Scholars, Writers Quit Government Bodies to Protest ‘Saffronization’ of Textbooks In Karnataka
A number of scholars and writers have resigned from government bodies in Karnataka state to protest the falsifications in school textbooks to reflect Hindu supremacist agendas.
The state’s government, which is run by the Hindu extremist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), has revised textbooks to remove historical campaigners against caste oppression, Muslim rulers, and Indian freedom fighters, leading to outrage among academics.
“The recent unconstitutional attack and oppression in education, cultural, and political spheres of the State has left us concerned,” said a group of writers in a joint letter to Karnataka chief minister Basavaraj Bommai.
“The government’s silence and lack of action on those who have been openly inciting communal hatred undermining the State and federal structure has left us anxious and scared.”
Said educationist V.P. Niranjanaradhya, who declined an honor from the state government for his work on the National Education Policy, “The State government has resorted to communalise and saffronise education and in this process, no curriculum framework, constitutional values and education policy have been followed.”
Muslim Professor Put On Leave For Praying After Hindu Extremist Complaints
In the latest case of Hindu extremists attempting to criminalize Muslims’ religious practices, a Muslim professor at Shri Varshney College in Uttar Pradesh state’s Aligarh city was sent on leave after Hindu extremist students took issue with him offering prayers in a secluded part of the college lawn.
Hindu youth leaders belonging to the right-wing group Bhartiya Janata Yuwa Morcha (BJYM) filed a police report against the professor, claiming that he was “trying to disturb the peace” by offering prayers in a public place.
Hindu extremists have grown increasingly intolerant against a number of Muslim practices that do not affect others, from offering prayers to Muslim dress customs. Meanwhile, violent displays of Hindu nationalism are often celebrated rather than punished.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Praises Paramilitary Hindu Supremacist Group RSS
Uttar Pradesh state chief minister Yogi Adityanath, an open Hindu supremacist, has openly praised members of the paramilitary extremist group Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) as Hindu extremists plow forward with the construction of a temple on the site of the criminally demolished Babri Masjid.
“The struggle of seers and leaders like (Vishva Hindu Parishad’s) Ashok Singhal and the efforts of lakhs of workers associated with the RSS seem to have taken shape today,” he said at an event marking a new phase in the temple’s construction, openly glorifying extremists who subscribe to a fascist and genocidal mindset.
“This is India’s victory against the invaders… The 500-year old pain ( tadpan’) suffered by the devotees is going to end,” he added, feeding into the false and divisive narrative that Muslim rules had oppressing Hindus for centuries.
‘The Kashmir Files’ Director Falsely Claims He Was Canceled By Oxford, Cambridge Universities in UK
Vivek Agnihotri, director of the anti-Muslim propaganda film ‘The Kashmir Files,’ lashed out at Oxford and Cambridge Universities, falsely claiming he had been “invited” by the prestigious institutions to speak on the topic of Kashmiri Pandits was proven to be false.
In truth, Agnihotri was invited not by these universities but by diaspora Kashmiri Pandits, the Hindus from the Kashmir region, who had commercially booked the venues. Moreover, his event was not canceled, but reportedly disallowed from being filmed. Agnihotri has used this as an opportunity to lash out against both universities as well as make disparaging remarks against Pakistanis.
“Yet another Hindu voice is curbed at HINDUPHOBIC Oxford Union. They have cancelled me. In reality, they cancelled Hindu Genocide and Hindu students who are a minority at Oxford Univ. The president-elect is a Pakistani. Please share and support me in this most difficult fight,” he claimed on Twitter.
Not only does Agnihotri’s film weaponize the grievances of Kashmiri Pandits to push a one-sided narrative, it has also directly fueled a rise in violent hate crimes and verbal abuses against Muslims throughout India, including one incident in Karnataka where a Hindu extremist attacked a Muslim teen with a sword.
