Preparation for Violence

…Contd…

4. HateSpeech and Hate Writing

4.1. Since the BJP cameto power in Gujarat in 1998, the parent RSS and its progeny have beenconducting a relentless hate campaign against the minorities, which goesagainst the laws of the land and violates international covenants, many ofwhich India is a signatory to. After the Godhra tragedy, where, in anunpardonable act, 58 passengers aboard a train were burnt alive on February 27,the hate speeches and hate literature has been geared to both incite andjustify the gross violence against Muslims.

4.2. The Akhil BharatiyaPratinidhi Sabha of the RSS, held at Chennenahalli, near Bangalore, from March16-19, reflected the organisation’s role and thinking on the Godhra andpost-Godhra incidents. On the eve of the meeting of its leaders, the RSS gave aclean chit to Shri Modi’s role during the Gujarat carnage. Describing the violenceafter the Godhra incident as a “natural reaction of Hindus”, theRSS asserted that no government could have controlled the “upsurge”.While expressing the view that the “natural reaction” (read gruesomeand unprecedented violence) was unjustifiable, the RSS spokesperson Shri MGVaidya said, “Whole Hindu society irrespective of caste, creed andpolitical affiliations, reacted violently against what had happened atGodhra.” (The Times of India, March 16.)

4.3. At the conclusion ofthe conference, two days later, with over 2,000 innocent Muslims having beenbrutally killed, not to mention the other indignities heaped on the communityin Gujarat, the RSS thought it fit to lecture to Indian Muslims on their”extremist leaders” and “Hindu-baiters”. A resolutionadopted at the three-day conference of the Sangh, said: “Let Muslimsunderstand that their real safety lies in the goodwill of the majority.”Although a few Muslim leaders interpreted ‘jihad’ as not supportingterrorism, they had not been able to influence the extremist elements, it said.”The Sabha wants to make it clear that it does no credit to the Muslimcommunity to allow itself to be made pawns in the hands of extremistleaders,” the resolution added. Describing the Godhra incident as”horrible and ghastly”, the RSS delegates said it was imperative topresent things in the proper perspective. “The reaction to the incidentwas spontaneous. The entire Hindu society had reacted. It was unfortunate thata number of people died in the violence.” (Shri Vaidya quoted in TheHindu, March 18). Ten days later, the RSS restated its position andfurther elucidated the advice given in Bangalore. Shri Vaidya demanded thatMuslims “re-interpret and define” the words kafir (infidels), kufr(the philosophy of infidels) and jihad (holy war against infidels). Whenasked how, in his view, Muslims could earn the goodwill of Hindus, Vaidya saidthey must condemn the activities of those who professed to carry out a “jihad” against “idol-worshippers”. He said the RSS did notconsider all Muslims terrorists, but “many terrorists happened to beMuslims” and claimed that they were pursuing ” jihad, which isan Islamic cause”. (The Indian Express, March 28). The RSSspokesperson used the occasion to advise Christians, too. “Christiansshould also accept that there is salvation outside the Church, too. Nobodyshould indulge in mass conversions and nobody should claim to offer a superiorspirituality.”

4.4. The attitude of thetop leadership of the VHP to the post-Godhra carnage embodied not just opensupport and celebration of the mass crimes, but also the threat to repeatGujarat’s example all over India. On March 6, The Hindustan Times quotedthe all-India vice-president of the VHP, Shri Hareshbhai Bhatt as saying thathe was proud that Hindus have finally stirred: “For years, we have beenharassed and attacked. The law protects them and governments, including the oneled by the BJP, have appeased them.” Shri Bhatt scoffed at the idea of aninquiry into the mayhem: “Inquiry, what inquiry? An inquiry is held whenan offence has been committed. What happened at Godhra was an offence. Whathappened after Godhra was a reaction… The VHP has taken a long-term decisionthat all Hindus will boycott Muslims economically, financially and socially.Muslims have to change their mindsets if they have to live here.”

4.5. Such statements byoffice bearers of the VHP must not be seen in isolation. Pre-and post-GodhraGujarat and India is testimony to how these statements are also translated intovenomous actions against the minorities.

4.5.1. Since the Gujaratcarnage, the working president of the VHP, Shri Ashok Singhal, itsinternational general secretary, Shri Praveen Togadia, and other prominentleaders have revelled in repeated public utterances gloating over the violenceagainst Muslims, instigating further hatred against them and threatening toforce all Indian Muslims into refugee camps, as in Gujarat.

4.5.2. On September 17, theVHP’s national secretary, Shri Surendra Jain, told a news agency that whathappened in Gujarat after the Godhra killing was “not a matter of shamebut a matter of pride.” He was criticising the Prime Minister who haddescribed the Gujarat happenings as a matter of “national shame.”

4.5.3. On September 3,describing Gujarat as a “successful experiment,” Shri Singhal said,”Godhra happened on February 27 and the next day, 50 lakh Hindus were onthe streets. We were successful in our experiment of raising Hinduconsciousness, which will be repeated all over the country now.” The verynext day, he expounded on his proposition. Shri Singhal spoke in glowing termsof the fact that in the state of his dreams, entire villages had been”emptied of Islam” and large numbers of Muslims had been forced toseek the shelter of refugee camps. “People say I praise Gujarat. Yes, Ido.”

At a pressconference on October 11, Shri Singhal stated, “What happened in Gujaratwill happen in the whole of the country. Hindus were not born to be cut likecarrots and radishes… the Hindukaran (Hinduisation) of the people ofGujarat was a direct result of the ‘jehadi’ mentality of Muslims.”

