Despite the huge Hindu vote, Narendra Modi govt yet to fulfil Hindu demands: Sanathan Sanstha

Founded in 1999 by renowned hypnotherapist Jayant Balaji Athavale, Hindu radical organisation Sanathan Sanstha is in the eye of a storm for its alleged links to the murder of left-liberal thinker Govind Pansare in Kolhapur in February 2015. The group first experienced controversy after the 2009 Madgaon blasts. That apart, the killings of two other prominent liberal thinkers Narendra Dabholkar and MM Kalburgi have also raised fingers against the Goa-based organisation. Dabholkar was murdered on 20 August, 2013, in Pune. Kalburgi, a Kannada writer, was shot dead on 30 August, 2015, in Dharwad district in Karnataka. All along, the Sanstha has denied the allegations as baseless and has claimed that the charges are framed to defame the organisation which is into spiritual service.

In an exclusive interview with Firstpost, Abhay Vartak, senior functionary and spokesperson of the Sanathan Sanstha, explained the group’s view on various critical issues, including the allegations against the outfit. Vartak said that the Narendra Modi government is yet to take concrete steps to fulfil the ‘just’ demands of Hindus on a host of issues including the Ram Janmabhoomi issue, displacement of Kashmiri Hindus, a Common Civil Code, a law to ban cow slaughter and religious conversion etc. “More than the Hindu organisations like ours being unfairly treated, we need to ascertain whether the government is impartial and listens to the issues raised by Hindus,” said Vartak.

Here are some edited excerpts from the interview:

In the recent past, there have been controversies surrounding Sanatan Sanstha and Hindu Janajagruti Samiti. There have been calls to ban the organisation. How do you respond? There is a saying that goes, “Call the dog mad and shoot him!”. The calls that you mention are very much in line with this saying. In the Madgaon bomb blast case of 2009, six seekers of the Sanatan Sanstha were arrested; however, all of them were acquitted by the court. Merely 15 minutes after the Madgaon bomb blast, the then home minister of the Congress-led government had accused Sanatan Sanstha of being involved in the blast. In such cases, the permission of the district collector is required to file an FIR; however, permission was instead taken from the Union home ministry headed by P Chidambaram. In its verdict, the honourable court had stated, ‘The veracity of the FIR is seriously in doubt’. The court had further added that ‘facts stated in the FIR appear to be manipulated with an intention to rope in the Sanatan Sanstha in the offence’.

‘History repeats,’ they say. Even now, they are unable to find the true culprits; and hence, Samir Gaikwad has been arrested. This attitude of the police has devastated the lives of many Hindus. A few minutes after the murder of Dabholkar, the then chief minister of Maharashtra Prithviraj Chauhan straight away said, “There is a hand of tje Nathuram Godse ideology in the murder” and mind you, the investigation had not even begun. Thereafter, the Sanstha’s ashrams were repeatedly raided, hundreds of seekers subjected to inquiry, many were simply picked up by the cops. We have been targeted even after being found innocent. There was so much mudslinging from 15 to 30 September that year about Samir Gaikwad. What is the result? Today, the police has no evidence to run that court case.

The same thing is seen happening in the case of recently-arrested Virendrasingh Tawde . The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is seen presenting less concrete evidence to the court and more verbal evidence in front of the media. In fact, the court has reprimanded the agency in very strong words for this CBI-sponsored media trial. There have been repeated allegations about the Sanstha’s role in the murders of liberal thinkers — Pansare, Dabholkar and Kalburgi. All these allegations are baseless. After Dabholkar was murdered, we wrote to the police and informed them about the likely possibilities. We repeatedly informed them that there could be various reasons for the murder such as large-scale misappropriation of the funds in Dabholkar’s trust, Naxalite links, the receipt of huge amounts from overseas as funds for the trust etc. In fact, we had even filed suits against him in the democratic manner about maligning Sanatan Sanstha. Had he been alive, he would be behind the bars by now as a result of those court cases.

A similar thing happened in case of Pansare. He was at the forefront of the agitation for abolition of toll in Kolhapur, he had handled various such issues through the medium of the labour unions. We had written to the police that there could be other reasons behind his murder and they should be investigated; sadly, in both the cases, the police overlooked what Sanatan Sanstha was saying and instead, began the investigation in the directions suggested by the politicians as revenge. Kalburgi himself had generated an array of enemies. He, by his highly controversial and demeaning statements, had hurt the Lingayat sect in particular and Hindus in general, no end. He had made many statements such as “Even if I urinate on Shiva Pindi, God can do me no harm”. As a result there were sourt cases filed against him at many places. There were agitations staged by the Lingayats against him.

