Debate
Why this war on Hinduism?
By George Thundiparambil
Before any plan for the defence of Hindu dharma is drawn up, or an agency is commissioned to draw up such a plan, it is necessary for Hindus to basically consider three things: 1. Define the nature of the war perpetrated against Hindus by hostile and unnatural religions; 2. Evaluation of the present positioning of Hindu dharma as a religion vis-?-vis the other so-called ?world? religions existing today; 3. Define clear-cut objectives for a plan based on the above two.
The nature of the warfare has shifted from the physical plane to the psychological one. ?Earlier challenges were single dimensional?at the physical conquest level. Today the challenge is highly sophisticated, multi-dimensional and deceptive.??Dr Subramanian Swamy (Organiser, 20/11/05). If physical terrorism is the favourite weapon of most fanatics even today, the rise of modern science (rational thinking) and the rapid rise of media and technology have also forced them to make war at another plane, which is through the control of the media for propaganda. For instance, by the time Joseph Goebbels, the Nazi propaganda minister, discovered the power of the radio, the Vatican had already started its broadcasts inaugurated by Marconi himself in 1931. The Vatican, a prime hate propagandist and the number one enemy of Hindus, today has its fingers in all sections of the media (radio in 34 languages all over the globe, television, newspaper and internet). Therefore, one of the primary objectives of the plan would be the building up of a Hindu media infrastructure at national and international levels, which can not only neutralise the enemy campaign, but can also proactively revitalise the message of dharma and the Hindu values of life.
The decline of Hindu dharma in modern history may be seen as directly proportional to the rise of Christianity and Islam in the world. At the time of the birth of Christianity and Islam, both were looked down upon as vile superstitions by contemporary religionists in their respective places of birth.
The decline of Hindu dharma in modern history may be seen as directly proportional to the rise of Christianity and Islam in the world. At the time of the births of Christianity and Islam, both were looked down upon as vile superstitions by contemporary religionists in their respective places of birth, who all shared one thing in common with Hindu dharma: none of them believed in the original evil of human beings. Today, after two millennia of bloodcurdling evangelism and jihad, almost all of the natural religions have completely disappeared, leaving Hindu dharma reeling with a grudgingly granted second-class status as a religion all over the world, even in its place of birth. Nepal is an exception which may no longer be; it is only a matter of time. Many of the so-called secular countries in the West including France and Italy do not even recognise Hinduism as a religion. In India, the majority Hindus have restricted rights (in the administration of temples and in the management of religious schools) vis-?-vis other religions like Christianity and Islam. Therefore, another primary objective would be to channelise all efforts necessary to achieve an equal status for Hindu dharma in India and every other land on earth.
The first part of this article appeared in the Organiser dated November 20.
It is necessary at this point to elaborate on the nature of the Hindu defence, especially in terms of its continued survival. As mentioned in the first part, just the mere existence of Hindus is a victory. Hindus do survive in far corners of the earth (Caribbean, Fiji and South Africa) where the majority are Christians, and in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Indonesia and other Muslim dominated countries in West Asia. However, the number of Hindus is dwindling at an alarming rate. The rate of disappearance of Hindus in Pakistan and Bangladesh since 1947, like in Kashmir, is astounding. The survival of these minorities directly depends on the moral, physical and psychological support of India as a solid, growing Hindu nation. Therefore, one of the ultimate objectives, political in this case, of the Hindu community is to guarantee the continuation of India as a Hindu nation by constitutionally creating a Hindu republic to whom every Hindu anywhere in the world can look forward to, in the same way as Israel is a refuge for all Jews. This project may be hindered by the present political configuration in India, but it is an inevitability, like the building of a fortress for safety in ancient times. The fortress may not be needed in the remote future, after the enemy fangs are clipped by the power of rationality and dharma.
The plan should incorporate both long-term and short-term objectives and should be pursued on a priority basis. For instance, urgency should be given to ongoing evangelisation programmes by promoting campaigns both in the enemy camps (lands where money is collected for evangelising teams and jihadis) and in the victimised communities (socially backward Hindu groups in India and elsewhere) to bring awareness to the fundamental problem. Intense lobbying and media campaigns should be initiated in rich western countries about the negative aspects of evangelisation and persuade the public to stop funding the various churches. Media campaigns using low-cost graphic posters and vocal street campaigners can educate the socially backward Hindus through simple messages about the danger posed to dharma by imposters who arrive with bribes. Hindu youths should make use of documentaries (radio, print and TV) aimed at informing people of all sorts, affected as well as unaffected, about dharma and its natural enemies. Documentary exposures of Christian missions and their modus operandi in India and elsewhere would go a long way in educating the unsuspecting rich westerners who fund these projects, and at the same time in presenting Hindu dharma as a valid option.
