Is it a coincidence that the controversial “Dismantling Global Hindutva” conference is being organised from 10 to 12 September, to coincide with the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks? It appears that the not-so-subtle attempt is to draw a false equivalence between Wahhabi terrorism that felled the twin towers on 11 September 2001 and what the anonymous organisers of the conference call “global Hindutva”. A look at the “about” page of the conference website makes it clear that “Dismantling Global Hindutva”, which uses the names of several American universities as co-sponsors, is to talk about the “rise of militant Hindu groups in India and the corresponding escalation of violence against religious minorities and other marginalised communities”. Apart from putting the current Indian government at the centre of it, the organisers also bring into the matrix the Indian diaspora for “its potential for building links with other supremacist ideologies, especially as Hindutva groups expand their influence well beyond India”. The “about” section is a litany of lies and distortions and uses usual tropes such as caste is racism to raise western hackles. It is an intersectional mess, where everything from casteism and Brahminism to Citizenship Amendment Act and even farm laws find a mention, to show how fundamentally oppressive “Hindutva” is. In the process, it tars Hinduism and Hindus in general, and by implication, is a call for action against the Hindu community. If this is not racism, an instance of pure hatred, what is?
Worse, by naming several reputed American universities as being involved with the conference, the organisers have sought legitimacy for their hate-filled agenda. But, considering many of these universities have denied their association with this racist exercise, it is hoped that they will also take the organisers to court for falsely besmirching their names. They need to probe if any of their faculty members are involved with this conference and if yes should take administrative action against them, including suspension and expulsion for abusing the universities’ reputation to further their own agendas, apart from proving themselves to be unfit to be in their profession, where they are in a position to influence a large number of students with their toxic world view and fake narratives.
The Indian diaspora in the US should seek US governmental intervention to get an FBI investigation launched into this conference, as else it may give rise to hate crimes against Hindus. The money source must be tracked. It needs to be probed if forces inimical to India’s interests are involved in funding such conferences—specifically Pakistan and its “iron brother” China. At stake are India-US relations and the convergence of their interests in containing China. Anyway, there is a Pakistani hand—and Chinese—in branding India as sliding down the democracy-scale with Narendra Modi’s coming to power. A large section of the western leftist legacy media is falling for such drivel, apart from some so-called liberal politicians and institutions who have been spreading canards about India and its human rights record, clubbing it together with countries that are dictatorships and who do not have any regard for human life. Coming to a couple of weeks before Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s US visit to meet President Joe Biden, the agencies need to keep an eye on how this conference is used to try and muddy the waters before the important visit, where China is sure to be discussed.
It suits the interests of Wahhabis, evangelists and leftists to paint India as intolerant and undemocratic, for that directly affects India’s international standing, apart from opening up avenues for the international community to put pressures on India. It needs to be found where these forces are converging and whose are the invisible hands that are propelling them to action.