Vishwa Hindu Parishad 
Written by Administrator Sunday, 10 July 2011
हिंदू धर्म रक्षण एवं हिंदू समाज को संघटित करने का महत्त्वपूर्ण कार्य विश्व हिंदू परिषद कर रहा है।विश्व हिंदू परिषद की स्थापना २९ अगस्त १९६४ में कृष्ण जन्माष्टमी के अवसर पर हुई।देश के संतशक्ति का आशीर्वाद प्राप्त कर हिंदू-हित का कार्य करने वाली इस संघटना का प्रभाव इतना बढा है कि आज देश के लाखों गावों और शहरों मे विश्व हिंदू परिषद की शाखा है।इतना ही नहीं, इस संघटना का कार्य अब विदेश में भी हो चल है।इस विशाल संघटन- विश्व हिंदू परिषद की संपूर्ण जानकारी उनके"www.vhp.org" इस संकेतस्थल पर उपलब्ध है।
विश्व हिंदू परिषद के सेवा-कार्यों का विस्तार देश के हर कोने में हो चुका है।आरोग्य, शिक्षा, स्वयंरोजगार, ग्राम शिक्षा मंदिर आदि क्षेत्रों में ३२,००० से अधिक सेवा प्रकल्पों द्वारा विश्व हिंदू परिषद का कार्य शुरू है।अस्पृश्यता दूर कर हिंदू समाज को संघटित करने का कार्य किया जा रहा है।
विश्व हिंदू परिषद ने हिंदुओं की धार्मिक अस्मिता, विश्वास और धरोहर को संजोते हुए अयोध्या कीश्रीरामजन्मभूमी, जम्मू-कश्मीर की अमरनाथ यात्रा, गंगा नदी की रक्षा, गोरक्षा, देश भर के विविध हिंदू मंदिर-मठों के प्रश्न, ईसाईयों द्वारा हिंदुओं का धर्मांतरण, इस्लामी आतंक, बांगलादेशी मुस्लिमों की भारतीय सीमा में घुसपैठ आदि विषयों पर हमेशा आवाज उठाई और देशवासियों को जागृत कर इन मुद्दों पर कडा संघर्ष कर रही है।इसके परिणाम स्वरूप हिंदू धर्म के विविध संप्रदायों के संत, महंत, आचार्य अब एक विचारधारा लेकर एक मंच पर आने लगे है, इससे हिंदुओं के विविध धार्मिक, सामाजिक प्रश्नों पर प्रभावी रूप से जन-जागरण होने लगा है।हिंदू समाज की रक्षा और सेवा के लिए अनेक लोग और संस्थांएँ सामने आने लगी हैं।जन मानस में हिंदुत्व की भावना और उसके लिए अभिमान जागृत होने लगा है।लाखों धर्मांतरित हिंदू धर्म में आस्था जताते हुए, फिर हिंदू धर्म में वापस आने लगे हैं।
इस संकेतस्थल के आकर्षक ‘होमपेज’ पर भारत माता का चित्र है।साथ ही है विश्व हिंदू परिषद के आंतरराष्ट्रीय महासचिव डॉ. प्रवीण तोगडिया के समयोचित व्हिडिओ रेकॉर्डेड भाषणों का संग्रह उपलब्ध है। इन्हीं के साथ स्वामी विज्ञानानंदजी और विश्व हिंदू परिषद के अ. भा. महासचिव एवं प्रवक्ता डॉ. सुरेंद्र जैन के ब्लॉग का आवरण भी है।
यहीं पर विश्व हिंदू परिषद के श्रीरामजन्मभूमी आंदोलन के संदर्भ में अभी तक की ताजा जानकारी देने के लिए ‘अप्रोच लिंक’ है।इसमें पुराणों से संकलित अयोध्या महात्म्य, अयोध्या का इतिहास, सम्राट विक्रमादित्य, रामलला और रामजन्मभूमी के बारे में जानकारी, अयोध्या में किए गए उत्खनन में मिले सबूत, अलाहाबाद उच्च न्यायालय द्वारा दिया गया फैसला आदि की जानकारी विस्तृत रूप से दी गई है।
विश्व हिंदू परिषद से संबंधित ताजा समाचार (न्यूज ऍण्ड इव्हेन्ट्स), विश्व हिंदू परिषद की विविध भाषाओं में प्रकाशित होनेवाली पत्रिकाओं की जानकारी (ई-मॅगझिन्स) और परिषद द्वारा जारी ताजा विज्ञप्तिओं (प्रेस रिलीज) की जानकारी के लिए भी ‘अप्रोच लिंक’ हैं।व्हीएचपी ऍट ए ग्लान्स, फोटो गॅलरी, डॉ. प्रवीण तोगडिया के विविध भाषणों पर आधारित लेख के लिए भी अप्रोच लिंक्स है।विश्व हिंदू परिषद के सेवा विभाग, हिंदू हेल्पलाईन और राष्ट्रीय स्वयंसेवक संघ के संकेतस्थल पर जाने के लिए भी लिंक्स दी हैं।यहा दिए ‘व्हिएचपी ऍट ए ग्लान्स’विभाग में विश्व हिंदू सम्मेलन, धर्मसंसद, एकात्मता यात्रा, भारत के विविध मंदिर आदि के बारे में जानकारी है।इसी के साथ विश्व हिंदू परिषद द्वारा तामिलनाडू के विविध मंदिरों के पुजारियों के प्रशिक्षण के लिए की गई सुविधा, स्कूली बच्चों के लिए ‘रामायण’पर आधारित ली जानेवाली परीक्षा, भारत और श्रीलंका के बीच स्थित ऐतिहासिक-पौराणिक रामसेतू के बचाव के लिए किए जा रहे आंदोलन के बारे में जानकारी के लिए भी अप्रोच लिंक्स है।
इसी पृष्ठ पर ‘डाऊनलोड’ लिंक है, जिसमें श्रीमद् भगवद्गीता, गणेश जी की आरती और गायत्री मंत्र और कुछ मंत्रों पर आधारित मोबाईल-रिंगटोन्स भी डाऊनलोड की जा सकती है।विश्व हिंदू परिषद नियमित रूप से ‘गोसंपदा’, ‘हिंदू-विश्व’ और ‘हिंदू चेतना’ इन मासिक पत्रिकाओं का प्रकाशन करती है।ये पत्रिकाएँ हिंदी, मराठी, गुजराती, कन्नड, उडिया, बंगला, मलयालम् और तेलगु भाषाओं में प्रकाशित होती है।इन पत्रिकाओं कें लेख यहॉं ‘पीडीएफ’ फॉमेंट में उपलब्ध है और उन्हे सहजता से प्रिंट कर संग्रहित किया जा सकता है।
इस संकेतस्थल के ‘ऑर्गनायझेशन’ नामक दूसरे पृष्ठ की शुरुवात अथर्ववेद के उद्धरण से होती है।इसमें अगला स्तंभ ‘इन्सेप्शन ऑफ व्हीएचपी’ में विश्व हिंदू परिषद के स्थापना की जानकारी है।इसी में रा. स्व. संघ के द्वितीय सरसंघचालक श्री गोळवलकर गुरुजी ने, परिषद के स्थापना समय किया उद्बोधन अंग्रेजी में (अनुवादित) सम्मिलित किया गया है।परिषद के स्थापना के उपलक्ष्य में विविध शंकराचार्य,संतजन और गणमान्य व्यक्तियों ने भेजे संदेश भी यहॉं पढ सकते है।परिषद के संस्थापकों की बैठक का दुर्लभ छायाचित्र भी यहा है।
इस संकेत स्थल के तिसरे और चौथे पृष्ठ में परिषद से संबंधित विविध ताजा खबरे और विज्ञप्तियॉं समय समय पर प्रकाशित की जाती है।
इस संकेतस्थल के ‘मूव्हमेंट्स’ नामक पॉंचवे पृष्ठ में विश्व हिंदू परिषद के विविध आंदोलनों की जानकारी और उनके संदर्भ में ताजा रिपोटर्स दिए गए है।इनमें श्रीरामजन्मभूमी आंदोलन, अस्पृश्यता निवारण, बाबा अमरनाथ यात्रा और बूढा अमरनाथ यात्रा के बारे में विस्तार से जानकारी दी गई है।
छँठवे पृष्ठ ‘सेवा’ में विश्व हिंदू परिषद के विविध सेवा प्रकल्पों मे चल रहें कार्यों की समीक्षा की जाती है।देशभर में चल रहें परिषद के शिक्षा, स्वयंरोजगार, आरोग्य, सामाजिक और अन्य कार्यों की भी जानकारी दी गई।परिषद के आरोग्य विषयक सेवा कार्य के अंतर्गत देश में कुल ९२ अस्पताल, १२८ चिकित्सालय, ५४ चल-चिकित्सालय, १८५ स्थानों पर प्राथमिक सहायता सुविधा केन्द्र, ४६ दवा-संकलन केंद्र, १२ पंचगव्य चिकित्सा केंद्र और अन्य ७६२ आरोग्य सुविधाओं के साथ कुल १३०३ प्रकल्प चल रहे है।स्वावलंबन और स्वयंरोजगार की दिशा में,परिषद कुल ९५९ प्रकल्पों द्वारा सेवा कार्य कर रही है।इनमें ८८ सिलाई केंद्र, ६१ कंप्युटर केंद्र, ६३७ महिला स्वयं सहायता केंद्र, २ यंत्र प्रशिक्षण केंद्र, १४ घरेलु बचत केंद्र, १ मधुमख्खी पालन केंद्र, १८ ग्रामोद्योग, १०४ गौशालाएँ, २ पशुपालन केंद्र और अन्य ३२ स्वयं सहायता केंद्रो का समावेश है।
शिक्षा के क्षेत्र में विश्व हिंदू परिषद के कुल ३२६६ प्रकल्प कार्यरत हैं।इनमें १४६ बालवाडी, १०५० बाल संस्कार केंद्र, ५९३ प्रायमरी स्कूल्स,१४३ सेकंडरी स्कूल्स, ४४ हायर सेकंडरी स्कूल्स, १४ निवासी स्कूल्स, लडके और लडकियों के लिए अलग अलग १०५ छात्रावास (होस्टल्स), १ रात्रिकालीन पाठशाला, ४६ कोचिंग क्लासेस, १२९ वाचनालय, १० संस्कृत एवं वेद पाठशाला और अन्य कुल ९८५ उपक्रमों का समावेश है।सामाजिक कार्यों के अंतर्गत विश्व हिंदू परिषद के कुल २७१७ प्रकल्प चल रहे हैं, जिनमें ४५ अनाथालय, २९ हिंदू मॅरेज ब्यूरो, १३ न्याय सहायता केंद्र, २९८ मंदिरों का निर्माण, ७ संस्कृत संभाषण वर्ग और साथ ही नैमित्तिक स्वरूप के उपक्रमों में ११२ आरोग्य शिबिर, ४४५ वृक्षारोपण प्रकल्प, १११ पेय जल केंद्र, विविध यात्राओं में १४९ सेवा केंद्र, नैसर्गिक आपत्ति की स्थिती में ३० सेवा केंद्रों द्वारा परिषद समाज सेवा का कार्य करती है।
विश्व हिंदू परिषद की विविध शाखाओं की जानकारी इस संकेतस्थल के ‘डायमेंशन्स’ नामक सातवे पृष्ठ में दी गयी है।इसमें बजरंग दल,मातृ शक्ति, दुर्गा वाहिनी, गौरक्षण, भारत संस्कृत परिषद और धर्म प्रसार एवं धर्माचार्यों से संपर्क के लिए युवा संत और साध्वी शक्ति परिषद के बारे में विस्तृत जानकारी दी गई है।
‘हिंदू अब्रॉड’नामक पृष्ठ में विदेशों में बसे हिंदू बंधुओं से संपर्क और उनके लिए किए जा रहे कार्यों के बारे में जानकारी दी गई हैं।इसमें विशेषत: अमेरिका (अमेरिका, कनाडा, कॅरेबियन्स), युरोप (इंग्लंड, जर्मनी, नॉर्वे, नेदरलॅण्ड, डेन्मार्क), अफ्रिका (दक्षिण अफ्रिका, केनया,मॉरिशस), आशिया (श्रीलंका, भूतान, म्यानमार, मलेशिया, सिंगापूर, इंडोनेशिया), पॅसिफिक (ऑस्ट्रेलिया, न्यूझिलंड, फिजी) इन विभागों में बसे भारतीयों के संबंध में जानकारी दी गई है।इसी पृष्ठ में धर्म संस्कृती संगम द्वारा हिंदू-बौद्ध के संदर्भ में चल रहे कार्य की जानकारी दी गई है।यहॉं काशी में २००६ में हुए पॉंचवे हिंदु-बौद्ध सम्मेलन का वृत्तांत दिया गया है।
इस संकेतस्थल के ‘प्रांत’ नामक नवें पृष्ठ में देश के विविध भागों में कार्य की दृष्टी से विश्व हिंदू परिषद ने जो प्रांतरचना की है, उसका ब्यौरा दिया है।हर प्रांत में आनेवाले विभाग, वहॉं का पौराणिक संदर्भ, वहॉं की सामाजिक रचना, वहॉं परिषद द्वारा किए जा रहे कार्य आदि की सचित्र जानकारी इस पृष्ठ में दी गई है।
इस संकेतस्थल के आखरी पृष्ठ ‘कनेक्ट अस’ में विश्व हिंदू परिषद ने सभी हिंदु बंधुओं का इस कार्य से जुडने का आवाहन किया है।संपर्क :विश्व हिंदू परिषद
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हिंदू धर्म रक्षण एवं हिंदू समाज को संघटित करने का महत्त्वपूर्ण कार्य विश्व हिंदू परिषद कर रहा है।विश्व हिंदू परिषद की स्थापना २९ अगस्त १९६४ में कृष्ण जन्माष्टमी के अवसर पर हुई।देश के संतशक्ति का आशीर्वाद प्राप्त कर हिंदू-हित का कार्य करने वाली इस संघटना का प्रभाव इतना बढा है कि आज देश के लाखों गावों और शहरों मे विश्व हिंदू परिषद की शाखा है।इतना ही नहीं, इस संघटना का कार्य अब विदेश में भी हो चल है।इस विशाल संघटन- विश्व हिंदू परिषद की संपूर्ण जानकारी उनके"www.vhp.org" इस संकेतस्थल पर उपलब्ध है।
विश्व हिंदू परिषद के सेवा-कार्यों का विस्तार देश के हर कोने में हो चुका है।आरोग्य, शिक्षा, स्वयंरोजगार, ग्राम शिक्षा मंदिर आदि क्षेत्रों में ३२,००० से अधिक सेवा प्रकल्पों द्वारा विश्व हिंदू परिषद का कार्य शुरू है।अस्पृश्यता दूर कर हिंदू समाज को संघटित करने का कार्य किया जा रहा है।
