Saffron hotheads have brought ignominy to India

Condemnation by the US State Department of the “horrific” lynching of a Hindu man, Dipu Chandra Das, in Bangladesh, is likely to have a deterrent effect on the jihadists in Dhaka. That US Congressman Ro Khanna has urged unequivocal condemnation of religious hatred will also have some impact on the Muhammad Yunus administration. In fact, religious persecution of minorities in Bangladesh, especially Hindus, is attracting global denunciation. On Saturday, members of the Bengali Hindu Adarsha Sangha (BHAS) UK demonstrated against the Yunus administration in its ‘Justice for Hindus’ protest outside the Bangladeshi High Commission in London. There were also protests in major cities of Nepal, another Hindu country, on Friday and Saturday. And, of course, in India, the self-appointed protectors of Hindus—the Sangh Parivar outfits like Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bajrang Dal—have been organising protests. But when the shoe is on the other foot, Sangh Parivar functionaries scream. Evidently, the actions of some saffron zealots have brought back the painful memories of Mohammad Akhlaq, a 50-year-old Muslim, lynching case. Recently, the Uttar Pradesh government sought to withdraw charges against 10 accused of Bisada village in Dadri facing trial for the mob lynching of Akhlaq in September 2015.

A local temple announced that Akhlaq had slaughtered a cow and stored beef in his refrigerator. He was dragged out of his home and beaten to death; his son, Danish, was seriously wounded. While dozens of people have fallen prey to cow vigilantism, Akhlaq’s case has attracted the most attention. In short, saffron cowboys have brought a great deal of opprobrium for India; they have helped bracket India along with jihadist-influenced nations like Pakistan and Bangladesh. Against this backdrop, protests by VHP and Bajrang Dal against atrocities against Hindus in Bangladesh, or elsewhere, look incongruous; with champions like these Hindutva bodies, Hindus need no enemies. People and governments all over the world question not just actions of all Hindutva outfits but also the moral authority of the Narendra Modi government to criticise inhuman acts against minorities in Bangladesh and Pakistan. Moral outrage cannot be switched on and off depending on the religion of the victim or the political convenience of the moment. The Dipu Chandra Das and Akhlaq tragedies are not isolated incidents; they are grim reminders of how religious extremism corrodes societies from within. Genuine concern for the safety and dignity of Hindus—or Muslims—requires consistency, introspection, and adherence to the rule of law.

Governments must act decisively against perpetrators of mob violence, regardless of ideology, while civil society must resist the temptation to instrumentalise suffering for partisan gains. If India wishes to speak with moral authority on the persecution of Hindus abroad, it must first put its own house in order. Anything less reduces condemnation of jihadist violence in Bangladesh to hollow rhetoric. A word of caution: we are not peddling moral equivalence, for ours is not an attempt to equate the misdeeds of Hindutva bodies with the unconscionable acts of jihadists; the latter are infinitely worse than the former. Another word of caution: the government and the Sangh top brass must ensure that the wayward saffron outfits do not go into a downward spiral.