What is your view on the new term gaining popularity in discussions: Hindu terror? First and foremost there is nothing as ‘saffron terrorism’ or ‘Hindu terror’. It was all a political conspiracy. This is amply clear from the statement made by the chief secretary in the office of the then home minister P Chidambaram. The Congress was simply unable to control the continuously growing jihadi terrorism; hence, it tried to mislead society by creating the bogey of ‘saffron terrorism’ and thereby, balance ‘jihadi terrorism’. The thought of safeguarding the minority votebank was also behind the creation of this bogey. The words ‘Hindu’ and ’terrorism’ can never dwell together. Attacking others for spreading the rule (kingdom) or for religion is not at all the attitude of Hindus. ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ (The entire earth is one family) is the teaching of Hindu dharma. Such fabricated charges were made knowingly against the ‘tolerant to the core’ Hindus and not a single charge was proved. When Islamic terrorism is playing havoc all over the world and the majority of assassinations of Muslims have been because of jihadi terrorism, will anyone dare use the term ‘jihadi terrorism’ or ‘Muslim terrorism’ ?

How is Hinduism positioned today in the new world order? Hindu dharma is anadi (without origin) and anant (eternal). It is nityanutan (always new) and hence, it will never be outdated. With the passage of time, there could be changes in the methods of worship and abiding by dharma; however, the principle in Sanatan Dharma is un-transformable. ‘There are as many temperaments as there are people and corresponding numbers of paths of ‘spiritual practice’. This is an all-encompassing principle in Hindu dharma. It is because of this ideology that people of different faiths such as Jews, Parsis, Christians, Muslims, Buddhists etc, have been accommodated in Hindu culture. This broad-mindedness, the all-encompassing nature, guidance on attaining moksha (final liberation) and not heaven are a few things that exemplify the uniqueness of Hindu dharma. And so, irrespective of the progress made by the world, Hindu dharma continues to remain the supreme dharma to grace mankind and will remain so in the future. Taking into account the violence in the Arab world, increasing depression and immorality among Europeans and Americans, many are today attracted to Hinduism. Please note that only Hinduism will be the support of the world in times to come.

Of late, there have been increasing instances of spotting Islamic State-linked operatives in India. How serious is the issue in your view? This is a very serious problem. The Islamic State wants to transform the entire world into an Islamic State. They want to categorise non-Muslims as kafirs and kill them. The IS has already declared that its next target is India. The news of hundreds of youths from India having gone to Iraq to enrol themselves in the IS has already appeared in newspapers. Not just that, they intend to conquer the entire India by 2022 and rename it ‘Khorasan’ and this goal of the IS is being displayed along with the map on websites. An organisation that was limited to Iraq till a few months back has spread its wings and is being deeply rooted in many a countries. Thinking only about India, statistics published last year show that 25,000 individual had shown their willingness to participate in the war for the Islamic State, of which 3,000 individuals have applied for visas to go to Iraq.

In the past year, over 50 Muslim youths have been arrested for their being in contact with the IS. Anti-national acts of shouting slogans in support of IS, waving its flag etc are occurring in states such as Kerala and West Bengal. In Kashmir, youths leaving mosque after Friday prayers changint slogans in support of the IS and waving their flag is a common occurrence. What does this signify? Things do not end here. Individuals like the Owaisis publicly agree to represent the followers of the IS in court cases free of cost. It is a misfortune for India and a gross failure of democracy that such an individual has been elected as a Member of Parliament. It is very clear that if stringent action is not taken against the members of this organisation, then there is going to be an anarchy-like situation in times to come. The fear is that if these fanatics step into tolerant India, they, with the help of their local followers, will categorise the Hindus as kafirs and slit their throats! It is time Hindus decide how are they going to face this threat.

Recently, the Ulema council had passed a resolution against the IS in which they had denounced the terrorist organisation. This is a positive aspect. Many Hindu organisations have united and started a movement called ‘India against Islamic State’. Every day, their website gives news about the danger posed by the IS  and the awakening about this threat. According to me, this movement is a ray of hope.

Do the Muslim community and its religious leaders pose any threat to the secular fabric of the country and its idea of religious pluralism? Talking without evidence about whether or not there is a threat, will be improper on my part; however, there are a whole lot of incidents occurring almost every day that put a question mark on their intent. Here are a few examples: Leaders such as Akbaruddin Owaisi, Abu Azmi and Azam Khan have made these highly provocative statements — ‘Set aside the police for 15 minutes, we will finish off 100 crore Hindus’, ‘Should Aurangabad be named Sambhajinagar, there will be massive bloodshed’, ‘Kargil war was not won by Hindu soldiers, but by the Muslim soldiers’ respectively. Then, 50,000 Muslims gathered in Azad Maidan in Mumbai to protest the injustice meted out to the Muslims in Myanmar and resorted to rioting, in which they damaged vehicles of the police and journalists. Not even public transport buses were spared. Then, one lakh Muslims gathered in Malda in West Bengal and burned a police outpost. Such behaviour by these people has definitely endangered the secular fabric of the nation and the religious unity. It is time patriotic Muslims come forward and oppose this menace.

What is your opinion about Islamic preacher Zakir Naik, who allegedly inspired the IS terrorists? Zakir Naik is a preacher of Wahhabiism. This sect advocates being a staunch follower of Islam. This is not a question of merely propagation for becoming a staunch follower of Islam. Naik resorts to practices such as spreading hatred about other religions and hurting their religious sentiments. While comparing Hindu dharma and Islam, he misguides people by misquoting some of the shlokas in the Vedas and Puranas and thereby, instigating them to convert to Islam. During the Ganesh Chaturthi festival of 2011, he had made highly provocative statements that hurt the religious sentiments of Hindus such as ‘Prove that Ganapati is a God and I shall partake of His prasad’, ‘How can a God that beheads his own son — who cannot look after himself, look after your wellbeing?’

