“The progress of the country is possible only with the creation of a Hindu Rashtra. Keeping in mind the ancient culture and tradition of this nation, declaring it a Hindu nation is the biggest need today.”
These words were spoken not by a leader of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) or an organisation affiliated with it, but by the person who runs the organisation which recently merged with the Congress in Madhya Pradesh amid a lot of fanfare and publicity. The organisation is Bajrang Sena and it was its national president Ranbir Pateria who uttered the words above.
On June 6, many people might have mistaken the office of the Madhya Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) in Bhopal for the BJP. It looked like a Hindutva fortress with saffron flags, loud slogans of ‘Jai Shri Ram’ and incantation of the Hanuman Chalisa. Amid such fanfare, the Bajrang Sena rallied towards the Congress office and was welcomed by Kamal Nath, the former chief minister and state Congress president. Nath was presented with a mace, or gada, by the Sena chief. Soon after, the Sena’s merger with the Congress was announced.
प्रदेश कांग्रेस अध्यक्ष कमलनाथ जी के नेतृत्व में प्रदेश कांग्रेस कार्यालय में बजरंग सेना का कांग्रेस पार्टी में विलय हुआ। pic.twitter.com/FPKmWHxmKF
— MP Congress (@INCMP) June 6, 2023
The merger must be seen in the context of assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh, slated for the end of the year. The Congress apparently wants to play the Hindutva card to match the politics of the ruling BJP. The party and Kamal Nath have actively been part of religious activities for a while now.
It appears that the party has abandoned the ideas of secularism or even ‘soft Hindutva’, which the Congress was promoting to outwit the BJP’s ‘hardcore Hindutva’. In its quest for power, it appears the party is eager to embrace the hardline version of Hindutva.
Seeking support from the Bajrang Sena, an outfit whose very existence hinges on building a Hindu Rashtra, exposes the desperation of the Congress. From the appointment letters of the organisation to the speeches of its leaders, ‘Hindu Rashtra’ is obsessively referenced by the outfit. Take, for example, this statement of the general secretary of the Sena, Ram Shankar Mishra:
“I want to tell all the demonic forces, who are engaged in turning our country into Pakistan, that after 2024…by about 2025…India will become a Hindu Rashtra.”
Mishra made this announcement in a Facebook live session on April 7, 2023, in the presence of the outfit’s national president, Pateria. Bajrang Sena had close ties with the BJP at the time and Mishra was perhaps alluding to the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
An appointment letter from Bajrang Sena mentions the resolution to ‘build a united Hindu nation’ and bring a ‘population control law’. Photo: Facebook
Pateria calls controversial religious leader Pandit Dhirendra Krishna Shastri of Chhatarpur’s Bageshwar Dham his idol. He claims that Shastri has entrusted him and the Bajrang Sena with the responsibility of running a nationwide campaign for the creation of a ‘Hindu Rashtra’. Bajrang Sena workers across the country are ready to join this campaign and follow Dhirendra Shastri, he added.
Interestingly, Pateria and his organisation’s office bearers are often seen with Shastri, who has been criticised by several Congress leaders. Less than a month before merging with the Congress, Bajrang Sena workers were administered an oath by national convenor Raghunandan Sharma to fully support “Peethadhishwar Dhirendra Krishna Shastri of Bageshwar Dham in making India a Hindu Rashtra”.
Sharma has now joined the Congress.
But Pateria says the Bajrang Sena has not merged with the Congress. He told The Wire, “Our organisation has not merged with the Congress. We have extended support to the Congress in Madhya Pradesh. But reports of a merger are wrong. About a dozen of our office bearers have joined the Congress.”
Pateria’s statement contradicts the Congress’s claim that the Bajrang Sena has “merged” with the party.
Congress’s new ally has every attribute of a hardcore Hindutva outfit
Bajrang Sena has every quality to define it as a staunch Hindutva organisation, from insulting women and delivering hate speeches to spreading hatred against minorities.
At the national level, the Congress has slammed the BJP for similar issues. But in Madhya Pradesh, the party is not practising what it preaches elsewhere in the country.
The Congress may claim that the Bajrang Sena has adopted its ideology after the merger, but in a conversation with The Wire, Pateria categorically said that the outfit will continue its efforts to make India a ‘Hindu Rashtra’.
