On 26th August, propaganda portal The Wire published an op-ed by Sunita Viswanath, Executive Director of anti-Hindu and anti-India US-based organisation Hindus for Human Rights. In the op-ed Sunita attempted to draw a parallel between the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza to the trials faced by Bhagwan Krishna and Pandavas in Mahabharata. She literally asked Hindus to sympathise with Hamas terrorists on Krishna Janmasthami.
The analogy presented by Sunita Viswanath via The Wire is not only deeply flawed but also misleading. Mahabharata speaks about the Pandavas, who were the embodiment of Dharma and who fought against the Kauravas, representing Adharma. The great War of Mahabharata was guided by Bhagwan Krishna in order to bring about justice and truth.
On the other hand, Hamas, the Palestinian terrorist organisation has been targeting civilians with impunity, including the women and children and the elderly, while calling for the genocide of Jews and the destruction of the state of Israel. There are sufficient evidence to prove a majority of the Palestinians support Hamas and want to wipe out Israel from the face of earth. By likening the retaliation faced by Palestinians to the righteous battle of Pandavas, Sunita distorted the essence of Mahabharata and tried to gain underserved sympathy for Hamas, which is far from being a force of good.
If we want to draw parallels, Hamas’ actions were more akin to the Kauravas as just like Kauravas wanted to annihilate the Pandavas through deceit and treachery, Hamas, its supporters and linked terror outfits want to annihilate Israel. Furthermore, it is essential to recognise that Mahabharata is not a story of oppression versus resistance, but it is a tale of victory of good over evil, the triumph of justice over tyranny. In that context, Hamas can never be compared to either Pandavas or Krishna. The true comparison of Hamas lies with the Kauravas, the evil forces.
Israel is not Kansa: The wrong comparison
Sunita in her op-ed, portrayed Israel as Kansa, the evil uncle of Bhagwan Krishna. Such comparison is equally misguided. Kansa was a cruel ruler and wanted Krishna dead because Krishna was to be, according to prophecy, the cause of his downfall. Kansa tried to kill Krishna when he was a toddler and continued his efforts till the point Krishna finally killed Kansa.
Going back to what happened on 7th October, who killed innocent toddlers in a terrorist attack? It was Hamas. If Hamas killed innocent toddlers, children, women and elderly alike without giving it a second thought, how can the retaliation faced by Hamas and its supporters be compared to what Bhagwan Krishna faced throughout his life as a child?
Kansa’s rule was marked by brutality, fear and injustice. On the other hand, Israel is a sovereign democratic state where people from other religions too enjoy freedom. It has full right to defend itself against terrorist attacks from Hamas. It is Hamas and its linked terrorist organisations who want to wipe out Israel from the map. What Israel did was a retaliation and what happened in Gaza was collateral damage of the terrorist attack by Hamas, a Palestinian terrorist organisation, on 7th October.
Thus, to equate Israel with Kansa is misguided and misrepresented just to draw a different story of Israel-Hamas conflict. Kansa was an oppressor. He imprisoned and killed people out of fear for his own power. It is very similar to Hamas who killed innocent Israelis and foreign nationals on 7th October and took over 250 hostages fearing retaliation from Israel.
Israel, on the other hand, is not motivated to oppress. The Jewish country and its people want to live peacefully on their land and have helped Gaza for years to build infrastructure on the sidelines of two-nation theory. What Hamas did? It used the infrastructure developed by Israel in Gaza in attacks on Israel. Even the pipes installed in Gaza were repurposed to build rockets to fire at Israel.
Israel’s retaliation on Hamas is not motivated by a desire to oppress people. In fact, they sent multiple warnings to the people of Palestine to shift to a safer place as they were going to attack Hamas installations. However, out of sheer evilness, Hamas did not allow the people of Palestine to leave Gaza. Sunita here is needlessly dragging Hindu belief systems and Gods to twist the narrative and pass off the sins of Hamas as some kind of righteous struggle.
The teachings of the Bhagavad Gita are misconceived.
She attempted to invoke Bhagvad Gita to justify her story in her op-ed. Sunia claimed that Hindus should stand for the Palestinians because Bhagwan Krishna teaches us to strive for the wellbeing of all and to feel the joy and sorrow of others as our own. Though she is correct about the teachings, the context was grossly misapplied.
The Bhagvad Gita is a spiritual guide. It teaches the importance of Dharma and the necessity of righteous action with justice as the goal in mind. Krishna taught Arjuna to act in accordance with Dharma even if it seemed difficult. Supporting a terrorist organisation like Hamas that engages in violence and spread hatred towards Jews is not in the line with the teachings of Bhagwan Krishna through Bhagvad Gita. Bhagwan Krishna advocates for the protection of those who follow Dharma and not the endorsement of acts where innocents were harmed or killed.
Hindus for Human Rights: Anti-Hindu hyenas in disguise
Sunita is the Executive Director of Hindus for Human Rights (HfHR) which is an open anti-Hindu and anti-India organisation based out of the US. The organisation presents itself as a defender of human rights. However, its blatant anti-Hindu narrative has been exposed several times. HfHR often uses Hindu symbols and teachings to push its narrative. In this op-ed too, Sunita tried to use Mahabharata and teachings of Bhagwan Krishna to garner support for a terrorist organisation and its supporters. By doing so, HfHR has exposed its true colours and ideology once more.
HfHR and individuals like Sunita do not take a breath before criticising Hindu practices and beliefs. Their selectively outrage and twist interpretations of Hindu text, like she did here, suggest that their primary goal is not to protect human rights but to erode Hindu identity from the face of the earth by smearing it with false narratives. Sunita aligned with Hamas and framed Israel-Hamas conflict in a way that unfairly demonise Israel. HfHR’s executive director, hence, showed her anti-Hindu self masquerading as a human rights organisation.
Leave Hindu gods out of political narratives
The misuse of teachings of Sanatan Dharma to draw false equivalences in the Israel-Hamas conflict is not only intellectually dishonest but offensive to every sane Hindu worldwide who revere these sacred stories. The Mahabharata is not just another story. It is the history of Santan Dharma, a tale of righteousness prevailing over evil. Thus, it should not be distorted or misrepresented to serve political agendas that are completely oppositing its teachings.
Sunita, organisations like HfHR and media houses like The Wire should leave Hindu Gods out of their deranged narratives as it is clear that they cannot respect the true essence of Hinduism. The comparison between Hamas and the Pandavas is not only incorrect but dangerous to its core. It is an attempt to legitimise violence and terrorism by cloacking it in the disguise of religious righteousness. It is high time these false narratives are called out and stopped before they go out of hands.
