Christian and Muslim leaders have found the diktat of right-wing Hindu groups asking Hindus not to buy festival items from shops run by non-Hindus arbitrary and communal.
The pro-Hindu outfits like the Bajrang Dal (brigade of Lord Hanuman) and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (World Hindu Council) have urged Hindus in a statement not to purchase items from non-Hindu shops during the festival of Diwali, which is observed in the country on Oct. 31.
The campaign featuring posters with communal slogans was started ahead of the festival of lights in Bhopal, Ujjain, and Devas in the central state of Madhya Pradesh, ruled by the pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Bajrang Dal and the BJP owe their allegiance to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a clandestine paramilitary ultranationalist outfit.
Many Muslim traders in India are engaged in the production and sale of Hindu festival items.
“Certainly, such campaigns by the majority Hindus can create disharmony as they want to divide people in the name of religion for their gains,” Emeritus Archbishop Leo Cornelio of Bhopal told UCA News.
“Tomorrow they [Hindu groups] may ask people not to send children to Christian schools,” the prelate warned.
It is all part of the game to “target minorities in the country,” Cornelio noted.
This move will “create communal tension” among different religions, noted Muhammad Arif, chairman of the Centre for Harmony and Peace.
Arif blamed the BJP government in Madhya Pradesh for allowing the campaign to run in the state.
There are many Muslims who cultivate flowers, and make candles and earthen pots for Hindu festivals, Arif noted.
“They will be rendered jobless,” he added.
Arif’s organization is based in Uttar Pradesh, which is also ruled by the BJP.
The BJP government in Uttar Pradesh came out with a direction to display shopkeepers’ names outside their stalls during an annual Hindu festival of Kanwar Yatra in August.
However, the pro-Hindu government order was stayed by the Supreme Court, the top court in the country.
During the nine-day popular Hindu festival of Navaratri in September, right-wing groups banned Muslims from taking part in the Garba (traditional dance).
Violence against Muslims and Christians has increased many fold after Modi came to power for the first time in 2014.
source : uca news