The seeds of a frantic irrationality are being sown in Indian society, in which hateful words are affecting the rights of all.
Between 17 to 19 December 2021, A fierce Hindu religious gathering was organized in Haridwar, Uttarakhand where speakers amplified targeted hate messages. organized by Yeti Narasimhananda SaraswatiThe chief priest of the Dasna Devi temple and a high-ranking official of the Juna Akhara (a sect of Hindu saints), there were several speakers at the gathering who raised an Islamic threat to India and Hindus.
carnival of hate
Swami Prabodhanand Giri, president of the right-wing organization Hindu Raksha Sena, said, “… you have seen this on the Delhi border, they killed Hindus and hanged them. Now is not the time, the situation is either you die now.” Prepare for, or get ready to kill, there is no other way. So like Myanmar, the police here, the politicians, the army and every Hindu must take up arms and we have to run this cleanliness drive. Not there.” Yeti Narasimhananda, a frequent hate criminal, also offered ₹1 crore to any young man who became a “Hindu Prabhakaran” (a reference to the leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam), the leader of the violent. To behave in an obvious stimulus. Swami Darshan Bharti, a supporter of Hindu rights, again called for a ban on the purchase of land by Muslims in Uttarakhand.
editorial | Striking fear: Hate speech and legal action on Haridwar
I don’t want to amplify the hateful words that were spoken at that carnival of hatred in Haridwar. I will instead offer some trajectory of thought. How should we think about these events and processes?
group enlightenment
First of all, let us acknowledge that there is a frantic irrationality that is being carefully sown in Indian society today and that hate words have an impact on the rights and welfare of all. The process includes frequent and repeated hate speech and fear speech against minority groups by Hindutva ideologues, resulting in a collective cult-like doctrine aimed at convincing Hindus that they are in immediate danger by those who are not like him. In doing so, a non-existent and unverified threat is created and presented. Speakers at the Haridwar event presented a picture of an India in danger of being taken over by Islamists in the midst of their speeches, and therefore argued that all Muslims should be treated with hatred and suspicion. Then the advocates of this hate speech offered a solution – Hindus should take up arms against all Muslims in acts of self-defense. What he effectively outlined for the followers is an imaginary cause of the massacre followed by a call for Muslims to join the genocide.
Second, we need to think about why it has become so difficult to isolate and prosecute hate speech in India, when it so clearly, dangerously and imminently calls for the weaponization of the majority and the killing of Muslims. Is. Why Indian policy makers still do not clearly recognize the extent to which hate narratives lead to real events including loss of life, injury to people, loss of dignity and encroachment of rights of target groups is included?
no difference
In India we do not differentiate between hate speech and fear speech. Hate speech (speech that expresses threats, abuse, violence and prejudice) against any community works most effectively when the public sphere is first saturated with fear speech. Fear speech expresses unknown and unconfirmed threats that create feelings of anxiety and panic in individuals. It is purposefully unclear. A classic example is the spread of “Satanic Panic” in the United States in the 1980s, where the rituals of Satanic cults abusing children led to deep and widespread public fear.
In India, when Hindutva ideologues tell Hindus that they are in danger from Muslims, the ideologues are creating widespread fear and panic. Every time they re-express the trauma they had inflicted on the Hindu community in the past, they are conjuring up a sense of eternal hurt while presenting a target group in a negative stereotype. When society is passing through a state of economic, social and political inequality and uncertainty, it has a special purchase on the people. A speech that encourages someone to do it is simple – choose a side. Staying in the middle of a debate is no longer an option.
Third, what we are witnessing in India is a continued escalation of hate speech and fear speech towards an end goal that includes the violent expulsion of Muslims from the politics of the Indian body. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has managed to surround itself with an electorally advantageous Hindu identity and over time it has blessed the rise of extreme Hindu leaders, creating the impetus for other such militant religious careers, Many of whom were present in Haridwar. All of them followed the communal formula which could benefit them and the BJP politically.
a change and support
Fourth, in more than a century, the ideology of Hindutva has evolved from a loose-knit group of fringe organizations to a sustained grassroots political movement that has managed to hold on to state institutions by electoral means. This capture is important. This is why Swami Prabodhanand Giri can confidently talk about recruiting the police and the army cleanliness drive (Cleanliness campaign). Those present know that they have the support of the ruling party and its institutions. They are almost certain they can defeat prosecution under existing laws that make hate speech a crime. They understand intuitively through repeated experimentation that hate speech can lead to violence against target groups by their followers and that fear speech can lower barriers for those involved in violence.
Fifth, the demonstration in Haridwar which was attended by at least two BJP office-bearers, Ashwini Upadhyay and Udita Tyagi of BJP’s Mahila Morcha, was a direct violation of the rights of citizens which are clearly spelled out in the Indian Constitution. Speakers threatened an 1857-style rebellion against Delhi, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh (sedition), inciting weapons and violence.
One speaker, Sindhu Sagar Swamy, also bragged about implicating 10 Muslims in fake cases under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. All these are offenses under various sections of the Indian Penal Code.
set in 2014
Lastly, let us also acknowledge that the Haridwar hate conference has taken place in the wider context of escalation of attacks on minority groups, attacks on churches and mosques and disruption of prayers. The manner and tone of occurrence of such incidents was set in 2014. What is becoming clear is that the present Indian state seeks to convert ordinary Hindu citizens into the promoters of its majoritarian vision at the neighborhood level. The self-styled godman in Haridwar is the facilitator of this process, allowing the BJP a fair amount of distance in domestic and international forums. This is certainly a dangerous path for India as large-scale political and social bigotry does not come with the operation of power. Those in power are advised to start taking steps to effectively curb this growing radicalization as they seem to be taking steps to stop the supposed anti-national activities of their imagined domestic enemies.
Vasundhara Sirnet Drennan is a political scientist and journalist. She is also the creator of India Violence Archive, a citizen’s data initiative aimed at recording mass public violence in India.
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