Open Letter to Sh. Mohan Bhagwat, Chief Functionary of the RSS
Namaste Bhagwat ji,
As i write this, Delhi is voting in the 6th phase of this massive election and hopefully we will all see Sh. Narendra Modi come back to power for another 5 years.
Many Hindus, including myself, take this election to bring back Narendra Modi as a civilizational battle to protect the Hindu civilization from decline in the land of its birth.
Tens of millions of us had wet eyes when we saw Modi ji on TV take a Ganga-Snana (गंगा-स्नान) and chant ‘mantras’ (मंत्र) during the Kumbh Mela earlier this year. In the pursuit of secularism the Indian state and it’s elected heads forgot that they are inheritors of the thousands of years old Indian civilization and that this nation bereft of it’s spiritual roots will simply be a lump of land, soul-less, bereft of its core values. They forgot that the basis of this nation and its core-values has been the Hindu values upon which have risen the world’s greatest faiths and religions, and, have sustained peacefully, several others which entered from the west.
Finally, in Narendra Modi we have a practicing Hindu as an elected Prime Minister, not ashamed of demonstrating his Hindu-ness (and on the contrary proud of it). This has been rejuvenating.
However, i wish to draw your attention to a few issues which will continue to tie the Hindu society down in a quandary and prevent its re-invigoration even if Modi ji were to come back to power.
1. Articles 26 to 30 of the Indian Constitution
1.a) Article 26 promises freedom to all religions in India to maintain institutions for charitable and religious purposes, and, manage the affairs of their religion without interference of the state.
While Article 26 is being applied to all religious minorities in India in letter and spirit, Hindu religious institutions are being subject to endless interference from the Indian state. From government appointees sitting on temple boards to interference in management of temple-owned lands, HR&CE and such acts implemented by nearly ALL state governments across India ensure Hindus cannot spend the temple-money (Hundi donations or land rentals) for promotion of their Dharma and activities dependent upon successful running of temples — such as supporting small temples, build and maintain Veda Pathshalas, build and maintain orphanages and Gaushalas. Temples are the mainstay of Hindu Dharma. HR&CE and such govt departments are designed to debilitate Hindu Dharma.
1.b) Article 30 guarantees to all minorities that they will be free to establish and administer educational institutions without interference from the government, even if they are funded by the goverment.
This means that Christian-run schools, with land allotted by the government, can have Church prayers for all students, and Jamia Milia Islami, a university fully-funded by government of India can have a mosque inside the college campus and start each class session with invocation of Allah. Fair enough!
Shockingly, institutions run by the majority Hindu community, basis the limitations imposed by Article 28, are NOT allowed to function according to their religious preferences. This means that a Lingayat or Chinmaya Mission institution, with land allotted by the government, cannot be allowed to teach the wisdom of the Gita as part of its curriculum. The recent case against starting the morning invoking the ‘Asato Ma Sadgamaya’ (ॐ असतो मा सद्गमय) in Kendriya Vidyalayas is because of this constitutional discrimination against the Hindus.
Only an apartheid state discriminates against the majority! This MUST change! There are constitutional amendments to Articles 26 to 30 recommended in the now lapsed Dr. Satyapal Singh Private Member Bill. These MUST be adopted by the new government.
2. Foreign funding via FCRA
In 2016–17 60% of Rs.18,500 Crores entered the country via organisations with explicit affiliations with international Christian Missionary organisations, destined for Christian Missionary organisations in India. This is in spite of the crackdown of this NDA government on foreign-funded NGOs. You will be shocked to learn that this money is only increasing each year.
Compare this influx of nearly Rs.11,000 Crores for Christian missionary work, with Rs.550 Crores that came in for Indic Religious institutions, ie: religious institutions run by Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists and Jains, put together.
With the temple money not available to Hindus for protecting and spreading their religion and on top of it, this massive asymmetric influx of foreign funding for spreading Christianity, Hinduism is being killed slowly but surely.
This must change!
#HinduCharter, a project started by Hindus from all over the country, demands that all “institutional” foreign-funding must be banned.
Only NRIs/OCIs/PIOs however, in their individual capacity, must be free to donate to Indian religious institutions — including that or all minorities.
3. Muslim Population Explosion in India AND the urgent need for call for large scale GharWapsi
As societies around the world urbanise they produce less and less children. In Europe, US, Australia couples are producing 1.3 to 1.8 children per couple. The population replacement rate is 2.1 children per couple.
Hindus are producing 2.2 children per couple, barely at replacement rate. However, the Muslim population in India is producing 3.4 children per couple including in rich and educated states such as Kerala. This trend is no different from Muslims in Europe who are growing at similar rates.
If this is allowed to continue then India is inevitably going to become a Muslim majority nation. Our liberals can continue to argue about whether it will take 50 years or 200 years. The demographic change of India will be inevitable.
Asking Hindus to produce more children OR forcible birth-control of Muslim populations of India are not practical solutions.
The only feasible solution is to call for large scale GharWapsi of Indian Muslims. Millions of Muslims in India are acutely aware of their Hindu roots and to date (proudly) retain references to their jatis in their names. Asking Muslims to feel proud of their Bharatiya roots and call them Swadeshi Muslims is not good enough either.
Millions of Muslims in India will return to Hinduism, if offered open platforms and processes for their Shuddhi, and a way to return to their original jatis. Hinduism enables formation of new Jatis if there is a lack of acceptance among any mainstream Jatis. Marriages of their daughters, which is the biggest problem for returning Muslims, can be done within these multitude of newly formed Jatis.
RSS is the ONLY non-governmental organisation in the country capable of large scale mobilization of resources for enabling re-conversion of Indian Muslims to Hinduism. No force. Only an open invitation and a formal institutionalized process of re-entry and support structure post such return. The RSS must set goals such as 10% of Indian Muslims reconverted to Hinduism.
After all propagation of religion is a constitutional right offered to ALL religions in this country, including Hindus.
This is an urgent call of the hour. If the RSS does not open its arms to Muslims wanting to return to Hindu Dharma, RSS as well as Hinduism will perish in the land of its own birth. Even blaming RSS for not acting in time will not remain an option, for without Hindus, the memory and contribution of the RSS will be shoved to the dustbin of history.
Before i end, i must share with the readers of this letter what Dr. Hedgewar had to say as the basis of forming the RSS:
“The Hindu culture is the life-breath of Hindustan. It is therefore clear that if Hindustan is to be protected, we should first nourish the Hindu culture. If the Hindu culture perishes in Hindustan itself, and if the Hindu society ceases to exist, it will hardly be appropriate to refer to the mere geographical entity that remains as Hindustan. Mere geographical lumps don’t make a nation.”
Mere geographical lumps don’t make a nation! A Muslim or Christian majority India will not remain India any more!
Regards & Pranam,
