Skip to main content

Militant, extremist? VHP's religious education in Aussie schools 'alien' to Hindu values

Counterview Desk

Australian arm of the Hindus for Human Rights (HfHR), a Washington DC-based nonprofit organization founded in 2019, which claims to advocate for pluralism as "rooted" in the values of Hindu faith, has taken strong objection to the Vishwa Hindu Parishad of Australia (VHPA) partnering with schools in New South Wales as an approved provider of Special Religious Education, stating, the values VHPA seeks to propagate are contrary to the Hindu view of shanti (peace), nyaya (justice) and satya (truth).
Formed early this year in order to provide "a Hindu voice of resistance to caste, Hindutva (Hindu majoritarianism), and all forms of bigotry and oppression", HfHR Australia said in a statement, "Our children should have the opportunity to learn about different faith traditions and cultures -- but not from organizations which perpetuate hate. Hindu Australians, and indeed all Australians, deserve better."

Text:

On March 5, 2021, New South Wales (NSW) State Senator David Shoebridge asked a brave question during a meeting with State Senator Geoff Lee, the Acting Minister for Sport, Multiculturalism, Seniors and Veterans:
“How did Vishwa Hindu Parishad, which is a right-wing Hindu organisation that is considered a military extremist religious organisation by the CIA, find themselves in New South Wales public schools?”
For the past 23 years, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad of Australia (VHPA) has partnered with schools in New South Wales as an approved provider of Special Religious Education. This is unacceptable. Although the VHPA claims to represent all Australian Hindus, billing itself as “Australia’s largest Hindu organization,” a closer look at the VHPA’s ideology reveals that this is not the case.
VHPA is the Australian affiliate of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), one of India's largest Hindu nationalist organizations. In contrast to Hinduism, which is a diverse group of religious traditions practiced worldwide, Hindu nationalism is a modern political ideology that argues that only Hindus are “true” Indians. In a country where one-fifth of the population is not Hindu, Hindu nationalists believe that Muslims, Christians, and other minorities in India should be relegated to the status of second-class citizens. The VHP’s founders include such figures such as MS Golwalkar, who was more inspired by Nazi Germany than by Hindu teachings:
“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 … a good lesson for us in Hindustan to learn and profit by.” (MS Golwalkar, "We, or Our Nationhood Defined", 1939)
The implication of Golwalkar’s quote above is that Indian Muslims should be dealt with just as German Jews were in the Holocaust. Golwalkar deeply believed that it was impossible for Hindus and Muslims to live peacefully together -- an idea that is in complete contradiction to the ideals of a multicultural country such as Australia:
“Whatever we [Hindus] believed in, the Muslim was wholly hostile to it. If we worship in the temple, he would desecrate it. If we carry on bhajans and car festivals, that would irritate him. If we worship cow, he would like to eat it. If we glorify woman as a symbol of sacred motherhood, he would like to molest her.” (MS Golwalkar, "Bunch of Thoughts", 1966)
Will Subramanian Ramamoorthi, VHPA president, publicly condemn these hateful statements? The VHPA may say that they are separate from the Indian VHP, and are registered as a nonprofit. Yet, their logo is the same, and they publicly advertise events that are being organized by the Indian VHP, such as the World Hindu Congress.
VHPA does not belong in New South Wales schools as a provider of Special Religious Education. Australian children deserve better
For decades, Hindu nationalist organizations have been able to successfully embed themselves in civil society by claiming that they represent a specific religious community. However, the recent attacks on Sikh Australians committed by Hindu extremists are clear signs of what happens when this hateful ideology is allowed to flourish under the guise of multiculturalism.
The VHP’s international affiliates have been spreading this ideology worldwide. Members of the VHP’s American affiliate participated in the January 6 insurrection at the US Capitol in Washington, DC. However, progressive Hindu Americans have been speaking out against the VHP’s ideology. Just a few days ago, a public awareness campaign led by Hindus for Human Rights succeeded in forcing VHP’s American affiliate to cancel a virtual event series featuring Yati Narsinghanand Saraswati, a hate-mongering and Islamophobic Hindu extremist leader in India who has called for the “eradication” of Islam and Muslims.
If VHPA wants its fellow Australians to believe that it is truly a benign community organization working to serve Hindu Australian families, then it must disavow its hateful ideology of Hindutva (Hindu nationalism) and reject all hate perpetuated in the name of religion.
We are Hindu Australians who reject the VHPA’s ideology of Hindu supremacy. VHPA does not belong in New South Wales schools as a provider of Special Religious Education. Our children should have the opportunity to learn about different faith traditions and cultures -- but not from organizations which perpetuate hate. Hindu Australians, and indeed all Australians, deserve better.

