HINDUPHOBIA
Have you heard the word |Kafirs | Malaun | Heathen |Satan |Pagan | Idolator, if not find out in the article below?
What Is Hinduphobia? When did it start?
Hinduphobia started during the very time of Macaulay in India. It was promulgated by the British as a means to aggrandize sectarian division in Indian society, part of the divide and rule strategy employed by the British.
The great majority of the population of India consists of idolaters, blindly attached to doctrines and rites which … are in the highest degree pernicious. In no part of the world has religion ever existed more unfavorable to the moral and intellectual health of our race.
— Thomas Babington Macaulay in a speech delivered in the British House of Commons.
The Christian missionaries and Muslims denigrate Hindu practices like deity worship, the caste system.
Hinduphobia is the irrational fear of, hostility to, or discrimination against Hindus and Hinduism. Both have a tragically long history which continues to this day across the globe.
Both are fuelled by a range of factors, including religious intolerance, religious exclusivism, a lack of religious literacy, misrepresentation in the media, academic bias still rooted in colonial-era miss-portrayals, and, in the diaspora, generalized anti-immigrant xenophobia and hatred.
Hindu across the globe are hardly exempt from such attacks on their religion and culture.
In the past several year's anti-Hindu hate crimes, ranging from temple desecration to acts of physical violence have been on the rise all over the world.
Attack on Houses of Worship and Religious Institutions
Temples are huge and are frequently located in rural locations with little security outside, and due to their visibility and unique architecture, Hindu houses of worship are frequently targets of vandalism, trespassing, and sometimes, of burglary. It is very common in Pakistan, Bangladesh, and in Kashmir.
Hindu temples built on private property and built long before Malaysian independence, have been demolished by Malaysian government officials in recent years.
Hindu temples and ashrams, other places of religious importance have faced hostility and harassment from their neighbors as well.
Anti-Hindu Prejudice in the Media
The media have become obsessed with something called “Hinduism”.
According to these media houses, on one hand, Hinduism represents the threat of a resurgent atavism, which suggests not only the menace of a return to the dark ages but also the destruction of the secular order in India.
Even as the Hindu community grows its numbers, Hinduism remains poorly understood in the public sphere.
Non-Hindu’s in general also held a neutral or negative view of Hindus compared to other religions.
Youths are generally influenced by the portrayal of Hinduism offered in the mainstream media, by public officials, and by their own community and religious leaders.
Unfortunately, much of the coverage of Hindus and Hinduism in these outlets is flawed, relying on stereotypes and inaccurate information.
Hindus have begun to protest these media houses and pseudo-scholars distorting their religion and perpetuating negative stereotypes.
Anti-Hindu Prejudice in the Public Sphere
Given the level of misconceptions and ignorance about the Hindu community and its beliefs, Hindu frequently face harassment and religious prejudice when they attempt to participate in public life.
Ordinary Hindu are not been spared. The Hindu outside India is accused of having dual loyalties to India. It is also alleged, without any evidence, that these same donors financially support Indian political parties and politicians and right-wing Hindu fundamentalists in India.
Such attacks show the progress that needs to be made before religious prejudice is erased.
The portrayal of Hinduism in Christian Media
Hindus have often faced xenophobic prejudice from other religious groups. Much of this prejudice has been spread through the efforts of hard-line, evangelical organizations espousing Christian supremacist views.
While the ostensible goal of these organizations is to convert Hindus to Christianity, the heightened rhetoric used often demeans Hindus and denies their humanity.
For example, one website describes Hinduism as the “pig pen of the East” and “one of the world's most dirty and dignity destroying religions.” The website goes on to note that Hindus have no morals, take pleasure in the pain of others, and engage in domestic violence. Another noted that Hinduism does not believe in the concept of forgiveness.
Similarly, a common theme among many of the sites is that Hinduism is evil and involves the worship of demons. One site even ascribes supernatural powers to Hindus, drawn from a relationship between Hindus and Satan.
Many of these organizations attack Hindu deities and worship as demonic. Other sources attack the Hindu practice of yoga, arguing that engaging in the practice will corrupt Christians.
While such things promote hatred and fear of Hindu, increasing their isolation and vulnerability to harassment and violence.
Anti-Hindu Bullying in Schools
Due to misinformation about Hindu beliefs and practices, Hindu students are facing bullying and harassment from other students in schools, especially where non Hindus are in majority.
Hindu students have said that they had been bullied for their religious beliefs, and there are feelings of awkwardness or social isolation because of their religious identity.
Students also privately confessed that they had been bullied at least once or twice, and the fellow student is often “making fun of Hindu traditions.”
Schools are not proactively working to make sure that their content about Hinduism is accurate, up-to-date, and culturally competent to minimize instances of Hindu students feeling singled out, isolated, and targeted for their religious identity. It is because the hard-liners either Muslim and Christian are anti-Hindu and have a deep hatred for them.
Anti-Hindu Speech in Politics
In India Akbaruddin Owaisi, a leader of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen party in Hyderabad Telangana has been charged several times for hate speeches denigrating Hindu gods and inciting violence against Hindus. Owaisi had mocked Hindu cremation by saying “when you (Hindus) die, you become air after burning and go astray.” Owaisi had talked in derogatory terms about heritage places of India including Ayodhya.
Some Christian politicians in the United States said, a vote for Tulsi Gabbard is a vote for Satan, the devil do you agree or disagree? … Hawaii, you can have your so-called ‘perfect’ pathetic Hindu 1000 gods leader…and your pathetic American traitor, and my family and I will go our merrily way.
Solution
Hindu teachings acknowledge and accept that there are multiple paths to, perspectives on, and ways to worship. In the famous passage from the Rig Veda, the tradition’s oldest sacred text, it states, “The Truth is one, and the wise call it by many names.” Such religious or spiritual freedom must be based, however, on mutual respect.
The Hindus must have a worldwide campaign to fight hate and educate as a direct response to the rise in hate crimes against Hindus.
Education is to promote a deeper understanding and broader awareness of Hinduism, including the culture, language, and traditions of the Hindu community.
With this Hindus will broaden the scope of their advocacy by empowering Hindu community leaders across the world by providing them and the general public with cutting edge programming, effective tools, easy-to-read materials, and the training necessary to address the needs of the Hindu community in 2020 and beyond.
We believe that the best way to fight hate is to educate. That means creating materials for students, parents, politicians, interfaith leaders and the educational institutions that support them, as well as working with community leaders, law enforcement, and government officials to educate and properly guide them on the positive role they can play by gaining a thorough understanding of Hinduism and our concepts of human dignity, mutual respect, and pluralism.