When targeting missionary operations, it is worthwhile to distinguish the power structure in the enemy camp. The lay people of these alien religions should be essentially viewed as victims of circumstances and ignorance rather than as members of an enemy organisation. These have the potential to become innocent, but dangerous weapons of the minority clergy, and their force will depend on the psychological grip on them by those who wield them. The clergy is the foundation of the enemy offence and hence the prime target. By clergy, I mean specifically the members of Christian and Islamic religious organisations who are also professionally trained in their trade, which is evangelisation and jihad. Therefore, campaigns should be undertaken by creative artists to make a wedge between the lay people and the clergy. This is very easy without ever posing as an aggressor on the part of the Hindu, since narrating Ramayana and Mahabharata to these misled people and teaching them some yoga or some Hindu spiritual exercises can hardly be any bloody aggression. (In this regard, I must recall the jinxed attempt by film producer Appachan in the late 80s to recreate the Christian bible on a scale as the preceding Ramayana and Mahabharata mega serials on Doordarshan. The viewers rejected it so badly that Appachan went broke after losing a face-saving court case in Delhi.) Defining the essence of human beings, that they are basically innocent rational beings, can scarcley be called an attack. Teach the ignorant and misled people what dharma and goodness is, and tell them that their clergy are telling them lies, asking them to believe that they and their ancestors are naturally evil beings and only they and their bookish gods can save them. The purpose should be to bring the fundamental differences out in the open so that people can view both sides more clearly.
Creating the content for the mass media would be the most challenging job for Hindu leaders, but not a strictly strenuous task, taking into account the affinity of Hindu thought, religion and spirituality to scientific (rational) progress.
The last but not the least of the objectives is the updating of Hindu dharma based on the teachings of modern-day acharyas like Swami Vivekananda, Ramana Maharshi, Sri Aurobindo, and the living ones such as Sri Sri Ravishankar and Mata Amruthanandamayi. Many sclerotic Hindu customs and institutions, which certainly have served the society at some point in time, but which do not serve any use today, like the varna system, should be done away with once and for all, making this a nation-wide campaign with the participation of well-known Hindu leaders and personalities. In general, the physical body of dharma (customs and traditions) need a rejuvenation treatment, so that it becomes flexible and pliant once more and become fit to run a race in the modern world. For instance, undoubtedly following some ancient but obsolete rule, priests in many famous and holy temples in India forbid Hindus (who do not look the South Asian type) from entering these temples. At the same time, any Indian Christian or Muslim can walk into these temples without any problem. The Hindu leadership should formally welcome all human beings, regardless of their past history or nationality, into the fold of dharma and make it a big international event. It is the task of today'sliving acharyas to educate and align popular Hindu thought and behaviour in line with its timeless as well as modern principles that form the fabric of a casteless, rational and democratic society.
Creating the content for the mass media would be the most challenging job for Hindu leaders, but not a strictly strenuous task, taking into account the affinity of Hindu thought, religion and spirituality to scientific (rational) progress. This task calls for the redefining of western terms such as ?religion? and ?spirituality? in terms of dharma and rationality. For this purpose alone, a general committee, chosen from all Hindu communities and consisting of media personnel and scholars, has to be created to chalk out the framework of a comprehensive media plan. The committee should assign the task of drawing up the conceptual framework (content) to the Hindu intellectuals, and the task of drawing up a media concept and plan based on the framework to creative media personnel.
The war against Hindus is a media war, beginning in textbooks, but global in its scale. There is no textbook in the world, perhaps with the exception of Narendra Modi'sGujarat, that actually instructs the pupil as to what Hindu dharma really is, or its real history and tradition. The mainstream world media, acting like little bastards of the god in paradise, condones the missionary activities in Asia and Africa by just ignoring it. To win the war against injustice and the right to hold on to one'sculture and tradition, the Hindu must rise with the opportunity. Organising and arming oneself with facts and a lot of resources are the need of the hour for Hindus. The war is on, and it is time to move on. Dr Arindam Banerji, a member of the Indic journalists? list, wrote sometime ago: ?Unless we win the media battle, India has no future, for her past will be erased.? (Concluded)
The Hindu leadership should formally welcome all human beings, regardless of their past history or nationality, into the fold of dharma and make it a big international event. It is the task of today'sliving acharyas to educate and align popular Hindu thought.
(The writer can be contacted at [email protected])
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