4.5.4. On September 15,Shri Praveen Togadia, who has repeatedly mocked the law of the land in recentmonths, (see section on Annexures, Volume I) saidthat Gujarat would decide the country’s politics.

4.5.5. On August 9, the VHPleader Acharya Giriraj Kishore demanded that Muslims should amend certainverses (Ayaat) in the Koran.

4.5.6. On September 9, thechief minister of Gujarat, Shri Narendra Modi, addressing a rally in Mehsanadistrict during his Gaurav Yatra, said: “Relief camps are actuallychild-making factories. Those who keep on multiplying the population (readMuslims) should be taught a lesson.” (The Hindu, September 10)

Shri Modi’svery offensive remarks created a national uproar. When, following news reports,the National Human Rights Commission demanded a copy of the taped speech of thechief minister, the Gujarat government pretended that no such tape existed,until Star News telecast the same. Undeterred by all this, Shri Togadiaannounced at a press conference, “The VHP will distribute all over thecountry one lakh copies of the cassette of Modi’s speech delivered on September9, to make the people aware of the double standards of the so-called secularistparties including the Congress.” (The Deccan Herald, September 24)

4.5.7. “The time wasripe for forming a separate army of Hindu youths who would protect the religionfrom attacks by jehadis.” (Praveen Togadia, The Times of India,October 18, 2002)

4.6. The above statementsand others made at different points by influential office bearers of the VHPand BD, jubilant over the Gujarat carnage post-Godhra and eulogising Shri Modias one of the three modern day heroes of Hindus, along with Shri Singhal (forhis role in the Ramjanmabhoomi movement and demolition of the Babri Masjid) andShiv Sena leader, Shri Bal Thackeray (for his anti-Muslim pogrom in 1992-’93),reflect the intimate connection between them and the common design by whichthey operate. They also reveal the real intent of these organisations. Not onlyis the generation of animus and hatred against a particular section celebratedand justified, there is little concern that such an attitude militates againstthe country’s secular democratic ethos. It is clear to the Tribunal from thevast evidence placed before it that the real intent and purpose of the SanghParivar is the subversion of the Constitution of India.

4.7. Quite apart from thepublic statements and utterances that have been widely publicised in thenational media after the Gujarat carnage, the plethora of hate pamphlets incirculation in Gujarat before, during and since the carnage are testimony tothe calculated use of demonising tactics, by these outfits, to spur theircadres into action.

4.8. Evidence in the formof the originals and translations of these pamphlets were placed on recordbefore the tribunal. (See section on Annexures, Volume I). Many of these have been in circulation,intermittently, over the past four years. But the period between February andApril, 2002 saw the proliferation of such literature, some identifying theauthor, others anonymous, but all a foul testimony to the debasing levels ofhatred that the ideologues of a ‘Hindu State’ can reduce ordinary people to.The Tribunal records with horror, the deep-rooted conspiracy and design that isevident from a perusal of all these pamphlets. From openly asking for ablatantly anti-constitutional boycott of Muslim shops and establishments, thereare also exhortations to violence against Muslim women and children that aretoo shocking and painful to detail here. They reveal a depth of hatred that canbe no good for the people it grips and takes hold of. Only a sick anddegenerate leadership can want the whole of Indian society to descend to suchdemeaning levels of hatred whereby any excuse is good enough to unleashbloodshed and mass violence. The Tribunal has recorded dozens of testimoniesfrom different parts of Gujarat that show how in the past four years, 3-4 timesa year, tens of thousands of such pamphlets would flood Gujarati homes, thrustupon even those Hindus who are repulsed by their contents. From February-April2002, the circulation of these pamphlets intensified considerably. It isastounding that no action was initiated by any wing of the Gujarat stateintelligence or police against such hateful and incendiary writing; nor did thejudiciary take suo motu action, which it is empowered to do. While mostof the hate pamphlets are anonymous, there were at least four for which boththe VHP and BD claimed proud authorship. (See section on Annexures, VolumeI). It is a matter of profound shame that even in these cases, no actionwas initiated against the errant outfits and their office bearers.

4.9. One such pamphletwhich bears special mention here, is one that mentions, with name and fulladdress, a VHP office bearer as the author and publisher of this VHP/BDpamphlet: Chinubhai N. Patel, Vishwa Hindu Parishad Office; Vanikar Smarak Bhavan,11 Mahalakshmi Society, Mahalakshmi Cross Roads, Paldi, Karnavati. Tel.6604015, 6631365 Tel. (res.) 7454699. This pamphlet, which was in widecirculation, openly propagated hatred against Indian Muslims:

“Theterrorist and traitorous Muslims of this country get weapons from more than 50Muslim nations to carry out their religious wars. They are supplied with AK-56and AK-47 rifles, automatic machine guns, small canons, rocket launchers andseveral kilos of RDX… The entire country is sitting on a heap of weapons andheading towards civil war and internal strife… When Pakistan attacks India,the Muslims living here will revolt… In 1947, they only had sticks, swordsand spears but now they have modern weapons… They are plotting to kill croresof Hindus and we will be fighting these traitorous Muslims in every lane andby-lane of the country… If the Parliament and the Kashmir assembly can beattacked then what safety is there for the citizens of the country?…”

4.10. The above-mentionedpamphlet, which was produced before the Tribunal is nothing short of avilification of Muslims. It is shocking that under a constitutional,secular-democratic order, such a pamphlet was not seized, the organisationwhose views it obviously represents immediately banned, and its office bearers,who are a grave threat to national security, detained.

