Indian Ex-Defence Chiefs Say Hindus Calling 'to Kill' Muslims Threaten National Security

The second edition of the Hindu religious parliament "Dharma Sansad", an event for religious discussion among holy men, was held in Haridwar from 17 to 19 December. Organised in the city on the banks of the Ganges River, the event's participants included seers, activists of hardline Hindu groups, and politicians from India’s governing BJP.

Prominent members of India’s defence community have joined a growing chorus of people across the country in demanding legal action against organisers of a Hindu religious event held last week, after several speakers there reportedly issued calls for killing Muslims.

Admiral (retired) Arun Prakash, former chief of the Indian Navy, and General (retired) Ved Prakash, who previously headed the Indian Army, took to Twitter to slam the event.

They criticised it for creating fissures in the country and weakening “national security” at a time when the South Asian country is involved in tense situations on both its eastern frontier with China as well as its western border with Pakistan.

India and China have been involved in a military standoff at the eastern Ladakh border for nearly one-and-a-half years. The deadly military standoff remains unresolved in spite of 13 rounds of military commander-level talks and several rounds of official discussions, including meetings between foreign ministers.

WHY IS THIS NOT BEING STOPPED? With our Jawans facing enemies on 2 fronts, do we want a communal blood-bath, domestic turmoil and international disgrace? Is it difficult to understand that anything which damages national cohesion & unity endangers India’s national security? https://t.co/ZwBpEbHVyB

— Arun Prakash (@arunp2810) December 23, 2021

WHY IS THIS NOT BEING STOPPED? With our Jawans facing enemies on 2 fronts, do we want a communal blood-bath, domestic turmoil and international disgrace? Is it difficult to understand that anything which damages national cohesion & unity endangers India’s national security? https://t.co/ZwBpEbHVyB

— Arun Prakash (@arunp2810) December 23, 2021

The calls by the defence veterans to stop “hate mongering” have been backed by other prominent national security observers as well.

Utterly disgusting. If the govt doesnt curb this hate mongering, it is playing with the security of the country.

— sushant sareen (@sushantsareen) December 23, 2021

Sanjaya Baru, who served as an adviser to ex-Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, has cautioned that the warnings by the former Army and Navy chiefs “deserve attention at the highest levels of government”.

The concerns from prominent individuals have surfaced as several videos of radical Hindu priest Yati Narsinghanand Giri, who was one of the lead speakers and organisers of the event, appeared online in the wake of the Haridwar gathering.

“Swords are not enough to kill the Muslims… They have stockpiled very advanced weapons… Our (Hindu) religion is not going to be saved just by picking up arms”, Giri said during a speech at the event.

“The Muslims (in India) have an economy of 400 million people. You (Hindus) number around a 1 billion people. You don’t have enough children to sustain your future generations”, he went on to say during the event.

As per the last federal Census in 2011, around 172.2 million Indians professed Islam, constituting almost 15 percent of the population. The Hindu population, on the other hand, comprised nearly 80 percent of the overall population.

“So, forget about using swords to kill them. We need advanced weapons. One who possesses more advanced weapons always wins in the fight”, he added, as per one of the videos.

Giri finally reiterated that only by having “the most advanced weapons in every Hindu household” and “by outnumbering Muslims in birth could the Hindu community be saved”.

In an interview given to Indian news channel Sudarshan TV, Giri, the head priest of the Dasna Devi temple in Uttar Pradesh, didn’t even spare Muslim politicians in the governing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

The Hindutva leader who called for genocide of Muslims at the #Haridwar Dharm Sansad didn't even spare federal minister @naqvimukhtar in this interview to @SudarshanNewsTV.

"Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and @ShahnawazBJP proved to be even dangerous than jihadis," said Narsinghanand pic.twitter.com/NbBTdqUKzd

— Dhairya Maheshwari (@dhairyam14) December 23, 2021

He remarked that leaders like Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi (a federal minister in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Cabinet) and former federal minister Syed Shahnawaz Hussain “are more dangerous than even jihadis”.

“It doesn’t matter if Muslims raise slogans praising Hindu gods. What happens when they outnumber the Hindus”, he said.

“India is moving towards becoming an Islamic state. This must be reversed and the nation should move towards becoming a Vedic-Sanathan (Hindu) nation”, Giri said in the interview.

"Hindus should have more kids and keep the most advanced of weapons. Only these things are going to save you in this fight", Giri said.

According to media reports, the event was attended by at least two politicians from the BJP- Ashwini Upadhyay and Udita Tyagi, the latter being a member of the governing organisation’s women’s wing (Mahila Morcha).

Can't Put India's Minorities in Such a Situation, Says Ex-Diplomat

Former Indian Ambassador Preet Malik agrees with the concerns raised by the former chiefs of the Army and Navy.

"You can't put India's minorities in such a difficult situation. They constitute a significant proportion of the population. If we keep challenging them with such statements (like made in Haridwar), there could be a reaction", he explained.

"It is certainly not the right time for any discord among our population", Malik remarked.

"Actually, it is never the right time for such hate-mongering", he added.

The former ambassador also said that India's "governance model" is being challenged by these hardline organisations and the government must "rein them in".