A population control law is also a part of their agenda, regarding which the organisation says:
”Ever since India became independent, 80% of Hindus are being targeted by the Jihadi mentality. In such a situation, the number of other religions is continuously increasing, while Hinduism is decreasing in the only (Hindu) nation. If India is declared a Hindu Rashtra then India’s sovereignty can be saved. Because where Hindus become less in number, the Jihadis start demanding a separate nation. It is necessary for the integrity and sovereignty of India that it should become a Hindu nation. Population control law should also be implemented for the fast-growing population in India.”
Ranbir Pateria, whom Kamal Nath welcomed at the Congress office with open arms, was ‘waking up’ the Hindus of Madhya Pradesh a few weeks ago by giving the example of the film The Kashmir Files, which the Congress has called a ‘propaganda film’.
During a Facebook live, Pateria said, “We are safe in Madhya Pradesh today, but if we stay inactive, we will not remain safe for long. The way Hindus were chased away in Jammu and Kashmir became the subject of the movie The Kashmir Files. There is a similar situation in many other states including Telangana, West Bengal, and Kerala.”
He urged Hindus to be prepared for a fight. During the same session, Ramshankar Mishra fiercely spewed Hindutva venom. Accusing the police of disrupting the organisation’s rally in Telangana, he said, “The entire government of Telangana and the ‘two dogs’ sitting there were engaged in preventing Bajrang Sena’s programme. 2,000 policemen were deployed. It seemed as if we were terrorists.”
It is not clear whom did Mishra address as ‘two dogs’, but it is usual for Bajrang Sena to resort to such language.
For instance, like several other Hindutva organisations, Bajrang Sena also protested against the song ‘Besharam Rang’ in the film Pathaan starring Shah Rukh Khan. In a letter addressed to chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, it said, “Hindu sentiments have been hurt with the depiction of the actress donning saffron colour, which symbolises the Hindu faith, while 90% of her body is in the nude. Seeing this obscenity, even bitches and cats would be ashamed.”
The Bajrang Sena also appears to have a special skill for finding ‘jihad’ in every major or minor incident. It has coined the phrase ‘Hindu jihad’, which it defines as thus:
“Vidharmi kuttey (heretic dogs) posing as Hindus are stopping people from joining the organisation. There is no need to tell what the Bajrang Sena would do to them the day it lays hands on them… Like ‘Love Jihad’, we will end ‘Hindu Jihad’ as well and will not spare these dogs.”
Pateria adds, “These are the dogs that are getting funding from abroad. They are working to break our Hindu organisation. They are scared of seeing large crowds during Ram-Hanuman festivals.”
Pateria had recently shared a picture on social media in which actresses were equated with prostitutes. In another post, he called actress Anushka Sharma Bollywood’s nachaniya – a derogatory term for dancers. On the other hand, he referred to Rivaba, wife of cricketer Ravindra Jadeja and BJP MLA, who wore a saree at the IPL final, a symbol of Indianness.
Hatred of minorities
A few weeks ago, Pateria wrote on social media, “This is the last generation of Hindus who are getting a chance to fight for Hindutva… If we lose, the next generation will look for a chance to escape.”
In another post, he said, “Shah Rukh (Khan) is going to glorify the same Tipu Sultan in his film who massacred Hindus… He should be boycotted.”
“Are Hindus safe in India?” he asked in yet another social media post. He cites ‘the murder of a Hindu youth by non-Hindu heretics’ in Karnataka and some other alleged incidents. He says, “They have all been sacrificed at the hands of the fundamentalist religion. I do not call for killing, but self-protection. You should at least be so strong that no jihadi dares to attack you.”
About the notorious Shraddha Walkar murder case, he wrote, “Their (Muslims’) aim is not only to kill the enemy, but to do so by causing maximum pain.”
Many more such posts can be found on his social media accounts. Regarding Christmas, he states, “India is the land of saints, not of Santa. Santa doesn’t come to India to give gifts, he comes to convert.”
National president of Bajrang Sena Ranbir Pateria presenting the picture of Bharat Mata to Pandit Dhirendra Krishna Shastri of Bageshwar Dham. Photo: Facebook
Several instances of hate speech
Bajrang Sena has the following views on Shirdi’s Sai Baba, who is a venerated figure for a large section of the country:
“What has Sai done to be revered as god? If he had so much faith in Hindu/Sanatan Dharma, why didn’t he convert? Why is his mazar built inside a temple? What did you get by paying obeisance to that mazar and bringing holy ash from there? There is no need to consider any ‘Chand Miyan’ as God.”
“Sai’s devotees are heretics,” says Mishra. “By looting the money of Hindus in the name of Sai, they are funding terrorism in foreign countries. It needs to be stopped.”