विश्व हिंदू परिषद ने हिंदुओं की धार्मिक अस्मिता, विश्वास और धरोहर को संजोते हुए अयोध्या कीश्रीरामजन्मभूमी, जम्मू-कश्मीर की अमरनाथ यात्रा, गंगा नदी की रक्षा, गोरक्षा, देश भर के विविध हिंदू मंदिर-मठों के प्रश्न, ईसाईयों द्वारा हिंदुओं का धर्मांतरण, इस्लामी आतंक, बांगलादेशी मुस्लिमों की भारतीय सीमा में घुसपैठ आदि विषयों पर हमेशा आवाज उठाई और देशवासियों को जागृत कर इन मुद्दों पर कडा संघर्ष कर रही है।इसके परिणाम स्वरूप हिंदू धर्म के विविध संप्रदायों के संत, महंत, आचार्य अब एक विचारधारा लेकर एक मंच पर आने लगे है, इससे हिंदुओं के विविध धार्मिक, सामाजिक प्रश्नों पर प्रभावी रूप से जन-जागरण होने लगा है।हिंदू समाज की रक्षा और सेवा के लिए अनेक लोग और संस्थांएँ सामने आने लगी हैं।जन मानस में हिंदुत्व की भावना और उसके लिए अभिमान जागृत होने लगा है।लाखों धर्मांतरित हिंदू धर्म में आस्था जताते हुए, फिर हिंदू धर्म में वापस आने लगे हैं।
इस संकेतस्थल के आकर्षक ‘होमपेज’ पर भारत माता का चित्र है।साथ ही है विश्व हिंदू परिषद के आंतरराष्ट्रीय महासचिव डॉ. प्रवीण तोगडिया के समयोचित व्हिडिओ रेकॉर्डेड भाषणों का संग्रह उपलब्ध है। इन्हीं के साथ स्वामी विज्ञानानंदजी और विश्व हिंदू परिषद के अ. भा. महासचिव एवं प्रवक्ता डॉ. सुरेंद्र जैन के ब्लॉग का आवरण भी है।
यहीं पर विश्व हिंदू परिषद के श्रीरामजन्मभूमी आंदोलन के संदर्भ में अभी तक की ताजा जानकारी देने के लिए ‘अप्रोच लिंक’ है।इसमें पुराणों से संकलित अयोध्या महात्म्य, अयोध्या का इतिहास, सम्राट विक्रमादित्य, रामलला और रामजन्मभूमी के बारे में जानकारी, अयोध्या में किए गए उत्खनन में मिले सबूत, अलाहाबाद उच्च न्यायालय द्वारा दिया गया फैसला आदि की जानकारी विस्तृत रूप से दी गई है।
विश्व हिंदू परिषद से संबंधित ताजा समाचार (न्यूज ऍण्ड इव्हेन्ट्स), विश्व हिंदू परिषद की विविध भाषाओं में प्रकाशित होनेवाली पत्रिकाओं की जानकारी (ई-मॅगझिन्स) और परिषद द्वारा जारी ताजा विज्ञप्तिओं (प्रेस रिलीज) की जानकारी के लिए भी ‘अप्रोच लिंक’ हैं।व्हीएचपी ऍट ए ग्लान्स, फोटो गॅलरी, डॉ. प्रवीण तोगडिया के विविध भाषणों पर आधारित लेख के लिए भी अप्रोच लिंक्स है।विश्व हिंदू परिषद के सेवा विभाग, हिंदू हेल्पलाईन और राष्ट्रीय स्वयंसेवक संघ के संकेतस्थल पर जाने के लिए भी लिंक्स दी हैं।यहा दिए ‘व्हिएचपी ऍट ए ग्लान्स’विभाग में विश्व हिंदू सम्मेलन, धर्मसंसद, एकात्मता यात्रा, भारत के विविध मंदिर आदि के बारे में जानकारी है।इसी के साथ विश्व हिंदू परिषद द्वारा तामिलनाडू के विविध मंदिरों के पुजारियों के प्रशिक्षण के लिए की गई सुविधा, स्कूली बच्चों के लिए ‘रामायण’पर आधारित ली जानेवाली परीक्षा, भारत और श्रीलंका के बीच स्थित ऐतिहासिक-पौराणिक रामसेतू के बचाव के लिए किए जा रहे आंदोलन के बारे में जानकारी के लिए भी अप्रोच लिंक्स है।
इसी पृष्ठ पर ‘डाऊनलोड’ लिंक है, जिसमें श्रीमद् भगवद्गीता, गणेश जी की आरती और गायत्री मंत्र और कुछ मंत्रों पर आधारित मोबाईल-रिंगटोन्स भी डाऊनलोड की जा सकती है।विश्व हिंदू परिषद नियमित रूप से ‘गोसंपदा’, ‘हिंदू-विश्व’ और ‘हिंदू चेतना’ इन मासिक पत्रिकाओं का प्रकाशन करती है।ये पत्रिकाएँ हिंदी, मराठी, गुजराती, कन्नड, उडिया, बंगला, मलयालम् और तेलगु भाषाओं में प्रकाशित होती है।इन पत्रिकाओं कें लेख यहॉं ‘पीडीएफ’ फॉमेंट में उपलब्ध है और उन्हे सहजता से प्रिंट कर संग्रहित किया जा सकता है।
इस संकेतस्थल के ‘ऑर्गनायझेशन’ नामक दूसरे पृष्ठ की शुरुवात अथर्ववेद के उद्धरण से होती है।इसमें अगला स्तंभ ‘इन्सेप्शन ऑफ व्हीएचपी’ में विश्व हिंदू परिषद के स्थापना की जानकारी है।इसी में रा. स्व. संघ के द्वितीय सरसंघचालक श्री गोळवलकर गुरुजी ने, परिषद के स्थापना समय किया उद्बोधन अंग्रेजी में (अनुवादित) सम्मिलित किया गया है।परिषद के स्थापना के उपलक्ष्य में विविध शंकराचार्य,संतजन और गणमान्य व्यक्तियों ने भेजे संदेश भी यहॉं पढ सकते है।परिषद के संस्थापकों की बैठक का दुर्लभ छायाचित्र भी यहा है।
इस संकेत स्थल के तिसरे और चौथे पृष्ठ में परिषद से संबंधित विविध ताजा खबरे और विज्ञप्तियॉं समय समय पर प्रकाशित की जाती है।
इस संकेतस्थल के ‘मूव्हमेंट्स’ नामक पॉंचवे पृष्ठ में विश्व हिंदू परिषद के विविध आंदोलनों की जानकारी और उनके संदर्भ में ताजा रिपोटर्स दिए गए है।इनमें श्रीरामजन्मभूमी आंदोलन, अस्पृश्यता निवारण, बाबा अमरनाथ यात्रा और बूढा अमरनाथ यात्रा के बारे में विस्तार से जानकारी दी गई है।
छँठवे पृष्ठ ‘सेवा’ में विश्व हिंदू परिषद के विविध सेवा प्रकल्पों मे चल रहें कार्यों की समीक्षा की जाती है।देशभर में चल रहें परिषद के शिक्षा, स्वयंरोजगार, आरोग्य, सामाजिक और अन्य कार्यों की भी जानकारी दी गई।परिषद के आरोग्य विषयक सेवा कार्य के अंतर्गत देश में कुल ९२ अस्पताल, १२८ चिकित्सालय, ५४ चल-चिकित्सालय, १८५ स्थानों पर प्राथमिक सहायता सुविधा केन्द्र, ४६ दवा-संकलन केंद्र, १२ पंचगव्य चिकित्सा केंद्र और अन्य ७६२ आरोग्य सुविधाओं के साथ कुल १३०३ प्रकल्प चल रहे है।स्वावलंबन और स्वयंरोजगार की दिशा में,परिषद कुल ९५९ प्रकल्पों द्वारा सेवा कार्य कर रही है।इनमें ८८ सिलाई केंद्र, ६१ कंप्युटर केंद्र, ६३७ महिला स्वयं सहायता केंद्र, २ यंत्र प्रशिक्षण केंद्र, १४ घरेलु बचत केंद्र, १ मधुमख्खी पालन केंद्र, १८ ग्रामोद्योग, १०४ गौशालाएँ, २ पशुपालन केंद्र और अन्य ३२ स्वयं सहायता केंद्रो का समावेश है।
शिक्षा के क्षेत्र में विश्व हिंदू परिषद के कुल ३२६६ प्रकल्प कार्यरत हैं।इनमें १४६ बालवाडी, १०५० बाल संस्कार केंद्र, ५९३ प्रायमरी स्कूल्स,१४३ सेकंडरी स्कूल्स, ४४ हायर सेकंडरी स्कूल्स, १४ निवासी स्कूल्स, लडके और लडकियों के लिए अलग अलग १०५ छात्रावास (होस्टल्स), १ रात्रिकालीन पाठशाला, ४६ कोचिंग क्लासेस, १२९ वाचनालय, १० संस्कृत एवं वेद पाठशाला और अन्य कुल ९८५ उपक्रमों का समावेश है।सामाजिक कार्यों के अंतर्गत विश्व हिंदू परिषद के कुल २७१७ प्रकल्प चल रहे हैं, जिनमें ४५ अनाथालय, २९ हिंदू मॅरेज ब्यूरो, १३ न्याय सहायता केंद्र, २९८ मंदिरों का निर्माण, ७ संस्कृत संभाषण वर्ग और साथ ही नैमित्तिक स्वरूप के उपक्रमों में ११२ आरोग्य शिबिर, ४४५ वृक्षारोपण प्रकल्प, १११ पेय जल केंद्र, विविध यात्राओं में १४९ सेवा केंद्र, नैसर्गिक आपत्ति की स्थिती में ३० सेवा केंद्रों द्वारा परिषद समाज सेवा का कार्य करती है।
विश्व हिंदू परिषद की विविध शाखाओं की जानकारी इस संकेतस्थल के ‘डायमेंशन्स’ नामक सातवे पृष्ठ में दी गयी है।इसमें बजरंग दल,मातृ शक्ति, दुर्गा वाहिनी, गौरक्षण, भारत संस्कृत परिषद और धर्म प्रसार एवं धर्माचार्यों से संपर्क के लिए युवा संत और साध्वी शक्ति परिषद के बारे में विस्तृत जानकारी दी गई है।
‘हिंदू अब्रॉड’नामक पृष्ठ में विदेशों में बसे हिंदू बंधुओं से संपर्क और उनके लिए किए जा रहे कार्यों के बारे में जानकारी दी गई हैं।इसमें विशेषत: अमेरिका (अमेरिका, कनाडा, कॅरेबियन्स), युरोप (इंग्लंड, जर्मनी, नॉर्वे, नेदरलॅण्ड, डेन्मार्क), अफ्रिका (दक्षिण अफ्रिका, केनया,मॉरिशस), आशिया (श्रीलंका, भूतान, म्यानमार, मलेशिया, सिंगापूर, इंडोनेशिया), पॅसिफिक (ऑस्ट्रेलिया, न्यूझिलंड, फिजी) इन विभागों में बसे भारतीयों के संबंध में जानकारी दी गई है।इसी पृष्ठ में धर्म संस्कृती संगम द्वारा हिंदू-बौद्ध के संदर्भ में चल रहे कार्य की जानकारी दी गई है।यहॉं काशी में २००६ में हुए पॉंचवे हिंदु-बौद्ध सम्मेलन का वृत्तांत दिया गया है।
इस संकेतस्थल के ‘प्रांत’ नामक नवें पृष्ठ में देश के विविध भागों में कार्य की दृष्टी से विश्व हिंदू परिषद ने जो प्रांतरचना की है, उसका ब्यौरा दिया है।हर प्रांत में आनेवाले विभाग, वहॉं का पौराणिक संदर्भ, वहॉं की सामाजिक रचना, वहॉं परिषद द्वारा किए जा रहे कार्य आदि की सचित्र जानकारी इस पृष्ठ में दी गई है।
इस संकेतस्थल के आखरी पृष्ठ ‘कनेक्ट अस’ में विश्व हिंदू परिषद ने सभी हिंदु बंधुओं का इस कार्य से जुडने का आवाहन किया है।
संपर्क :
विश्व हिंदू परिषद
संकटमोचन हनुमान मंदिर आश्रम,आर. के. पुरम् सेक्टर - ६
नई दिल्ली - ११००२२
(भारत)
संकटमोचन हनुमान मंदिर आश्रम,आर. के. पुरम् सेक्टर - ६
नई दिल्ली - ११००२२
(भारत)
दूरभाष : +९१११-२६१७८९९२, २६१०३४९५
फॅक्स : +९१११- २६१९५५२७
ई मेल : info@vhp.org
Dasara Festival-11 ****************************** During 9 days the following alankarams will be performed to Sri Ammavaru.
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ఈ పుడమి నా తల్లి నేనామె పుత్రుడను
నా తల్లి వైభవము ఎలుగెత్తి చాటెదను
నా ధర్మ జ్యోతి నల్వైపులా చూపెదను ||
ఉత్తుంగ హిమశృంగ ఔన్నత్యమది నాది
హిందు సంద్రమె నాదు గాంభీర్య చిహ్నంబు
పావన జాహ్నవీ సమమె నా జీవితము
ఈ నేల అణువణువు తెలుపు నా సచ్చరిత ||
సేతువు హిమగిరియు ఒక్కటె నాకెపుడు
ముక్కోటి దేవతలు మోక్ష ప్రదాతలే
ప్రతి హైందవుడు నాదు సోదరుడె సోదరుడె
జాతి మనుగడ కొరకె జీవితమునర్పింతు ||
భావ దాస్యము నాకు ఏ కోశమున లేదు
ప్రతి రక్త నాళమున ప్రవహించు శౌర్యమె
అపజయా శంక నా సాంప్రదాయమే కాదు
వెనుకంజయే లేదు విజయమే నా సొత్తు ||
The effective measure to save cow
September 2nd, 2011, 12:44 am
By Mulkh Raj Virmani, ORGANISER
SAFETY of cows of Bharatiya breed has all along been a matter of concern. Lovers of cow have run several movements culminating in supreme sacrifices made on November 7, 1966 agitation at the Parliament Street in New Delhi when innumerable people particularly several saints were mercilessly gunned down, their bodies, dead or half alive, transported by trucks to an isolated spot on the ridge, doused in kerosene and set on fire.
While the population of human beings is increasing, availability of nourishing food is shrinking. This is obviously due to steep fall in cows’ population particularly after Independence. During the last few years the government has financed the setting up of several abattoirs all over the country where cows are being slaughtered in great number and meat packed for export. Lovers of cow are helpless spectators.
In the face of this organised butchering, we have to step up our efforts to save the cow whom we endearingly call our mother. Agitational approach in the past has eluded success. In today’s context cow can be saved only if we seriously look to the economic and financial aspects of rearing it. We must make cows’ panchgavya products popular with the masses. Industrialists have to come forward to set up units to manufacture quality products with panchgavya as the basic raw material.
