Religious fanaticism has come to be identified with Islam, courtesy bin Laden. Not surprisingly, therefore, the Hindu Right (HR) organizations in U.S. have escaped the noose. They have, often masquerading as charities, exploited the largesse of the large Indian diaspora (as also ill-informed Americans) to fund their anti-minorities activities in India. That they operate from the shadows, and under the garb of being cultural organizations, have given them undue legitimacy. The Yuvasangam ( Youth Forum) planned in Indianapolis (from October 4th to 6th) by the Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh (HSS), an offspring of the abominable Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), needs to be seen in this context. What really are the RSS and its affiliates up to, and why is Hindu fanaticism relevant in the U.S? I will try to answer this in what follows.


The recent anti-Muslim pogrom in the Western Indian state of Gujarat which claimed more than 2000 lives is a chilling reminder of the Nazi holocaust. Human Rights Watch (HRW ) observed: "What happened in Gujarat was not a spontaneous uprising, it was a carefully orchestrated attack against Muslims. The attacks were planned in advance and organized with extensive participation of the police and state government officials ... The groups most directly involved in the violence against Muslims include the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (World Hindu Council, VHP), the Bajrang Dal, the RSS and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) that heads the Gujarat state (as well as Indian national) government. Collectively, they are known as the sangh parivar, or family of Hindu nationalist organizations ... "


Soon after the pogrom, the RSS declared : "Let the Muslims understand that their real safety lies in the goodwill of the majority." Shocking? Not really, for this is only a paraphrase of what M.S.Golwalkar, their second President, said: "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 ... 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 Hindusthan to learn and profit by ... in one word, they (Muslims) must cease to be foreigners or may stay in the country wholly subordinated to the Hindu nation claiming nothing, deserving no privileges, far less any preferential treatment, not even citizen's rights." And the VHP international working President Ashok Singhal proclaimed, "We were successful in our experiment of raising Hindu consciousness, which will be repeated all over the country now ... People say I praise Gujarat. Yes I do." Waxing eloquent about how whole villages had been 'emptied of Islam', he went on to threaten the Muslims that unless they behave, "they will have to stay in [refugee] camps across the country", in a veiled reference to the more than 98,000 Muslims languishing in squalid camps. The ruling BJP hopes to exploit this communal polarization to further its grip on power, as a senior BJP leader revealed, "if [Gujarat Chief Minister] Modi stands today from any constituency in India, Hindus will vote for him."


The RSS/VHP's claim to represent the Hindus ruffled quite a few feathers here. Kanwal Rekhi, global chairman of The IndUS Entrepreneurs, an organization of South Asian business-people, wrote in the Wall Street Journal: "Many overseas Indian Hindus - including some in this country - finance religious groups in India in the belief that the funds will be used to build temples, and educate and feed the poor of their faith. Many would be appalled to know that some recipients of their money are out to destroy minorities (Christians as well as Muslims) and their places of worship." He further suggested that the Indian Prime Minister could stem the rot by labeling them terrorists. In June this year, while testifying to the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, Robert M. Hathaway, director of the Asia Programme at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars (Washington, DC) demanded an inquiry into the HR's fund-raising activities in the US. The recent expose of the HR sources of funding in the US reveals the flagrant misuse of funds collected in the name of charity to promote religious bigotry. For instance, the India Development and Relief Fund (IDRF), one of the most prominent charities, has donated $2,50,000 in the last four years to Sewa Bharati Madhyakshetra, an RSS affiliate, which claims to "protect the tribal people from subversion, and integrate them into the mainstream." Noted anti-communal activist Teesta Setalvad reports that several of the Dalits and tribals have been put on the HR's payroll for a monthly honorarium of Indian Rupees 1500 ($30) or more. When seen in context with the large-scale participation, for the first time, of the tribals and Dalits (the social outcasts in the Hindu caste system) in the Gujarat pogrom, IDRF does seem to have blood on its hands. As one moves from the U.S. to Britain, VHPA becomes VHP (UK), but the modus operandi remains the same. Gautam Appa from the London School of Economics reports that the contribution of VHP (UK) and HSS to "the work of the Sangh Parivar in India in terms of propaganda and fund raising is not insignificant. According to the charity commissioner's records, the two main charities associated with VHP (UK) and the HSS had collected nearly one million pounds in the last financial year. It is common knowledge that a large chunk of the overt and covert collection ends up in India in the hands of the Sangh Parivar."


In the aftermath of the WTC attacks, President Bush issued an executive order on terrorist financing, "blocking property and prohibiting transactions with persons who commit, threaten to commit, or support terrorism." He went on to impose financial sanctions on 27 terrorists (individuals and organizations). If one goes by the FBI definition of terrorism , as "the unlawful use of force or violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives", the Hindu fanatic organizations listed above obviously fit the bill. As for the legal interpretation, Mr Hathaway says, "If the money was used to foment violence, it could fall under US anti-terrorism statutes."


The HR's brand of fanaticism is no less evil than that of bin Laden's. It would be foolhardy to single out the Muslim fanatics while exonerating their equally, if not more, egregious Hindu brethren. Letting a free run to the HR will not only claim more Muslim lives in India, but selective targeting of Muslims and the bitterness it entails will also strengthen the Muslim fanatics. The HR hasn't declared war on America, but it is no pushover either. A few months back, the American Museum of Natural History canceled the screening of an award winning documentary by Anand Patwardhan, after it threatened violence. A stunning capitulation to religious terrorism, even as a War on Terror is on! It will be a tragedy if the US government doesn't wake up to the machinations of the RSS/HSS/VHP. In the interim, we could spread the message in our respective communities.


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