Hindutva’s Poison: Prosecute the Hate-Mongers

Image Courtesy: indiatvnews.com

Sadhvi Prachi a mendicant from the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) fold, nominated by the BJP to a reserved seat, who fought elections (and lost) from the Purkazi (SC seat) in the 2012 Uttar Pradesh state elections has done it again. Notorious now for a string of remarks that would, if law enforcement were to be fair and un-biased, attract sections 153a, 153b, 505 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and section 295 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) she has. late yesterday excelled herself. Will she escape the long hands of the law once again?

On January 6, 2016 the web portal www.upuklive.com reported a statement made by her that makes her earlier brazen accounts at hate speech (for which she has just not been prosecuted) pale into insignificance. Dateline Lucknow and the news report in Hindi says that “all Muslim officers in the Indian Army should be investigated.” [1] This is after the Pathankot terror attack.

Through all of 2015, she has made a spate of hate-filled remarks while representing the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Originally from the Viswa Hindu Parishad (VHP), she has just once drawn “censure” from the organisation she now represents, the BJP, in February 2015 when she made a comment felt to be derisive of Muslims. The BJP president of the state, Laxmikant Bajpayi was reported as having stated that the comment was “uncalled for”.[2]  He had elaborated stating that “Sadhvi Prachi Prachi cannot behave like a Vishwa Hindu Parishad worker while being in the Bharatiya Janata Party. “The BJP does not support such statements. It would be better that Sadhvi Prachi realises that she cannot give a statement on the lines of VHP while being a BJP leader.” Prachi had however remained adamant and defiant.

That the official rap given at the UP-level was not echoed nationally is a matter of record. Since February 2015, Prachi’s hate machinations have gone further, reported extensively by the media. Yet the national leadership of the BJP is silent as the BJP-RSS-VHP combine reap in the ‘obvious’ benefits of the communal stridency. Since the mid-1980s when the Ramjanmabhoomi (read break down Babri Masjid) movement mushroomed and grew, the VHP-RSS public movements have preceded the BJP(‘s), step by step. In and out of the Indian Parliament and state assemblies (UP and Gujarat being the notable states), prominent office bearers of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad have, interchangeably been in official and electoral positions of the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Communalism Combatonline (www.sabrangindia.in) believes it is time for an informed and consistent campaign against this kind of hate speech. When it is spouted from the mouths of representatives of the ruling party it has more serious consequences, socially, politically and legally. There appears to be a deafening paralysis in law enforcement against any action against it.

We bring you a string of the Sadhvi’s rants to establish the point behind the campaign:
Shah Rukh Khan, Indian Bollywood star earned the Sadhvi’s hate. “By talking about returning the awards, he has committed treason. He should be punished for this. Not only Shah Rukh Khan but all those who have returned awards should be tried for treason. (November 2015)[3] She was obviously on a hate-filled high through the past year: In October 2015, she declared that the “Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) are the dens for the SIMI and Pakistan (agents)” (sic). [4]

Since the mid-1980s when the Ramjanmabhoomi (read break down Babri Masjid) movement mushroomed and grew, the VHP-RSS public movements have preceded the BJP(‘s), step by step. In and out of the Indian Parliament and state assemblies (UP and Gujarat being the notable states), prominent office bearers of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad have, interchangeably been in official and electoral positions of the Bharatiya Janata Party.

When the country was jolted after the lynching, to death of Mohammad Akhlaq at Dadri, Uttar Pradesh barely 45 kilometres from the capital, New Delhi, this is what Sadhvi Prachi a BJP leader had to say, “Those who consume beef deserve such actions against them (Dadri lynching, Statement reported on October 4, 2015)[5]

She earned the ire of Indian Parliamentarians in August 2015 when she spouted, “Sadhvi Prachi courts controversy yet again, says there are terrorists in Parliament.” (reported on August 6, 2015).[6] The complaint by Parliamentarians was referred by Chairperson of the Rajya Sabha, Hamid Ansari to the Privileges Panel. But what of hate speech against Indian citizens?

In July 2015, she was at it again. “Why are Hindu devotees always under threat during pilgrimages, be it in Amarnath, Vaishno Devi or Puri’s Jagannath Temple? If such attacks happen, I tell you, the Haj yatris will face consequences,” she yelped. (Reported on July 3, 2015)[7]

 It is possible that in the long summer months of 2015 that also coincided with the first anniversary of the Modi government in power, there are few reported mis-utterances. Or it is possible that this is the season for the Sadhvi’s meditation.
Unwind back to April 2015 and she is spewing the special brand of Sadhvi poison again:

• VHP leader links Nepal earthquake to ‘beef eating’ (April 27 2015)[8]
• Why do they always find a Hindu girl for themselves? We must boycott the Khans. (March 2, 2015)[9]
• Chant Vande Mataram or leave India, says VHP leader Sadhvi Prachi (March 18, 2015)[10]

 
Then she joined in with calling Mahatma Gandhi a British agent[11] In December 2013, three months after the communal carnage in four districts of western Uttar Pradesh (Shamli, Baghpat, Meerut and Muzaffarnagar) Sadhvi Prachi was arrested for making inflammatory speeches. She was then released on bail.[12]

In her affidavit filed before the Election Commission she has proffered an elaborate list of educational qualifications. She states on oath that she graduated from high school, Uttar Pradesh board in 1989, passed the Intermediate, UP Board examinations, 1992; then obtained another qualification from an institute VH Charan Singh Institute Meerut, 1995 and a Sanskrit degree from the same institute (no year mentioned). She states that she is a post graduate with an MA which she obtained in 2002 from Gurukul Kangri, Hardwar. (Horror of horrors), she also holds a Bachelors of Education degree which she obtained in year 2000 from the Sampoornanand Sanskrit Vishwavidyalaya, Varanasi. She is also a Doctorate (Phd) which she obtained in 2004 from the same institute, Gurukul Kangri, Hardwar.
( http://muzaffarnagar.nic.in/affidavit_GE2012/affidevit/AC013/02_PRACHIARYAA_CR.PDF)