Alok Kumar, the international president of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), speaks to Ananya Dasgupta of The Statesman.
Q: The Ram Mandir is now a reality. Is the VHP’s original mission accomplished or are there things now still on your radar?
A: It was not the original mission. The VHP was established in 1964. We took up the Ram Mandir issue in 1984, 20 years later. So, we were not a single-agenda organisation. But then, this has been one of the main projects for us. The structure, which was built to insult the Hindus, is now gone. The main agenda of the VHP is to ‘erect’ such a temple in the hearts of all Hindus, including the diaspora. For the Hindus of the world to unite, to live according to Dharma, to fashion their lives, thought and behaviour in accordance with the teachings of the Rama, Krishna, Buddha, and Guru Nanak; and to show the way to a happiness that stays and is eternal. The VHP would continue to tell all families to live a Hindu life and spend some time for God, for ‘gau raksha’, for Sanskrit, for Vedas, to stop love jihad and conversion, to strengthen our campaign for ‘ghar wapsi’, to maintain peace and tranquillity, and to have such a union which can defeat all the jihadi and other terrorist forces.
Q: You’ve raised the issue about bringing temples out of government control. Why does that matter? And what’s your action plan to make that happen?
A: The issue is about the inequity of the matter. Studies done by the British in relation to Punjab, Bengal and Tamil Nadu revealed that that in every temple, there used to be a gurukul and a gaushala. Social, cultural and religious events were held in the precincts of the temples. Family celebrations and prayer meetings were held. Temples were the lifeline of our social life. However, the Britishers started to take them over to make them ‘dead’, to turn them into spaces meant only for personal worship. Regarding the money received by temples; for example, in Tamil Nadu, 12 per cent of all offerings go to the government coffers in the name of administrative expenses. Temples also have to pay audit fees to the government. Most temples also must appoint a CEO who is mostly a retired babu or a politician; and his emoluments, pay and perks are also paid from the temple funds. When the government does not control a gurudwara, a mosque or a church, then why should it get enriched by funds belonging to temples? So that is why the VHP has declared that the time has come to take back temples from the government. For this reason, we will meet all the Chief Ministers this year to press this demand. If we are unable to meet CMs, then we will go to the Governors. We will also hold big public meetings of elites across the country to get more support for the cause. This is for 2025. And in the next couple of years, we hope the mandirs would come back to the Hindus.
Q: Several states are also now bringing anti-conversion laws and pushing for the Uniform Civil Code. From that perspective, what is working and where is more action needed?
A : When we talk about anti- conversion, we mean the conversion that is brought about by promises, greed, deceit or fear. Those conversions are not by change of consciousness, but are brought about by external forces without any internal change and are fraudulent. We do believe that there are organized efforts, particularly by the Church, where allurement is the cause for conversion. In a secular country, it is necessary to have laws to stop such conversion. We have actively engaged with governments in the drafting of such laws, and we are helping governments in their implementation as well. We have also trained our workers to maintain vigil and ensure such laws are implemented. We have deployed workers in 8,500 blocks in the country, which are sensitive to conversion, to focus on stopping the practice, tackle love jihad, and bring back those who had left Hinduism in this generation or in the last few generations.
Q: You are very vocal about demographic changes in border districts as well as there are concerns about infiltration. How seriously is the VHP treating this issue and what are you doing on the ground?
A: We were the ones who started this campaign, and not just in border areas. Even in Delhi, there is a huge population of illegal migrants from Bangladesh. They have changed the demography, and they try to change the results of elections. They consume resources and hinder development without having any rights. So, we keep a vigil, liaise with the government, and tell them these are the people who have come from Bangladesh and they should be sent back.
Q: There are concerns about Hindus who face attacks and are targeted in Bangladesh. Where and how do you think either the government or the VHP can step in?
A: Well, we did it very effectively. During earlier such instances of violence against them, the Hindus did not react and accept it as their fate. This time, after the ouster of PM Sheikh Hasina, the VHP and the rest of the Hindu Samaj held demonstrations in more than 100 countries, and met the heads of state and government. We impressed upon them to take all possible diplomatic measures, including the stopping of aid, until Bangladesh restores law and order and safeguards the lives of Hindus. The VHP has active branches in Bangladesh and their members protested on the streets of Dhaka, holding saffron flags and demanding security, equal rights, and prosperity. Not for a day, but for three days. It had an impact and Muhammad Yunus told the press that the violence against Hindus had to stop. And when Hindus wanted to meet him, he said he would himself come to the Dhakeshwari Temple. Also, our Foreign Secretary visited Dhaka and said this is not an internal issue of Bangladesh, but this concerns the whole of humanity. So, I am satisfied that this time the Hindus resisted and did not come to India as refugees. They asserted their right that they are Bangladeshis and they will stay there.
Q : Let ‘ snow talk about Pahalgam, where Hindus were targeted. What are you doing to spread this message against terror across the world?
A: The Pahalgam attack and the Delhi blast, these are jihadi activities, and these emanate from a certain ideology. I call it political Islam. An expansionist divides the world into two sections – Darul Islam (House of Islam) and Darul Harb (House of War). Muslims are one category and the rest are another category. And those in the other category must be brought into the first category. For this purpose, violence is right for them. A jihadi is ready for all punishments. It is an ideological battle, and this ideological battle must be fought ideologically – to understand what Islam is, to point out what is out-of-date in it, to point out which portions in it are anathema to democratic values, to liberties, and to freedom of speech and expression.
Q: What to you is that one simple Hindu value that can heal the world amidst this divisiveness globally?
A: Well, unity amongst diversity is a basic Hindu thought. We are not the rulers of nature, but a part of it. Not only humans, but all living species and the entire nature, everything is divine. To understand this, to feel this unity, simultaneously creating our own individuality and identity, is being Hindu. And spreading this to the world is a trust that has been bestowed upon Hindus. We are trying to execute that trust.