4.11. Provocativestatements by VHP office bearers and by elected representatives in Gujarat inthe immediate aftermath of the reprehensible killing of 59 Hindus on a train inGodhra, are widely believed to have been interpreted by VHP cadres,sympathisers and other individuals in Gujarat as a call to violence, which ledto widespread killings throughout the state, earlier this year.

5.Communalisation of the State and Civil Society in Gujarat

5.1. Undeterred by thecountry-wide condemnation and outrage at the Gujarat carnage, the VHP’s officebearers, especially Shri Singhal and Shri Togadia, have been touring thecountry and making newspaper headlines each day, pouring fresh vitriol againstthe minorities and undermining the constitutional scheme itself. The fact thatthey continue to do so, unchecked by the political executive, the law and ordermachinery, or by suo motu action by the judiciary, is a sorry comment onthe state of the rule of law, or the lack of it, now prevalent in this country.

5.2. When the country’schief election commissioner (CEC), Shri JM Lyngdoh decided that in thecircumstances still prevailing in Gujarat, elections (free and fair) could notbe held immediately as desired by Shri Modi and his party, both Shri Modi andShri Togadia alleged that the CEC was a “Christian who was taking revengefor the attack on Christians in Dangs in 1999.” This is nothing short ofthe denigration of a constitutional authority on sectarian grounds.

5.3. The agenda of theseoutfits for Gujarat becomes clear when you see their unabashed proclamation ofGujarat as a “Hindu Rashtra” (“Hindu state”). Duringtheir tour of several areas of Gujarat in May, Tribunal members saw signboardsall over the state, welcoming people to ‘Hindu Rashtra’. “Karnavaticity of this Hindu Rashtra welcomes you,” proclaims a board paintedin saffron, in the heart of Ahmedabad. (Karnavati is the VHP’s preferred namefor Ahmedabad). In Chhotaudaipur, 200 km south of Ahmedabad, the signboard onthe highway is more direct. It simply says: “Welcome to Hindu Rashtra’sChhotaudaipur town.”

5.4. These signboards arejust one part of the legacy of nearly five years of BJP rule in Gujarat.Whenever cornered, the BJP claims it has nothing to do with the ‘hidden agenda’of the Sangh Parivar, but neither the party nor the government it runshas any difficulty with their fraternity’s open challenge to the constitutionalidea of India by Hindutva’s long cherished dream of a ‘Hindu India’.

5.5. Even the Congressparty, which returned to power in the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) twoyears ago, has been reluctant to pull down these boards, despite a directive tothis effect issued recently by the new state Congress president, ShriShankersinh Vaghela.

6. Roleof the RSS

6.1. The Rashtriya SwayamsevakSangh (RSS), is an organisation with the self-professed goal of India as a‘Hindu state’. (See section below, Historical Background of the RSS). Itspawned the Vishwa Hindu Parishad in 1964 which in turn set up the Bajrang Dalin 1986, an aggressive militant outfit whose activities are nothing short ofcriminal. The RSS’ links with the BJP are well known. In the early 50s, whenthe Bharatiya Jana Sangh, the earlier avatar of the BJP, wasformed to dabble in parliamentary politics, trusted RSS pracharaks (propagators)were ‘delegated’ to the party. Following the failed Janata experiment ofthe 1970s, after the end of Emergency rule, the Bharatiya Jana Sangh resurfacedas the Bharatiya Janata Party, which dominates the National Democratic Alliancecoalition government at the centre today. The antecedents of both present PrimeMinister, Shri Atal Behari Vajpayee, and deputy prime minister, Shri LK Advani,are as trusted pracharaks of the RSS, loaned to the BJS decades ago, totranslate Hindutva’s ideology into a political programme.

6.2. The loyalties ofShri Vajpayee, Shri Advani and other senior BJP leaders like former lawminister Shri Arun Jaitley and the chief minister of Gujarat, Shri NarendraModi, to the RSS are well known and have been established beyond any doubt.

6.3. The role of the RSSin the build-up to Godhra (the shilapoojan in Ayodhya on March 15) andthe post-Godhra carnage is both curious and enlightening. On March 15, the RSSgave a clean chit to the Modi-run administration in its handling of theviolence. As mentioned above in the section on hate speech and writing, itjustified the carnage as a “natural reaction”. Two days later, asalso detailed in the section above, it castigated Indian Muslims for theirextremist leadership.

6.4. In January 2002, theRSS announced that henceforth, it would hoist the National Flag at all its shakhason every Republic Day and Independence Day. This is a recent phenomenon. Untilnow, when, as a body, it claims the inculcating of nationalism and patriotismin every citizen to be its primary objective, it had doggedly shunned thenational flag — a precious national symbol for any country — except on a fewoccasions.

6.5. In January 2002, theRSS convened a massive rally in Jhabua in MP state in which an estimated 1.5lakh Adivasis from Gujarat, MP and Rajasthan participated. As the crow flies,Jhabua is not far from the Panchmahal district in Gujarat. Inflammatoryspeeches made by the RSS chief, Shri KS Sudarshan, and others at this rally arebelieved to have contributed to the incitement of tribals to violence againstMuslims in the tribal areas of north Gujarat. From news reports, it appearedthat the rally had more to do with ‘Hinduisation’ of Adivasis and inciting themagainst minorities than with anything related to the genuine welfare of theAdivasis.

6.6. The statements ofRSS leaders made at training camps in Bihar, teaching students that becausePresident Shri APJ Abdul Kalam reads the Gita, “He is a Hindu” (TheStatesman, September 3), and the constant questioning of Article 25 of theIndian Constitution, which upholds the freedom of faith, are further indicativeof the organisation’s anti-constitutional thrust.

