On 22^nd May, a news item appeared in several National and International media houses informing us that members of the religion of peace, peacefully carried out their peaceful agenda of cancelling the right of non peacefuls to exist. Many people try to justify the formation of Radical Islamist groups by attributing it to socio-economic and political problems. Even in the case of Rohingyas, the  international media which is heavily tilted in favour of proselytizing Abrahamic faiths and Marxist Ideologues came up with the following theory:

“Arsa – the Arakan Rohingya Salvation army – are a group of trained fighters estimated to be in their hundreds. It was formed in around 2012 in reaction to long-term systematic discrimination against the Rohingya community in Rakhine, but only came to prominence in October 2016 after a series of attacks on Myanmar’s security forces.”

I want to ask the following question: If it was created as a tool for rebellion against Myanmar govt, why did these people kill the minority Hindu population? The minority Hindu population was given a choice: Convert or Die!

It is time to reject propaganda and go to the real reason for religious disharmony. Exclusivist arguments (“the one true God and the one true path” type arguments) are the core reasons for religious disharmony in the world. It is time that Hindus, other Dharmic and non-Abrahamic people wake up and see the reality as is. Abrahamic religions infuse almost all of their followers with the doctrine of exclusivity which leads to hatred (sometimes subtle contempt and sometimes radical) towards non-believers and this is not limited to extremists!

Only this can explain why “we” are considered Heathens, Kaafirs, idolators and infidels! Only this can explain why the Christian missionaries are so passionate about saving us by showing us the “light” and true path to salvation. Only this can explain why many ‘peaceful’ Indians have a huge Amnesia when it comes to the Exodus of lakhs of Kashmiri Pandits who are their fellow Indians, while they had no problem at all in condemning and remembering  the ouster of Rohingya Muslims  from Myanmar.

So, the next time someone says that they ‘tolerate’ your religion, explain to them that this Latin origin term implicitly suggests an imbalance of power in the relationship, with one of the parties in the position of giving or withholding permission for the other to exist, and it does not presuppose that we are equally worthy of honour. We must demand mutual respect. This can be clearly illustrated by the following queries from our side as suggested by Shri Rajiv Malhotra:

1. “How do you perceive Hindu Murtis which are often referred to as ‘idols’ by the church/Islam, and are there not official injunctions in your teachings against such idols? “
2. “Do you consider Shiva and Krishna to be God, or among the “false Gods” condemned in the Bible/Quran?”
3. “How do you see Hindu Goddesses in the light of the church’s claim that God is specifically masculine?”
4. “How do you see the Hindu concept of self as “sat-chit-ananda” (meaning inherently divine) in the light of the Church’s notion of the individual self as a “fallen sinner” ?”

Unless these crucial issues are sorted out, Religious Harmony will continue to be a fancy term used as lip service by some anglicized Aunties and Uncles in five star hotels hosting Aman ki Asha Tamasha!

(This article first appeared here and is being reproduced with the author’s consent.)

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