Cow slaughter ban not working
Out of the country’s population of 121 crore persons, atleast 100 crore cow lovers feel strongly in favour of a ban on cow slaughter. Despite the wish of this great majority of our people, central ban has not been enforced. In fact the ban in force in certain states is not being implemented properly. Let us concede that clamping of a ban alone will not stop killing of cows in a clandestine manner nor have we been able to check smuggling of cows to Bangladesh and other adjoining countries. This is happening because even the farmers, who otherwise worship the cow, are not able to feed old cows and willy nilly sell these at a throwaway price knowing fully well that the cows are ultimately be taken to slaughter houses.
Manufacture panchgavya products
In view of the above facts, only properly looking after the economic and financial aspects of rearing can save the cow. This can be done conveniently and effectively. Certain enterprising goshalas are already manufacturing a number of items with panchgavya as the basic raw material. Panchgavya consists of desi cows’ gou mutra, gobar, milk, curd and ghee and all these ingredients are good for health, skin and have other medicinal values. Many of the items can appeal even to the present generation because of their sooting effect on the skin such as chemical-less face cream, aftershave lotion, dhoop-batti which, instead of choking the respiratory system, has a salutary effect, coil to drive away mosquitos and flies, dental cream, bathing soap, health-giving cold drinks and several other products.. Success can be achieved only if the industrialists come forward in a big way to set up manufacturing units in areas where there are goshalas to ensure the availability of panchgavya as the raw material. These industrialists can manufacture several other items and also do research to make the best use of panchgavya. The industrial units should pay to these goshalas reasonable price for buying panchgavya so that they become financially strong to rear more cows. As far as marketing of these manufactured items is concerned, these very industrialists and the general public have to cultivate the habit to give as presents the goods manufactured by goshalas and industrialists and others on occasions such as Deepavali. This can be done on several other occasions also such as packets to go with marriage cards and while visiting friends and relatives. The purpose of popularising the use of panchgavya manufactured items is to generate funds to maintain not only cows in the goshalas but also get good returns to farmers through the sale of panchgavya items. These farmers will then never sell even the old cows. In fact old cows will also become a good source of income to the farmers. This is the only way to save the cow and the country.
Panchgavya is elixir
Our saints may also, through their discourses, ask their audience to use and exchange gifts manufactured from panchgavya which is elixir for long and healthy life. These saints are already telling their followers through their discourses about the health-giving qualities of cows milk and medicinal value of other products such as gou mutra. I had the good fortune to listen to the great Swami Shri Rajendra Dasji Maharaj’s Bhagwat Katha in Pathmera (Rajasthan) goshala where over 60,000 cows are being looked after with great dedication. The saint talked more about the dire need for looking after the financial aspect of rearing cows so that those who look after these cows may also lead a comfortable and contented life.
Cow can make significant contribution to the rural economy if 80 per cent of the country’s population as also the Indians living abroad may extensively use and propagate the use panchgavya-made products and exchange properly—packed gifts of these goods. This is the only practical way to save our mother cow. Mere shouting from roof tops that cow is our mother and we will not tolerate its butchering has not, in any way, resulted in protection. Let us be pragmatic.
COMMUNAL VIOLENCE BILL
THREAT TO NATIONAL INTEGRATION, SOCIAL HARMONY AND CONSTITUTIONAL FEDERALISM
by RAM MADHAV
Ram Madhav, RSS Central Executive Council Member
Ever since the UPA Government came to power in 2004 there started a cacophony about bringing a stricter law to prevent communal violence in the country. In its first term the UPA Government had, as its alliance partners, the Left parties as well as leaders like Lalu Prasad Yadav and Ram Vilas Paswan etc. It may be worthwhile to recall that it were these very people who had launched a massive campaign of disinformation about the then existing anti-terrorism law called the Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA). They finally succeeded in getting the POTA repealed on the specious ground that it was being used to harass innocent Muslims. Any amount of statistical data contrary to their false claims against POTA wouldn’t convince them because the main objective behind the campaign against the POTA was to play the same old game of vote-banks. Incidentally after the 9/11 attack on the Twin Towers in New York many countries in the world including America have introduced fresh stringent laws against terror while India became the only country to repeal the existing laws thus leaving the security agencies without any instrument to tackle the huge challenge of terror.
Not content with repealing the existing anti-terrorism laws the new UPA Government decided to bring in a new act in the name of preventing communal violence in the country. Although sounding noble, it was clear from day one that the real motive of the protagonists for this act was to harass the Hindu groups and organizations in the country. For them the violence in Gujarat in 2002 became a good excuse to justify introduction of a law that would prevent what they described as the ‘majoritarian violence against the hapless minorities’. Leaders like Lalu Prasad went to the extent of making ridiculous suggestions that carrying sticks should be banned under the new act. For him the stick is identified with the RSS uniform.
Finally the UPA Government did introduce a draft Bill in the Parliament in 2005. It was described as THE COMMUNAL VIOLENCE (PREVENTION, CONTROL AND REHABILITATION OF VICTIMS) BILL, 2005. Official declaration described this bill as below:
A bill to empower the Sate Governments and the Central Government to take measures to provide for the prevention and control of communal violence which threatens the secular fabric, unity, integrity and internal security of the nation and rehabilitation of victims of such violence and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.
The draft Bill was placed before the Parliament in December 2005 by the then Home Minister Sri Shivraj Patil. Since the intentions of the Government of the day were suspect there was opposition from various quarters to the draft. As mentioned above the draft talks of imposing a ban on even lathis – sticks, calling them weapons. However the draft Bill does make some significant points. It sufficiently empowers the State Governments as stakeholders in preventing communal violence. It also extends the application of the Bill to all forms of communal violence by all groups, irrespective of their religion or social background.
Objections from Muslim and Christian Groups
However the Bill didn’t find favour with anybody. Leaders of several political parties felt that the draft Bill provides sweeping powers to the Central Government thus undermining the authority of the State Governments. But the most vocal opposition to this draft Bill came from the Muslim, Christian and pseudo-Secular quarters. Their contention was just the opposite of what the political leaders were saying. In the eyes of the so-called civil society groups and Muslim and Christian groups the 2005 draft Bill is completely toothless. They argued that the Bill lacked accountability. They demanded that the powers of managing communal violence be vested in non-Government actors and make governments and administration accountable for communal violence.
The All India Christian Council was in the forefront of this campaign against the draft 2005 Bill. In a letter written to the Prime Minister the AICC conveyed the following concerns about the draft Bill, by then revised once and called the Bill – 2009.
1. The Bill doesn’t adequately address the question of hate campaigns and the “communalisation process” (i.e. hate speech published in local language media) that precedes communal violence. This well-studied phenomenon of activities, some already illegal but not often prosecuted, is a root issue.
2. The Bill doesn’t take into account the demography and pattern of living of various communities. Specifically, anti-Christian violence is normally dismissed by public officials as “sporadic” (although there may be a serious incident daily in some areas). Because other minorities live in concentrated or contiguous areas, those “communally disturbed areas” are more easily identified. In Orissa, Kandhamal would likely not fit the Bill’s definition but we know what happened there in 2007-2008.
3. The Bill doesn’t give States guidelines on reparations and compensation. We need a uniform national policy as well standards on the assessment of damages after riots in order to prevent ghettoisation.
4. The Bill doesn’t fully address police and administrative impunity properly or adequately. The “good faith” clause, which exempts police and public servants from prosecution unless there is permission from the executive branch, is a major concern.
The Muslim bodies too had started a protest campaign against the draft. More than 20 Muslim scholars and leaders, under the leadership of Syed Shahbuddin, issued a statement arguing against the draft Bill. They wanted provisions to make police and civil administration and state authorities accountable. The Joint Committee of Muslim Organisations for Empowerment (JCMOE) has made the demand on behalf of these organizations. JCMOE also urged the government to convene a meeting of leaders of targeted communities to note their views on the bill.
“The Bill does not make police or administration or state authorities accountable and provide for timely and effective intervention by the National Human Rights Commission, if the communal violence spreads or continues for weeks, or by the Central Government under Articles 355 and 356 of the Constitution, duly modified. On the other hand, ironically, the Bill grants more power to the local police and administration, which, more often than not acts in league with the rioters by declaring the area as ‘communally disturbed area’” JCMOE statement said.
“The undersigned call upon the Government to provide for prompt registration of communal crimes, their urgent investigation by special agencies and prosecution of identified culprits, including policemen, administrators and politicians, in Special Courts with Special Prosecutors, who are acceptable to the victims and in such cases the provision of prior sanction of the government should not apply to such culprits. The undersigned also demand a uniform scale of compensation for the whole country, irrespective of religion of the victims or the culprits or the venue of communal violence, for loss of life, honour and property and as well as destruction of and damage to religious places with the provision to revise the scale every 10 years and assessment of losses and damage by a Special Commissioner from outside the state occurrence.”
“The undersigned, for the reasons mentioned above do not find the Bill of 2009 acceptable and request the Government not to introduce it in a hurry without consulting the representatives and leaders of the civil society, particularly the communities which are generally targetted and to revise the Bill in the light of their suggestions and observations.”
The Muslim leaders have requested “all secular forces, the civil society and the political parties represented in the Parliament to press the Government to revise the Bill before introduction in order to remove the inadequacies, defects and flaws which have been pointed out and objected to by the targeted communities, in order to assure them of absolute Equality before Law and guarantee their Security and Dignity.”
What is interesting and important to note is that these two statements, the Muslim and the Christian, come at around the same time as though they were premeditated. Simultaneously the so-called civil society, a euphemism for pseudo-Secular intelligentsia, too started raising the pitch against the draft.
From their arguments in opposition of the draft Bill it is clear that they wanted a Bill that would consider only the Christians and Muslims as the “generally targeted” victims of communal violence; that the word ‘communal violence’ be defined in such a way that only the Muslims and Christians are treated as victims and Hindus as ‘rioters’; that the local police and administration, including the State administration, is always hand-in-glove with the perpetrators of violence; that the Bill should empower the Central Government to invoke Art.355 and 366 of the Constitution in the event of communal violence.
Since the Prevention of Communal Violence Bill – 2005 as amended as Prevention of Communal Violence Bill – 2009 doesn’t discriminate the perpetrators and victims of communal violence on religious grounds and also it envisages the State administration as an equal stake holder in preventing such violence these groups wanted the Bill to be withdrawn.
It is around that time that the new National Advisory Council – NAC – had been constituted by the UPA Government under the chairmanship of Ms. Sonia Gandhi. The UPA Government promptly handed over the matter to the newly constituted NAC and asked it to come up with a fresh draft.
History of Communal Strife in India
India has a long history of communal strife between various communities. Before Independence the country’s history was replete with worst communal violence. Post-Partition the scale of communal violence has come down considerably although it has not been completely mitigated. Sporadic incidents of violence continued and occasionally some major riot would take place here and there. Most of the communal strife and violence in the country occurs in places where the specific Minority groups, especially the Muslims are in greater numbers.
Under Rajiv Gandhi, the Union Government had embarked on identifying communally sensitive districts in the country and ended up identifying mostly those districts that have Muslims as the demographic majority. Some of the communally sensitive spots in the country like Mumbai, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Meerut, Delhi, Kolkata etc have large presence of Muslims.
This one factor negates the propaganda that the Hindus are the perpetrators of communal violence. There is a general global understanding that the majority is always a bully and the minority a victim. However in India we don’t have such majorities and minorities. Secondly the country remains largely peaceful essentially due to the demographic majority of the Hindus only. There are enough instances in our country where the so-called minority groups were found to be the instigators and perpetrators of communal violence.
Hence the basic premise that the Majority community – read Hindus – are the perpetrators of communal violence in India and the minority – read Muslims and Christians – are the victims is essentially wrong. Equally wrong is the premise that a particular government or party is good in governance and the other bad. History of India provides enough evidence to suggest that highest number of communal clashes take place in Congress-ruled states and in many instances of communal violence political interests too play a vital role.
Writing in Economic and Political Weekly author of the book Communal Riots in India Steven I Wilkinson observes: “In the book I highlight examples of Congress and Muslim League politicians’ complicity in partition-era riots in Bihar, UP, and in Calcutta (pp 5,74). I also point out that in the post-independence era Congress has at times benefited electorally from Hindu-Muslim violence (p 50) and I find that we can identify no robust statistical relationship between Congress rule and the level of riots, a result I attribute to the widely varying communal character of the party and its leadership across time and place (p 153). Lest anyone be in doubt about my position, I say on p 153 that “at one time or another, Congress politicians have both fomented and prevented communal violence for political advantage. Congress governments have failed, for example, to prevent some of India’s worst riots (e g, the Ahmedabad riots of 1969, the Moradabad riots of 1980, and the Meerut riots of 1987) and in some cases Congress ministers have reportedly instigated riots…and have blocked riot enforcement.”
Following chart shows the major incidents of communal violence in Indian between 1947 and 2003.
