s ilk. Even the highest authority of judiciary stands compromised, passing a verdict that legitimized a recorded act of religious intolerance, signaling to the nation and world at large that Hindutva has become the de-facto accepted interpretation of Hinduism and the law of the land in India. But has it?

Also in these past three months, my travels across the nation revealed and continues to reveal an India that refuses, or rather, simply cannot be captured in a homogenizing narrative. Even as the mainstream media and the ruling dispensation obsesses over Hindutva, the Hinduism of Satya, Dharma and Ahimsa continues to thrive undeterred, albeit unnoticed. Acts of generosity, communal harmony, the true spirit of unity in diversity, values that are so deeply rooted in the very soils of this nation, continue without being affected by the vicious hatred of Hindutva.

My ardent faith in the strength of the nation was shaken on December 6th, the 27th anniversary of the demolition of the Babri Masjid. As I stood in solidarity with the Muslim community in Janter Manter, the throbbing heart of social action in India, the whole nation was shaken to the core with incidents of unfathomable cruelty on women and the subsequent handling of the situation by the police that completely undermines the judicial process.

Amidst this cacophony of hate, cruelty and violence, is there any hope left for Ahimsa, the true essence of Hinduism, the one value that the father of the nation, Gandhi, held most closely to his heart? The more I reflect on this question, the stronger my inner voice tells me, Yes!