In 2012, we had filed many police complaints against him in this regard. They also include four FIRs filed in Mumbai, Solapur, Sawantwadi and Akola. He was forced to cancel his programmes in Mumbai. Since Peace TV — owned by him — is involved in anti-national broadcasts, it has been banned by the Government of India; however, the programmes are being broadcast regularly in Muslim-dominated areas. We have also brought this aspect to the notice of the government. The Congress had conveniently turned a blind eye towards the issue. Even now, the process of taking action against Naik has started in India only after Bangladesh filed a report on him. The danger this man brings can be understood from the few examples given below.

Sahil Sheikh involved in the chain explosions of 2006, Najibullah Zazi — the mastermind of the terrorist attack on New York in 2009, recently-arrested Ibrahim Yazdani — the head of the IS in Bhagyanagar (Hyderabad) were all influenced by the speeches of Naik. Kafil Ahmed, who conducted a terrorist attack on Glasgow airport in Scotland, had in fact attended a 10-day-camp by Naik. Christian-majority nations such as England and Canada have banned entry to Naik on account of his involvement in terrorist activities and supporting Osama Bin Laden. He has also been banned from delivering speeches in Muslim nations like Malaysia. Naik’s Islamic Research Foundation has been termed a sister organisation on the website of the terrorist organisation Jamat-ul-Dawa. All these are very serious matters and extremely dangerous for the security of the nation. Naik, who on the pretext of being an ambassador of peace, is trying to bring about the silence of a cemetery, should be immediately imprisoned.

How do you evaluate the Narendra Modi government’s approach to Hindu organisations? Ever since 2013, when Narendra Modi was declared the prime ministerial candidate, all Hindus hoped that Modi, who is staunchly patriotic and who does not shy away from calling himself a Hindu, would solve their problems. Whatever claims the BJP might be making about getting votes of all Indian citizens, it remains an open secret that a majority of Hindus voted for the BJP during the last Parliamentary elections. Since assuming power, Modi has been working relentlessly, has been making sincere efforts for the progress of the nation. We do not have an iota of a doubt about his efforts in this regard; however, the Modi government has yet not taken any concrete steps to fulfil the just demands of Hindus.

The government has taken step to purify the Holy Ganga, however, the government’s stance on a whole lot of dharma-related issues such as Ram Janmabhoomi issue, displacement of the Kashmiri Hindus, Common Civil Code, a law to ban cow slaughter, law to ban conversion, cracking down on the menace of infiltration from Bangladesh, love jihad, the takeover of the temples by the government etc is not clear. Even today, Kashmir is far from peaceful; the state of Hindus from Kerala and Bengal is dreadful, Asaram Bapu and Sadhvi Pragya Singh are imprisoned; clouds of a ban are still hovering on a patriotic organisation such as Sanatan Sanstha. There are organisations that have taken up the above mentioned issues individually/collectively; however, the sad part is that due to the government’s indifference to these issues, the organisations have no one to fall back on (for support).

Do you have a feeling that Hindu organisations, like that of yours, are being unfairly treated? More than the Hindu organisations like ours being unfairly treated, we need to ascertain if the government is impartial and listens to the issues raised by Hindus with the same intensity as it listens to the issues raised by the atheists, rationalists etc. We have stopped keeping a count of fabricated allegations made against the Sanatan Sanstha and mind you, not one, even as an exception has been proved. On the other hand, the family members of Dabholkar and Pansare are pressuring the government no end with an attitude, It’s almost as if “never mind if the real culprits are not found, implicate Sanatan Sanstha”. They have been meeting the Maharashtra chief minister on numerous occasions and he is listening to them and giving them promises and to an extent, is also acting accordingly.

Conversely, Sanatan Sanstha has sought an appointment with the chief minister on a number of occasions, and yet, he has not complied even once. Mind you, we are not demanding the release of our seekers who have been arrested. In fact, we are asking the government to commence the trial against them and punish them if found guilty; at the same time however, if they are innocent, why do injustice to them ? To date, Sanatan’s seekers have been accused first and then acquitted. All that we expect from this pro-Hindu government is that they also give time to listen to the woes of devout Hindu organisations.

What is the biggest challenge the Sangh Parivar is facing at this stage? The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) is a very big organisation. They have lakhs of Swayamsevaks. We have no doubt that they are competent enough to handle the issues and challenges they are facing today. The spread of the social service performed by Sangh Parivar is vast. Fundamentally, the RSS was founded with the far-sighted aim of uniting Hindus and establishing the Hindu nation. Even today, there is a mention of the Hindu nation in the RSS prayer. We think that re-establishing the Hindu nation as described in the RSS prayer is a big challenge for the Sangh Parivar. Taking into consideration vices such as corruption, immorality, greediness etc seen among RSS-groomed politicians — meaning the BJP — we think that transforming the existing situation and producing ideal rulers is a very big challenge that the RSS is facing.