Year City/State Casualties/Injured C.M. Ruling Party
1947 Calc/WBengal 5000/25000 Prafull Ghosh Congress
1947 Punjab 5000/3000 Gopichand Bhargav Congress
1964 W. Bengal 2000 Prafull Sen Congress
1967 Ranchi/Bihar 183 Mahamaya Prasad Congress
1968 Asam 82 B.P. Chalina Congress
1969 Gujarat 512 H. K. Desai Congress
1970 Maharashtra 120 V.P. Naik Congress
1972 Nonari / U.P. 76 K. P. Tripathi Congress
1977 Varanasi / U.P. 5 Ram Naresh Yadav Janata Party
1978 Sambhal / U.P. 25 Ram Nresh Yadav Janata Party
1978 Hydrabad/ A.P. 19 J.Vengal Rao Congress
1979 Jamshedpur/Bihar 120 Karpoori Thakur Janata Party
1980 Moradabad/ U.P. 2000 V.P. Singh Congress I
1981 Biharsharif/ Bihar 80 Jagannath Mishra Congress I
1982 Meerut / U.P. 12/30 Sripati Mishra Congress I
1982 Baroda / Gujarat 17/50 M.S. Solanki Congress I
1983 Malur/Karnataka Ramkrishna Hedge Janata Party
1983 Malegaon/Maharashtra VasantRao Patil Congress I
1983 Hazaribagh/ Bihar ChandraShekher Congress I
1983 Hydrabad / A.P. 45/150 N.T.Ramarao TDP
1984 Maharashtra 146/611 VasantRao Patil Congress I
1984 Delhi 2733 Central Govt. Congress I
1985 Ahemdabad 300 M.S. Solanki Congress I
1986 Ahemdabad 59/80 Amarsinh chodhary Congress
1987 Meerut/ U.P. 3000 Bir Bahadur Singh Congress
1989 Indore 27 Moti Lal Vora Congress
1989 Kota/Rajasthan S. C. Mathur Congress
1989 Bhadrak/Orissa 17 J.B. Patnaik Congress
1990 Gujarat 265/775 ChimmanbhaiPatel Janata Party
1990 Jaipur / Rajasthan 72/644 B.S. shekhawat Janata Party
1990 Uttar Pradesh 94/69 Mulayam Singh SJP
1990 Delhi 100 Central Government
1990 Assam 37 P.K. Mahantha AGP
1990 Maharashtra Sharad Pawar Congress
1990 Bihar 996 Jagannath Mishra Congress
1990 Madhya Pradesh 13/150 Sunderlal Patwa BJP
1990 Karnataka 60 S. Bangarappa Congress
1990 Hydrabad/A.P. 299/350 M.Chenna Reddy Congress
1991 Banaras/U.P. 50 Kalyan Singh BJP
1991 Baroda/Gujarat 66/170 Chimmanbhai Patel Janata Party
1992 Sitamarhi/Bihar 44 Laloo Prasad Yadav Janata Dal
1992 Surat/Gujarat 200 ChimmanbhaiPatel Janata Party
1992 Bombay 1000 Sudhakarrao Naik NCP
1992 Bhopal/M.P. 143 Sunderlal Patwa BJP
1995 Madras/Tamilnadu 4 Jayalalita AIADMK
1995 Karnataka ½ HD Devegoda Janata Dal
1995 Kerala 2 AK Antony Congress
1995 Bihar 5 Laloo Prasad Yadav RJD
1995 Hydrabad/AP 2/100 Chandrababu Naidu TDP
1998 Ajmer/Rajasthan 25 B S Shekhawat BJP
1998 Moradabad/UP 3/50 Kalyan Singh BJP
1998 Hydrabad/AP 4/16 Chandrababu Naidu TDP
1998 Munger/Bihar 3/39 Rabri Devi RJD
1998 Suratkul/Karnataka 12 JH Patel Janata Party
1999 Surat/Gujarat 7/27 Keshubhai Patel BJP
2001 Nalanda/Bihar 8/6 Rabri Devi RJD
2001 Moradabad/UP 6 Rajnath singh BJP
2001 Maharashtra 2/30 Vilasrao Deshmukh Congress
2001 Malegaon 16 Vilasrao Deshmukh Congress
2002 Gujarat 1000 Narendra Modi BJP
2002 Maharashtra 9/16 Sushil Shinde Congress
2003 Kerala 9 A.K Antony Congress
One of the major reasons for communal strife in our country is the unabashed Minority politics of the sections of political establishment. These communal politics with an eye on vote banks have not benefitted anybody, certainly not the Minority community. They only helped politicians climb up the rungs using the minorities as vote-banks. The communities remained poor and backward, illiterate and unemployed and as a result easy prey to divisive and terrorist forces. In addition this vote-bank politics has widened the gulf between the communities.
In this scenario what we need to tackle the communal violence in the country are laws that are non-discriminatory and universal; politics that is responsible and neutral; and Governments that are responsive and universally accountable. Sadly what we get is just the opposite, laws that are overtly discriminatory; politics that smacks of blatant partisanship; and Governments that are driven by hate and utter disregard for communities, parties and other governments.
The proposed new Prevention of Communal and Targeted Violence (Justice & Reparations) Bill – 2011 is just a bundle of all that evil; an epitome of all that we should be negating.
As the opposition to the draft Bill grew louder the UPA Government decided to rope in a body called the National Advisory Council – NAC – to help redraft the Bill. Thus the mandate of redrafting the Bill landed in the hands of this unofficial body of activist-intellectuals. Before proceeding further to understand what the NAC had done with the mandate it is pertinent to know what the NAC is all about in the first place.
The National Advisory Council – NAC
One of the first things that the UPA government did when it came to power at the Center in early 2004 was to constitute the National Advisory Council. It was constituted on 31 May 2004 by a Government Order with a mandate: ‘a) to monitor the progress of the implementation of the Common Minimum Program; b) to provide inputs for the formulation of policy by the Government and to provide support to the Government in legislative business.’
Smt. Sonia Gandhi became the Chairperson of the NAC with Cabinet Minister rank. As per the GO of the NAC the Prime Minister, in consultation with the Chairperson, would appoint the members. That means it is more like the fiefdom of Chairperson Sonia Gandhi. The term of the NAC after several extensions came to an end on 31 March 2008.
After the reelection of the UPA Government at the Center in 2009 the NAC also got reconstituted on 29 March 2010. Smt. Sonia Gandhi has again been nominated as the Chairperson with the rank of Union Cabinet Minister. Initially a 14-Member Council has been constituted on 31 May 2010 with the following Members:
1. Prof. M.S. Swaminathan, MP
2. Prof. Ram Dayal Munda, MP
3. Prof. Narendra Jadhav, Member, Planning Commission
4. Prof. Pramod Tandon, VC, North East Hill University, Shillong
5. Dr. Jean Dreze, GB Pant Social Sciences Institute, Allahabad
6. Ms. Aruna Roy, Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sanghatan, Rajsamund, Rajasthan
7. Sri Madhav Gadgil, Agharkar Research Institute, Pune
8. Sri N.C. Saxena
9. Dr. A.K. Shiv Kumar, Advisor, UNICEF, New Delhi
10. Shri Deep Joshi
11. Ms. Anu Agha, Thermax Ltd, Pune
12. Ms. Farah Naqvi
13. Shri Harsh Mander
14. Ms. Mirai Chatterjee, Coordinator, SEWA, Ahmedabad
(All the Members, except Jean Dreze, continue in the Council to this day)
While some of the Members of the Council are reputed in their respective fields some seem to have gained entry due to their proximity to the Chairperson or rabid Minorityist and anti-Hindu moorings. At least people like Harsh Mander and Farah Naqvi don’t enjoy any other reputation than their rabid anti-Hindutva credentials. Another Member Aruna Roy is a darling of the ultra-Left CPI (ML) in India.
What is interesting is that it is these two Members – Farah Naqvi and Harsh Mander – who were made the joint coordinators of the committee for redrafting the ill-fated Bill. In fact going through the line up of drafting and advising panels constituted for the purpose of redrafting the Bill would make it amply clear that the end product would be nothing but a disaster for the nation.
Drafting Committee
▪ Gopal Subramanium
▪ Maja Daruwala
▪ Najmi Waziri
▪ P.I. Jose
▪ Prasad Sirivella
▪ Teesta Setalvad
▪ Usha Ramanathan (upto 20 Feb 2011)
▪ Vrinda Grover (upto 20 Feb 2011)
Conveners of Drafting Committee
▪ Farah Naqvi, Convener, NAC Working Group
▪ Harsh Mander, Member, NAC Working Grou
Advisory Group Members
1. Abusaleh Shariff
2. Asgar Ali Engineer
3. Gagan Sethi
4. H.S Phoolka
5. John Dayal
6. Justice Hosbet Suresh
7. Kamal Faruqui
8. Manzoor Alam
9. Maulana Niaz Farooqui
10. Ram Puniyani
11. Rooprekha Verma
12. Samar Singh
13. Saumya Uma
14. Shabnam Hashmi
15. Sister Mary Scaria
16. Sukhdeo Thorat
17. Syed Shahabuddin
18. Uma Chakravarty
19. Upendra Baxi
1. Aruna Roy, NAC Working Group Member
2. Professor Jadhav, NAC Working Group Member
3. Anu Aga, NAC Working Group Member
Joint Conveners of Advisory Group
▪ Farah Naqvi, Convener, NAC Working Group
▪ Harsh Mander, Member, NAC Working Group
With people like Teesta Setlawad, Asgar Ali Engineer, John Dayal, Ram Punyani, Shabnam Hashmi and Syed Shahabuddin what else can we expect but a thoroughly communalist and anti-Hindu Bill? The draft Bill put up on the website of the NAC early this year horrendous to put it mildly. It is quintessential evil in the form of a Bill.
Nationwide hue and cry followed after the draft was made available for comments from the public. Recommendations poured in from various quarters but most of them were in the nature of admonitions. Sections of intelligentsia and political class have taken up cudgels against the draft. Several articles appeared in the media condemning the brazenness of the Members of the Draft Committee for coming out with such a blatantly communal draft. The Drafting Committee and NAC Members found it hard to defend themselves in the TV debates and media appearances except of course coming out as a bunch of rabid communalists.
Even the officialdom, which is invested with the responsibility of drafting such bills, was aghast at the draft. It is reliably learnt that some of the officials who were consulted by the Drafting Committee during the course of their work had strongly advised them against such a draft stating that no Government can pass bills discriminatory to one religion or the other.
After months-long debate the draft was modified and prepared for presentation to the Parliament. Final draft is now available on the NAC website. However the changes appear to be merely cosmetic and the core thrust of the Bill remains the same. The NAC seems determined to pursue its agenda.
Before discussing the contents of the Bill a very serious question needs to be raised with regard to the locus standi of the NAC. It is a committee appointed by the Prime Minister in consultation with the Chairperson, in this case Sonia Gandhi. Thus it lacks any consensus or democratic mandate. It claims to represent Civil Society but there is no definition to who constitute Civil Society. Effectively it is an NGO of a bunch of Sonia-loyalists and activist-pseudo-intellectuals (with some honourable exceptions). In a democratic system of governance it is the duty of the Parliament to promulgate laws and the there is a bureaucracy to help them in that job. If the drafting of such important bills can be outsourced to an NGO like the NAC why should we have the bureaucracy? Why should the Members of Parliament accept a draft prepared by an NGO for discussion on the floor of the House? If an NAC can be allowed to draft bills because it happens to be handpicked by an extra-constitutional authority called Sonia Gandhi can the same model be followed by present governments in states and future governments at the Center? What will happen to our democratic system then? To extend an open mandate to an extra-Constitutional entity is fraught with serious consequences to our democratic polity.
The Draft – Intentions and Agenda
The draft that is available on the NAC website now is the modified version. Before getting into the modified version and its implications we must first have a look at the intentions of those who are behind the draft. There is an ‘explanatory note’ on the draft prepared by the drafting committee outlining the rationale behind bringing such a law. This explanatory note speaks volumes about the mindset of the committee.
The most fundamental problem with this draft Bill is the premise on which it is based. Let me quote the very first paragraph of the explanatory note:
“The Prevention of Communal and Targeted Violence (Access to Justice and Reparations) Bill, 2011 is intended to enhance State accountability and correct discriminatory exercise of State powers in the context of identity-based violence, and to thus restore equal access to the law for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and religious and linguistic minorities. That such acts of violence occur repeatedly is a tragedy for a modern democracy. However, when they do, then it is the Constitutional right of every citizen, no matter how numerically weak or disadvantaged, to expect equal protection from an impartial and just State. Evidence from state records and several of Commissions of Enquiry has confirmed institutional bias and prejudicial functioning of the State administration, law enforcement and criminal justice machinery when a non- dominant group in the unit of a State, based either on language or religion, or a member of a Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe, is attacked because of their identity in the unit of that State. This prevents such non-dominant groups from getting full and fair protection of the laws of the land or equal access to justice.”
The basic premise is that: a) there is a non-dominant group in every State in the form of religious and linguistic minority which is always a victim of violence; b) the dominant majority in the State is always the perpetrator of violence; and c) the State administration is, as a rule, biased against the non-dominant group.
This premise in itself is flawed, so is the arithmetic of it. In many States if the religious and linguistic minorities and SC, ST communities are taken together they form the majority and the rest a minority. What is more important is to conclude that in all cases of communal and targeted violence dominant religious and linguistic group at the State level is always the perpetrator and the other the victims. Similarly the conclusion that the State machinery is invariably and always biased against the non-dominant groups gross misstatement of the sincerity and commitment of millions of people who form State administration in the country.
Not once, but repeatedly the explanatory note returns to this condescension and condemnation of the dominant groups and the State administration. And there is no ambiguity in this abnormal belief. In fact the drafting team brazenly declares that:
“Existing laws of the land and the machinery of the State are found to work relatively impartially when targeted identity-based offences are committed against dominant groups in a State”.
The implication is that they work with bias when it comes to non-dominant groups. In fact the note is explicit in stating that the Bill is ‘for non-dominant groups’ only.
This flawed premise is the real danger with this Bill. It leads to a number of anomalies and contradictions. For example a particular religious group can be a ‘non-dominant’ one at the State level but dominant in several districts. But the Bill is applied only on the basis of State level data. Similarly in a situation of violence between the SC & ST communities and religious minorities like the Muslims and Christians, as is often the case, which act will apply? It is the SC & ST Atrocities Act or the present Communal Violence Act? Also to argue that in a given violence if the dominant group is the victim then the IPC sections would apply whereas if a non-dominant group is the victim then the new Act will be applied is a weird logic. Normally in all these types of violence both the so-called dominant and non-dominant groups suffer.
One can safely conclude that the scriptwriters of this Bill are themselves blind with biases. All these premises are essentially wrong. In India communal violence happens mostly because of politico-communal reasons. In many instances it is the so-called minority group that triggers the trouble. We need laws that can prevent such violence irrespective of whoever perpetrates it. To argue that since the administration is always biased in favour of the dominant group we need acts that are biased in favour of the non-dominant group is imprudent and puerile.
The Draft and the Horror of it
The final draft is available on the NAC website now. One is not sure if the same will be placed before the Parliament or not. This has become doubtful especially after the strong opposition it encountered from the Chief Ministers of various states. However a close scrutiny of the draft is essential to understand the serious implications of and threats from it for our national integration, social harmony and Constitutional Federalism.
As usual and with every other Act Art 1 of this Act too will apply to whole country except the State of Jammu and Kashmir. What is interesting to note is that J&K is one of the two states in India (excluding the North East and other tiny UTs) that has Hindus as a Minority – the ‘non-dominant group’ according to this Bill, Punjab being the other State where the Sikhs constitute the dominant group. In the rest of the entire country it is the Hindus who constitute ‘dominant group’ and by implication the perpetrators of communal violence, according to this Bill.
The mischief of the drafting committee primarily lies in the ‘Definitions’ part contained in Art.3 of the first chapter. Art.3 (C) defines Communal and Targeted Violence as under:
“communal and targeted violence” means and includes any act or series of acts, whether spontaneous or planned, resulting in injury or harm to the person and or property, knowingly directed against any person by virtue of his or her membership of any group.
All the mischief is centered round the word ‘Group’. Art 3 (E) defines what constitutes a ‘Group’.
“Group” means a religious or linguistic minority, in any State in the Union of India, or Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes within the meaning of clauses (24) and (25) of Article 366 of the Constitution of India;
Having thus established that the individual member of the Minority community is always considered a part of that Minority group the Bill goes on to add several detrimental clauses subsequently. Art 3 (F) defines ‘Hostile environment against a group’ thus:
“hostile environment against a group” means an intimidating or coercive environment that is created when a person belonging to any group as defined under this Act, by virtue of his or her membership of that group, is subjected to any of the following acts:
(i)boycott of the trade or businesses of such person or making it otherwise difficult for him or her to earn a living; or,
(ii) publicly humiliate such person through exclusion from public services, including education, health and transportation or any act of indignity; or,
(iii) deprive or threaten to deprive such person of his or her fundamental rights; or,
(iv) force such person to leave his or her home or place of ordinary residence or livelihood without his or her express consent; or,
(v) any other act, whether or not it amounts to an offence under this Act, that has the purpose or effect of creating an intimidating, hostile or offensive environment.”