Comments

TRENDING

Insider plot to kill Deendayal Upadhyay? What RSS pracharak Balraj Madhok said

By Shamsul Islam*  Balraj Madhok's died on May 2, 2016 ending an era of old guards of Hindutva politics. A senior RSS pracharak till his death was paid handsome tributes by the RSS leaders including PM Modi, himself a senior pracharak, for being a "stalwart leader of Jan Sangh. Balraj Madhok ji's ideological commitment was strong and clarity of thought immense. He was selflessly devoted to the nation and society. I had the good fortune of interacting with Balraj Madhok ji on many occasions". The RSS also issued a formal condolence message signed by the Supremo Mohan Bhagwat on behalf of all swayamsevaks, referring to his contribution of commitment to nation and society. He was a leading RSS pracharak on whom his organization relied for initiating prominent Hindutva projects. But today nobody in the RSS-BJP top hierarchy remembers/talks about Madhok as he was an insider chronicler of the immense degeneration which was spreading as an epidemic in the high echelons of th

Central pollution watchdog sees red in Union ministry labelling waste to energy green

By Chythenyen Devika Kulasekaran*  “Destructors”, “incinerators” and “waste-to-energy (WTE) incineration” all mean the same thing – indiscriminate burning of garbage! Having a history of about one and a half centuries, WTE incinerators have seen several reboots over the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries. 

First-of-its-kind? 'Eco-friendly, low cost' sewage treatment system installed in Gujarat

Counterview Desk Following the installation of the Unconventional Decentralized Multi-Stage Reactor (UDMSR) for sewage treatment, a note on what is claimed to be the  first-of-its-kind technology said, the treated sewage from this system “can be directly utilized for agricultural purposes”, even as proving to be a “saviour in the times of water crisis.”

A Hindu alternative to Valentine's Day? 'Shiv-Parvati was first love marriage in Universe'

By Rajiv Shah*   The other day, I was searching on Google a quote on Maha Shivratri which I wanted to send to someone, a confirmed Shiv Bhakt, quite close to me -- with an underlying message to act positively instead of being negative. On top of the search, I chanced upon an article in, imagine!, a Nashik Corporation site which offered me something very unusual. 

Indo-Bangla border: Farmers facing 'illegal obstacles' in harvesting, transporting yields

  Counterview Desk  In a representation to the chairperson, National Human Rights Commission, human rights defender Kirity Roy, who is secretary, Banglar Manabadhikar Suraksha Mancha (MASUM), has said that Border Security Force (BSF) personnel are creating "illegal obstacles" for farmers seeking to harvest their ripened yields and transport them to the market in village Jhaukuthi of Cooch Behar district.

'Flawed' argument: Gandhi had minimal role, naval mutinies alone led to Independence

Counterview Desk Reacting to a Counterview  story , "Rewiring history? Bose, not Gandhi, was real Father of Nation: British PM Attlee 'cited'" (January 26, 2016), an avid reader has forwarded  reaction  in the form of a  link , which carries the article "Did Atlee say Gandhi had minimal role in Independence? #FactCheck", published in the site satyagrahis.in. The satyagraha.in article seeks to debunk the view, reported in the Counterview story, taken by retired army officer GD Bakshi in his book, “Bose: An Indian Samurai”, which claims that Gandhiji had a minimal role to play in India's freedom struggle, and that it was Netaji who played the crucial role. We reproduce the satyagraha.in article here. Text: Nowadays it is said by many MK Gandhi critics that Clement Atlee made a statement in which he said Gandhi has ‘minimal’ role in India's independence and gave credit to naval mutinies and with this statement, they concluded the whole freedom struggle.

Wasteland, a colonial legacy, being used to 'give away' vast tracts to Ratnagiri refinery

By Fouziya Tehzeeb* William D’Souza, a 55-year old farmer from Kuthethur, Mangalore, was busy mixing cattle feed when we arrived at his doorsteps. Around 25 km from the bustling city of Mangalore, Kuthethur is a lush green village with thick vegetation. On the way to William’s house the idyllic view gets blocked by the flares and smoke arising from the Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited (MRPL).

CAA disregards India's inclusive plural ethos, 'betrays' ideals of freedom struggle: PUCL

Counterview Desk    "Outraged" at the move of the Central government to implement the Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019 (CAA 2019) weeks before the election, the top rights group, People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), has demanded that the law be repealed. 

Buddhist shrines were 'massively destroyed' by Brahmanical rulers: Historian DN Jha

Nalanda mahavihara By Our Representative Prominent historian DN Jha, an expert in India's ancient and medieval past, in his new book , "Against the Grain: Notes on Identity, Intolerance and History", in a sharp critique of "Hindutva ideologues", who look at the ancient period of Indian history as "a golden age marked by social harmony, devoid of any religious violence", has said, "Demolition and desecration of rival religious establishments, and the appropriation of their idols, was not uncommon in India before the advent of Islam".

Invincible, Modi 'taller' than BJP, RSS: An opportunity for Congress beyond 2024?

By NS Venkataraman*  With the announcement of poll schedule for the 2024 parliamentary election, there is palpable excitement and expectation amongst the countrymen  about the shape of things to happen in India after the  results of the election would be announced. There is also speculation abroad about the future course of developments in India.