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A convention of extreme rightwing organisaitons is being held at Ponda in Goa, under the aegis of the Hindu Janajagruti Samiti. According to organisers, the third All India Hindu Convention is being represented by over 125 organisations from India and abroad. The refrain at the convention, according to the press releases, is "call for establishment of India as a Hindu nation", an ideal "long abandoned by the RSS".
These are some of the sample statements made by leaders of these organisations. "To think that the recent change of power at the centre is conducive for the establishment of the Hindu Nation is a delusion, because BJP, the offspring of the RSS, which distances itself from Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and Swatantryaveer Savarkar, will never take up the mission of the Hindu nation. The struggle for the liberation of the Hindus that commenced in the year 711 is not yet over," said national guide of Hindu Janajagruti Samiti Charudatta Pingale.
"A time has come for Hindus to restart the freedom struggle with the same old exceptional will-power and unmatched bravery to protect our self-respect and seats of pride. Mind you, the Hindu Nation is not going to be established through the ballot, it will simply be the culmination of a battle; and hence, Hindu sects and organisations have to blow the bugle for the second freedom struggle," he added.
Speaking at the convention, Harishankar Jain, a lawyer, who is fighting Ayodhya Ram temple case in the Supreme Court, said, "This is the ideal time to make our country a Hindu nation. It is time to implement the slogan 'Jo Hindu hit ki bat karega, vahi desh pe raj karega' (Whoever talks about the welfare of the Hindus will rule the nation). The mission of establishing the Hindu nation has already commenced and the legal experts have also initiated the task of formulating the Constitution. Today the entire world is experiencing the atrocities of the Jihadi terrorism. That has made the establishment of the Hindu nation all the more necessary." Jain had filed a case challenging Sonia Gandhi's election to the Lok Sabha in 1999 from the Amethi constituency on the ground that she was not an Indian citizen.
"Besides, the Ram Mandir, the temples at Kashi and Mathura and also 3,000 other temples, which were converted into mosques, are also to be liberated from the clutches of the Muslims," he added.
Making a scathing attack on the BJP, Hanumant Parab of Govansha Raksha Abhiyan said, "It is really sad that cow-slaughter is continuing in BJP's Manohar Parrikar-ruled state of Goa. When I filed a petition against the on-going cow-slaughter in the high court, I was opposed by the BJP. In the state Assembly, BJP assures the Muslims of help for qurbani during Bakari Id. Yet, we could prevent 65 per cent of the cow-slaughter in the State this year because of the Goraksha Abhiyan." The speakers even called upon Hindus to prepare themselves physically and spiritually to fight against Muslim terrorists.
According to a Sangh watcher, these organisations are trying to capture the space of Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal. "Since Sangh Parivar has given a long rope to Narendra Modi government, extreme rightwing outfits think they can occupy this space. Moreover, whenever the BJP has come to power, VHP and other Sangh organisations have become weak. The 12-year Modi rule in Gujarat has made these organisations redundant," he said. "If they manage to get good following some of their leaders may end up as even BJP candidates or merge with the BJP. Same thing happened in case of Pramod Muttalik of Sri Ram Sena. He couldn't get into the BJP because of public outrage," he added.
According to sources close to the Sangh, after the "saffron terror" allegations, RSS has been keeping a distance from overtly extreme views. "We have even dismissed at least three pracharaks for straying away from our scheme of things," said a senior Sangh office-bearer on condition of anonymity.
However, these organisations pose a threat to social harmony. In Pune, a Muslim techie was recently murdered by volunteers of one of such organisations. Minority communities are also worried about the activities of fringe elements in the Hindu community.
"We have great expectations from Narendra Modi. There are fringe elements in all communities. If Modi could rein in these elements, it would be a great service to the nation," said Father Bento, manager of Father Agnel Group of Institutions, Delhi.