Note the Clause (v) – ‘Any other act, whether or not it amounts to an offence under this Act’. The intention here seems to be to make anything and everything an offence, even if it doesn’t come under any definition of an offence. It is clear that the entire definition of ‘hostile environment’ is malafide.
Clause (k) defines who is a ‘victim’. Here the draft makers are very explicit.
“victim” means any person belonging to a group as defined under this Act, who has suffered physical, mental, psychological or monetary harm or harm to his or her property as a result of the commission of any offence under this Act, and includes his or her relatives, legal guardian and legal heirs, wherever appropriate;
‘Victim’ can only be belonging to a ‘group’ as defined under this Act. And the group as defined under this Act is the Minority – the ‘non-dominant group’. That means this act will consider only the Minority as the victims. And he or she will become a ‘victim’ if he or she ‘has suffered physical, mental, psychological or monetary harm…’ Now, physical harm is measurable; mental harm is difficult to gauge, but how on earth can anyone define ‘psychological harm’? The Bill doesn’t define it. Then how can the so-called ‘psychological harm’ be one of the reasons for victimhood?
With such utterly ridiculous clauses just imagine the kind of case scenarios that could emerge:
Scenario1: Two bicycles collide on a street. It is just an accident, which might lead to a small quarrel. If one of the cyclists happens to be a member of the Minority community he can invoke this Act by virtue of his being from the ‘non-dominant group’. He is not just another individual; he is always from a ‘non-dominant group’. We must remember that many communal clashes in our country begin with such frivolous incidents only.
Scenario 2: A person approaches some house for rent. The house owner refuses to give his house on rent for whatever reason. This is a very common thing in our country. House owners have various considerations including vegetarianism etc. But in this particular case if the person asking for rent happens to be a person from the Minority community the house owner can refuse his offer only at his own peril. It can be interpreted as ‘public humiliation’ as defined in Art 3 (f) (ii); or ‘depriving of fundamental right’ as in Art 3 (f) (iii); or even Art 3 (f) (iv) or (v).
Scenario 3: If a teacher, as part of his lecture, makes some comments on, say, the 9/11 terrorist attack on the US, any student in the class belonging to a ‘non-dominant group’ may interpret it as causing ‘psychological harm’. Or if a Ramdev Baba or some other Swami says that India should have a Uniform Civil Code as per the Directive Principles of our Constitution, he might be dubbed as indulging in creating ‘hostile environment’ as any member of the ‘non-dominant group’ may stand up and say that he was hurt ‘mentally and psychologically’ by the comments of the Swami.
Eminent columnist and thinker Swapan Dasgupta has very rightly pointed out the absurdity of these definitions in one of his articles. He wrote in his column titled ‘NAC’s Bill would land Dikshit in jail”:
“Amid the annual madness over college admissions, Delhi is witnessing a sideshow in St Stephen’s College, which its Principal has described as a “national treasure”. It seems that Sandeep Dikshit, a Delhi MP and son of Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, was dropped as the alumni representative on the college’s governing body. The college authorities say that Dikshit hadn’t attended a single meeting since 2009 and Dikshit has retorted that St Stephen’s has lost the plot and functions like a “communal institution.” In reply, Principal Valson Thampu has charged Dikshit of failing to distinguish between communalism and “minority rights.”
Despite the headline-grabbing potential of anything to do with St Stephen’s, this controversy is somewhat stale, and unless someone says something rash, is certain to peter out in the coming week. However, my reason for invoking this minor skirmish is different.
If the Communal Violence Bill (CVB) as drafted by the National Advisory Council is passed by Parliament, it is entirely possible that the Congress MP for East Delhi could well be confronted with a non-bailable warrant on the charge of creating a “hostile” and “offensive environment” against a minority institution [clause 3 (f) (5)]. A member of a minority group could walk up to any Police Station and submit that Dikshit’s expression of disgust with St Stephen’s had contributed to his “mental” and “psychological” harm [clause 3 (j)]. He would claim that Dishit’s outburst “could reasonably be construed to demonstrate an intention to promote or incite hatred” against the Christian minority [clause 8]. Since the proposed legislation stipulates that “Every Police Officer shall take action, to the best of his or her ability, to prevent the commission of all offences under this Act” [clause 18 (2)], the relevant thana will have to register a case under the new legislation.
Nor can the politician in Dikshit brush off the case as yet another occupational irritant whose handling is left to a lawyer and forgotten. The CVB is explicit that “unless otherwise specified, all offences under this Act, shall be cognizable and non-bailable” [clause 58].”
Having thus established a victim, a crime and an alibi the draft Bill geos on to fix the perpetrators.
‘Knowledge is dangerous’ is a parody to the maxim ‘ignorance is bliss’. But the saying is literally true for the majority community in the context of this draft Bill. In any given incident the knowledge that the person with whom you are engaging is from the non-dominant (read Minority) group compounds your crime according to Art 4 of the draft Bill. That means the Majority community has to be doubly careful with known people from the Minority community since any conflict with them will immediately construed as a wanton attack on the entire Minority community. The flip side is that a person from the Minority community can more easily fix a known person – a friend or a neighbor – in any crime using this Bill.
Read the relevant Art 4 (a):
4. Knowledge.- A person is said to knowingly direct any act against a person belonging to a group by virtue of such person’s membership of that group where:
(a) he or she means to engage in the conduct against a person he or she knows belongs to that group;
Art 7 of the draft Bill defines ‘sexual assault’. It is by far the most widely covered definition that is very much needed to protect women from becoming targets of sexual violence as part of communal violence. But again the problem is that this definition is applicable to the women belonging to Minority group and women of the Majority community can’t benefit from it. Secondly, it also states that in a case of communal violence sex by consent also can be construed as a crime.
The relevant sentence is here:
Provided that where sexual assault under sub-section (a) or (b) is committed as part of or in the course of organised communal and targeted violence, it shall not be necessary to prove that the said act was committed against the victim without their consent or against their will.
Ideally such a protection should be available in all cases of violence against women in all situations. But one cannot forget cases like Jhabua Nuns Rape Case and Kandhamal Nun Rape Case where the nuns had used false cases of sexual assault to implicate and harass people of the Majority community. Under this present draft too such a possibility becomes much more convenient to make false allegations of sexual assault.
Art 13 & 14 are about the dereliction of duty by the public servants. Both the articles want to make the government officials and the personnel of the security forces accountable for communal violence. While Art 13 defines what constitutes ‘dereliction of duty’ Art 14 wants to punish the officers of the security agencies including the personnel of the Army in case of their failure to quell violence or prevent it. The language and idiom of the articles suggests that the drafting committee is convinced that as a general case they tend to behave in a biased manner.
Then comes another draconian article. Art 15 is about holding higher ups in the hierarchy of the organisations responsible vicariously for the acts of individual members. According to this article “breach of command responsibility” of the superiors is also an offence. What it means is that if a member of an organization is found to be the perpetrator of the so-called communal and targeted violence the higher ups in the organization, even if they are not directly involved in any action, will be held vicariously responsible.
Relevant article reads thus:
(1) Whoever, being any non-state actor or superior or office-bearer of any association as defined under clause (b) of section 3 of this Act and other than those mentioned under section 14, in command, control or supervision of any association or assuming command vested in him or her or otherwise, fails to exercise control over subordinates under his or her command, control, supervision and as a result of such failure offences under this Act are committed by subordinates under his or her command, control or supervision, shall be guilty of offences committed by such subordinates under his or her command…
Thus even the perpetrators and the accused are also defined by these articles. They include actual perpetrators who will always be from the dominant – read Majority – group; government officials in the said jurisdiction for dereliction of duty; police, paramilitary and the armed forces personnel; and leaders of the organisations whose members are accused to be the perpetrators. That means if an incident under this Act is reported then the accused wouldn’t include just those who committed violence, but also those government officials and security personnel who are posted in the region as well. This is because the draft committee believes that a communal incident may happen not in spite of every precaution by the officials, as is the normal understanding but BECAUSE of the active connivance of them with the perpetrators. Reason, the learned drafting committee members explain, is that they all belong to the Majority community only.
Seven Wise Men
This whole section of the draft Bill brings us to the crucial question. If the people of the Majority community are ‘rioters’, if their superiors in the hierarchy are de factoperpetrators, if the officials in the State Government are their collaborators and even the Police and Army are hand in glove with the perpetrators who is there to protect and save the Minority groups? Chapter IV of the draft Bill has the answer for this question.
Art 20 states that the Central Government shall constitute a National Authority for Communal Harmony, Justice and Reparations. This will be a 7-member body out of which 4 members should be from the ‘group’ meaning the Minority as per this Act. Thus it will be a committee of seven wise men, majority of whom will be from the Minority community.
These seven members will be selected by a Selection Committee comprising of:
(I) The Prime Minister - Chairperson
(ii) Leader of the Opposition in the House of the People – Member
(iii) Leader of the Opposition in the Council of States
- Member
(iv) Minister in-charge of the Ministry of Home Affairs in the Government of India – Member
(v) Chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission – Member
Selection of the members of the National Authority will be by a process of simple majority in the Selection Committee. Once elected these seven members will be invested with all the powers for effective implementation of this Act. In other words the National Authority for Communal Harmony, Justice and Reparations will be a parallel power-center having its jurisdiction over the State Government machinery and also the Law & Order machinery.
Art 31 to 36 enumerate the powers of the Authority. This Of the Minority and For the Minority Authority has such sweeping powers that would breed envy in dictators like Saddam Hussain. Just see a sample of powers vested in this authority:
· Power to observe, monitor and review the performance of duties by public servants
· It can requisition any information from the Central and State Governments;
· While inquiring or investigating, it will have the powers of a Civil Court trying a suit under the Code of Civil Procedure
· It may enter any building or place where the National Authority has reason to believe that any document relating to the subject matter of the inquiry or investigation may be found, and may enter and seize any such document or take extracts or copies there from
· For the purpose of investigating into any matter pertaining to the inquiry it can summon and enforce the attendance of any person and examine him
· It may recommend to the concerned Government or authority the initiation of proceedings for prosecution of any public servant
· It shall be the duty of the Central government, the State Government and public servant at all levels, to take appropriate action on all advisories and recommendations issued to them by the National Authority under clause (c) of section 29 and submit an Action Taken Report within thirty days.
To put it simply the Seven Wise Men have powers to investigate, summon, interrogate, raid, seize and recommend punitive action. They are the Super Government. Even the State and Central Governments SHALL act on their advisories within a stipulated period.
Recall the debates on Acts like TADA and POTA. There were no special authorities constituted with wise men to implement those Acts. They were given to the respective governments to use in controlling terrorism in the country. Those Acts too had similar powers only, like the power to raid, seize, summon and prosecute terrorists. Unlike in the present Act there was no such distinction in those Acts on religious grounds. In fact TADA and POTA were used against all communities. Yet the very same pseudo-intellectuals ran a relentless campaign against these Acts accusing them of being anti-Minority. Today they want very same powers to an extra-Constitutional authority of seven people to prosecute the Majority community. It shows the diabolical nature of the whole exercise.
Seven Wise Men in States Too
Section V of the draft Bill is about Constitution of State Authorities for Communal Harmony, Justice and Reparation. These will be the next tier of super governments again manned by seven wise men picked up along the same lines of the National Authority. In addition to performing all the functions on the lines of the National Authority and assisting it matters required the State Authority will have an additional power to appoint individuals or non-governmental organisations as ‘Defenders of Human Rights’ under Art 54 of the draft Bill. These Defenders of Human Rights – their number may be decided by the Authority – will assist the State Authority in discharging its duties or executing its authority.
Through all this the draft committee seems to have attempted to also ensure bread and butter for its flock.
Guilty until Proved Otherwise
Chapter VI deals with Investigation, Prosecution and Trial. Under this draft Bill dictum of natural justice that one is ‘innocent until proved guilty’ has been turned upside down. Under the provisions of this draft Bill every accused is deemed to be guilty ‘until proved otherwise’. And the onus of proving otherwise rests on the accused, not the accuser.
Art 56 makes it clear:
“all offences specified under this Act, shall be cognizable and non-bailable”.
Art 57 and 58 are designed in such a way that no SHO can work independently if a complaint comes under this Act from a member of the Minority group. He is duty bound under art 57 not only to register the complaint fully but also to supply a copy in true translation in the language that the victim is familiar with. Art 58 confers powers on the victim to approach the officer of the rank of SP in case he is not satisfied with the SHO. And the SP is then duty bound to depute an officer of DSP rank to investigate the complaint bypassing the SHO. Can any police system function if such clauses are imposed?
Presumption is Evidence
Art 70, 71 and 72 deal with the question of evidence. In fact all the three articles conclude that there is no need for any material evidence to be produced by the complainant. Upon receiving a complaint it is “presumed” that the crime is committed “unless the contrary is proved”. That means a person from the Minority group may accuse one from the Majority community of committing a crime against him by virtue of his being a member of a ‘Group’ without producing any material evidence. The onus of proving to the contrary rests on the accused.
See what Art 71 says:
Inference from nature and circumstances of the act.- Where any question arises whether an offence committed against a member of a group was committed against him or her by virtue of his or her membership of a group, it shall be inferred that it was so directed from the nature and circumstances of the act.
And Art 72:
Presumptions as to offences under this Act.- (1) If in a prosecution for any offence committed under this Act, it is shown that the accused committed or abetted or conspired to commit the offence of hate propaganda under section 8, it shall be presumed, unless the contrary is proved, that the offence committed was knowingly directed against a person by virtue of his or her membership of a group.
The Trial
There will be Designated Judges by the State Governments who will conduct the trial under this Act. These judges too have been accorded vast powers including confiscation of the property of the accused under Art 80. It is a very clever and malicious clause as it would render the houses of individuals, the offices of the organisations and even Mutts and Ashrams of the saints can be taken over under the pretext of some complaint. Art 81 goes one step further and states that upon conviction the property of the accused will be sold by the Authority and the proceeds of the sale will be used in running relief camps or providing succor to the victims of the Minority group.
The draft Bill, while denying even natural justice to the accused extends an olive branch to the purported victim or the accuser. He or she is endowed with lots of rights and good amount of protection and safeguards. Similarly the victims have been provided eminently good reparations. Punishments for crimes committed under this Act range from two to five years of imprisonment to officials for dereliction of duty to life sentence for the accused and the superiors in the command hierarchy.
Scheming behind Inclusion of SC & ST
The last article of the draft Bill Art 135 states that:
The provisions of this Act shall be in addition to, and not in derogation of, any other law for the time being in force.
This clause acquires importance in the context of the SC & ST Atrocities (Prevention) Act 1989. This Act is a strong safeguard of the interests of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes of India. Through that Act the nation has taken a solemn vow to put and end to all forms of discrimination, oppression, violence and injustice against the SCs and STs. The nation is also committed to protecting the Bill from any kind of poaching by interested parties.
