Statesman News Service

GANDHINAGAR, Feb. 7. - The eighth Dharam Sansad of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad came to an end in Ahmedabad today with a clear call to consolidate the Hindus under one wholesome group. With this objective in mind it was observed that Buddhists, Sikhs and Jains were all Hindus. At a Press conference later, Acharya Giriraj Kishore, senior vice-president of the VHP and Dr Pravin Tagodia, international general secretary, went even further to state the Christians and Muslims could also come into the Hindu fold "provided they gave up their extraterritorial loyalties."

The emphasis on consolidation of Hindus under one umbrella would also mean political gain, the two VHP leaders spelt out. They maintained that a "Hindu vote bank", which they hope to make, would help in the formation of governments. "Now the BJP government at the Centre needs crutches, this will not be the position when the vote bank is consolidated", the VHP leaders said.

The three-day Dharam Sansad passed ten resolutions. The one on Ramjanambhoomi came up only on the last day and in a diluted form. The resolution stated that a three-year time was required for the temple infrastructure to be completed. The resolve to build, however, was reiterated. The main resolutions of the Sansad concerned the need to stop religious conversions, and to forge unity amongst the various Hindu groups. The "sants and the sadhus" are expected to spread the message of unity amongst the Hindus, with emphasis to remove casteism and untouchability amongst them. The Gujarat Chief Minister, Mr Keshubhai Patel, visited the Sansad on Saturday.

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VHP IN CROSS-FAITH CRUSADE

FROM OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

The Telegraph

New Delhi, Feb. 7

The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) will align with Buddhists to forge a religious alliance and fight the "expansionist forces of Christianity and Islam". At the end of its Ahmedabad dharam sansad, VHP vice-president Giriraj Kishore told a press meet that Hinduism is akin to Buddhism and the VHP is for a pan South Asia-Southeast Asian religious coalition that will allow monks from these "broadly similar faiths" to work together.

The VHP has decided to rope in the Sikhs and Jains as well. Organisation president Ashok Singhal said the VHP will begin a rally from Patna to Anandpur Sahib to mark the tercentenary of the Khalsa Panth set up by Guru Gobind Singh to protect Hindus.Tribal religious practices will also be part of the front. VHP leaders said "non-aggressive indigenous cultures and their vividh upasana paddhati (varied religious procedures)" will be included.

It is not surprising the VHP has directly identified Christianity and Islam as religions alien to the Hindu and, therefore, Indian ethos. This was part of the view shared by the RSS thinktank. Even senior BJP hardliners subscribe to this. The VHP also declared its line of action will be to "cultivate the bigger Hindu votebank". Yesterday, it accused the Vajpayee government of not delivering the goods." They are unable to implement the Hindu agenda because they are limping on crutches," a spokesman said. It is obvious the VHP's "campaign of hatred" has a definite design: bringing the Hindus together. Having laid low for five years, the VHP is back on political centrestage after highlighting the proselytisation issue. It believes it has been able to regroup large chunks of the Hindu electorate in parts where the parivar (BJP's) mass support base had begun to dwindle, as proved by the November polls.

The spokesman said without cultivating the larger Hindu electorate, the VHP will not be able to place a "real BJP government in power." Then there will be no patching up with partners politically poles apart. "We want a government that will implement the Hindu agenda," he said. Giriraj Kishore alleged that those converting to Christianity and Islam had extra-territorial loyalty. Citing the example of National Socialist Council of Nagaland, he said the NSCN runs a parallel government in Nagaland and even has embassies in many Southeast Asian countries. Christians and Muslims could be included in the Hindu fold, he said, if they give up extra-territorial loyalties to the Vatican and Mecca and accept India as their motherland. Denying that the VHP itself harbours any political ambition, Acharya Kishore said: "We believe rajshakti (political power) should be controlled by dharmashakti (religious power)." Today's VHP resolution called for more active interaction between Hindu and Buddhist religious leaders. The VHP assessment is there are over 200 crore Hindus and Buddhists in the world. The VHP believes it will get ready support from Buddhists. VHP's margdarshak Acharya Dharmendra said: "Buddham sharanam gachhami also means Shriram sharanam gachhami and Srikrishna sharanam gachhami."

The dharam sansad took serious note of the "inroads" made by Christian missionaries in scheduled caste and scheduled tribe belts. "Now our sons will fan out in different corners to counter the missionaries with provisions for education, medical aid and other social services," said a VHP leader from West Bengal. A few Sikh, Jain and Buddhist monks attended the meet. Eleven resolutions were passed, including those on conversion, implementation of the 40-point Hindu agenda and use of Sant Shakti to protect Hinduism. The agenda included formation of a Hindu Rashtra, ban on cowslaughter, liberation of Kashi, Mathura and Ayodhya.

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