What is Hindutva ?
Hindutva refers to a century-old right-wing movement that aims to create an ethnic Hindu state out of a multicultural India, home to more than 200 million Muslims.
Dismantling Global Hindutva
Cosponsored by departments and centers of more than 53 universities was held in Boston USA.
International universities most of them from the US, including Harvard, Stanford, , Princeton , Stockten University, North Western University, University of California, University of Pennsylvania Ohio State University.
Conference discussed various issues relating to the Hindu supremacist ideology in India and elsewhere.
Conference hosted host various panels on global Hindutva, caste oppression, Islamophobia, and the persecution of minorities in India, featuring more than 25 academicians, activists, and journalists as speakers.
Hitler-style hate power
Over the past three weeks, the organizers and speakers of the conference have been on a receiving end of harassment and intimidation by various Hindu right-wing groups and individuals staunchly opposing the conference, calling it a “Hinduphobic gathering
Harassment and intimidation
Organisers and speakers face harassment and intimidation by Hindu right-wing groups in the US and India.
Poet and caste activist Meena Kandasamy
A conference participant ,Poet and caste activist Meena Kandasamy, received multiple emails warning her against participating in the conference. On Twitter and Instagram, the Hindu right targeted her family, her children and even issued death threats
She was continuously harassed because a poem she wrote 10 years ago was picked up by Hindu groups, alleging it was offensive and ridiculed Hindu gods.
What was the purpose of Conference
The conference administrators said that the approach of conference was mere academic.Conference aimed at expanding the production of knowledge about Hindutva, including a critical analysis of its claim to represent Hindus, Hinduism, and Indian culture,
Hindutva: The polar opposite of Hinduism
Hindutva is almost the polar opposite of Hinduism. It is an aggressive political movement aimed at installing an exclusivist, Hindu nationalist regime in India, in line with right-wing authoritarian movements in many other parts of the world today and requires careful study and analysis, which is what the ‘Dismantling Hindutva Conference’ will contribute to.
Courtesy: https://www.aljazeera.com/news
What is Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh?
Georgetown University’s Bridge Initiative has compiled a fact sheet on the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh
Founded in 1925 by K.B Hedgewar, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) is an Indian right-wing, Hindu nationalist, paramilitary volunteer organization. In 2020, RSS had almost 585,000 members and over 57,000 branches or sakhas, including a trade union wing (Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh), women’s wing (Rashtriya Sevika Samiti), student wing (Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad), and economic wing (Swadeshi Jagaran Manch). The Print, an Indian news outlet, estimates that 3 out of 4 ministers in the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are members of the RSS, including the current Prime Minister, Narendra Modi.
In the Sangh’s mission statement, Hedgewar wrote: “The Hindu culture is the life-breath of Hindustan. It is therefore clear that if Hindustan is to be protected, we should first nourish the Hindu culture. It is the duty of every Hindu to do his best to consolidate the Hindu society.” In 1927, RSS co-founder — Dr. B.S. Moonje — described the RSS as an institution which could produce “the military regeneration of the Hindus” and unify the people in line with “the idea of fascism.” In 1940, M.S Golwalkar succeeded Hedgewar as head of the RSS.
Courtesy: https://bridge.georgetown.edu/research/factsheet-rashtriya-swayamsevak-sangh-rss/
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