Govt-Backed Event Demands Hindu Rashtra, Mass Conversion & Deporting 25% Muslims

The Sanatan Rashtra Shankhnad Mahotsav was organised by Sanatan Sanstha in Delhi's Bharat Mandapam.

The Sanatan Sanstha event was sponsored by the Union government and Delhi Tourism. 

(Kamran Akhter/The Quint)

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Demands for Hindu Rashtra and mass deportation of Muslims were raised at an event backed by the Union Ministry of Culture and Delhi's Tourism Ministry earlier this month. Union ministers Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Shripad Naik and Sanjay Seth as well as Delhi tourism minister Kapil Mishra even spoke at the 'Sanatan Rashtra Shankhnad Mahotsav', which was organised by Hindutva organisation Sanatan Sanstha at Delhi's Bharat Mandapam on 13-14 December.

The demands made at the event ranged from "mass conversion of Muslims" to "throwing away 25 per cent of India's Muslims outside the country" and changing the Constitution of India to make it a Hindu Nation.

The Sanasthan Sanstha event was backed by the Union Culture Ministry and Delhi Tourism. 

'Deport 25% Muslims from India, Impose Population Cap'

One of the speakers who focused on "population" in his speech was Suresh Chavhanke, owner of Sudarshan TV. Here are some of the statements he made:

• "India will become an Islamic country because of population. In democracy, only numbers matter. We are losing this war."

• "In 12 years, Hindus will be a minority in India. Ask Chatgpt." (We did ask Chatgpt this and the answer it gave is: "Hindus are not expected to become a minority in India in this century".)

• "25% Muslims in India presently are infiltrators. They are Bangladeshis, Pakistanis, Afghanis. Bring NRC and remove them from India."

"Modiji to save India, send infiltrartors outside India. We are willing to sacrifice everything for it."

Suresh Chavhanke at the event

• "Ban four marriages and multiple children for Muslims. There should be a cap of one wife, two children on Muslims."

• "There need to be a cap on Muslim population. It should be the same percentage as what it was during partition."

• "The government's first priority should be to reduce Muslim population. This is what we demand."

• "Hindus need to have more children. Have as many children as you can take care of. Anyone who has more than two children, I will take care of their education. We are starting a gurukul in Nashik for this purpose."

• "Those who are too old to have children should tell their children and servants to have children."

Chavhanke also chaired another session in which he said he will take care of "killing of jihadis".

'Convert People Out of Fear of Govt'

BJP leader and Supreme Court lawyer Ashwini Upadhyay called upon the government to carry out mass conversion of Muslims into Hinduism. Here are some of the statements he made:

"Our country doesn't comprise Hindus and Muslims. It is Hindus and converted Hindus. And those who have been converted, we have to reconvert them".

• "People who have been converted once, can't they be converted again? Those converted due to fear of the sword, won't they convert out of fear of the administration? Those who converted due to Jaziyah, can't they be converted due to fear of increased taxation?"

• "All Mandirs, Gurdwaras, Jain and Buddhist temples, Maths and Kathavachaks should become centres of Gharwapsi."

• "If every Hindu converts one person, we will be able to achieve our target."

• "There are so many businessmen here. They can easily make their employees convert."

"If Gharwapsi happens, there will be no terrorism, no stone-pelting, food will be pure, people won't spit on your roti, urinate on your fruits and defecate on your dal."

Ashwini Upadhyay, BJP leader at the event

• "Look at villages where there are two households of converts surrounded by 10 households of Hindus. They can easily be reconverted. Should such people be identified or not?"

• "People should reconvert others, and government should identify such people."

• "We have a full package for reconversion. (Tell Muslim women) Come you will get full rights."

'Mass Gharwapsi the Only Solution'

Rahul Dewan of the Hindu Fund was another speaker who called for "mass conversion" of Muslims.

"Large scale Gharwapsi is the only solution," he said.

Dewan has consistently been calling upon Hindus to become "more missionary" in their efforts. In fact, he has even proposed conversion of Rohingya and Bangladeshi immigrants into Hinduism.

This is his pinned post on X.

During his short address during the Shankhnaad Mahotsav, Dewan said that too many of the efforts of Hindutva activists were "defensive" and not "offensive" in nature and he demanded that the constitution be changed to make India a "Hindu Rashtra".

"Anti-conversion laws, bulldozer justice, love jihad awareness, only Hindus as AC mechanics and painters, Uniform Civil Code - these are all defensive strategies," he said, adding, "We need an offensive strategy...we need a constitutional Hindu Rashtra."

However, Dewan was critical of Hindutva organisations for not working towards Hindu Rashtra.

"Except Sanatan Sanstha, no Hindu organisation is demanding Hindu Rashtra. Not VHP, nor any Sangh," he said.

According to him, the survival of Hindus is at stake.

"If they mix ammonium nitrate in laddoos, lakhs of Hindus will die," he claimed.

However, Dewan's speech was cut short during transmission and it is not clear whether this was due to technical issues or due to some disagreement with his views.

Chavhanke who chaired the next session said, "What happened in the previous session shouldn't happen. It is unfortunate that there are such disagreements (between pro-Hindutva people)".

Mission Hindu Rashtra

According to Sanatan Sanstha, over 3,000 delegates and representatives from more than 800 Hindu organizations from across India participated in the two-day event.

The organisation claimed that the participants, including government representatives, have resolved for the establishment of a 'Sanatan Nation'.

"Saints, scholars, central and state ministers, entrepreneurs, advocates, thinkers, and defense experts collectively resolved to work for the protection of Sanatan culture and the establishment of a Sanatan Nation."

Sanatan Sanstha, in its release about the event

Referring to Delhi Tourism's involvement in the event, Delhi's tourism minister Kapil Mishra in his speech, "It is a matter of pride that along with the Union Ministry of Culture, Delhi Tourism is also part of this event".

The release quoted Swami Vigyananand, joint general secretary of Vishwa Hindu Parishad, as having said, "Hindus must rise beyond festivals like Navratri or Diwali and strive toward regaining lost cultural ground. Only then will India evolve into not merely a Hindu Nation but a Republican Hindu Nation.”

Speakers such as Pramod Muthalik of Sri Ram Sene, claimed that thousands of temples had been converted into mosques and Dargahs and needed to be reclaimed.

The event also included a skit which showed a Hindu woman being killed by a man dressed like a Muslim who smashed her head with a rock. Shown as a self-defence demonstration, the skit went on to show the 'Muslim' dressed man being stabbed to death.

The Sanatan Sanstha is a hardline Hindutva organisation founded by hypnotherapist Jayant Balaji Athavale in Goa in 1999. The Sanstha is being probed by the Karnataka police in the murder of Gauri Lankesh and MM Kalaburgi. However, the organisation has consistently denied any involvement in the killings.