6.7. A cleardemonstration of the communal and blatantly unconstitutional manner offunctioning by the RSS was the recent campaign launched by that organisation inRajasthan, to draw the city’s youth into its fold by undertaking a communalsurvey of the city’s population. At the end of this campaign, the RSS hopes tohave a database on every Hindu boy and young man in the city of Jaipur. Its aimbeing, “To proselytise uninitiated Hindus, and to give memberships tothose who show sympathy for the sangh.” (The Hindustan Times,Jaipur August 21, 2002)). The report also pointed out that a similar survey wasconducted in Gujarat six months prior to the carnage. The Tribunal is convincedthat given the track record of this organisation and given the fact that alarge part of its mission is to engender communal feeling among sectionswherein none existed before, the activities of these outfits need to be watchedand, if necessary, curtailed.

6.8. Role of the RSSin Indian Politics: The RSS has always expressed keen interest and takenits own stance on what it considers to be key national issues. Since the BJP’sassumption of power in New Delhi, this articulation became more pronounced.Every so often, it has attempted to issue a ‘whip’ to its parliamentary wing –the BJP. Routine political utterances by RSS functionaries, either in approvalor disapproval of the decisions taken by the BJP-led cabinet are examples ofthis.

7.Historical Background: The RSS

7.1. An investigationinto the state-sponsored carnage in Gujarat would be rudderless without anexamination and understanding of the ideology and the workings of the RSS andthe VHP, the ideological fountainheads of the Hindu right wing. The BJP, whichleads the NDA government at the centre, is merely the parliamentary expressionof the sectarian ideology of Hindutva. The Bajrang Dal is the youth wingof the VHP, whose mandate involves the use of arms, if necessary, to nurture‘Hindu pride’ and ‘Save the Hindu Nation’.

7.2. The RSS, the VHP andits numerous affiliates and branches are committed to an ideology thatmilitates against the basic principles that underpin the Indian Constitution.The principle of equal rights to all citizens and non-discrimination arefundamental values in the Indian Constitution. It is clear from its ideologicalorientation, utterances and activities that the Sangh Parivar — the RSS,VHP, BD, BJP and their ideological offspring — is fundamentally opposed to theIndian Constitution.

7.3. In his book, Weor Our Nationhood Defined, published in 1939, Shri MS Golwalkar, the second‘sarsanghchalak’ (head) of the RSS, reverentially referred to by SanghParivar members as ‘Guru Golwalkar’ or simply ‘Guruji’, clearly spelt outhis notion of ‘cultural nationalism’, drawing unabashed inspiration from theexample of Adolph Hitler. Through painstaking research, some scholars haveunearthed information in recent years, to establish, beyond doubt, theideological and organisational inspiration that RSS leaders drew from fascistItaly and nazi Germany in the late ‘20s and ’30s. (See Detailed Annexures,Volume III). The public utterances of theRSS today, its constant invocation of the ‘Hindu nation’ ideal, its consistentadversarial stance against the country’s religious minorities, clearlyestablish the link between the theory articulated by ‘Guruji’ in 1939and the current practice of the Sangh Parivar.

7.4. In January 2000, theBJP-controlled Gujarat and UP governments decided to lift the ban on governmentservants joining the RSS. This raised a nation-wide outcry forcing withdrawalof the notifications, but not before Shri Advani had paid glowing tributes tohis parent organisation. The fact that the BJP leadership would like toencourage and legitimise such close links between the RSS and the bureaucracy isa clear indication of the close links between the two organisations. That theshort-lived Janata experiment, post-Emergency, collapsed over the issue offormer Jana Sangh leaders’ insistence on their right to publicly retain theirrelationship with the RSS (‘dual membership’) is well-known. It is, of course,another matter that this is no longer an issue for the other (non-BJP)political descendents of the Janata Party who are now part of the NDA.

7.5. On January 30, 1948,barely five months after India won her Independence and the sub-continent waspartitioned on religious lines, the unthinkable happened — Gandhi,affectionately called the ‘Mahatma’ and ‘Father of the Nation’ was assassinatedby Nathuram Vinayak Godse, a young Maharashtrian. Godse, who belonged to theextremist Hindu Mahasabha, had, in the past, also been been member of a smallvoluntary organisation, the Hindu Rashtra Dal, and, in the early 1930s, of theRSS.

7.6. Following theassassination, the government of India treated both the Hindu Mahasabha and theRSS as constituting a threat to law and order. Shri Golwalkar, the RSS sarsanghchalakand Shri VG Deshpande, general secretary of the Hindu Mahasabha, were arrested,and the government declared that no organisation preaching violence or communalhatred would be tolerated. On February 4, 1948 the union home ministry headedby Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, released a communiqué announcing that the RSS wasan unlawful association; the subsequent arrest of a number of its leaders andmembers reduced its activity to a minimum.

7.7. When a fewsympathisers of the RSS within the Congress initiated a move to lift the ban,the home ministry, under Shri Patel, issued yet another communiqué datedNovember 14, 1948: “The information received by the government of Indiashows that the activities carried on in various forms and ways by the peopleassociated with the RSS tend to be anti-national and often subversive andviolent and that persistent attempts are being made by the RSS to revive anatmosphere in the country which was productive of such disastrous consequencesin the past.”

