Introduction
The Republic of India is a secular, democratic country with many different religions, including Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, Sikhism, Buddhism, and Jainism, among other minority creeds. Hinduism remains the largest religion in the country, with Hindu identification and the ability to speak Hindi being associated with “being truly Indian” (Corichi and Evans para 5). The diversity of religions in the state led to several disputes between different religious groups, most notably Hindy-Sikh and Hindu-Muslim conflicts. Both sides of a conflict can engage in aggressive acts and encourage violence against their opponents. This analysis is dedicated to the comments of Hindu activists who advocate violence against Muslims and Sikhs Indians, as found in chapter five, The Sword of Sikhism, of the book Terror in the Mind of God by Mark Juergensmeyer.
The Sword of Sikhism
The conflicts between Sikhs, Muslims, and Hindus in India are among the most violent in the country’s history. Before the decolonization of India and Pakistan in 1947, the British Punjab state straddled the territory of modern-day India and Pakistan (Jeffery and Hall 998). During decolonization and the formation of the East Punjab state, many Sikhs and Muslims were killed or expropriated (Jeffery and Hall 998). In 1966, Punjab speakers, among which Sikhs were a majority, successfully campaigned to divide Punjab state into a smaller Sikh-dominated Punjab and two Hindu states, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh (Jeffery and Hall 998). However, the conflict between Hindus and Sikhs did not subside. Furthermore, the rise of Hindu nationalism led to both Sikh and Muslim communities seeking secession and independence from the country (Juergensmeyer 90). With the police involvement, the peaceful protests of Muslims in India turned to violent attacks, with losses on both sides (Juergensmeyer 90). Similarly, the Sikh-Hindu conflict leads to great losses sustained by both communities.
Commentary Analysis
Discourse
Discourse can be defined as any communication with a specific goal. Lincoln states that discourse becomes religious through its “claims to authority and truth” (5). The explanation of the Sikh-Hindu and Muslim-Hindy conflicts provided in The Sword of Sikhism frames violence and aggression towards Muslims and Sikh Indians as a religious duty. Specifically, it is provided as a righteous response to the opponents, who view people of other creeds as enemies, consider secularism an unholy practice, and condone violence to protect their beliefs (Juergensmeyer 95). The representation of violence against Sikhs and Muslims as a proportionate response to the communities that allegedly initiated it minimizes the responsibility and accountability of Hindus in the conflict. Furthermore, it is framed as a sacred duty of protection of the Hindu community, religion, language, and identity and, therefore, cannot be disputed. Thus, violence is represented as the means of protection and response to unwarranted aggression towards a community and its religious rights.
Practices
Hindu, Sikh, and Muslim communities have different religious practices, including ethical and ritual ones. These practices are viewed as steps that help create a proper world defined by a particular religion (Lincoln 6). Thus, they actualize the religious discourse into reality and urge people to act in a way consistent with religious texts and preaching. For example, after the assassination of the Prime Minister of India, Indira Gandhi, by her Sikh bodyguards, thousands of Sikhs Indians were killed during protests as a response (Juergensmeyer 85). Notably, the attacks on Sikh leaders were aimed at their religious practices, such as not cutting hair to honor God. Sikh leaders, including Simranjit Singh Mann, had their hair and beards pulled out (Juergensmeyer 87). By supporting these acts of violence against the Sikhs, the Hindu community showed a lack of respect towards Sikh practices implying the inferiority of their religion.
Institutions
Religious discourse and practices are moderated by relevant institutions that hold great importance in a community. For example, Operation Bluestar, sanctioned by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, resulted in the Sikhs’ holiest place of worship, the Golden Temple, being destroyed in an attempt to kill a Sikh militant leader Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale (Juergensmeyer 85). The attack on the Golden Temple and attacks on Muslim places of worship can be viewed as an attack on Sikhism and Islam. In Hindu commentary, these attacks are justified measures of protecting the Hindu community against Sikh and Muslim militant aggression.
Community
Community plays a vital role in forming the religious discourse and upholding its religious practices. During the height of the conflict between Hindu Indians, Sikhs, and Muslims, the latter communities consisted of prominent activist groups and paramilitary organizations such as Khalistan Liberation Force and Kashmir Liberation Front (Juergensmeyer 90). However, the attacks of the guerilla forces against the nationalist Hindu governments were framed by commentators as the attacks against the Indian identity as a whole and, therefore, attacks against the whole country. In return, similar attacks took place against all Sikhs and Muslims regardless of their affiliation to any of the paramilitary fronts within their communities. For example, after the assassination of Indira Gandhi, Sikh men, women, and children were assaulted and killed as retribution (Juergensmeyer 84). Overall, the Hindu commentators requesting violence against their opponents spoke to all Hindus as a united community.
Conclusion
In summary, after the decolonization and withdrawal of British forces, the Republic of India had several religious conflicts, in particular, between the Hindu majority and the Sikh and Muslim religious minorities. Although all sides of these conflicts engaged in violence, The Sword of Sikhism frames the violence of the Hindu community against the Sikhs and Muslims as a necessary set of measures against the aggressors.
Works Cited
Corichi, Manolo, and Jonathan Evans. “For Most of India’s Hindus, Religious and National Identities Are Closely Linked.” Pew Research Center, 2021.
Jeffery, Renée, and Ian Hall. “Post-Conflict Justice in Divided Democracies: The 1984 Anti-Sikh Riots in India.” Third World Quarterly, vol. 41, no. 6, 2020, pp. 994-1011.
Juergensmeyer, Mark. Terror in the Mind of God: The Global Rise of Religious Violence. University of California Press, 2000.
Lincoln, Bruce. Holy Terrors: Thinking About Religion After September 11. University of Chicago Press, 2003.