Z Lohe
Soon after the ousting of the Prime Minister Sheik Hasina from her country Bangladesh on August 5, 2024, the religious feud between Muslims and Hindus followed. The BJP leader of Opposition in West Bengal Assembly raised the issue of the arrest of the Hindu monk Chinmoy Krishna Das by Police and whose principal lawyer Ramen Roy and compatriot Regan Acharya were severely assaulted by the Jamat fundamentalists. Not only Chinmoy Krishna Das but other Hindu leaders were also arrested by the Police. Those fundamentalists were indeed preventing and intimidating the other lawyers of the arrested Hindu monk from appearing on his behalf in the court. The monk was denied bail and was sent to jail. ISCKCON Kolkata Vice President Radharamn Das told PTI that several Hindu temple were burnt down, properties damaged and Hindu idols destroyed too.
Reacting to the persecution of the Hindus in Bangladesh by Muslim fundamentalists, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and the BJP leaders have condemned those atrocities meted out to the Hindus, a minority, in Bangladesh, a Muslim country. Some BJP leaders condemned the actions of the extremists as a violation of human rights.
In the first week of November, 2024, some miscreants attacked the Hindu temple in Brampton, Ontario, Canada and intimidated the Indian diplomats in Canada. The PM of India severely condemned those actions against the Hindus and the diplomats and urged the Canadian Government to ensure safety of the Hindus and of the Indian diplomats in Canada.
Well, nobody disagrees with the PM of India, the MEA and the BJP leaders while voicing serious concern over the life security of the Hindus in Bangladesh and Canada. It is highly condemnable for the violation of the religious rights of the Hindus in both these two countries and the desecration of their temples and idols.
The Hindu Seva Samiti (HSS) of Nagaland submitted a memorandum to Prof Mohammad Yunus, Chief Advisor of the Interim Government of Bangladesh to stop the human rights violation against the religious minority and to give necessary protection to the Hindus through the DC, Dimapur. The All Meghalaya Citizen Conscious Forum (AMCCF) undertook a public protest march in Shillong, Meghalaya against the Muslim fundamentalists harassing the Hindus, a religious minority in Bangladesh.
However, the question is whether the BJP, RSS, VHP and Bajrang Dal in particular have learnt its lesson from Bangladesh and Canada? I believe all the Hindu organizations including its political wing BJP have genuine concern for the life and wellbeing of the Hindus in these countries. What the Hindus in India have been suppressing and persecuting the religious minorities as Christians and Muslims in particular in India, the same fate is being faced by the Hindus in other countries. When the Hindus in India have due respect for the religious minorities in accordance to the provisions enshrined in the Indian Constitution, the democratic image of India is retained and it may command greater respect internationally. By means of suppressing the Christians and Muslims in India by the Hindus, the BJP Govt. at the centre cannot intimidate the Canadians and the Muslims in Bangladesh. Considering majoritarianism of the Hindus in India to be more important than upholding the Articles in the Constitution of India leads the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) to question the GoI on human rights violations under BJP Govt. in India today.
Bullying the non-Hindus, Himanta Biswa Sarma, Chief Minister of Assam, in his campaign in Jharkhand on 22.5.2024 saying that “if you wish to do politics in India, then you have to say Jai Shree Ram” is nothing but his obsessed fanaticism of Hinduism. Such irrelevance can neither convict nor force anyone to change one’s religion in order to pursue political career. Can the imposition of Hindu diet on non-Hindus by BJP Govt. in Assam be practically possible in the long run? All these suppressive measures against the Christians and Muslims produce results in few other countries including USA.
Having hugged the Pope Francis in Vatican, Rome on October 30, 2021 by the PM of India/political leadership, it is expected of him to treat the Christians in India as equals with those of the Hindus on return. Having hosted more than 100 Christian leaders at Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi on December 29, 2023 by the PM of India to feasting during which the two Catholic priests, namely, Kuriakose and Lucrasea were praised as the two were raised to sainthood was supposed to be followed by mitigation of the rate of the persecutions of Christians by Hindus in India. Having vented out my deep emotional concern for those Christians and the religious minorities who remain to be the soft target of the Hindu fundamentalists is not a demand for extraordinary treatment of people belonging to non-Hindus. What I am questioning why the BJP Govt. has been utterly violating the religious rights enshrined in Arts 25 to 28 in the Constitution of India?
The West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee must be a Hindu, and yet she vehemently criticized the Union BJP Govt. for scrapping the Christmas as the national holiday as carried by Nagaland Post dated 21.12.2024.Thanks to the strong Bengal lady. If BJP thinks that giving importance to Christmas celebration is discontinued it will decimate the image of Christianity is ill-conceived. The authority of mankind, how great it may be, it cannot reduce the size or sovereignty of the Living God Jehovah. As the Union Govt. has cancelled Christmas on December 25th as the public holiday, 364 days in a year can be the celebration of the advent of Jesus Christ. After all, who has the power to superimpose the glory of God? Rather God may use some of the hardcore Hindus to shame the BJP Govt. Look at the statement of RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, “Calling attention to India’s pluralistic society, the RSS chief said that Christmas is observed in Swami Ramakrishnan Mission, emphasizing that only we can do this because we are Hindus.” While the BJP is discontinuing the Christmas holiday, the RSS chief has claimed credit for the celebration of Christmas in Ramakrishna Mission institutes as published in Nagaland Post dated 21.12.2024.
I too support and join with the NBCC and the Nagaland Joint Christian Forum(NJCF) in protest against the Hindu extremists in Chhattisgarh who have resolved to exterminate the Christians in that part of India taking the advantage of the State being ruled by BJP. Adding fuel to the fire, the BJP Govt. in Arunachal Pradesh is contemplating to enact the Anti-Conversion Bill under which persecution of Christians in particular will possibly follow.
The Hindus, not only the RSS, VHP, Bajrang Dal but including the BJP leaders are sensitive enough to the harassment and persecution of the Hindus anywhere outside of India in the hand of the non-Hindus. As much sensitivity and compassion you have for your fellow Hindus living in foreign countries, and as much protection, life security and religious freedom you expect to be given to those fellow Hindus, and as much you dislike the wrongful and illegal treatments meted out to your fellow Hindus, what madness the Hindus have to inflict pain on the Christians in India? Why have you craved to persecute the Christians of which very act you yourselves hate to face? Why keep the protective provisions in the Constitution for religion when you have no regard for it? Amend or remove those before you resort to violate it.