7.8. While rejecting allpleas from Shri Golwalkar that the RSS was a reformed body, the communiquécontinued: “He has written letters both to the Prime Minister and the HomeMinister explaining inter alia that the RSS agrees entirely in the conceptionof a secular state for India and that it accepts the National Flag of thecountry and requesting that the ban imposed on the organisation in Februaryshould now be lifted. These professions of the RSS leader are, however, quiteinconsistent with the practice of his followers and for the reasons alreadyexplained above, the Government of India find themselves unable to adviceprovincial governments to lift the ban. The Prime Minister has, therefore,declined the interview which Mr. Golwalkar had sought.”

7.9. In a letter to ShriGolwalkar, on the ban on the RSS following Gandhiji’s assassination, SardarVallabhbhai Patel had written: “It was not necessary to spread poison inorder to enthuse Hindus and organise for their self-protection… As a finalresult of their poison, the country had to suffer the sacrifice of theinvaluable life of Gandhiji. The RSS men expressed joy and distributedsweets.” (From Truth Triumphs, published by a pro-RSS publicationin 1997 and distributed by Sahitya Niketan, Hyderabad).

7.10. In August 1948, ShriGolwalkar began a correspondence with Pandit Nehru and Sardar Patel to have theban against the RSS lifted. His letters to both on September 24, 1948, harpedon the ostensible danger to India from communism, as evidenced by the”alarming happenings in Burma, Indochina, Java and other neighbouringstates.” Eventually, the RSS agreed to adopt a written constitution,maintain regular registers of members, not admitting minors without parentalpermission, and working openly in the cultural field only.

7.11 The RSS won back itslegal status on January 12, 1949. Following the demolition of the Babri Masjidon December 6, 1992, the union government imposed a ban on the RSS, the VHP, BDand organisations like the Jamaat-e-Islami and Islamic Sevak Sangh (ISS) onDecember 10, 1993. But the Bahri Tribunal set up under the Unlawful Activities(Prevention ) Act, exonerated the RSS and the ban was lifted on June 4, 1993.The ban on the VHP, BD and the Jamaat-e-Islami was lifted subsequently.

8. TheVHP and Bajrang Dal: Their Evolution and Role

8.1. In an RSSpublication, Matrusansthas (literally, ‘mother organisations’), on thenumerous affiliates and organisations which the RSS has spawned over thedecades and which form part of the Sangh Parivar, are included theVanvasi Kalyan Ashram and the VHP. (See Detailed Annexures, Volume III).

8.2. The VHP was born in1964, when the RSS chief, Shri Golwalkar, met a select group of sanyasisand heads of religious organisations in Mumbai with the aim of launching a neworganisation to unite all Hindu religious sects under a single umbrella. Duringthe first ten years of its existence, the VHP worked largely in thenorth-eastern states, proselytising against the Christian missionaries. Butfollowing the mass conversion of Dalits to Islam in Meenakshipuram (Tamil Nadu)in 1981, it shifted its focus and turned against Muslims. In this new phase, itsought to enlarge and formalise the institutional links between the highpriests of Hinduism across the country. Two apex bodies were created for thispurpose – the Marg Darshak Mandal, which meets once ortwice annually, and the Dharam Sansad, which meets only when needed. TheShankaracharyas, all heads of top maths, were given a prominent rolewithin them and most of them became closely identified with VHP politics.

8.3. In legal terms, theVHP was conceived of as a trust, with a 100-member board of trustees and a51-strong governing council. The latter body includes only one sanyasiat present, Swami Chinmayananda. An indication, perhaps, that the ultimatecontrolling power rests not with traditional religious leaders, but with theRSS patriarchs. VHP activists are called hitchintaks (well-wishers).

8.4. In a relativelyshort span of time, the trust has developed eighteen departments. These includethe Dharma Anusthan department, which organises kirtans and bhajansin temples. Another branch looks after dharma prachar (missionary work)geared towards ghar vapasi (reconversion, or literally, return to home)of Christians and Muslims. Yet another is the Acharya Vibhag, whichtrains pujaris (priests) for the VHP as well as for other non-VHP runtemples. The Parva Samanuyaya department co-ordinates common festivalswith non-VHP temple committees.

8.5. Since the early ’80sthe VHP has become politically visible with its aggressive ‘RamjanmabhoomiAndolan’. The declared aim was to ‘reclaim’ the ‘birthplace of Lord Ram’ inAyodhya on which the Babri Masjid stood and to build a Ram temple in its place.Among other things, the campaign involved a series of national mobilisations —the Ekatma Yajna (1983), Shri Ramjanaki Janmabhoomi Yatra (1984),other rath yatras (1985-89), Shilapoojan and Shilanyasceremonies at Ayodhya (1989), and finally, Shri Advani’s rath yatra(1990). All these, except the last one, which was organised under the BJPbanner, were conceived and organised by the VHP.

8.6. While some of these yatraswere for ‘consciousness-raising’, others required active contributions fromeveryone – a brick, a rupee, or the sale of a bottle of Ganga water in eachvillage of the country. The mobilisations were a means to claiming and, to anextent, creating ‘Hindu unity’ under the VHP’s auspices.

8.7. Of the myriad textsthat exist for the eclectic faith of Hinduism, it is curious that Manusmritiand Arthashastra are treated as central by the ideologues of HinduRashtra. It is interesting to remember that the Manusmritiprescribes a rigidly stratified caste and gender hierarchy, while the Arthashastrarecommends a police state under a single despotic head.

