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In the Name of God

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In the Name of God In The Name of God University of Tehran Faculty of World Studies Department of Indian Studies Thesis Title Globalisation and Hindu Radicalism in India By Seyed Mostafa Mostafavi Supervisor Dr. Heshmat Sadat Moinifar Adviser Dr. Seyed Sadrodin Moosavi Jashni Referee Dr. Ali Naqi Baqershahi A dissertation for the Graduate Studies Office in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Indian Studies 15- September 2014 ii There are two most excellent virtues none above them; the belief in the almighty God and benefiting people and there are two most wicked vices none beyond them; polytheism and hurting people. The great prophet of Islam Mohammad (pbuh) Religions are not for separating men from one Another, they are meant to bind them. Mahatma Gandhi The need of the moment is not one religion but mutual respect and tolerance of the devotees of different religions. We want to reach not the dead level but unity in diversity. Any attempt to root out traditions, effects of heredity, climate and other surroundings is not only bound to fail but is a sacrilege. The soul of religion is one but it is encased in a multitude of forms. The latter will persist to the end of time. Wise men will ignore the outward crust and see the same soul living under a variety of crusts1. Mahatma Gandhi “No democracy can long survive which does not accept as fundamental to its very existence 2 the recognition of the right of minorities” Franklin Roosevelt 1 - Young India, Sept. 25, 1925. 2 - Sebastian Vempeny, Minorities in Contemporary India (New Delhi: Kanishka Publishers, 2003), p.186. iii Abstract Inevitable conflict between religious groups is an insisted academic view (C.S.W, 2011) and plural-diversified Indian religion-culture case also shows such a fact, but this study maintains that the globalisation trends have reduced communal tensions by radical Hindu elements against minorities3 in India. At the root of Indian subcontinent’s partition, it can recognise a kind of distinctive antagonism between Hindu4 and Muslim5 (and other minorities, like Christians6, even Sikhs, Buddhists and Jains7 and others8, especially Muslims) as two major communities of India. Therefore, it affected India’s communal atmosphere with long history of religious pluralism and tolerance. Hinduism9 believes in equality of all religions; the greatest threat to this norm comes from the Hindu nationalist ideology, adopted by a body of organizations known collectively as ‘The Sangh Parivar’10. Violence and discrimination are the most commonly adopted by them against Indian religious minorities. At the heart of the Sangh’ ideology is the concept of a ‘Hindu Nation’11, which, exclude non-Hindu Indians, and denies their fundamental rights in the society. The duality that existed till now, and is erupted frequently in different faces like communal riots12 everywhere in India and takes especially Indian minorities lives and destroys their properties..., whose cause is the same, occurs in different sites. The continuation of hatred for a long time has caused brutality and cold-hearted actions against Indian minorities who are taken hostage by communalists only for political goals. An endless violence whose price is paid by poor, backward and innocent minorities. Nevertheless, it is about more than one decade that this process is being reduced or at least its risen trend is going to stop and long communal violence seems to have opened many Indian 3 - The vast majority of communal violence in post-Independence India has been perpetrated against Muslims. 4 - based on 2001 census, Hindus accounted for 80.5 per cent of the Indian population. 5 - 2001 census constituted Muslims 13.4 per cent, the third largest Muslim population in the world after Indonesia and Pakistan, with large concentrations in Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Bihar states. 6 - Christians were the third largest religious community in India, with 2.3 per cent 7 - Sikhs, Buddhists and Jains together accounted for 3.1 per cent of Indian population. 8 - 0.6 per cent of Indians belonged to other religions or persuasions. 0.1 per cent did not state their religion. 9 - The Gandhian ideal of “sarva dharma samabhav” as a common tenet of Hinduism, which literally means that all Dharma s (truths) are equal to or harmonious with each other. In recent times, this statement has been taken as meaning "all religions are the same" - that all religions are merely different paths to God or the same spiritual goal. And the Nehruvian pole of dharma Nirpekshta (equal indifference to all religions). 10 - Sangh Parivar (Family of Associations): The VHP, RSS, BJP, Bajrang dal, Shiv Senna… are the ‘family’ of Hindu nationalist groups of which the parliamentary face is the BJP. They united by belief in Hindutva or Hindu-ness, specifically, Hinduism as political ideology, and aims at the creation of the Hindu Rashtra, the Hindu nation. It is includes three frontline groups, the RSS (National Organization of Volunteers), the VHP (World Hindu Council), and an associated student organization called the ABVP (All India Student’s Council). The Hindu nationalist agenda is also pushed forth by ancillary organizations that are not commonly associated with religious fundamentalist groups, such as labour unions, think tanks or rural development organizations. For instance, the Sangh Parivar includes a very prominent trade union, the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS, Indian Workers Union), which at times has been active in voicing its opposition to foreign economic linkages. Likewise, RSS affiliates such as the Seva Vibhag (SV, Service Department), the Bharat Vikas Parishad (BVP) and the Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram (VKA) are non- governmental organizations that have been active in working with India’s tribal communities. Finally, the Vidhya Bhararti (VB, Indian Enlightenment) are a network of schools. The Deendayal Research Institute (DRI) has undertaken research work on rural development. 11 - as they named it “Hindu Rashtra” 12 - Communal violence must be seen as being more than just a challenge to law and order, but as the outworking of a highly negative view of relations between religious communities. iv eyes; as well as some Muslim’s leaders who now realize that they should focus on the real difficulties of their people, like poverty and marginalization... It is the only path to follow whatever the interference of politics and politicians, who are more than ever able to play dangerous games. The price of democracy is indeed extremely high, that paid by Indians during and after the independent struggle against foreign occupiers. In addition, globalization effects helped Indians to know their real problems and take distance from politicized religious leaders, who are following their goals and abuse people’s religious sentiments to gain power. This research is important because the world speaks of India as a ‘superpower’ during upcoming thirty years and as Carrier (2012) cautions to be ready to confront Hinduism, when Hindu nationalism is on the rise there, not in decline. The objective of the present study is to discuss the effects of globalization on Hindu radicalism. The main hypothesis of this research is that globalization reduces Hindu radicalism. The hypothesis, which studied through documental and historical-analytical method. Keywords Radicalism, Hinduism, Globalisation, Hindutva, Sangh Parivar, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Minority, Lok Sabha, Saffron v Dedicated To my wife S. Ebrahimi for her Support, Kindness, Compassion, Encouragement, Understanding and Sacrifices that helped me to move ahead and writing this thesis. In addition, to my daughters and son who have been patient with my post graduate studies. vi Acknowledgments I should like to thank all my professors at the Department of Indian Studies; Faculty of World Studies; The University of Tehran, for their support and advices that helped me learn many things. Special Thanks to my supervisor Dr. Heshmat Sadat Moinifar (Head of the Department of Indian Studies, Faculty of World Studies; The University of Tehran) who led me steadily and to my advisor Dr. Seyed Sadrodin Moosavi Jashni who kindly helped me to write this thesis. In addition, I should be thankful to Dr. Ali Naqi Baqershahi who as referee, refers me to improve my thesis’s weak points at final step. In addition, I would like to thank my late father and mother for their efforts in raising me in to the person I am today. vii Table of Contents Chapter One ................................................................................................................................ 1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 1 Main Research Questions ......................................................................................................... 4 Hypotheses .............................................................................................................................. 4 Methodology ........................................................................................................................... 5 Literature Review ..................................................................................................................... 5 Delimitation and limitations of the study .................................................................................. 6 Definition of Key Terms ...........................................................................................................
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