It has not been a month since the killing of Hindus and desecration and vandalism of Hindu places of worship in Islamic country Bangladesh which the pseudo seculars in our own country, particularly from the opposition, did not have the spunk to condemn and maintained a deafening silence. 

In doing so they failed their country and whatever faith they belonged to. But for their narrow partisan gains like promoting  a book in an election season and in a state where their party has bitten the dust (UP) they will spew venom on Hindus and Hindu Dharma.

The word “Hindutva” was” coined to refer to Hindu Dharma not as a religion but as a culture. The British in the decennial or decadal census operation carried out from 1871 onwards asked people to indicate  their religious preference based on the British assertion that  one could belong to one religion at a time unlike the Bharatiya concept where one could be a member of more than one tradition at the same time. 

Thus Buddhism, Jainism, Hinduism and Sikhism could be four different religions according to the British  but all four of them shared a common culture which unites them all. 

The name “Hindutva” was given to this united culture which was shared by all those for whom Bharat was the land of both their birth and the birth of their religion.

The introduction of the word “religion” by the British in Bharat began to change the contours of religious life in Bharat and the word “Hindutva” was coined as a centripetal force to counter the centrifugal forces released by the introduction of western concept of religion into Bharat.

Thus, Salman khurshid, a former Union minister, has suddenly sprouted like a spring onion after hibernating all this time and insanely compared Hindu Dharma and Hindutva (which are synonymous) to ISIS and Boko Haram. 

If he has done this to promote his book it is disgraceful and disgusting on his part and if he really believes in his blasphemous quote then he  should be ashamed of his own roots as all acts of terrorism in the world be it America, Europe or Bharat have and are being carried out by Islamic fundamentalists and radicals which are labelled terrorists like the ISIS, LET, Jaish, Al-Qaeda, Boko Haram and the ISIS-K to name a few. 

Tharoor’s preposterous and ignominious comment where he equates a football hooligan to Hindutva shows his twisted, eccentric and distorted mindset where he is willing to abuse his own ancestors to please his political bosses and promote his book. Tharoor and Khurshid  are indulging in slapstick sickening humour akin to a bollywood “C” grade movie and rejoicing in it’s opening sitting on the front benches only to find that they just have their party boss watching  the premier with them.

Rahul  Gandhi has equated Hindutva to the killing  of Sikhs and Muslims conveniently  forgetting the massacre of Sikhs in 1984 by his own party men. He does not have a  word to say on the recent killing and exodus of kashmiri  Hindus from the valley let alone the genocide of kashmiri Hindus in 1990 by JKLF and the hurriyat under the patronage of the then national conference  government. 

All terrorism in this world has emanated from radical Islamists . Thus the 9/11 attacks were carried out by the Al-Qaeda the recent attacks in France, UK, New zealand , Germany  have all been linked to Islamic jehadis. So should we start blaming Islam for all acts of terror happening  on this planet and get into a religious slugfest? This is what Salman khurshid and his ilk wants  Bharat to get into so that he can conveniently play the  communal card followed  by the victim card in the coming elections.

Bharat is a peaceful  democracy where the majority Hindu population which preaches and practices Hindu Dharma, Hindutva and Sanatan as a way of life has co-existed peacefully with other religions including Muslims. 

The Muslim population in Bharat has increased to 200 million which is a testimony to the liberal, assimilative and inclusiveness  of Hindus, Hindu Dharma and hindutva unlike in Islamic countries  like Pakistan, Bangladesh, where the minority  Hindus have been persecuted, victimized, killed and forcibly converted resulting in their population dwindling from 22% to 2% in both the countries.

It is only in Bharat which is the only majority Hindu country in the world that a Muslim or a Christian or a Sikh can rise to the highest office of the land  and a person like Salman khurshid who hurls invective and epithets on Hindus, Hindu Dharma and Hindutva can be a minister in the Union. 

This is the essence of Hindu Dharma and its inherent magnanimity but also a weakness of Hindu Dharma which opportunists, hypocrites and sycophants like Khurshid exploit to further their political interests and please their political bosses. 

Salman Khurshid will not utter a word against Islamic fundamentalists and Shashi Tharoor who wears his dubious eloquence on his sleeve will not open his Oxford and other dictionaries that he delves into to condemn atrocities on Hindus in their own land and elsewhere. 

Anand Ranganathan summed up Tharoor’s mouth swagger very aptly. “Tharoor is a fustian turnip well advised to use eclaircissements instead of vauntageous obluctations or it is calaboose for him.”

Ref : Asian Philosphies & Religions by Arvind Sharma.