8.8. In retrospect, thecore concern behind the formation of the VHP was the desire to forge ‘unity’ ina society fragmented by the rigidities of caste. Beginning with the tribals ofthe north-east, VHP activities then extended to Delhi, Karnataka, Orissa,Andhra Pradesh, MP, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Kerala, UP and Bihar. The‘Hinduisation’ of exploited social groups became urgent, particularly after theMeenakshipuram incident. In UP, the VHP has been wooing the forest-dwelling Koltribes. The nature of the VHP’s activities among such groups reveals that theirinspiration is drawn entirely from the RSS worldview. On paper, the VHP isengaged mainly in educational work: setting up of libraries, yogashramas,balwadis, student hostels and child samskar centres for thedevelopment of the knowledge of Hindu texts and Hindu national heroes. But thecentral thrust – though the VHP seldom describes it as such – is clearly the‘conversion’ of tribals and Dalits to Hindutva-approved forms ofworship. Raghunandan Prasad Sharma’s VHP: Aims, Activities and Achievementsadvises the spread of the ‘chief religious samskaras’ among ‘vanvasis,girijans and harijans’. Clearly these are meant to replace existingbeliefs and practices among tribals and ensure a homogenised version ofreligion.

8.9. The Bajrang Dal (Seehttp://www.hinduunity.org/bajrangdal) looks after the training of young boys.It calls itself by different names in different parts of the country. InBengal, for instance, it is known as the Vivekananda Vahini.

8.10. The above mentionedwebsite describes the formation of the Bajrang Dal thus: “Vishva HinduParishad decided to start ‘Ram-Janaki’ rath yatra for awakening thesociety on October 1, 1984… Many elements refused to give protection to Rathand the participants. The Holy saints made a call to the Youths to protect ‘Rath’.Hundreds of youth gathered in Ayodhya. They performed their duty very well.Thus Bajrang Dal was formed with a temporary and localised objective ofawakening youth of UP, and get their involvement in Ramjanmabhoomimovement… In 1986, the VHP decided to form Bajrang Dal in other states andvery soon Bajrang Dal was formed in other states too, as its youth wing.” (SeeDetailed Annexures, Volume III).

8.11. It is clear fromthese assertions that whether it is the VHP, BD or the Durga Vahini, perceivedwrongs against a supposedly homogenous Hindu society are played upon to whip upsentiments against India’s religious minorities, be they artisans from Aligarhor Moradabad, peaceful residents of Faizabad or businessmen, traders andagriculturists from Gujarat. Implicit in their agenda is aggression againstfellow Indians.

8.12. The Durga Vahiniwing of the VHP works among young girls and women.

8.13. Centres of the BDare often located at Hanuman mandirs where they organise weekly satsangs(prayer meetings). The BD was largely instrumental in recruiting urbanyouths for the ‘kar seva’ at Ayodhya.

8.14. The distortion ofIndian history, in a bid to project a ‘Hindu history’ of a people who forcenturies were victims of Muslim marauders and Christian design, is at theheart of the mobilisation of these outfits. School textbooks and every otherforum of public discourse are used for this purpose.

8.15. During theRamjanmabhoomi movement between 1989-1992, Sadhvi Rithambara (an incendiary VHPprotégé), frequently proclaimed an all-out war: ‘Khoon kharaba hota hai toek bar hone do’ (“If there has to be bloodshed, let it happen once andfor all”). The call for blood was sufficient to instigate cadres intoviolence against Muslims in Meerut, Maliana, Bhagalpur, Ahmedabad, Varanasi,Kanpur, Jaipur, Hubli, Ahmedabad, Surat, and Mumbai.

8.16. “AngryHindu! Yes. Why not? Why are Hindus in the Dock?” An RSS booklet bythat title celebrated manufactured rage as the saving grace for the community.A Hindu Jagaran Manch leaflet from Khurja, published during the sameperiod, evoked the image of divine vengeance, seeking Muslim blood, elevating Hindutva’sblood-thirst to divine desire: “Ranchandi khali khappar liye gali galivichar rahi hain” (“The goddess of war is roaming the streetsthirsting for blood”). The open call for bloody revenge underpins thethinking of these organisations.

8.17. A distinct componentof the VHP strategy to evolve an ‘all-Hindu reality’ is to mobilise Dalits todo their job so that caste Hindus can avoid getting blood on their own hands.Thus the Valmikis (Dalits) were deployed in communal conflicts in Nizamuddin(New Delhi) in 1983 and during the riots in Delhi’s walled city in 1987. A morefundamental motive seems to be the assimilation (‘Hinduisation’) of Dalitsafter their ‘trial by fire’ in Ram’s name. Dalits are invited to embrace theideal of ‘Hindu unity’ even as discrimination against them and theirexploitation remains a harsh reality. A Harijan was thus given the greatprivilege of laying the first foundation stone at the Ram temple site inAyodhya in 1989.

8.18. The VHP’s promotionof the Valmiki group, in particular, is significant. It co-ordinates with theValmiki temple committees for its festivals and VHP literature pays glowingtributes to Valmiki and Ravi Das as ‘Hindu’ religious leaders. The associationbetween Valmiki and Ram is striking. It is also significant that in Delhi,Valmiki temples abound and constitute practically the only visible activity ofthe VHP among the low caste groups. The strategy is to recruit thetraditionally neglected and exploited tribals and Valmikis to defend the highcaste Hindu cause, by glorifying them even while showing little concern fortheir socio-economic status.