The present draft Bill, while including the SCs and the STs also in its purview, makes a point to say in the last Article that the old Act remains intact for the SCs and the STs. One question arises though. When such a stringent law is available for the SCs and STs to protect their interests why then should they be included in this new Bill? The only credible answer seems to be that it is a conspiracy to wean away these sections from the rest of the Hindu society. There has all along been a campaign to project the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes as victims of Upper Caste Hindu oppression and to co-opt them into the league of the minorities. This campaign is the handiwork of certain Christian Missionary groups. The ultimate objective is not the amelioration of the hardships of those communities but to convert the SC and ST population to Christianity and thus weaken Hinduism.
It is misleading to propagate that the new draft Bill on communal violence will be, in the context of the SCs and STs, in addition to the existing Act of 1989. The simple reason is that in any situation of social violence against the SCs or the STs the 1989 Act acts as a better safeguard for them, in a situation of communal violence nobody knows how this new Bill is going to help them. In fact in many communal clashes in India the history shows that the SCs and STs are on the opposite side of the Muslims and Christians. Take the case of the latest violence in Kandhamal. It was essentially between the Christian Panas and the Kandh tribals. In such a situation the new Bill will help the Christian Panas as against the Kandh tribals. Already even without such blatantly partisan laws available the Missionary machinery has been able to harass thousands and thousands of innocent Kandh tribals through false cases and international propaganda. Imagine a situation where they are also equipped with an Act of this kind! This Bill is certainly not in the interest of the SCs and the STs.
Overtly Communal and Patently Illegal Bill
The Bill clearly discriminates between the Majority and Minority groups. The drafters and their apologists give lame logic and excuses that the Bill is exclusively for the Minorities just as the Domestic Violence Bill is exclusively for wives only. The absurdity of such arguments needs no special explanation. Our Constitution and laws don’t permit such blatant discrimination in making laws. In fact while the question of making laws on communal grounds was settled long ago during the debates in the Constituent Assembly itself the Courts in the country too have affirmed the legal position in such matters very clearly.
In a landmark judgment in 1960 in a case between the Government of Rajasthan and one Thakur Pratap Singh the Supreme Court had categorically stated that no Government could make laws that exclude certain groups based on religious and communal identity. This case arose for consideration the constitutional validity of one paragraph of a notification issued by the State of Rajasthan under s. 15 of the Police Act, 1861 (V of 1861), under which ” the Harijan ” and ” Muslim ” inhabitants of the villages, in which an additional police force was stationed, were exempted from the obligation to bear any portion of the cost of that force.
The inhabitants of certain villages in the district of Jhunjhunu in the State of Rajasthan, harboured dacoits and receivers of stolen property besides creating trouble between landlords and tenants as a result of which there were serious riots in the locality in the course of which some persons lost their lives. The State Government therefore took action under s. 15 of the Police Act. This Section authorized the State Government to deploy additional Police force in the said villages. It also authorized the Government to impose a levy on the villagers of those villages to recover the costs of deploying the extra force. While issuing this order the Raj Pramukh (Governor) had exempted Muslims and Harijans of those villages from the burden of the levy. Challenging this exemption a case had been filed which finally reached the Supreme Court in 1960.
While disposing off the matter the learned Judges of the Supreme Court had opined that the Government Order exempting any community or religious group is flawed. Their observation was as below:
” Now this is a very strange argument that only persons of a certain community or caste were law-abiding citizens, while the members of other communities were not. Disturbing elements may be found among members of any community or religion just as much as there may be saner elements among members of that community or religion.” The view here expressed by the learned Judges is, in our opinion, correct. Even if it be that the bulk of the members of the communities exempted or even all of them were law-abiding, it was not contended on behalf of the State that there were no peaceful and law-abiding persons in these 24 villages belonging to the other communities on whom the punitive levy had been directed to be made. In para 5(f) of the petition filed before the High Court the respondent had averred : ” That the aforesaid Notification is ultra vires of the Constitution of India as it discriminates amongst the Citizens of a village on the basis of religion, race or caste, in as much as it makes a distinction between persons professing the Mohammadan religion and others and also between persons who are Muslims and Harijans by caste and the rest. It, therefore, contravenes the provisions of Article 15 of the Constitution of India.” The answer to this by the State was in these terms: ” The Harijan and Muslim inhabitants of these villages have been exempted from liability to bear any portion of the cost of the additional force not because of their religion, race or caste but because they were found to be peace-loving and law-abiding citizens, in the 24 villages additional force has been posted.” It would be seen that it is not the case of the State, even at the stage of the petition before the High Court that there were no persons belonging to the other communities who were peace-loving and law-abiding, though it might very well be, that according to the State, a great majority of these other communities were inclined the other way. If so, it follows that the notification has discriminated against the law-abiding members of the other communities and in favour of the Muslim and Harijan communities, (assuming that every one of them was “peace-loving and law-abiding”) on the basis only of ” caste ” or “religion “. If there were other grounds they ought to have been stated in the notification. It is plain that the notification is directly contrary to the terms of Art. 15(1) and that para 4 of the notification has incurred condemnation as violating a specific constitutional prohibition. In our opinion, the learned Judges of the High Court were clearly right in striking down this paragraph of the notification.
The appeal fails and is dismissed.”
This judgment of the Supreme Court clearly makes it ultra vires to make punitive laws in favour of or against any particular religious group. Thus this draft Bill is against the law and hence not qualified to be placed before the Parliament.
Danger to Democracy and Federalism
We cherish our hard earned democracy. We have interlinked yet independent institutions like the legislature, executive and judiciary to run this system. We have representatives elected through a process of popular mandate and officialdom selected through a stringent examination of skill and merit. This institution of democratic governance is sought to be hijacked and bypassed by some elite through such Bills. These elites have no mandate of the people, hence they are not accountable to people like the elected representatives. Yet they want all the powers accrued to them to rule the country by proxy. They lack any locus standi in the eyes of the people. Yet they seek to use their proximity to the powers-that-be to enjoy benefits that they don’t deserve. With a pliable Government in office these elites in glass houses use such Bills to build careers and earn their daily bread and butter. In the process they undermine our democratic institutions. In fact they destroy the faith of the people in institutionalized governance thus paving way for anarchy and rise of nihilist forces like the Maoists.
We have to decide whether the country should be run by representatives and officials who are elected or selected through a constitutionally sanctioned process or ‘Seven Wise men’ who drop down from nowhere to control the entire governance. What is their eligibility? See what Art 22 of the draft Bill states as the qualifications:
22. Qualifications.- (1) The Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson and Members of the National Authority shall have the following qualifications and shall be chosen from amongst persons:
▪ (a) having expertise in relation to law or criminal justice or human rights or sociology or any other related social science;
▪ (b) having a record of promoting communal harmony;
▪ (c) being of high moral character, impartiality and integrity; and,
▪ (d) who have not been members of any political party for a period of one year prior to their
selection.
They don’t need to have ANY formal qualification; mere expertise – how can one measure it? – in ‘relation’ to law OR criminal justice OR human rights OR sociology OR ANY OTHER RELATED SOCIAL Science? Only OR, not even an AND. All other qualifications are also similarly vague. And our entire bureaucracy, police and political class have to work subservient to these worthies. That is what this Bill purports: from Democracy to ‘Elitocracy’.
Our Constitution envisages a predominantly Federal System of Governance for the country. In the Federal system State Governments enjoy certain exclusive powers. That includes law and order responsibilities also. Maintenance of law and order is a State Subject. There has been a sinister and sustained effort by the present Government to undermine this Federal obligation decreed by the Constitution. First it created a National Investigation Authority – the NIA which usurped the powers of the State Police. Now they want to bring in a National Authority for Communal Harmony to hijack the powers of the entire law and order machinary.
In the National Integration Council meeting held in September 2011 the Chief Ministers of various states have raised serious objections over the proposed legislation expressing their concern over the violation of the Federal principle. These Chief Ministers are from various political parties culled from diverse ideological backgrounds. Ms. Jayalalitha had written to all the Chief Ministers in the country and all the Members of Parliament to asking them to oppose this Bill. Ms. Mamata Bannerjee, Ku. Mayawati, Sri Nitish Kumar, Sri Naveen Patnaik and many others took strong exception to this Bill.
The drafting committee gives vague assurances on the question of violation of the Federal principle. This is what the Explanatory Note by the drafting committee says:
The Federal Principle: This Bill takes care not to violate in any way the federal nature of our polity. The advisories and recommendations of the National Authority for Communal Harmony, Justice and Reparation are not binding on State Governments. Law and order remains entirely with the State Government. All powers and duties of investigation, prosecution, and trial remain with the State Governments.
However any cursory reading of the Bill makes it clear that it is a blatant transgression of the Federal powers. A National Authority, a State Authority, Designated Judges, an Assessment Authority, Human Rights Defenders, powers to investigate, raid, seize, summon … it is just a parallel super-government. Using Art 13 it can order the arrest of Collectors, District Magistrates, Government Secretaries or any officials. In the name of Dereliction of Duty it can act against the police officials. Using Art 14 it can even recommend action against a Brigadier or a Colonel.
Although it does say that the action has to be taken by the State Government only Art 74 categorically says that no sanction is needed from the State Government to prosecute public servants.
The provision of section 196 and 197 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 shall not apply to offences by public servants under Schedule III and the Designated Judge may take cognizance of such offence when satisfied that the said offence has been committed.
Even if sanction is sought under special circumstances, Art 75 states clearly that the State Government must respond in 30 days time failing which the Designated Judge is authorized to act unilaterally. The State Government can’t say no to the sanction easily. According to the said Article:
(2) For the purposes of sub-section (1), sanction shall not be refused, except with reasons to be recorded in writing.
It is clear that this Bill is an easy excuse for the Central Government to harass the State Governments. This makes this Bill extremely dangerous for our Federal polity.
Return of Jinnahism
For a full 19 days Mahatma Gandhi had walked up the steps of Jinnah’s residence in 1946 with the sole objective of persuading him to give up his demand for the partition of India into Hindu and Muslim states. Jinnah refused to budge even an inch. He was not even ready to accept the olive branch extended by Gandhiji that he could take over the reins of power from the British and become the first ruler of Independent India.
For Jinnah all this placation and mollification appeared mischievous. “Independent India will be Hindu India”, he declared and insisted that once the British had left the Muslims would become second class citizens under the Hindu majority. That is why he insisted that the British should grant his demand for a separate Pakistan for Muslims before they leave the shores of India. When Gandhiji gave a call to the British to ‘Quit India’, Jinnah countered with his call ‘Divide and Quit’.
The country thought that the perversion of the Majority-Minority debate had ended when the country was divided. But it has been proved wrong time and again. The present draft Bill is a standing proof that Jinnahism – the belief that the Minority is perpetually oppressed in India by the Majority – is still alive and kicking. Jawaharlal Nehru used to say: “Those who forget history are condemned to repeat it”. We have not learnt any lessons from history. And we continue to commit blunders. This draft Bill, if passed into becoming an Act, would be another big blunder we would be committing.
Communal harmony is paramount in any country that has multiple religions and communities. We must strive hard to train and educate people in harmonious cohabitation. Where it is necessary we may introduce some laws and regulations also. But all that should promote harmony. The present Bill, unfortunately, will only promote disharmony. With these kind of laws the LeTs and HuJIs across the border need not have to promote terrorism in our territory anymore. All that they need to do is to encourage a minor communal riot and they can achieve what they want – huge rift between the Majority and Minority communities.
This Bill doesn’t deserve to be placed before the Parliament. It should be withdrawn by the NAC forthwith.
* * *
History
RSS was founded in 1925 by Dr. Keshav Baliram Hedgewar, who was a doctor in the central Indian city of Nagpur.[29] Hedgewar as a medical student in Kolkata had been a part of the revolutionary activities of the Anushilan Samiti and Jugantar striving to free India from British rule.[30] He had been charged with sedition in 1921 by the British Administration and was imprisoned for one year.[31]
Hedgewar was educated by his elder brother. After matriculating he decided to go to Kolkata to study medicine. He was sent to Kolkata by Dr. B. S. Moonje in 1910 to pursue his medical studies. There he lived with Shyam Sundar Chakravarthy[32] and learned the techniques of fighting from the secret revolutionary organisations like the Anushilan Samiti and Jugantar in Bengal. He immediately joined Anushilan Samiti and had contacts with revolutionaries like Ram Prasad Bismil.[33] He took active part in the Historical Kakori conspiracy with the fake name of Keshab Chakravarthy and went underground. Although he had been an active member of Indian National Congress[30] but he left it in the year 1925 to form the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.
Since Hedgewar was primerly associated with the Hindustan Republican Association so he adopted the full constitution of erstwhile HRA and implemented it forcibly in his newly established organisation RSS later on. The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) first met in 1925 just after a month of Kakori train robbery in a small ground of Nagpur with 5-6 persons on Vijaya Dashami. After the formation of the RSS, Hedgewar kept the organization away from having any direct affiliation with any of the political organisations then fighting British rule.[23] But Hedgewar and his team of volunteers, took part in the Indian National Congress, led movements against the British rule. Hedgewar was arrested in the Jungle Satyagraha agitation in 1931 and served a second term in prison[30][31][35]
Background of RSS
When the trial of Kakori conspiracy was proceeding in Lucknow the British Government employed most of the Muslim Police Officers and the Special Magistrates[36] who left no stone unturned to get the revolutionaries hanged to death or regorous imprisonments. Moreover the Hindu sect of society proved worthless to retalliate the proceedings of the court as Pandit Ram Prasad Bismil has clearly mentioned in his autobiography[37] and Pt Banarsi Das Chaturvedi - the editor of Kakori Ke Shaheed had also condemned it very strongly.[38]
A book titled Sarfaroshi Ki Tamanna in 4 volumes was published in India which was released on 19 December 1996[39] by the former Prime Minister of India Atal Bihari Vajpayee. The forward of this book was written by the then Sarsanghchalak of RSS Prof. Rajendra Singh who himself was present on the occasion. In this book a chapter is given in which RSS has been termed as Banyan tree of Bismil's thought by the writter of the book.[40] In another book Swadhinta Sangram Ke Krantikari Sahitya Ka Itihas, the above contents have been verified with reliable sources and the fact has been established by the author. Whatever guidelines Ram Prasad Bismil had suggested in his Autobiography,[41] the RSS has expanded its organisation on the same foot-prints. Even the constitution of RSS totally resembles with that of the Hindustan Republican Association[42] to which any body can compare.
