Swara Bhasker shared some photographs recently of the Griha Pravesh ceremony for her new house. The photographs showed her offering puja to the Gods in order to seek Their blessings for a new beginning. The photographs were quite odd given her political antics, but nonetheless, it was good to see her not completely abandon her Hindu heritage. It is not everyday that you see a liberal in India celebrating her Hindu heritage.
As sweet as the photographs were, it incurred the wrath of Ambedkarites and Communists who were incensed over the simple demonstration of piety. They seized upon the opportunity to peddle their anti-Brahmin and anti-Hindu agenda.
There is a litany of comments to that effect. Swara Bhasker is being accused of peddling the ‘Brahminism’ agenda, with declaration that ‘Brahminism’ would never die in India. Some also accused her of “normalising” casteism.
We are forced to ask here, what does performing Hindu rituals have to do with Hindutva if the latter is not merely convenient ruse used as an excuse to target Hinduism? What has Brahminism got to do with Hindu rituals if it is not a convenient excuse to attack Hinduism as a whole? The masks have fallen and even before the Covid-19 pandemic, falling masks are an ominous sign.
Some are comparing the photographs to Nazi propaganda. Imagine the morbid hatred for a minute here. A simple act of offering prayers to the Deity before beginning a new chapter in her life is being compared to Nazi propaganda. The holy trident and the Swastika is being equated with Nazism.
Such public display of bigotry against any other religion is not tolerated but when it comes to Hinduism, it is open season for one and all. And it is even encouraged in campuses at Universities, in the media and in the entertainment industry.
The comparison to Nazism is a recent phenomenon that has received extensive coverage in recent times. Attempts are being made to draw an equivalence between Hindutva and White Supremacy and as part of the initiative, they are directly targeting symbols considered holy in Hindu faith now.
Some went to the extent of labeling her ‘feminism’ as ‘Brahminism’ too.
The manner and the reason due to which Swara Bhasker was ‘cancelled’ provides good insight into what ‘Dismantling Global Hindutva’ essentially entails. Ambedkarites, Communists, Islamists, Christian evangelicals may claim that they are against a political ideology and not a religion but it is only a convenient ruse to cloak their actual sinister agenda.
If Hindutva were actually what they were against, why would they take objection to one of their own simply offering prayers to Hindu Gods and organising a Griha Pravesh ceremony? And there is no doubt about that, Bhasker here is one of their own.
She has spread fake news, denied obvious reality and shamelessly peddled all sorts of malicious agenda to undermine Hindutva but the moment she showed some semblance of pride in her heritage and offered prayers to Hindu Gods, she was ‘cancelled’.
It only goes on to show that peddling propaganda against the BJP is simply not enough, opposing Article 370 and CAA is not enough either. Tarnishing the reputation of Prime Minister Modi is only the most basic of expectations, and so is Hindutva.
The real litmus test to become a part of their group is to shed one’s identity wholesale and malign Hinduism in its entirety. Remaining attached to even the most peripheral aspects of Hinduism is considered betrayal. ‘Dismantling Global Hindutva’ is all hunky dory, right until the moment one decides to celebrate Hinduism. Then, that person will be ‘cancelled’ by the very people they sold their soul to.
We know this to be true because we have seen how that works out in the West. Hindu politicians and staffers of political candidates have been targeted precisely due to their faith and no attempt has been made to disguise the fact that the allegations were made solely because the person was Hindu.
We saw it when Islamists sitting in India targeted Hindus living in the Middle East over comments they made on social media and attempted to have them fired from their jobs and arrested. In at least one case, a Hindu was framed by Islamists with a fake profile and the personal, unfortunately, lost his job and spent two years in a jail in Saudi Arabia.
Again, we see the same hatred in operation when Swara Bhasker is attacked for performing rituals as per Hindu traditions and customs.
