At a Hindutva factory

An account of a visit to a training camp run by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad.

in Ahmedabad

THE gates to the empty school were wide open. But inside there was a bamboo barricade. Two rifle-toting Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) workers, in trademark khaki shorts, patrolled the entrance.

The sound of gunshots greeted us as we drove in. Rifle training was under way.

I asked if I could take some photographs. That enthused the instructors. Suddenly, they stood steady and shouted instructions in a more authoritative manner. But soon the `seniors' intervened. "Why do you want to take pictures?" asked one of the organisers, whose hair and moustache were cropped close, in military style. "All you people from the English press want to give us a bad name. Next, you will publish these pictures and say we are running a terrorist camp," he said. My denial fell on deaf ears. "It is girls like you from the English press who have made us notorious. Except some, others have short hair, and are very modern. They don't respect Bharatiya culture. Show me your visiting card. I want to know where you are coming from," he said.

He was a bit perplexed when he saw "The Hindu" written on the card.

"See, we are on the same side," I joked. But he was not convinced.

"Who is your editor?" he demanded.

"His name is N. Ram. Dekho, hum dono Ram ki seva karte hain (Both of us are working in the name of Ram)," I told him. Finally, he smiled, and said: "Come, meet our leader."

I was ushered in to meet `the leader' from Delhi, Surendra Jain. "So, you are from The Hindu. We have asked that newspaper to change its name. It always criticises us," he said. Immediately, the others were on guard. "Let them keep writing. It's good to know what our detractors think. The more they write, the more we go forward," he boasted. "It's thanks to the bashing that Modi won the Gujarat elections. People felt that it wasn't correct. We reacted in such a quiet way. Yet, we got so many abuses," he continued.

I changed the topic and tried to get some information about the camps. "For the past 13 years, we have been running these camps. The basic aim is to prepare workers who are `desh bhakts', to organise the youth to protect the country and the religion. This summer, such camps are being run in 35 places across the country," Surendra Jain explained. "It's not the duty of just the state to protect the country. It's also the duty of all citizens. No one looks at all the social work we do. We did rehabilitation work during the Kutch earthquake. We have opened cow shelters all over the country. We are not anti-Muslim. We are the enemy of any person who hates India," he asserted.

After that, `the leader' spoke to the young trainees on "the uniqueness of the Hindu religion". A good part of his speech was composed of put-downs of other religions.

"We know that Christianity started around 2,000 years ago. We can trace the birth of Islam to around 1,400 years back. But no one knows when Hinduism was born. The first person on earth was born in the form of a Hindu. The history of Hinduism is as old as humanity itself," Surendra Jain revealed. Some of his insights would startle both historians and theologians. Yet, they might well be in tomorrow's textbooks.

"Christians and Muslims have killed crores of people and destroyed cultures in the name of religion. The history of their religions is tainted with blood. Hinduism is the only tolerant religion. Both Christianity and Islam say that non-believers have no right to live. They can launch jehad against them. Finish them off," he said.

Then came the call for action. "In Gujarat, you have shown the way forward to the rest of the world. You have shown us the path to deal with jehadis. It was a victory of our religion," he said. "The concept of `ahimsa' has been interpreted wrongly. It doesn't mean cowardice. It doesn't mean we don't respond when attacked. To bear injustices is not written in the Hindu religion... We are the ones who believe in the immortality of the soul. Yet, we are the ones most afraid of death. The jehadis have no fear of death. They learn this at an early age in the madarassas [religious schools]. We must also end our fear of death."

His speech reached a frenzied pitch. It got progressively shriller as he tried to mesmerise his audience. The speech was followed by a lunch break, when no one was allowed to speak. Finally, I got a chance to speak to the participants. Who are these boys? Where do they come from? What draws them to the camp?

Prajapati Hargovandas (20) joined the camp after a colleague introduced him into the Bajrang Dal. An engineering student, Prajapati works in Gandhinagar in a company that manufactures weighing scales. His father is a farmer-cum-moneylender. "After attending this camp, I feel all Hindus should sign up to protect our religion against Muslims. I will go back to my village and invite the Bajrang Dal to do a trishul distribution ceremony there," he said.

But what is the need for a trishul?

"We should have weapons to protect our religion and our country. Muslims should be removed. They are spreading terrorism, communal violence and anti-social activities."

What did he learn at the camp?

"We learn yoga, judo, karate, obstacle courses. There are discussions on religion and national issues. We are taught how to protect our country, and if there is a conflict between Hindus and Muslims, on how to deal with it. How to respect elders. What to do in a mandir. What to do if an earthquake strikes."

But what is the need to learn rifle shooting, judo?

"It is necessary for self-defence. If there is a riot, and if the Bajrang Dal sends us to fight terrorists, we should know how to fight and use weapons."

Said Manubhai Satvara (26), a marginal farmer and casual labourer from Sami in Patan district: "In our village, some Muslim boys teased a Hindu boy while he was praying in school. A fight broke out. After that, I was told to join the Bajrang Dal. All Hindus should unite - whether they are Patels, Thakurs or any other caste."

There is little doubt that it is a feeling of belonging that attracts many to the Sangh Parivar. "I am handicapped. But after joining this camp, I don't feel so. Everyone works together. My self-confidence has increased," said Bharatbhai Vadher (25), a farmer. "When I was a young boy, I remember how one of the girls in our village was taken away by a Muslim boy. No one spoke out against this. That memory still haunts me. I will unite all Hindus in my village to see that something similar doesn't happen again," Bharatbhai said.

Some of the camp trainers are full-time VHP members. They live in the local shakha and work without any pay. The Sangh looks after their basic needs such as food and shelter. "I live in the shakha headquarters and travel in surrounding villages to recruit new members," says Devraj Desai (22), a rifle-training instructor, from Dhansura village in Sabarkantha district. "I was in the Army for one year. One of my uncles died while serving in the Army and another lost his leg. After that, my family asked me to leave the Army. I always wanted to work for the nation, so I joined the Bajrang Dal in 1999," Devraj recalled.

For many, Hindutva is a family tradition. "I was in the RSS [Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh] since I was 10 years old. My entire family is part of it," says Ashok Vaghela (30), the lathi instructor, who is a small trader from Ahmedabad. "The Bajrang Dal teaches you more about security work compared to the RSS. But both have the same goals - to create a Hindu Rashtra. The Islamic and Catholic movements are a threat to our country. Islam is spreading terrorism. Christians are converting poor Hindus," Vaghela asserts.

Both instructors and participants recite the same lines. Their education is complete. So is the military-like discipline. "We can't talk to you until our senior gives us permission," the instructors said. All interviews were conducted under the close supervision of the camp organiser, who prompted the participants when necessary. As soon as the whistle blew, a young boy who was being interviewed jumped up and said he wanted to leave.

The boys had to sit through another `knowledge' session, which I was not allowed to attend. I tried to listen, catch snatches of the enlightened discourse. The speaker was telling the boys how to prepare for emergencies such as a riot or an earthquake. One of the organisers observed that I was listening. "He is telling them what they should do in case there is any civil disturbance," he said.

The organisers told me that they had changed their plans. Instead of the evening physical training session, there would be a march through the town to make people aware of the VHP's public demonstration and trishul distribution ceremony the next day. Soon, I was asked to leave. "We have let you stay here for long enough. It is time that you left," said the organiser, who had initially interrogated me. After being treated to such a generous helping of VHP-style Bharatiya culture, I did not persist. I left immediately. As we drove out, the guards at the gate had put down their rifles and were taking a nap, oblivious of the `awakening' that was happening within.