Sanatan Rashtra Mahotsav: In a new low, Union culture ministry, Delhi govt sponsor event inciting Islamophobia

by Ankita Mahalanobish

Hindutva groups organising events where prominent Right-wing faces call for the creation of the Hindu Rashtra and issue direct or veiled threats to minorities have become common in India, but what made the Sanatan Rashtra Sankhanad Mahotsav at Delhi’s Bharat Mandapam stand out from them was that it was co-presented by the Union government. 

The two-day event on December 13 and 14 featured a range of demands, including the creation of a Hindu Rashtra, the mass deportation and conversion of Muslims, and even calls to amend the Constitution of India to formally declare the country a Hindu nation. It was organized by two organizations named Save Culture Save Bharat Foundation and Sanatan Sanstha in association with Union ministry of culture and the ministry of tourism of the Delhi government.

Union ministers Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Shripad Nayak and Sanjay Seth, along with Delhi tourism and culture minister Kapil Mishra, spoke at the Sanatan Rashtra Sankhanad Mahotsav, along with a host of RW ideologues. The participation of the ministers and the government’s involvement gave legitimacy to several of the speakers openly challenging the very secular foundations of the Indian republic. All banners and publicity material of the event carried the Union government and Delhi government’s name and logo. Below are two examples: 

At a press conference on December 8, the organisers outlined the purpose and tone of the event. It would be a two-day “Ganga of Knowledge” aimed at exploring the concept of Sanatan Rashtra, they said. Abhay Vardhak, chairman of Sanatan Sanstha, added that Sanatan Rashtra was not just an idea but the very “soul of our nation.” The event was intended to promote the ideology of Hindu Rashtra and educate attendees about the glory and gallantry of the Maratha Kings, who, the organisers claimed, had compelled the Mughals to leave the country.

According to Sanatan Sanstha, over 3000 delegates and representatives from more than 800 Hindu organisations from across the country were to participate in the programme.  

Sanatan Sanstha is a Hindutva organisation founded by ‘hypnotherapist’ Jayant Balaji Athavale in Goa in 1999. The Karnataka police are currently investigating the Sanstha in connection with the murders of Gauri Lankesh and M M Kalaburgi. However, the organisation has consistently denied any involvement in these killings.

The Save Culture Save Bharat Foundation was founded by Uday Mahurkar, a follower of Veer Savarkar’s ideology. Mahurkar is an author who has written two books — one on Prime Minister Modi’s governance and another about Veer Savarkar. The Foundation focuses on preserving Indian culture and advocates for stricter laws and enforcement against “obscene, vulgar, and sexual content” on OTT platforms, social media, and films. It aims to ban pornography in India to help protect the nation’s culture.

Ram Mandir Redeemed India from Cultural Darkness: Shekhawat 

Union culture and tourism minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, in his address, said that the country was going through “an era of cultural renaissance”. He described the centuries following the demolition of the Ram Mandir as a prolonged period of cultural darkness, as if ‘the sun of India’s culture had set’, only now redeemed through its reconstruction, that ‘the radiance of India’s cultural heritage’ began to be visible across the country. Shekhawat added, “With the establishment of the Ram Mandir, today India’s culture, its cultural values and knowledge that arose from India’s land are being re-recognised across the world with anew respect and acceptance. “Our country is undergoing an era of cultural renaissance.” 

Shekhawat extended his gratitude and respect to the Sanatan Sanstha for the event Sanatan Shankhnad, which he views as a symbol of cultural revival. 

Kapil Mishra Spoke as Only Kapil Mishra Can: ‘Us vs Them’, ‘Love Jihad’ et al

Delhi tourism and culture minister Kapil Mishra took pride in the fact that such a programme was being organised with government support. His openly polarising speech contained remarks vilifying Muslims.  

“The thought of organising an event like this in the heart of the capital of India was beyond imagination about 10-11 years ago, with the support of not only the state government but also the government of India. Even if we wanted to organise a discussion, we had to carefully think about where to sit, where to deliberate, and where to conduct it. It was almost assumed that any contemplation or discussion on the nation’s major challenges would have to be controlled or regulated by the government. But today, when we look at this platform, we see both ‘ministry of culture’ and ‘Delhi Tourism’ written here.”