8.19. The VHP and the BDhave played an important role in Gujarat is recent years. Since the BJP cameback to power in 1998, these outfits have been breaking the law with impunity,certain as they are of political patronage from both the state and the centre.The Tribunal was presented with abundant examples of FIRs lodged against thecadre of these outfits in the past four years. The police, however, havelaunched no investigations. (See chapter on Build-Up, Volume II)

9.Funding of RSS and its Affiliates

9.1. Non-resident Indians(NRIs) of Gujarat have been the lifeline of finance for Hindutvaorganisations.

9.2. The Tribunalrecorded evidence of the vast amounts of money at the Sangh Parivar’sdisposal, to lure cadres, pay for advertisements in the mass media, print hateliterature, hold arms training camps, distribute trishuls in lakhs forfree and even employ fully paid cadres.

9.3. Fund-raising hasbecome a zealous activity for the RSS and VHP, the latter known as the WorldHindu Council abroad. Evidence before us suggests that organisations such asthe Hindu Sevak Sangh (HSS), a UK-based ‘charity’ and many such fronts in theUS collect and contribute large sums of money to these organisations.

9.4. The VHP finances theBajrang Dal, which remains an unregistered body, from the money it receives asdonations for charitable work.

9.5. Evidence before thetribunal suggests that the VHP itself has floated several organisations throughwhich it collects funds that are in addition to the contributions it receivesfrom other sources.

9.6. The most active havebeen VHP (USA) and VHP (UK), both of which are also connected with other”charitable” societies in these countries.

9.7. The HinduSwayamsevak Sangh (HSS), the overseas incarnation of the RSS and the Friends ofIndia Society International (FISI), the political mobilisation wing of the HSS,work very closely with the India Development and Relief Foundation (IDRF) inthe USA. The IDRF was set up as a tax-exempt, non-profit organisation in 1989,under the provisions of section 501(c)(3) of the tax code in the US. Itsostensible purpose is to raise money for organisations in India,”assisting in rural development, tribal welfare, and urban poor.”According to its tax returns, the IDRF raised $ 3.8 million in the year 2000,of which it disbursed $1.7 million in “relief and development work.”(From the exemption application of the IDRF filed with the IRS in 1989 and Form990 filed by the IDRF for the 2000 tax year). (http://www.hssworld.org/usa/wc/shakha/LosAngeles/rss_75years_files/frame.htm)

9.8. However, a closerscrutiny of the projects that the IDRF funds, the IDRF itself, the politicalaffiliations of its office-bearers and of the organisations that raise fundsfor it, reveals that the IDRF is closely linked with the Sangh Parivar —the RSS/VHP/BD and BJP.

9.9. Evidence placedbefore the Tribunal points to a strong link between the IRDF and its Indianaffiliate, Sewa International. On its web site and in its literature, the IDRFlists Sewa International as ‘IDRF India’ and Shri Shyam Parande, the generalsecretary of Sewa International, as the IDRF advisor in India. And on its website, Sewa International also states that it is “associated with the IDRF,USA and Sewa International, UK.” (The Sewa International, UK calls itselfthe ‘service project’ of Hindu Seva Sangh, UK).

9.10. From the evidencebefore us, it is clear that Sewa International identifies itself with thevision of the RSS. The organisation’s affiliation with the RSS is furtherconfirmed by the contents of the section entitled, ‘Experiments and Results’ onSewa International’s web site. This section expounds the visions of many RSSleaders (and only RSS leaders), the various “community” activitiestaken on by the Sangh and the resulting spread of Sanghphilosophy in different areas. In some of its earlier literature, the addressof Sewa International is the same as that of the RSS headquarters in Delhi.

9.11. Sevadisha, a publication ofthe Seva Vibhag (Service Wing) of the RSS also lists Sewa International as anRSS affiliate, established primarily to mobilise international support fororganisations working within the Parivar framework: “Yet anotherdevelopment is the establishment of an international organisation titled”Seva International” which now has branches in many countries. SewaInternational will look after the interests of sewa (service) relatedissues not only in the respective countries where they have chapters but alsotake up ‘global’ level care of sewa (service) work carried out under theSangh ideology.”

9.12. The FISI and HSShave held fund-raising drives for the IDRF. Many of the people associated withthe IDRF, its founders, affiliates in India and its officials have extensiveaffiliations with other Hindutva organisations in this country, or the SanghParivar in India. The IDRF’s Founders: Shri Bhishma Agnihotri, a well-knownRSS ideologue and an HSS Sanghchalak (Chief), is one of the founders ofthe IDRF. Two of the IDRF’s other founders, Shri Jatinder Kumar and Shri RamGehani are office-bearers of the FISI, while Shri Gehani is also associatedwith the organisation ‘Overseas Friends of the BJP.’

9.13. The Tribunal hasevidence that following the earthquake last year, Sewa Bharati, Gujarat,received a lot of funds from foreign donors as well as the Indian governmentfor rebuilding villages in Gujarat.

9.14. The Tribunal hasevidence which shows that money was raised by the IDRF, through SewaInternational, for five organisations belonging to the Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram(Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram in MP, Gujarat and Nagar Haveli; the Girivasi VanvasiSewa Prakalp in UP and the G. Deshpande Vanvasi Vastigrah in Maharashtra).Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram is one of the major Sangh affiliated organisationsactive in the tribal regions in India. From the evidence before the Tribunal,Vanvasi Kalyan Ashrams located in Bharuch, Vadodara, Kheda, Sabarkantha andBanaskantha districts have been very active on issues that are a clear part ofthe RSS agenda, as many witnesses told the Tribunal during its visit to theseareas.

