Somewhat contrary to the expectations of some observers, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has not, so far, introduced any extreme Hindu nationalist measures.
But in provincial India it is a different story. Hindu zealots have banned eating beef in the state of Maharashtra, for instance; the penalty for breaking the ban is five years in jail ( five years?!). This could be a prelude to a total national ban. It is not generally known inthe West, but India is second only to Brazil as a beef exporter, so imposing such measure would an economic disaster. Typically with religious extremists, the Hindus make up their religion as they go. In ancient Hinduism the gods enjoyed a good steak. The idea of the “sacred cow ” only came with Buddhism, which gradually influenced Hindus to abandon animal sacrifice. The extremists ignore history and the written word and rely on general ignorance to impose their own version of the religion. Surprise! Surprise!
The fact is that more than 250 million Indians are not Hindus, and India is a secular democracy, trying to bring itself into the 21st Century. It can do without this sort of ” religious” nonsense. (Based on an article along similar lines by Nirmalya Dutta, Mumbai)
Is Buddhism the only belief system on the planet that doesn’t seem to have its share of extremists? What breeds the need to dominate and boss everyone else around?
There are Buddhists extremists, such as the ones in Burma or Thailand, that want to impose their religion on their countries’ non-Buddhist citizens. But they aren’t a national security threat the way Islamic extremists are.
As for the Modi administration: if the government is serious about rooting out the corruption, misogyny and contempt for the underclass that exists in Indian society, then I welcome those changes. However, I will always be sceptical of the Hindu nationalists- basing your politics on identity rather than ideology is nothing more than petty tribalism. Questions of national and religious identity should always be addressed in the context of the higher principles (socialism, conservatism etc..) that unite a government,