SRINAGAR — 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.
“WHY IS THIS NOT BEING STOPPED? With our Jawans facing enemies on two fronts, do we want a communal blood-bath, domestic turmoil and international disgrace? Is it difficult to understand that anything which damages national cohesion and unity endangers India’s national security,” former Navy Chief Arun Prakash tweeted.
Former Army Chief General VP Malik replied: “Agreed. Such speeches disturb public harmony and affect national security. Action required by Civil Administration.”
They criticised it for creating fissures in the country and weakening “national security” at a time when the country is involved in tense situations on both its eastern frontier with China as well as its western border with Pakistan.
The calls by the defence veterans to stop “hate mongering” have been backed by other prominent national security observers as well.
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.
“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”.
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 BJP’s women’s wing (Mahila Morcha).
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”.