9.15. Among what the IDRFdescribes as its affiliates, most appear to be linked with the vast network oforganisations affiliated to the RSS. For example, the One Teacher Schools (EkalVidyalays): This is a scheme started by the VHP to indoctrinate students inremote villages (tribal villages). Different Sangh organisations haveraised money for this scheme and helped in the administration of the schools.Some of them are the Bharat Kalyan Pratishthan, the VHP, the Swami VivekanandaRural Development Society, the Friends of Tribal Society, and the VanvasiKalyan Ashram — all of which have been funded by the IDRF based in the USA.Recently, the Ekal Vidyalay Foundation has been set up as an independentorganisation, but it is still under the control of Dr. BK Modi, the currentpresident of VHP-Overseas.

9.16. It appears clearfrom the evidence placed before us that Sewa International is the IDRFaffiliate in India, overseeing its Indian operation. In terms of monetary reimbursements,it may be the most significant ‘sister organisation’ of the IDRF. SewaInternational is a Sangh Parivar organisation that was set upprimarily for co-ordinating the flow of foreign contributions for Sanghprojects in India. Sewa International clearly identifies itself as a Sangh organisationand states in its mission statement that it “is an umbrella for more than2,000 projects and programmes all over India” overseeing “more than50,000 volunteers (swayamsevaks) involved in running 76 different typesof activities.” A swayamsevak, which literally means a ‘volunteer’,is a term that is increasingly identified with an RSS member, especially whenused in English. This organisation’s RSS affiliation is further confirmed bylooking at the section entitled ‘Experiments and Results’ on SewaInternational’s web site.

9.17. Sewa International,UK— the counterpart of IDRF in the UK, which also raises money for projectsoverseen by the Sewa International, India — is registered under the name ofHSS, UK. Lord Adam Patel, a Labour Party peer who was a patron of thisorganisation, resigned from it after the Gujarat carnage, claiming that SewaInternational had “links with right wing extremist groups blamed forprovoking rioting in India.” A newspaper from the UK reported Lord Patelas saying that he had examined Sewa International’s own records: “I amsatisfied that Sewa International is a front for controversial militant Hinduorganisations and so I have been forced to resign as one of its patrons.”

9.18. In view of theabove, the Tribunal notes the lack of accountability and transparency in thefunding and running of organisations like the RSS/VHP/BD which have beenindicted even by several judicial commissions of inquiry for their role incommunal violence. Given their huge network of affiliates,religious-developmental organisations, educational trusts, etc. it is difficultto fathom the manner in which funds are raised, the ostensible purpose forwhich they are raised and for what purposes they are actually utilised.

9.19. In the course of aninvestigation into the tax returns and assets of the VHP under the NationalFront government headed by Shri VP Singh – the income tax official, Shri Guptahad issued summons to VHP leaders, Shri Ashok Singhal, Shri Vishnu Hari Dalmia,Mahant Nrit Gopal Das and Mahant Paramhans to question them on the accountssubmitted for the financial year 1988-89. But using a technical loophole, thegovernment quashed the case within 24 hours, after senior BJP leadersthreatened to withdraw support to the government. Shri Gupta was transferred toTamil Nadu. Later, newspapers reported that the entire record of the IT returnsfiled by the VHP was found missing.

9.20. The Tribunal’sinvestigations into the Gujarat carnage reveal that free access to funds, fromabroad and India have contributed greatly to the strength of Sangh Parivaroutfits which openly conduct armed training camps, exhort young men and womento violence and seriously jeopardise communal amity and internal security.

9.21. To check the spreadand proliferation of hate ideology any further into the country’s social andpolitical life, it is imperative that the funding sources and links of theseorganisations and their myriad outfits are immediately and thoroughlyinvestigated.

10.Indictment in Communal Crimes

10.1. Virtually everyjudicial commission of inquiry officially appointed to investigate communalriots since Independence and Partition, has indicted organisations affiliatedwith or allied to the RSS/VHP/BD/BJP combine, including the Maharashtra-basedShiv Sena, for their role in violent crimes against India’s minorities. (SeeDetailed Annexures, Volume III).

10.2. Yet, the Indianstate has been reluctant to prosecute those guilty of these crimes. Suchfailure amounts to official complicity and shows reluctance on the part ofgovernments to give justice to a section of its citizens. The Tribunalrecommends that such crimes are dealt with seriously and swiftly andpunishments accorded so that the demands of internal peace, justice andreconciliation are met.

10.3. Through theirhigh-pitched, ‘Who casts the first stone?’ propaganda, Hindu majoritarianoutfits seek to absolve themselves of any blame or responsibility for theviolence and bloodshed, in the public eye. Expert evidence placed before theTribunal shows that in conflict after conflict, these outfits defend theiractions as “justifiable retaliatory acts by Hindus in self-defence”against attacks started by Muslims.

10.4. However, afterdetailed investigations, most judicial commissions of inquiry have concludedthat Hindu communal organisations systematically inject the poison ofcommunalism into the atmosphere and cause deliberate provocation to prompt areaction from Muslims, a reaction which is then projected as proof of Muslimshaving thrown the first stone. (See Detailed Annexures, Volume III).

10.5. In their findings onthe Jabalpur riots of 1967, Ahmedabad (1969), Kanyakumari (1982), Jamshedpur(1979), Ranchi (1969), Bhiwandi-Jalna, Mumbai (1970), Tellicheri (1971), thevarious judicial commissions of inquiry appointed by the appropriate state andcentral governments to probe into the violence have indicted one or othermember of the Sangh Parivar and other votaries of Hindutva. That theyhave escaped subsequent action is, of course, another matter. (See DetailedAnnexures, Volume III). A singular exception was the anti-Sikh riots inNovember 1984 where the Congress party and its then leadership must bear the blame for the massacre of 3,000 Sikhs in the nation’s capital.