Vishva Hindu Parishad

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Viśva Hindu Pariṣad (Devanāgarī: विश्व हिन्दू परिषद,বিশ্ব হিন্দু পরিষদEnglish: World Hindu Council), abbreviated VHP, is an international Hindu organisation founded in India in 1964. Its slogan is "धर्मो रक्षति रक्षितः Dharmo rakṣati rakṣitaḥ", which is supposed to mean "Dharma protects its protector". Its symbol is the banyan tree.

History

The right wing Vishwa Hindu Parishad organization was formed in 1964 by Swami Chinmayananda as president and former Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) member S.S. Apte as general secretary, with Sikh leader Master Tara Singh as one of the co-founders. It was first mooted at a conference in Pawai, Sandipani Sadhanalaya, Mumbai on 29 August 1964. The conference was hosted by RSS sarsanghchalak M.S. Golwalkar. The date was chosen to coincide with the festival of Janmashtami. Several representatives from the Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist and Jain faiths were present in the meeting, as well as the Dalai Lama. Golwalkar explained that "all faiths of Indian origins need to unite", saying that the word "Hindu" (i.e. people of "Hindustan") applied to adherents of all the above religions. Apte declared:

The world has been divided to Christian, Islam and Communist. All of them view Hindu society as very fine rich food on which to feast and fatten themselves. it is necessary in this age of conflict to think of and organize the Hindu world to save it from the evils of all the three

—.

It was decided at the meeting that the name of the proposed organization would be Vishva Hindu Parishad and that a world convention of Hindus was to be held at Prayag (Allahabad) during Kumbha Mela of 1966 to launch the organization. It was further decided that it shall be a non-political organization and that no office bearer of any political party shall be simultaneously an office bearer in the Parishad. The following aims and objectives were set before the Parishad.

• To consolidate and strengthen the Hindu Society.
• To protect, promote and propagate Hindu values of life, the ethical and the spiritual in the context of modern times.
• To keep in touch with all the Hindus living abroad, and to organize and help them in all possible ways in protecting their Hindu identity also popularly known as Hindutva.

The motto of the organization is "Dharmo Rakshati Rakshitah" (धर्मो रक्षति रक्षितः) meaning "Dharma protects its protector".

Ayodhya dispute

Main articles: Ayodhya debate, Ram Janmabhoomi, and Babri Mosque

The VHP had been involved in the dispute over the Ram Janmabhoomi, or Babri Mosque, for twenty years before its demolition. This activity involved demonstrations, petitions and litigation. The VHP claimed that the Babri Mosque was built by demolishing the temple at the birthplace of Rama (Ram Janmabhoomi). The further VHP claimed that the mosque was in a dilapidated condition and not used for worship or any religious activity by the city's Muslims.^{[citation needed]}

In the late 1980s, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) brought the temple issue to the centerstage of national politics, and the BJP and VHP began organising larger protests in Ayodhya and around the country. The feeling was that the issue was continually ignored by coalition governments and the secular-socialist Congress Party, as well as the courts.

In 1992 a large group of Hindus, including members of the VHP, were camped on the site of the Babri Mosque. On 6 December 1992 the mosque was demolished by elements of the crowd. Rioting followed across India with 2000 people killed.

The Liberhan Commission headed by Justice Liberhan was constituted to investigate the whole episode. A large number of VHP workers testified before the commission.

Ideology

The VHP demands are broadly as follows:

• Creation of Ram temple at Ram Janmabhoomi^{[citation needed]}
• End of alleged forcible conversions by Christian missionaries and Islamic institutions.^{[citation needed]}
• Ban on cow slaughter.^{[citation needed]}
• Declaration of India as a Hindu Rashtra, literally Hindu Nation (note that this term includes all those who can trace their religious beliefs back to India, including Sikhs, Buddhists and Jains).^{[citation needed]}
• Tougher anti-terror laws and tougher penalties for terrorists.^{[citation needed]}
• Implementation of a Uniform Civil Code.^{[citation needed]}
• Revocation of Article 370 of the Indian Constitution.

Meaning of Hinduism

VHP's use of the word Hindu(as with other Hindutva organisations) is to mean those people of Indian or Dharmic faiths and thus this broader use of the word includes Buddhist, Jain and Sikh faiths.

Conversions from Hinduism

The VHP claims India has historically been a Hindu nation, in culture, heritage and history. Islam was brought by foreign invaders who imposed it upon millions of Hindus, and perpetrated acts of Hindu temple destruction, pogroms and forced religious conversions. Christian missionaries brought Christianity to India when the Portuguese, French and the British colonized the land. Christian missionaries often denigrated and demonized Hinduism to coerce native peoples into converting. VHP works to convert Christians, tribal peoples and Muslims to Hinduism. It states that all Muslims and Christians in India were originally Hindus, and that all citizens of Bharat (India) are naturally Hindus.

