March 13, 2003

Hindutva newsletters mailed to defence officers

NDTV Correspondent

Saturday, February 22, 2003 (New Delhi):

http://www.ndtv.com/

Hindutva organisations have now begun spreading their propaganda
within the defence forces. Over the past year, a number of army
officers across the country have been receiving a newsletter with
communal messages.

The banner headline on the letter reads: "Stop Islamisation of India.
Karo ya maro. Hindutva ke naam par shastra uthaao...

This propaganda is cleverly designed to influence the minds of
defence officers who are being sent a 12-page monthly newsletter.

"Everyone has a right to propagate their views but that does not mean
that you spread communal hatred. This is criminal and punishable
under Section 298 of the Constitution," says former attorney general
Jayant Das.

B L Sharma Prem, a senior VHP leader and former BJP member of
parliament, who is responsible for bringing out the newsletter, says
he is only exercising his democratic right.

"It is for the Indian army and not the Pakistani army. We are sending
this to the police also. If anyone doesn't like it, they can return
it," says B L Sharma 'Prem', Central Secretary VHP and publisher
ofAbhay Bharat.

When NDTV asked Defence Minister George Fernandes whether he was
aware of the propaganda drive, he professed ignorance saying he had
no knowledge of the matter.

"I interact with army and Defence Ministry on a daily basis. But I
don't know anything about this. This is the first time we have heard
of this," George Fernandes said.

One of the great strengths of Indian democracy has been that the army
has remained completely apolitical. Now a number of officers are
upset with this attempt to draw serving officials into what is
essentially a political debate.
Hindu News / Headlines for March 6th 2003

Now, `trishul diksha' for women?

2003-03-06 Published by The Hindu Gathered by Staff
Reporter BHILWARA, MARCH 6:

Ignoring the Rajasthan Government's move to ban
distribution of tridents, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad
(VHP) today announced it would hold ``trishul diksha''
for women in the State next month. Sadhvi Ritambhara
will hold the initiation ceremony and distribute the
icon of Lord Shiva to women here during `Navratra'
next month, the State convener of the Durga Vahini
Matri Shakti Sangathan, women's wing of the VHP,
Niranjana Soni, told reporters here.
Hindu News / Headlines for March 6th 2003

Now, `trishul diksha' for women?

2003-03-06 Published by The Hindu Gathered by Staff
Reporter BHILWARA, MARCH 6:

Ignoring the Rajasthan Government's move to ban
distribution of tridents, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad
(VHP) today announced it would hold ``trishul diksha''
for women in the State next month. Sadhvi Ritambhara
will hold the initiation ceremony and distribute the
icon of Lord Shiva to women here during `Navratra'
next month, the State convener of the Durga Vahini
Matri Shakti Sangathan, women's wing of the VHP,
Niranjana Soni, told reporters here.
http://www.rediff.com/us/2001/jun/22usspec.htm

The Rediff US Special/ Arun Venugopal

An Internet message board hosted by a chapter of the Hindu Students Council at the University of California at Irvine has for some time been a popular discussion venue for issues relating to Hinduism. But with a preponderance of racist and profanity-laced messages, many of which are in violation of university policy, it remains to be seen what action university administrators will take against the organization.

'I am a Hindu,' reads one posting, a response to an online essay about Hindu-Muslim unity. 'I hate Muslims. I'm a youngster & brought up in US. I don't know how the hell anyone can think of uniting with those animals (Muslims aren't worthy of being called people).'

'Instead of uniting,' continues the message, submitted by 'Raj', 'we should have pure Hindu execution squads killing any fanatic Muslims (just as they do to us behind everyone's backs). If you ask Hindus anywhere, they feel oppressed by Muslims who are much more aggressive.'

"That's making a threat," says Diane Kim, director of judicial affairs at the University of California at Irvine, "which is grounds for discipline. We would probably at least want to talk to club officials and get a sense of what they are doing about the situation."

The university has posted its rules regarding network usage, including the following: 'Using computers or electronic mail to act abusively toward others or to provoke a violent reaction, such as stalking, acts of bigotry, threats of violence, or other hostile or "intimidating fighting words". Such words include those terms widely recognized to victimize or stigmatize individuals on the basis of race, ethnicity, religion, sex, sexual orientation, disability, etc.'

Another posting, a reprint of an essay on South-Asian Americans, seems more innocuous, until you see the ID of the submitter: 'I Choke Muslim Scum.'

Finally: 'you claim that you don't care about who you associate with?? ha. you're full of shit. sellout. Personally, I am proud to say that I don't hang out with Muslim scum.'

There are others, of course. The message board is replete with anonymously posted messages. While some messages are religiously motivated, others are of a more personal nature, often involving caustic exchanges between various respondents.

Sunita Patel, a fourth-year student and outgoing president of the UCI chapter, notes that the messages have become increasingly aggressive of late.

"From the very first year of implementation -- we are entering our fourth year as a student organisation at UC Irvine -- you can see a trend from discussion to degeneration of topics," she says.

The Hindu Students Council was formed in 1990 by members of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad of America. It has since become the largest Hindu student and youth group, with over 50 college and school chapters across the US and Canada. In addition to sponsoring discussions and retreats related to Hindu culture, the organisation is actively involved with a number of charitable causes.

Several national-level members of the Hindu Students Council did not respond to emails or phone messages regarding the message board.

Rishi Bhutada, a student at the University of Pennsylvania, feels the message board is susceptible to hostile postings. "In cyberspace, since people are replying to faceless entities, there is sometimes a loss of civility in the reply, as evidenced by the postings all across the board," says Bhutada, who recently participated in an HSC summer camp.

"I actually think the statements are more indicative of a problem occurring [among] Hindu youth today as to if and how they should associate with Muslim youth," he adds. "That's where the major arguments on the board seem to lie."

But the organisation does not seem to have made inter-faith dialogue a priority. "The HSC as a whole has not embarked on a goal of achieving Hindu-Muslim unity," says Bhutada, "but nor has the HSC tried to discourage it. I know individual chapters have undertaken interfaith activities with Muslims, with varying degrees of success or failure."

Sohail Shakeri, president of the Muslim Students Union at UCI, expresses remorse over the postings, but says his organisation will not take up the matter. "It is only acts of hate and arrogance that we should, as committed Muslims, oppose," he argues.

Imam Sa'dullah Khan of the Islamic Centre of Southern California notes that the problem is not restricted to Hindu Web sites. "It's nothing new," he says. "I am sure there are many Muslims doing the same things against Jews and Buddhists and others. Fortunately, people have the right to say what they want, but I am surprised how misinformed people are about the rest of the world."

Khan points out that there is no end of activist causes in the Islamic community, a trend he finds counter-productive. "Everything that seems to be anti-Islamic becomes cause for action," he remarks. "We should be more finicky about it."

Sunita Patel points out that forum guidelines have been posted on the message board, but "the freedom accompanying a nameless forum often has people putting those guidelines aside during heated [debates]. For the next year, it has been proposed that there will be forum moderation taking place. I am not sure how this will go, but hopefully, it will keep my original goal of educating through presentation of ideas."