Married Hindu women perform rituals during the Karwa Chauth festival at Ram temple in Allahabad, India on October 11, 2014 ©Sanjay Kanojia (AFP/File)
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi has long been accused of being a Hindu nationalist. But in today’s officially secular India, home to sizeable populations of Buddhists, Christians and Muslims, there should no longer be room for nationalism, and Modi would do well to eradicate such nationalist sentiments. Such as the one recently coming from the mouth of Sakshi Maharaj, a lawmaker from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), India’s ruling party. In a speech on Tuesday, Maharaj, who represents the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, spoke of the obligation of Hindu women to protect the Hindu majority by having at least four children. Maharaj announced, “The time has come when a Hindu woman must produce at least four children in order to protect the Hindu religion.”
Comments like the above belong to another era, and social media in India, representing the new era, immediately reacted negatively to Maharaj’s remarks, with his name heavily trending on Twitter. The comments also sparked a demand for explanation by Maharaj’s political opponents as well as a call for the prime minister to denounce the remarks. Abhishek Manu Singhvi, a leading figure in the opposition Congress party, queried, “Why has the prime minister maintained silence even for 24 hours? Is this the new population policy of India? The country wants to know, the nation wants an answer.”
Lately, Modi is increasingly being confronted on the issue of Hindu nationalism, and the latest call for action follows his inaction last month in refusing to ask for the resignation of another BJP lawmaker who addressed a campaign rally, asking the crowd if they wanted a government of “the children of [Hindu god] Ram or the children of bastards”. Modi must also deal with radical political organizations which have been linked to his party, who advocate “re-conversions” by religious minorities to Hinduism, either forced or through coercion. Over 200 Christians were “converted” last month in Modi’s home state of Gujarat.
While the majority of India’s population is Hindu, approximately 80 percent, measures must be taken to represent and protect the remaining 20 percent. With a decline in India’s average birthrate over the last twenty-two years, from 3.6 in 1991 to 2.3 in 2013, any talk of promoting the births of one religious identity over another is not only outdated but could have pronounced effects and increase rifts among religions. The issue of nationalism has already halted Parliament, inflamed opposition leaders, and threatens to undermine efforts at political and economic reform. Modi needs to speak out now against Hindu nationalism.