Mishra also assured the organisation of full institutional support, stating, “On behalf of the Delhi government, I can say that whatever programmes you organise in this manner, we stand fully alongside you with all our support and strength.”

“Only when somebody is completely disconnected from Sanatan Dharma and the fundamental nature of humanity, can someone study, become educated, even become a doctor, and then make plans about how to kill people,” he added. 

“When women are confined, oppressed, denied education, crushed, and subjected to abuses such as triple talaq and halala, the offspring born from such suppressed maternal power may emerge with similarly toxic traits. However, if maternal power radiates with the strength of Jagadamba, for every jihadi that one attempts to create, a Shivaji will be born.” 

By contrasting Hindu cultural ideals with those associated with the Muslim community, Mishra created a starkly polarising narrative. He specifically targeted the Muslim community, framing it within an ‘us vs. them’ context. Furthermore, Mishra emphasised the need to combat ‘Love Jihad,’ asserting that severe atrocities were being committed against ‘our’ women. 

1 crore Fake Voters in Bengal, 1 Girl in ‘Love Jihad’ Everyday: Ashwini Upadhyay

BJP leader and the Supreme Court lawyer Ashwini Upadhyay spewed hate through his openly Islamophobic address. “Every year, five lakh sisters and daughters go missing. Of these, 1.5 lakh are found, but 3.5 lakh remain untraceable. This means that one girl every day falls victim to ‘Love Jihad’,” he claimed. He further alleged that more than one crore fake voters would be identified in West Bengal. According to him, India is leading in what he described as “Love Jihad, Land Jihad, fake voters, illegal encroachment, and a population boom.”

Upadhyay put forward a solution to all these major problems of the country and urged that society should stop referring to the people as Hindus and Muslims, and instead refer to them as Hindus and ‘converted Hindus’. He added that those who had converted should be converted back. 

He further stated that India had many large industrialists, and if they decided that all their employees would undergo ghar wapsi, it could be done very easily and would solve many problems.

He argued that no father wanted his daughter to face practices such as “triple talaq, halala”, or to become what he described as a “child-bearing machine,” and no brother wanted another woman standing beside his sister as a sautan. Since, according to him, this is happening, he said that “we ourselves must find a solution.” 

He claimed that through ghar wapsi, “terrorism, jihad, and stone-pelting would come to an end.” He also made degrading assertions about food contamination, suggesting that Muslims intentionally adulterated food, implying that it would have to be made “pure” again. No one would spit in bread, urinate on fruits, or contaminate food if ghar wapsi happened, Upadhyay asserted.

Upadhyay stated that “humans and demons are not the same,” and therefore, according to him, “equality before the law should not apply to everyone”. He questioned why the Constitution should apply to a religion that, in his view, did not believe in equality or freedom of thought.

He concluded by raising slogans calling for mass conversion into Hinduism and the establishment of a Hindu Rashtra.

India on the Verge of Becoming Islamic Country: Suresh Chavhanke

Suresh Chavhanke, the owner of the propaganda news channel Sudarshan News, in his speech, focused on the topic of “population” and made extremely derogatory and anti-constitutional remarks.

In his address, Chavhanke claimed that India is on the verge of becoming an “Islamic country” due to disproportionate population growth. He argued that in a democracy, only numbers mattered and “we”, referring to the Hindus, were losing what he termed a “population war”. He alleged that Muslims practised polygamy and had excessively large families,  “They have four wives and 44 kids” . While Hindus, he said, continue to follow the family planning slogan, “Hum do hamare do”, like a Vedic mantra. According to him, this has led to a drastic decline in Hindu population growth, which he characterised as a long-term conspiracy to skew the country’s demography. 