Law enforcement authorities have reported that the conversion processes have largely been peaceful and voluntary. However, there have been some altercations associated with conversion, and the subject of religious conversion is very controversial in many parts of India.

Stated Aims and Objectives

The stated goals of the organisation are as follows:

• To consolidate, strengthen and make invincible the global Hindu fraternity by following the eternal and universal life values based on Sanatan Dharma (i.e., Hinduism) and work for total welfare of humanity on the basis of the unique cultural ethos of Bharatvarsha.
• To promote activities of education, medical aid and relief to the poor or any other activity in the advancement of general public utility for furtherance of literature and scientific and socio-religious research.
• For fulfillment of above-mentioned objects if any activity is carried out which requires money to be collected in the form of sales, charges for boarding and lodging, distribution of books, literature, etc., then the prices and charges will be such that as far as possible they will not yield any profit.

Organization and leadership

Local office of Vishva Hindu Parishad, at Haridwar

The Bajrang Dal is the youth wing of the VHP, and it is organized in many states in major training camps called shakhas, where thousands of young men simultaneously train in various activities, receive sports and cultural education. The Durga Vahini, founded in 1991 under the tutelage of Sadhvi Rithambara as its founding chairperson and the support of the VHP, is described as the "female arm of the Dal". Members of the Vahini contend that the portrayal of their group as a branch of the Bajrang Dal is an oversimplification, and that their goals are to "dedicate ourselves to spiritual, physical, mental and knowledge development".

The VHP organizes in community meets and shakhas throughout the country. Its national organisation is democratic, with an International Working President and an International General Secretary as their most important executives. However, only seasoned, senior leaders control the seats on the Central Council which will elevate men to the varying posts.

The Dharma Sansad is literally a religious parliament, a gathering of Hindu seers, scholars and high priests from all over the country. They rule on policy and principles and advise the executive on social and cultural questions.

The VHP is an independent organization of a socio-cultural nature, with many political activities. It has many active branches in North America, South East Asia and East Africa, where large numbers of Hindus live. It is engaged in numerous social development activities in hundreds of villages in different parts of the country, helping in their economic alleviation and cultural revitalization.

The VHP also have divisions made up of women. VHP secretary Giri Raj Kishore charted out highly visible roles for women in the group. He charted out two "satyagrahas" for women during their demonstrations.

The VHP has been a prime backer of the World Hindu Conference in which issues such as casteism, sectarianism, and the future of Hindus were discussed. Prior Conferences have included Hindu Groups such as Parisada Hindu Dharma.

Communal tensions

In 2002, Hindu activists returning from Ayodhya were burnt alive by a mob of Muslims, in a train at Godhra; leading to the infamous Gujarat Riots. The VHP endorsed unsubstantiated rumours about Muslims kidnapping three Hindu girls during the Godhra train attack, which initiated the violence during the Gujarat riots. Anil Patel, a VHP departmental chief, said:

Our war cry was ‘Lock the door from outside and burn the Muslims from the inside’

The VHP has recently engaged in several programs to reconvert Hindus who had previously converted to Christianity. VHP has advanced that conversion to Christianity had earned them no significant benefits and so their return to Hinduism was relatively straightforward.

In Punjab, the VHP has played an active role to prevent conversions of Sikhs, especially low caste Sikhs being converted to Christianity. This is as a result mostly from oppression by high caste Sikhs, however the VHP have helped stopped Christian missionaries from converting Sikhs nonetheless.

The VHP collaborated with Christian Association for Social Action and played an active part in providing relief to both Hindu and Christian families affected by the Love Jihad activity in Kerala during 2005–2009 period.

In August 2008, the VHP blamed Christians for the murder of Swami Lakshmanananda, though Maoist militants had claimed responsibility for the killing. In the resulting disorder, Christian settlements were set on fire, and 25,000 Christians were forced to flee their villages. The Roman Catholic Church claimed that at least 67 Christians were killed. Various news sources also reported that a nun was raped during the violence. A judicial commission probing the violence said that conversion and re-conversion were among the major factors that led to the disorder, without blaming any religious groups or the CPI (Maoist).

See also

• Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)
• Sushil Kumarji
• Hindutva
• Bajrang Dal
• Hindu Rashtra
• Praveen Togadia
• Master Tara Singh

External links

• Official Website of VHP
• Public Relations Website of VHP
• Youtube Channel Of Videos on VHP