SUMMARY
VHP (Vishwa Hindu Parishad, World Hindu Council) was formed in 1964 at the day of Shri Krishna Janmashtami (the most important God according to Hinduism) by Swami Chinmayanand who preceded his leadership by preaching and spreading Hindu culture. Like the general notion of Hindu nationalism, VHP sprung from a fear of the Christian and Muslim minorities in the early 19th century. VHP is one of the leading Hindu nationalist organisations and was initially introduced by the Hindu nationalist movement, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, (RSS), established already in the 1920’s. However, RSS is ambiguous and consists of several factions of which some have more moderate affiliations while other factions are more militant in their goals of a Hindu nation.
The founder, Chinmayanand, began his nationalist journey by travelling the world rather than limiting himself within the borders of India. His purpose was to establish an international network including nationalistic members from the upper cast. Thus, VHP is claiming to be a social, cultural and religious organisation for millions of Hindus throughout the world with the mission to unify different sects. The agenda of VHP is comprehensive and includes the spreading of Hindu values and research. The organisation labels themselves as social entrepreneurs, funding schools, orphanages, hospitals, preaching and teaching Hinduism and creating a web of Hindus living abroad. Today, there are over 1000 social service centres run by VHP and as the organisation has attracted many women the proliferation of specific women’s centres has become noticeable throughout India. The propaganda is based on the necessity of a global and humanitarian assistance in order to advocate Hindu spiritualism. As the organisation grew more influential, it attracted the attention of the Nepalese King and the Indian president Sarvepalli Radahkrishna in the 1960’s who showed their support by attending a VHP meeting. According to VHP sources, one early conference included a million participants. However, this number is questionable and possibly exaggerated due to the aspirations of VHP to establish themselves as prominent social phenomena.
The strategy of the movement was to target the socially weak groups and include them in the “true Dharma” which is perceived as the unity among Hindus. As opposed to many institutions, VHP specifically targeted “the untouchables”, people who are congenitally impure according to the Indian cast system. In the 1960’s, the argument regarded the Christian missionaries as the main factor of the onset of de-nationalisation in India. Albeit being anti-missionary in the context of Christianity, VHP engaged in conversion of Christened Indians, a “rehabilitee and integration program” that was explained to be a mean of salvation for the Indians who fell victims of foreign faiths.
VHP perceives itself as a legitimate force in the quest of modernising Hinduism. There is a frequent use of the aum sign, a celestial replica of God. As many others of the most common religions have a holy script, VHP is advocating the Shrimad Bagavad Gita as the Hindu holy book. Every family is required to own a plant and an image of the family deity, two mandatory tasks that the male head of the household is responsible for. In addition, VHP is publishing several journals in order to promote their cause.
The structure of the organisation is rather complex and includes different levels of leaders. The paramount chief is Ashok Singhal, the global head of the organisation. In addition, every regional branch has its leader, and VHP has sixteen patrons, fifteen life trustees, 45 ordinary trustees, twenty overseas trustees and governing council of 24 official holders.
The principal goal of VHP is to accumulate as many people as possible who are concerned with Hindu identity. As VHP is an extremist Hindu nationalist organisation, the fear of a declining Hinduism is the most salient promotion feature. In the 1960’s, the general secretary, Shri Shiv Shankar Apte stated it was time for the Hindu community to save itself from Christianity, Islam and communism. Initially, Christianity was the main enemy due to the recent history of British colonialism. However, due to the incompatibilities including the Muslim society, Muslims have become the targets of VHP aggressions. During the nascent existence of VHP, a majority of the most prominent gurus were not active within the organisation. However, despite an initially low interest, the expansion of VHP was rather successful due to the decline of many Hindu monasteries. As the monetary scarcity of the monasteries forced the religious leaders to find new means of religious expression, VHP became a platform of renewed status.
It took approximately two decades for VHP to reach its status as a leading Hindu nationalist party. In the 1980’s, the RSS decided that VHP would be an important sister organisation as it distanced itself from the more moderate Hindu nationalist party (BJP). Numerous Hindu conferences were organised in the early 1980’s in order to create a sense of Hindu solidarity and work against the Muslim threat. As a further consolidation of solidarity, a pilgrimage of unity was taking place. However, given that Hindu nationalism was important, VHP developed a militant branch, the Bajrang Dal. The leader of the young militants was a former RSS member, Rushi V. Katiyar, who managed to recruit approximately a hundred thousand followers, albeit rather undisciplined. The militants were used in the liberation of the Ram temple which the Committee of Sacrifice declared on 27 July 1984. VHP has gradually become increasingly politically aware and is rather outspoken regarding the Indian political sphere.
VHP has been involved in the one-sided category of UCDP organised violence.