In a live session, he even urged Bajrang Sena workers to riot against the Sai temple in the Rewa district of Madhya Pradesh. The organisation believes that ‘someone who does not believe in Ram should not be allowed to be revered as God in this country.’
The Bajrang Sena takes inspiration not from the so-called ‘secularism’ of the Congress, but from the suspended BJP MLA T. Raja Singh in Telangana. More than 100 cases are registered against Raja Singh, who spews venom against minority communities. Facebook has shut down his account. He was sent to jail for inciting communal tension in Hyderabad. Even the BJP suspended him owing to his communal remarks, which is quite unusual for the party.
After the Bajrang Sena’s rally was interrupted by the police in Telangana, Pateria and Mishra said:
“You (Telangana) have only seen one lion, Raja Singh, yet and you couldn’t handle him. This is India. There are innumerable lions here that are ready to die for Hindutva. Each and every soldier of Bajrang Sena is a Raja Singh himself. A thousand Raja Singhs are being prepared in Hyderabad.”
“A Hindu will not bow down,” he also said. “We are getting organised. No state of India will now become Kerala or Bengal.”
Bajrang Sena also held protests on the streets in support of expelled BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma, who stirred a nationwide controversy by making objectionable remarks on Prophet Mohammed and took a pro-Hindu stand on the Gyanvapi Masjid issue.
Followers of Godse
In a Dharma Sansad organised in Chhattisgarh’s capital Raipur in December 2021, self-proclaimed saint Kalicharan remarked, “Mohan Das Karamchand Gandhi destroyed the country. We salute Nathuram Godse who killed him.”
On this remark, the Congress lodged an FIR against Kalicharan in Raipur, following which he was sent to jail.
Protesting the arrest, Bajrang Sena burnt the effigy of Congress leader and Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel. Pateria also questioned Gandhi’s status as the father of the nation.
However, this is not the first time that Kamal Nath has embraced the followers of Godse in Gandhi’s Congress party. In 2021, Kamal Nath welcomed Babulal Chaurasia, the councillor of Gwalior Municipal Corporation from the Hindu Mahasabha, into the party by handing him flowers. Chaurasia was among those who tried to build a temple for Gandhi’s killer Godse and install his statue.
His induction into the party was defended by the Congress, claiming that Chaurasia had left Godse’s ideology of violence and decided to follow Gandhiji’s ideology of truth and non-violence. “When he was part of the Hindu Mahasabha and was associated with the BJP, he believed in the ideology of Godse. But now that he has joined the Congress, he has adopted the ideology of Gandhiji,” the party claimed.
Nathuram Godse. Photo: Wikimedia Commons
The Congress has offered a similar rationale now. Madhya Pradesh Congress spokesperson Ravi Saxena told The Wire, “He (Pateria) has joined the party unconditionally after being influenced by the ideas of the Congress.”
When asked about Bajrang Sena’s demand for a Hindu Rashtra, he said, “Hindustan is anyway a Hindu nation. 80% of its population is Hindu. A place where the majority are Hindus is a Hindu nation without a doubt. What’s any further need to make it a Hindu nation? Where Hindus are sitting on key posts, be it the chief ministers of states, the president of the country, or the prime minister, or the chief of the three armed forces, and 90% of the police and administration posts, is it not then a Hindu Rashtra?”
However, Ranbir Pateria doesn’t agree.
‘Congress has promised Hindu rashtra’
When asked about the difference in the Congress’s stance on the concept of Hindu rashtra and that of his organisation, Pateria said, “See, the Congress was neither chanting the Hanuman Chalisa nor carrying saffron flags earlier. But slowly things are going to change. We will take care of it.”
When asked whether the Congress would take measures to meet their demand for a ‘Hindu Rashtra’, Pateria said, “Of course, we believe so and we will keep trying. Just as we believed that the BJP will create a Hindu Rashtra, we have faith in them too. Now, we will make the same efforts with them also.”
Regarding the population control law, Pateria said that he will continue to demand it from the Congress. He also said that he has been given assurance of attempting to make India a ‘Hindu Rashtra if the party forms a government at the Centre.
The Wire also tried to contact the party’s state in charge, J.P. Agarwal, to find out the stand of the party’s central leadership on this decision taken by the Madhya Pradesh unit but failed to get a response. Meanwhile, the party’s senior national spokesperson Salman Khurshid refused to comment, citing a lack of information in this regard.