Chavhanke further alleged that out of 58 “Islamic countries”, only 13 became Islamic through armed conflict, the remaining 45-35 countries, he claimed, became Islamic by “producing babies”. He went on to assert that even AI software like ChatGPT and Gemini has stated that in the next 12 years, Hindus will become a minority in India, and the country “will slip out of our hands” when the current birth ratio of Hindus and Muslims continues. 

Chavhanke proposed three “solutions” to this “problem”. 

First, the National Register of Citizens (NRC) should be implemented, and all infiltrators and encroachers should be expelled from the country. He claims that 25% of the increased Muslim population consists of infiltrators from various neighbouring countries like Bangladesh, Myanmar, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and others. “First, the National Register of Citizens (NRC) should be implemented, and all infiltrators and encroachers should be deported from the country. (Is desh meh NRC lai jai aur ek ek ghuspaithiyon ko chun kar Hindustan k seema k bahar nikala jaye.),” were his exact words.

Second, he advocated imposing restrictions only on Muslims, including banning four marriages and having many children for Muslims. He said, India is not your father’s property, that you can do whatever you want here. (“Hindustan tumhari Abbu ki jagir nehi hai ki tum yaha apni maan marzi chalaoge”.)

There should be no more than one marriage and not more than two children. He even spoke about implementing a cap, that the percentage of Muslims should not exceed even 1% more than what it was during the time of India-Pakistan partition in 1947. Failure to impose such limits, he argued, amounted to a “betrayal of Hindus”, claiming that while a separate country was created on religious grounds, Muslims were allegedly being allowed to “capture” India through population growth. But Hindus have now “awakened”; they will not make this “mistake again”.

Chavhanke also expressed unequivocal support for the present BJP/Modi government, stating that he had no doubts about the party’s intentions or PM Modi’s leadership. However, he insisted that reducing the Muslim population should be among the government’s highest priorities. “The government’s first priority should be to reduce the Muslim population. This is what we demand,” he said. 

Third, he called for increased family size for Hindus as a form of demographic counterbalance. “Hindus need to have more children. Have as many children as you can take care of. Anyone who has more than two children, I will take care of their education. We are starting a gurukul in Nashik for this purpose,” he stated, adding, “Those who are too old to have children should tell their children and servants to have children.”

Chavhanke also chaired a session, where his opening lines while interacting with the audience were extremely provocative. He said, “Not just people present inside this mall, but all the katmullahs (a derogatory slang used to refer to Muslims) residing in Delhi should know what is happening here today. Bharat Mata ki Jai! Jai Sri Ram!”

“Modi ji, please stop all the schemes benefiting Muslims in India,” he pleaded. According to him, this will facilitate ghar wapsi.

Hindus Being Displaced: Pradeep Bhandari

BJP’s national spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari stated that “demography is democracy’s destiny” while alleging that the nation’s demography was changing. He asserted that infiltrators were residing in border areas and further claimed that there were no regions in the country where a Hindu minority had become a Hindu majority. He claimed that Hindus are being displaced from areas surrounded by Muslim-majority communities. “It is always from Hindu minority areas to no traces of Hindus.”

‘Need Offensive Strategy’, ‘Reclaim Mosques’

Among other speakers, Rahul Dewan from an organisation called Hindu Fund advocated for a “mass conversion” of Muslims and emphasized the necessity of adopting an offensive strategy for establishing a constitutional Hindu Rashtra. He stated, “Anti-conversion laws, bulldozer justice, awareness about Love Jihad, reserving jobs as AC mechanics and painters exclusively for Hindus, and the Uniform Civil Code are all defensive strategies.” He added, “We need an offensive strategy… we require a constitutional Hindu Rashtra.” He complained that no Hindutva organization was doing anything for the cause of the Hindu Rashtra. 

Pramod Muthalik of Sri Ram Sena asserted that thousands of temples had been demolished and converted into mosques and dargahs, which needed to be reclaimed.

Overall, almost every speech made at the programme challenged India’s pluralistic fabric and secular status. Some of the addresses amounted to clear dog-whistling and call for a boycott of or even violence against Muslims. Some others made similar points in a more veiled manner, all of them platformed by Union culture ministry and Delhi government.  

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