Hindu Taliban

Hindu Taliban is a term sometimes used by tolerant or "secular" Hindus to describe the supporters of the Hindutva movement. Fritz Blackwell, associate professor of history at Washington State University, in his book India: A Global Studies Handbook writes, tolerant or "secular" Hindus claim that the Hindutva movement is not supported by majority of Hindus. Indian journalist, political analyst and activist Praful Bidwai describes the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and other related organizations as Hindu Taliban.

Usage

Political analyst Amulya Ganguli in his article Rise of the Hindu Taliban? writes:

"Even as the veiled women fundamentalists of a religious seminary in Islamabad are threatening video shop owners and setting a deadline for the introduction of Shariah laws in Pakistan, their Hindu counterparts in India have also become active, underlining a retrogressive tendency towards the Talibanization of the entire subcontinent."

New York-based journalist Tunku Varadarajan, who is Hindu by faith, wrote in an article dated January 11, 1999 in The New York Times, "What we are witnessing in India is the growth of a sort of Hindu Taliban movement. Although it is difficult to gauge the numbers accurately, the various extremist groups are believed to have tens of thousands of supporters." He then described the violence against religious minorities in India by Hindutva activists.

"The most fanatical representatives of these taboo-driven attitudes today are India's arch-conservatives - the Hindu Taliban."
Praful Bidwai on conservative attitude in Indian society and its relation with Hindu nationalism

New Delhi-based journalist Kuldip Nayar in an article titled India's Hindu Taliban published in Pakistan's Dawn on January 25, 2008 wrote that the Indian state of Gujarat continued to be in the grip of the Hindu Taliban who destroyed the office of the NDTV at Ahmedabad because the channel reported that Indian artist M.F. Husain was the people's choice for the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian award. Hussain faces danger to his life because of fatwas from the Hindu Taliban. While Nayar also criticized Islamic fundamentalists describing them as "Muslim Taliban" because they demonstrated against the Godrej for their hosting of Salman Rushdie, a prominent critic of Islam and the author of the novel The Satanic Verses, he asserted that this "Muslim Taliban" in India might be less active than the Hindu Taliban.

M.P. Prabhakaran, author of book The historical origin of India's underdevelopment published by the University Press of America, in his online monthly The East-West Inquirer opines the initiative to stop the "Hindu Talibanism" of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), the Shiv Sena and other Hindu sectarian organizations should come from progressive-minded Hindus, who, he believes, form the majority of the Hindu population in India. He described the Hindutva activists who took offense when Hollywood actor Richard Gere kissed Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty in a playful moment as ‘Hindu Taliban’. According to Praful Bidwai, the Hindu nationalist pracharaks, who he describes as Hindu Taliban, are forced to be ascetic, austere and celibate and are among the most sexually repressed Indian males. He argued that this sexual frustration led them to commit acts of violence which include burning, killing and looting as claimed in the post-Godhra Gujarat.

Indian film director Govind Nihalani in the wake of the protests against the film Fire, which depicted homosexual relations, said "we are witnessing the emergence of a Hindu Taliban." Regarding the anti-Fire protests, Indian journalist and gay rights activist Ashok Row Kavi in his article Expose the Hindu Taliban! wrote "This whole business of fighting Fire with fire displays the ridiculousness of the Indian concept of secularism." He argued the attacks on cinema houses showing Fire were un-Hindu in nature because Hinduism, unlike Christianity and Islam, does not regard homosexuality as a sin and to support his argument he pointed out a quote from the Rigveda: "Vikruti Evam Prakriti" (diversity is what nature is all about). He then pointed out Leviticus in the Old Testament forbids the practice of homosexuality which states 'Thou shall not sleep with a man as thou sleep with a woman', and the punishment is death in both the Torah and in the Qur'an. Since the view on homosexuality in Hinduism differs from that in Christianity and Islam, and the death sentence for homosexuality was being carried out in Afghanistan by the Taliban, Ashok Row Kavi argued " the Shiv Sena activists are actually the Taliban who are falsely claiming to be Hindus."

Journalist Amberish K Diwanji, who served as deputy managing editor at Rediff.com and India Abroad, opines "In the coming years, tackling the growing grip of a radical version of Hindutva, as espoused by the Hindu Taliban groups, will be the biggest challenge that India and Indians will face."

Criticism of the term

Indian journalist and columnist Swapan Dasgupta in a column in India Today dated back to 1999 criticized Tunku Varadarajan's opinion that there is a "growth of a sort of Hindu Taliban movement" in India as "preposterous suggestion". In response to Varadarajan's suggestion, Indian author, columnist and diplomat Navtej Sarna wrote to the editor of The New York Times, "India is not, as Tunku Varadarajan should know (Op-Ed, Jan. 11), a third world country swept by 'shadowy armies' of a 'Hindu Taliban movement'." Praveen Togadia, member of the Hindu nationalist organization Vishva Hindu Parishad, while talking about his "Padshahi yatra," refused to consider the VHP some sort of "Hindu Taliban," while at the same time saying those who describe the VHP as a "Hindu Taliban" and propagate that a VHP rally or programme always results in riots and/or other violence have been silenced as this yatra (Parade) was passed off peaceably.

See also

• American Taliban
• Religious fundamentalism
• Taliban

Further reading

• "When Islamic RSS and Hindu Taliban subverted the Agra summit". Dawn. 2002-07-16. http://www.dawn.com/2002/07/16/fea.htm. Retrieved 2008-11-8.
• Vinay Bharat-Ram (2007-05-31). "Art Imitates Life". The Times of India. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Art_Imitates_Life/articleshow/2087679.cms. Retrieved 2008-11-8.
• AK Roy. "GODHRA AND AFTER-I Another Inquiry Will Be Counter-Productive". The Statesman. http://www.thestatesman.net/page.arcview.php?clid=3&id=83317&usrsess=1. Retrieved 2008-11-8.
• Darryl D'Monte. "Beware the Hindu Taliban!". Rediff.com. http://www.rediff.com/news/1998/aug/19dar.htm. Retrieved 2008-11-8.
• Monu Nalapat. "To Become Global, Act Global". Rediff.com. http://in.rediff.com/news/1999/nov/24monu.htm. Retrieved 2008-11-8.
• Praful Bidwai. "Hindutva vs Sanity". Rediff.com. http://us.rediff.com/news/2002/nov/25praful.htm. Retrieved 2008-11-8.