VHP aim to exclude Muslims from Navratri festival

Alhewetat Issa Hamad added 4 new photos to the albumNov.,12,2012 Geneva — with Mahatma Ghandi.

November 12, 2012

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Hindu devotees carrying decorated metal pitchers perform Garba, a traditional folk dance, during the celebrations to mark the Navratri festival at Surat in Gujarat October 12, 2013.

BY RUPAM JAIN NAIR-Thu Sep 25, 2014 

(Reuters) - A prominent right-wing Hindu group in India warned Muslims and Christians on Thursday not to join in a lively Hindu religious festival this month, in the latest bid by activists to step up segregation in the multi-faith country.

Emboldened by the May election victory of Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi, hardliners in his party and affiliated Hindu groups have been stirring up sentiment against India's religious minorities in recent months.

"We are warning Muslims and Christians that they should stay away from all our festivals. The Navratri festival is for Hindus only," Surendra Jain, spokesman for the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), told Reuters.

The annual, nine-night Navratri Hindu festival began on Thursday. In many parts of the country it is marked by celebrations involving prayer, music and dance among men and women.

It is famous for being high-spirited and Christians and Muslims are known to take part. They also take part in the Holi festival.

But this year, Hindu activists plan for the first time to demand identity cards to keep non-Hindus out of festival venues. Usually in India, one can tell a person's religion by their name.

"Muslims and Christians do not pray to the Hindu mother goddess so why should they dance and enjoy nightly feasts with us?" Jain said, accusing young Muslim men of taking part in the festival to tempt Hindu girls into converting to Islam.

Members of the VHP have in the past been accused of instigating communal violence, including riots in Gujarat in 2002, when Modi was its chief minister.

At least 1,000 people were killed, most of them Muslims.

The VHP is a radical member of a cluster of right-wing Hindu groups that includes Modi's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.

Modi has distanced himself from the anti-Muslim views of some of his supporters.

In an interview with the CNN news channel last week, Modi praised the patriotism of India's Muslims and said they would not be tempted by Islamist groups such as al Qaeda.

Modi, who is observing a nine-day fast to mark Navratri, departed for the United States on Thursday, his first trip there since being denied a visa in 2005 over allegations of religious intolerance stemming from the 2002 riots.

In Modi's home state of Gujarat, a Muslim cleric this week called Navratri a "festival of demons". He was arrested for his comments, and hit and pushed by a member of the public as he was detained.

Indian Muslims Need Not Be Cynical About Modi’s Positive Comment

| by N.S.Venkataraman

( September 25, 2014, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) It is refreshing to read Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s comment that Indian Muslims will live for India and die for India. While there are pledged admirers of Mr. Modi, there also appear to be pledged critics, who have already commented as to whether Mr. Modi meant what he has said.

It remains to be seen how the Indian Muslims would view Mr. Modi’s comment and whether they would respond to his observations with enthusiasm. There is no doubt that at least some Muslims in India view Mr. Modi and his party with suspicion. Perhaps, Mr. Modi wants to reassure them that there is no need for such suspicions and misgivings about the intentions of his government.

In any case, the Muslims , whether they are moderates or extremists, have nothing to gain by disputing Mr. Modi’s observations and should use this opportunity to integrate themselves with the main stream of national life even more than what they already do now.

The fact is that the Islamic extremists in Pakistan and other parts of the world are causing embarrassment for peace loving Muslims living all over the world, by resorting to violence and terrorist activities in the name of defending Islam. Unfortunately, many governments in the world these days scrutinise the activities of Muslim citizens more closely than they should , in view of the terrorist activities of a few Muslims in some part of the world.

The number of Muslim citizens of India are more than the population of entire Pakistan which is a declared Muslim country. While some clashes have taken place in India between Muslims and others in the past, it is necessary to keep in mind that majority of Muslims are not involved in such clashes, just as the fact that majority of Hindus are also not involved. What Mr. Modi has meant by his statement was that he recognised the patriotic fervour of millions of Muslims in India and wanted to distinguish between the majority Muslims and a fraction of Muslim population who believe in terrorist activities with the objective of spreading Islamic religion. Mr. Modi’s observations are also directed at non Muslim population in India , to ask them not to view the Muslims with unnecessary suspicions. By making such observations, Mr. Modi has made it clear that his vision of India has broad national focus and he has no narrow outlook. If any of Mr. Modi’s so called supporters think that Mr. Modi has any sectarian vision , he wanted to make it clear to them that they were absolutely wrong.

It is true that there is lot of poverty amongst Muslims in the country and they need the active support of the government to improve their social and economic conditions. Muslims must make use of the right climate now sought to be created by Mr. Modi by responding positively and forging ahead to achieve greater heights in education, profession , arts and other aspects of life.