Ram Prasad Bismil had emphasized the practical need of a revolutionary organisation very clearly in his autobiography for the betterment of India's democracy. He writes in Hindi:
"भारतवर्ष के इतिहास में हमारे प्रयत्नों का उल्लेख करना ही पड़ेगा किन्तु इसमें भी कोई सन्देह नहीं है कि भारतवर्ष की राजनैतिक, धार्मिक तथा सामाजिक किसी प्रकार की परिस्थिति इस समय क्रान्तिकारी आन्दोलन के पक्ष में नहीं है। इसका कारण यही है कि भारतवासियों में शिक्षा का अभाव है। वे साधारण से साधारण सामाजिक उन्नति करने में भी असमर्थ हैं। फिर राजनैतिक क्रान्ति की बात कौन कहे? राजनैतिक क्रान्ति के लिए सर्वप्रथम क्रान्तिकारियों का संगठन ऐसा होना चाहिए कि अनेक विघ्न तथा बाधाओं के उपस्थित होने पर भी संगठन में किसी प्रकार त्रुटि न आये। सब कार्य यथावत् चलते रहें। कार्यकर्ता इतने योग्य तथा पर्याप्त संख्या में होने चाहिए कि एक की अनुपस्थिति में दूसरा स्थानपूर्ति के लिए सदा उद्यत रहे।"
The RSS was established as a educational body whose objective was to train a group of Hindus, who on the basis of their character would work to unite the Hindu community so that India could become an independent country and a creative society.[6] Encyclopedia Britannica opines that "Hedgewar was heavily influenced by the writings of the Hindu nationalist ideologueVinayak Damodar Savarkar and adopted much of his rhetoric concerning the need for the creation of a 'Hindu nation'. Contradicting its own statement, the Encyclopedia Britannica also claims that RSS is established to foster unity among Hindu youths of all castes and classes".[43] Hedgewar formed the RSS as a disciplined cadre of volunteers who were dedicated to the independence and protection of Hindu's political, cultural, and religious interests. During World War II the RSS' members openly admired Adolf Hitler in order to counter British rule in India.[18]
To keep up the purity of the Race and its culture, Germany shocked the world by her purging the country of the Semitic races—the Jews. Race pride at its highest has been manifested here. Germany has also shown how well nigh impossible it is for Races and cultures, having differences going to the root, to be assimilated into one united whole, a good lesson for us in Hindustan to learn and profit by.
Activities during partition
The Partition of India was a very traumatic event in the young nation's history with millions of Sikhs, Hindus, and Muslims attempting to escape the violence and carnage that followed.[46]
Noted Gandhian and recipient of the highest civilian award in India, Bharat Ratna, Dr. Bhagwan Das commended the role of the "high-spirited and self-sacrificing boys" of the RSS in protecting the newly formed Republic of India, from a planned coup to topple the Jawaharlal Nehru Administration in Delhi[47][48]
First ban and the acquittal
Following Mahatma Gandhi's assassination in 1948 by a member[18] or former member[28] of the RSS, Nathuram Godse, many prominent leaders of the RSS were arrested and RSS as an organization was banned on February 4, 1948. On this issue the then India's Home Minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel wrote to then RSS Chief M. S. Golwalkar:
"As a final result of the poison, the country had to suffer the sacrifice of the invaluable life of Gandhiji. Even an iota of the sympathy of the Government or of the people no more remained for the RSS. In fact, opposition grew. Opposition turned more severe when the RSS men expressed joy and distributed sweets after Gandhiji's death."— Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel[49]
A Commission of Inquiry into Conspiracy to murder of Mahatma Gandhi was set and its report was published by India's Ministry of Home Affairs in the year 1970. Accordingly Justice Kapur Commission[50] noted the following:
"...RSS as such were not responsible for the murder of Mahatma Gandhi, meaning thereby that one could not name the organization as such as being responsible for that most diabolical crime, the murder of the apostle of peace". "It has not been proved that they (the accused) were members of the RSS which shows that they (the accused) were believers in a more violent form of activities..."— Kapur Commission Report[51]
RSS Leaders were acquitted of the conspiracy charge by the Supreme Court of India and following an intervention by the Court, the Indian Government agreed to lift the ban with condition that the RSS adopt a formal constitution. The secondSarsanghachalak, Golwalkar drafted the constitution for the RSS which he sent to the government in March 1949. In July of the same year, after many negotiations over the constitution and its acceptance, the ban on RSS was lifted.[29]
On January 15, 2000, a daily, The Statesman, carried a story about the RSS by A G Noorani, which depicted the RSS as the killer of Gandhi.[52] Subsequently the Delhi unit of the RSS filed a criminal case of defamation against author of the article A G Noorani along with the cartoonist and the Managing Director of the publishing house. When two of the accused did not respond to the Court summons, non-bailable warrants were issued in their name by the Court.[53] On February 25, 2002, Noorani wrote an unconditional apology to the court in which he regretted writing the defamatory article against the RSS. On March 3, 2002, 'The Statesman' also published an apology regretting the publication of the said article.[54]
Liberation of Dadra, Nagar Haveli and Goa
After the Independence of India, many organizations including the RSS aspired to liberate Dadra and Nagar Haveli from Portuguese occupation. In early 1954, volunteers Raja Wakankar and Nana Kajrekar of the RSS visited the area round about Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman several times to study the topography and also to get acquainted with the local workers who were agitating for the liberation. In April 1954, the RSS formed a coalition with the National Movement Liberation Organization (NMLO), the and Azad Gomantak Dal (AGD) for the liberation of Dadra and Nagar Haveli.[55] On the night of 21 July, United front of Goans, a group, working independently of the coalition, captured the Portuguese police station at Dadra and declared Dadra as free. Subsequently on 28 July, volunteer teams of the RSS and AGD captured the territories of Naroli and Phiparia and ultimately the capital of Silvassa. The Portuguese forces which escaped and moved towards Nagar Haveli, were assaulted at Khandvel and were forced to retreat till they surrendered to the Indian border police at Udava on 11 August 1954. A native administration was setup with Appasaheb Karmalkar of NMLO as the Administrator of Dadra and Nagar Haveli on 11 August 1954.[55]
The liberation of Dadra and Nagar Haveli gave a boost to the freedom movement against the Portuguese in Goa.[55] In 1955, RSS leaders demanded the end of Portuguese rule in Goa and its integration into India. When Prime Minister of India,Jawaharlal Nehru refused to obtain it by armed intervention, RSS leader Jagannath Rao Joshi led the satyagraha agitation straight into Goa itself. He was imprisoned with his followers by the Portuguese police. The peaceful protests continued but met with severe repressions. On 15 August 1955, the Portuguese police opened fire on the satyagrahis, killing thirty or so people.[56]
Role during the 1962 Sino-Indian War
The RSS which had been keeping low profile after the lifting of the ban, earned recognition based on its volunteer work during the Sino-Indian War in 1962.[57] RSS was invited by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru to take part in the Indian Republic day parade of 1963.[58] It along with several other civilian organizations took part in the parade.[59] This event helped the RSS increase its popularity and its patriotic image.[60][61][62]
Later in 1965 and 1971 Indo-Pak wars too, the RSS volunteers offered their services to maintain law and order of the country and were apparently the first to donate blood.[63]
Movement for the restoration of democracy
In 1975, the Indian Government under the Prime Minister Mrs. Indira Gandhi, proclaimed emergency rule in India, thereby suspending the fundamental rights and curtailing the rights of the press.[64] This extreme step was taken after the Supreme Court of India, cancelled her election to the Indian Parliament on charges of malpractices in the election.[64] The democratic institutions were kept under suspended animation and prominent opposition leaders including GandhianJayaprakash Narayan, were arrested and thousands of people were detained without any charges being framed against them.[65] RSS, which was seen close to opposition leaders, and with its large organizational base was seen to have potential of organizing protests against the Government, was also banned.[66] Police clamped down on the organization and thousands of its workers were imprisoned.[30]
The RSS defied the ban and thousands participated in Satyagraha (peaceful protests) against the ban and against the curtailment of fundamental rights. Later, when there was no letup, the volunteers of the RSS formed underground movements for the restoration of democracy. Literature that was censored in the media was clandestinely published and distributed on a large scale and funds were collected for the movement. Networks were established between leaders of different political parties in the jail and outside for the coordination of the movement.[67] It said that the movement was "dominated by tens of thousands of RSS cadres, though more and more young recruits are coming". Talking about its objectives it said "its platform at the moment has only one plank: to bring democracy back to India".[68] The Emergency was lifted in 1977 and as a consequence the ban on the RSS too was lifted.
Participation in land reforms
It has been noted that the RSS volunteers participated in the Bhoodan movement organized by Gandhian leader Vinobha Bhave. Vinobha Bhave had met the RSS leader M. S. Golwalkar in Meerut in November 1951. Golwalkar had been inspired by the movement that encouraged land reforms through voluntary means. He pledged the support of the RSS for this movement.[69] Consequently, many RSS volunteers led by Nanaji Deshmukh participated in the movement.[6] But Golwalkar has also been critical of the Bhoodan movement, on other occasions for being reactionary and for working "merely with a view to counteracting Communism". He believed that the movement should inculcate a right and positive faith in the masses that can make them rise above the base appeal of Communism.[70]
Organization
RSS does not have any formal membership. According to the official website, a Hindu male can become member by joining the nearest ‘Shakha’, which is the basic unit.[12] Although the RSS claims not to keep membership records, it is estimated that the organization has between 2.5–6 million members.[2]
Sarsanghchalaks
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The Sarsanghchalak (Sanskrit: सरसंघचालकः) is the head of the RSS organization. The individuals who have been Sarsanghchalaks are:
- Dr. Keshav Baliram Hedgewar (founder), also known as Doctorji (1925–1930 & 1931–1940)
- Dr. Laxman Vaman Paranjpe (1930–1931) (when Dr. Hedgewar was in jail during Forest Satyagraha)
- Shri Madhav Sadashiv Golwalkar, also known as Guruji (1940–1973)
- Shri. Madhukar Dattatraya Deoras, also known as Balasaheb (1973–1993)
- Prof. Rajendra Singh, also known as Rajju Bhaiya (1993–2000)
- Kuppahalli Sitaramayya Sudarshan (2000–2009)
- Dr. Mohan Madhukar Bhagwat (21 March 2009 – till date)
The position is decided by nomination by predecessor. The current Sarsanghachalak of RSS is Dr. Mohan Madhukar Bhagwat.
Shakha
"Shakha" is Hindi for "branch". Most of the organizational work of the RSS is done through the coordination of shakhas or branches. These shakhas are run for 1 hour in public places. In 2004, more than 60,000 shakhas were run throughout India.[71] However the number of Shakas has fallen by over 10,000 since the fall of the BJP led government in 2004.[72] According to Vagish Issar, RSS's media representative in Delhi, the number of Shakas has fallen to 39,823 as of January 2010.[72] Local leaders have asserted links to the casteist policies of the Bahujan Samaj Party and the Samajwadi Party have driven members away.[72]
The shakhas conduct various activities for its volunteers which include physical fitness activities through yoga, exercises and games. It has other activities which emphasize on qualities like civic sense, social service, community living and patriotism.[73] The volunteers are trained in first aid and in rescue and rehabilitation operations. The volunteers are also encouraged to get involved in the developmental activities of the village or locality.[73][74]
IT Milan
For swayamsevaks who work in IT(Information Technology) related sectors another form of Shakha is set, called as "IT Milan". These are weekly meetings unlike the regular Shakhas which run daily. IT Milans are observed in many IT cities in India – Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Pune. There are as many as 3,000 techies in Bangalore who meet regularly this way. This 60–90 minutes weekly gathering includes a Prayer, Surya Namaskara, Yoga, games, song and sermon. IT Milans are user friendly; the prayer is available as a printout, usually everyone is addressed in English, and there are enough people to aid newcomers on the Surya Namaskara and seven yoga asanas. These exercises have been designed for IT professionals who suffer from chronic lower backache due to long hours at computers. It also helps that their employers respect their RSS links. Games are played during the Milan to relieve tension in the minds of IT Swayamsevaks and foster team spirit. An IT Milan also serves as a forum for discussion on various issues of national and international importance like the Copenhagen Summitand West Bengal government's decision to grant religion based reservation to Muslims.[75]
Mission
The mission of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh has been described as the revitalization of Indian value system based on universalism and peace and prosperity to all.[70] Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, the worldview that the whole world is one family, propounded by the ancient thinkers of India, is considered as the ultimate mission of the organization.[76]
But the immediate focus, the leaders believe, is on the Hindu renaissance, which would build an egalitarian society and a strong India that could propound this philosophy. Hence, the focus is on social reform, economic upliftment of the downtrodden and the protection of cultural diversity of the natives in India.[76] The organization says, it aspires to unite all Hindus and build a strong India, which could contribute to the welfare of the world. In the words of RSS ideologue and the second head of the RSS, M S Golwalkar, "in order to be able to contribute our unique knowledge to mankind, in order to be able to live and strive for the unity and welfare of the world, we stand before the world as a self-confident, resurgent and mighty nation".[70]
In Vichardhara (en.Bunch of Thoughts) M. S. Golwalkar affirms the RSS mission of integration as[70]:
"Realising the national character of Hindu People, the RSS has been making determined efforts to inculcate in them burning devotion for Bharat and its national ethos; kindle in them the spirit of dedication and sterling qualities and character; rouse social consciousness, mutual good-will, love and cooperation among them all; to make them realise that casts, creeds and languages are secondary and that service to the nation is the supreme end and to mold their behaviour accordingly; instill in them a sense of true humility and discipline and train their bodies to be strong and robust so as to shoulder any social responsibility; and thus to create all-round Anushasana in all walks of life and build together all our people into a unified harmonious national whole, extending from Himalayas to Kanyakumari."
Golwalkar also explains that RSS does not intend to compete in electioneering politics or share power. He asserts that there is no place in RSS for any hatred or opposition towards any particular caste, creed or party. The movement considers Hindus as inclusive of Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, tribals, untouchables, Veerashaivism, Arya Samaj, Ramakrishna Mission, etc. as a community, a view similar to inclusive referencing of the term Hindu in the Indian Constituion.[77][78][79]
Christopher Jaffrelot opines that RSS's objective has been the establishment of a Hindu nation in India and that its twofold objective was to propagate the Hindutva ideology and infuse physical strength to the Hindu community.[80]
Sangh Parivar
Organizations which are inspired by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh's ideology refer themselves as the members of the Sangh Parivar.[2] In most of the cases, pracharaks (full-time volunteers of the RSS) were deputed to start and manage these organizations. The organizations within the Sangh include the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Vanbandhu Parishad, Rashtriya Sevika Samiti, Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, Vanavasi Kalyan Ashram, Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh, Vidya Bharati, Seva Bharati and many others spread in all parts of society.[81] Numerous other Hindutva organizations take inspiration from the RSS's philosophy.
RSS has never directly contested elections, but supports parties that are ideologically similar. Although RSS generally endorses the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), yet at times had refused to do so due to difference of opinion with the party. Also, RSS is open to support any political party that subscribes to its views.[82][83]
Of late, the volunteers of the RSS have also held prominent political and administrative positions in India including the Prime Minister of India, the Vice President of India, the Home Minister and Ministers in the Central Government, Governors and Chief Ministers of various states and the members of elected bodies at the state and the national level and also the Indian ambassador to the US[84][85][86]
Social Service And Reform
The RSS has advocated the training of Dalits and other backward classes as temple high priests (a position traditionally reserved for Caste Brahmins and denied to lower castes). They argue that the social divisiveness of the Caste system is responsible for the lack of adherence to Hindu values and traditions and reaching out to the lower castes in this manner will be a remedy to the problem.[87] The RSS has also condemned 'upper' caste Hindus for preventing Dalits from worshipping at temples, saying that "even God will desert the temple in which Dalits cannot enter"[88]
Christophe Jaffrelot finds that "there is insuficient data available to carry out a statistical analysis of social origins of the early RSS leaders" but goes on to conclude, based on some known profiles that most of the RSS founders and its leading organisers, with exceptions were Maharashtrian Brahmins from middle or lower class[89] and argues that the pervasiveness of the Brahminical ethic in the organisation was probably the main reason why it failed to attract support from the low castes. He argues that the "RSS resorted to instrumentalist techniques of ethno-religious mobilisation – in which its Brahminism was diluted – to overcome this handicap."[90] However Anderson and Damle 1987, find that members of all castes have been welcomed into the organisation and are treated as equals.[6]
During M. K. Gandhi's visit to RSS Camp accompanied by Mahadev Desai and Mirabehn at Wardha in 1934, he was surprised by the discipline and the absence of untouchability in RSS and commented "When i visited the RSS Camp. I was very much surprised by your discipline and absence of untouchablity ". He personally inquired to Swayamsevaks and found that they were living and eating together in the camp without bothering to know their castes.[91]
Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar while visiting the RSS camp at Pune in 1939 observed that Swayamsevaks were moving in absolute equality and brotherhood without even caring to know the cast of others.[92] In his address to the Swayamsevaks, he said that " This is the first time that I am visiting the camp of Sangh volunters. I am happy to find absolute equality between Savarniyas (Upper cast) and Harijans (Lower cast) without any one being aware of such difference existing." When he asked Dr Hedgewar whether there were any untouchables in the camp, he replied that there are neither "touchables" nor "untouchables" but only Hindus.[93]
It is noted that RSS is taking a lead role in providing the education to people of rural India and socially backward classes living under the extreme poverty.[94]
Relief and rehabilitation
This is a long and continuous tradition with the RSS. The RSS was instrumental in relief efforts after the 1971 Orissa Cyclone and the 1977 Andhra Pradesh Cyclone.[95]
An RSS-affiliated NGO, Seva Bharati, has adopted 57 children (38 Muslims and 19 Hindus) from militancy affected areas of Jammu and Kashmir to provide them education at least up to Higher Secondary level.[96][97] They have also taken care of many victims of the Kargil War of 1999.[98]
Natural calamities
The RSS assisted in relief efforts quite extensively during the 2001 Gujarat earthquake. They helped rebuild villages.[99] They "earned kudos" from many varied agencies and sources for their actions.[95] For instance, in the 2001 Gujarat earthquake, K. Srinivas, District Collector of Ahmedabad, Indian newsmagazine Outlook and India Today reported:
"This is an old tradition in the RSS. To be the first at any disaster strike: floods, cyclone, drought and now quake. In Kutch, too, the RSS was the first to reach the affected areas. At Anjar, a town in ruins, the RSS was present much before the Army took the lead in finding survivors and fishing out the dead."— K. Srinivas, District collector, Ahmedabad
"Literally within minutes RSS volunteers were at the scenes of distress. Across Gujarat, the (RSS) cadres were the saviors. Even as the state machinery went comatose in the first two days after the quake, the cadre-based machinery of the Sangh fanned out throughout the state. Approximately 35,000 RSS members in uniform were pressed into service."
"It is conceded by even their worst detractors that the RSS has been in the forefront of the non- official rescue and relief (operations). This has led to an upsurge of goodwill for the Sangh"
Seva Bharati conducted relief operations in the aftermath of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake. Activities included building shelters for the victims, providing food, clothes and medical necessities.[102] The RSS assisted relief efforts during the 2004 Sumatra-Andaman earthquake and the subsequent tsunami.[103]
In 2006, RSS participated in relief efforts to provide basic necessities such as food, milk and potable water to the people of Surat, Gujarat who were affected by massive floods in the region.[104]
The RSS volunteers carried out massive relief and rehabilitation work after the floods ravaged North Karnataka and some districts of the state of Andhra Pradesh.[105]
During 2006 Indian Ocean Tsunami tragedy, while the tsunami struck the entire coastline of Tamil Nadu, nine districts were particularly affected badly. Cho Ramaswamy, editor, Tughlaq magazine reported that though the concerned authorities admitted privately that it was the RSS-sponsored Sewa Bharati which did yeoman service everywhere, politics forbade them to acknowledge this in public.[106]
Protection of Sikhs during the 1984 anti-Sikh riots
Sikh intellectual and author of 'A History of the Sikhs', Khushwant Singh, credits members of the RSS with helping and protecting Sikhs who were being targeted by members of the Congress(I) political party during the 1984 Anti-Sikh Riots.[107] Singh who otherwise has been critical of the RSS and believes that it is a " communal organization and dangerous to the country's secular fabric"
"RSS has played an honorable role in maintaining Hindu-Sikh unity before and after the murder of Indira Gandhi in Delhi and in other places"
"It was the Congress (I) leaders who instigated mobs in 1984 and got more than 3000 people killed. I must give due credit to RSS and the BJP for showing courage and protecting helpless Sikhs during those difficult days. No less a person than Atal Bihari Vajpayee himself intervened at a couple of places to help poor taxi drivers".
Discrimination against RSS volunteers
Many cases have been reported in post-independence India where RSS volunteers have been discriminated against by the government due to their allegiance to the RSS and its ideology.[108] In a court case of a teacher who was dismissed from service due to his past links with the RSS, the Supreme Court labeled the government's action as "McCarthyism" and a "violation of fundamental rights".[109][110][111][112][113][114]
A municipal school teacher, Ramshanker Raghuvanshi, was dismissed by the Congress government of Madhya Pradesh in 1974, which stated that he had taken "part in the RSS" activities and hence was "not a fit person to be entertained in Government service". The Supreme Court dismissed the arguments of the government and said that the government had not adhered to the provisions of the Indian Constitution. The Supreme Court bench consisting of Justice Syed Murtuza Fazalali and Justice O. Chinnappa Reddy observed that "India is not a police state" and pleaded that the "promise of fundamental rights enshrined in the Indian Constitution not become a forgotten chapter of history". Delivering the landmark judgment, the Court observed that "seeking a police report on person's political faith", in the first place, "amounted to the violation of fundamental rights". The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the municipal teacher and ordered his reinstatement.[109][110][111][112][113][114]
Similar observations were made by the High courts of different provinces of India in different cases of political persecution of RSS volunteers.[108] One case involved Ranganathacharya Agnihotri, who was selected for the post of Munsiff but was not absorbed into service as he had been a volunteer of the RSS in his past. When Agnihotri approached to the then High Court of Mysore (now Karnataka High Court), he was reinstated. The Court observed:
"Prima facie the RSS is a non-political cultural organization without any hatred or ill will towards non-Hindus and that many eminent and respected persons in the country have not hesitated to preside over the functions or appreciate the work of its volunteers. In a country like ours which has accepted the democratic way of life (as ensured by the Constitution), it would not be within reason to accept the proposition that mere membership of such peaceful or non-violent association and participation in activities thereof, will render a person (in whose character and antecedents there are no other defects) unsuitable to be appointed to the post of a Munsiff."
The RSS also has been banned in India thrice, during periods in which the government of the time claimed that they were a threat to the state: in 1948 after Mahatma Gandhi's assassination, during the Emergency (1975–77), and after the 1992 Babri Masjid demolition. The bans were subsequently lifted, in 1949 after the RSS was absolved of charges in the Gandhi murder case, in 1977 as a result of the Emergency being revoked, and in 1993 when no evidence of any unlawful activities was found against it by the tribunal constituted under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.[116]
Reception
Field Marshal Cariappa in his speech to RSS volunteers said "RSS is my heart's work. My dear young men, don't be disturbed by uncharitable comments of interested persons. Look ahead! Go ahead! The country is standing in need of your services"[117]
Dr Zakir Hussain the former President of India once told to Milad Mehfil in Monghyar on November 20, 1949 "The allegations against RSS of violence and hatred against Muslims are wholly false. Muslims should learn the lesson of mutual love, cooperation and organization from RSS.[118][119]
Noted Gandhian leader and the leader of Sarvoday movement, Jayaprakash Narayan, who earlier was a vocal opponent of RSS had the following to say about it in 1977 "RSS is a revolutionary organization. No other organization in the country comes anywhere near it. It alone has the capacity to transform society, end casteism and wipe the tears from the eyes of the poor." He further added "I have great expectations from this revolutionary organization which has taken up the challenge of creating a new India"[120]
Criticisms and accusations
Christopher Jaffrelot, the director of the Center for Studies and Research (CERI) observes that although the RSS with its paramilitary style of functioning and its emphasis on discipline has sometimes been seen by some as "an Indian version of fascism",[121] he believes that the characteristic of the RSS's ideology has been to down-play the role of the state and hence it cannot be classified as a fascist movement. He further argues that RSS's ideology treats society as an organism with a secular spirit, which is implanted not so much in the race as in a socio-cultural system and which will be regenerated over the course of time by patient work at the grassroots. He writes that ideology of the RSS did not develop a theory of the state and the race, a crucial elements in European nationalisms; Nazism and Fascism"[121] and that the RSS leaders were interested in cultural unity rather than racial homogeneity.[122]
The likening of Sangh Parivar to "fascism" by Western critics has been critiqued by Jyotirmaya Sharma as an "attempt by them to make sense" of the growth of extremist politics and intolerance within their society. And that such "simplistic transference" has done great injustice to our knowledge of Hindu nationalist politics.[123] Belgian scholar Dr Koenraad Elst, points out that such accusations have come mainly from the Marxist academia in India and abroad and that they are less driven by facts than by their ideological zeal. He also criticises the Hindu organisations for being "piecemeal" in their replies to such "polemical" accusations.[124]
The RSS has been censured for its involvement in communal riots in at least six reports by judges who presided over commissions of inquiry:
- Jaganmohan Reddy report on the Ahmedabad riots 1969
- D.P. Madon report on the Bhiwandi riots in 1970
- Vithayathil report on the Tellicherry riots in 1971
- Jitendra Narayan report on the Jamshedpur riots in 1979
- P. Venugopal report on the Kanyakumari riots of 1982
- report on the Bhagalpur riots in 1989[125]
"After giving careful and serious consideration to all the materials that are on record,the Commission is of the view that the RSS with its extensive organisation in jamshedpur and which had close links with the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh had a positive hand in creating a climate which was most propitious for the outbreak of communal disturbances." "In the first instance, the speech of Shri Deoras (delivered just five days before the Ram Navami festival) tended to encourage the Hindu extremists to be unyielding in their demands regarding Road No. 14. Secondly, his speech amounted to communal propaganda. Thirdly,the shakhas and the camps that were held during the divisional conference presented a militant atmosphere to the Hindu public. In the circumstances, the commission cannot but hold the RSS responsible for creating a climate for the disturbances that took place on the 11th of April, 1979"
I have no doubt that the RSS had taken an active part in rousing up anti-muslim feeling among the Hindus of Tellicherry and in preparing the background for the disturbances. The same can be said about the Jan Sang also. Although there may not be any official connection between the Jan Sang and The RSS, the RSS is generally regarded as the military wing of Jan Sang and the Jan Sang The political wing of RSS"
Members of the Indian National Congress have alleged that former RSS members may have been behind 29 September 2008 Western India bombings.[130]
Allegation of Involvement in Riots and Violence
The Human Rights Watch group has accused Vishwa Hindu Parishad (World Hindu Council, VHP), Bajrang Dal, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to have been directly involved in violence against Muslims which erupted after 56 Hindus were burnt alive in a coach of Sabarmati Express train at Godhra station. Local VHP, BJP and BD leaders have been named in many police reports filed by eyewitnesses.[131] Contrary to the accusations made by Human Rights Watch, RSS and VHP made appeals to put an end to the violence. They asked their volunteers, sympathizers and friends to prevent any activity that might disrupt peace.[132]
2008 Anti-Christian Riots in Orissa
RSS along with its offshoot organizations Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), Bajrang Dal (BD) and Hindu Jagaran Sammukhya (HJS) stand accused of orchestrating the August 2008 anti-Christian riots in Orissa by Christian groups.[133]
A US-based Christian charity working in Orissa claimed that Hindu extremists were offering money, food and alcohol to mobs to kill Christians and destroy their homes.[133] RSS denied these allegations calling them "absolutely false" and in turn blamed Congress for the pogrom.[133][134] The violence was triggered by the murder of a senior VHP member Swami Lakshamananda Saraswati.[135] VHP blamed Christians and called for revenge, even though Maoist militants claimed responsibility for the killing.[133] RSS/HJS blamed Mr. Radha Kanta Nayak, a member of Congress party of being responsible for the killing and accused his NGO, World Vision of being involved in religious conversions.[134]
The RSS denied these allegations calling them "absolutely false" and in turn blamed Congress for the pogrom.[133][134] The violence was triggered by the murder of a senior VHP member Swami Lakshamananda Saraswati.[135] VHP blamed Christians and called for revenge, even though Maoist militants claimed responsibility for the killing.[133] RSS/HJS blamed Radhakant Nayak, a Christian member of Congress party of being responsible for the killing and accused his NGO,World Vision of being involved in religious conversions.[134]
Alleged involvement in Babari Masjid demolition
The Liberhan Commission report accused the Sangh Parivar of being the chief architect of Babari Masjid demolition.[136][137] The Commission said- "The blame or the credit for the entire temple construction movement at Ayodhya must necessarily be attributed to the Sangh Parivar".[138] It also noted that the Sangh Parivar is an "extensive and widespread organic body", which encompasses organizations, which address and assimilate just about every type of social, professional and other demographic grouping of individuals.
-
- "Each time, a new demographic group has emerged, the Sangh Parivar has hived off some of its RSS inner-core leadership to harness that group and bring it within the fold, enhancing the voter base of the Parivar."[139]
The RSS has disputed the reliability and objectivity of the report. Former RSS chief K S Sudarshan said the mosque was demolished by the government men and not by the Karsevaks, and that the commission reports are fabricated and motivated primarily by anti-Indian sentiment than any objective desire to seek justice."[140]
On the other hand, the Government of India's white paper dismissed the demolition of the disputed structure as preplanned.[141]
"...Everything was normal, the karseva was proceeding ‘as per the plan’ of the organisers;
but ‘in a sudden development’ the karsevaks broke the police cordon and entered the
structure in large numbers and then the demolition took place.— White paper released by the Government of India[141]
Opposition leader Arun Jaitley, whose party's name was mentioned in the report[142] described the Liberhan Commission report as a ‘tragedy of errors’ and a ‘national joke’.[143] Further, Asian Tribune's J N Raina calls the Liberhan Commission's report as 'absurd' and compares it to the fictional tale Alif Laila.[144]
