International Conference on

Understanding Hindudvesha in the Globalizing World

Constitution Club of India, Rafi Marg, Connaught Place, New Delhi, Delhi 110001

April 1, 2023 | 9:30AM – 6:00PM 

Hindudvesha, more popularly known by its cognate term, Hinduphobia, refers to a pervasive discourse that denigrates Hindu Dharma by relentlessly demonizing it. Its accusatory rhetoric posits that there is something fundamentally wrong, evil, and demonic about Hindu Dharma and its followers. This discourse is generated in academia, infiltrates educational curricula, and is carried forward by the global media, so much so that it dominates the public square today. Linking Hinduism with backwardness and primitivity, hierarchy, and oppression, this discourse freezes Hindu Dharma in time as obsolete and irrelevant and continues to produce a form of incontestable “received knowledge” about the Hindus. The narrative structure of Hindudvesha, which projects the Western culture as axiomatically superior, can be traced back to the Christian theological understanding of ‘heathen’ religions as inherently false and advanced by generations of Western social scientists and their numerous native collaborators, i.e., ‘intellectual sepoys’ – both in India and abroad.

While the harsh racial and religious overtones of the colonial period have softened somewhat in the post-colonial era, the metamorphism is only superficial. A variety of Western intellectual frameworks of thought is being brought to bear on a mission that has largely remained the same, i.e., complete ethnocide of the Hindu society and absorption of its essence into other, preferably Abrahamic or Secular traditions. In recent times, Hindudvesha has taken on a more visible and vocal Hinduphobic form. The full spectrum of anti-Hindu behavior now ranges from the desecration of Hindu sacred sites, aggressive and coercive proselytization of Hindu populations, calls for destroying Hinduism in the guise of Dismantling Global Hindutva, and targeted violence against individuals and institutions.

Unfortunately, a large cross-section of the Hindu society remains unaware and/or apathetic to the clear and present danger that this anti-Hindu sentiment poses to their physical and material well-being, making it challenging to engage the Hindu society in developing effective responses to this threat. Hindus over the centuries have learned to turn a blind eye towards the gathering storms until danger visits their doorstep and focus their energies on more immediate concerns.

The purpose of this conference was to raise the awareness of the global Hindu society about the growing threat to the Hindu culture and civilization from the rising tide of Hindudvesha around the world. In addition, it hoped to engage the intellectual community in studying this phenomenon and developing an effective narrative and capacity to counter it. During this one-day conference, a number of eminent speakers and panelists discussed the historical roots of Hindudvesha, its transformation in contemporary times, and how it manifests itself to the detriment of the global Hindu community.

Inaugural Session

Opening Address: Dr. Jai Bansal, VP of Education – VHP America
Sh. Kapil Khanna, President, VHP Delhi
Sadhvi Bhagawati Saraswati, Parmarth Niketan, Rishikesh

Panel 1 – Hindudvesha in Historical & Contemporary Context

Sh. Rahul Kaushik, Social Media Expert
Prof. Avnijesh Awasthi, Delhi University
Prof. Himanshu Roy, Delhi University
Sh. Atul Mishra, Founder- TFI Global Media

Panel 2 – Developing Counter-Narrative: Role of Academics

Sh. Shubhendu Anand, Advocate, Supreme Court
Prof. Madhu Kishwar, Founder – Manushi, Chair – Indian Council of Social Science Research
Sh. Vikramjeet Banerjee, Additional Solicitor General of India, Supreme Court
Ms. Nupur Sharma, Editor Op-India
Sh. Pradeep Bhandari, Psephologist, Founder – Jan Ki Baat

Panel 3 – Velectorian Session

Ms. Richa Gautam, Research Scholar in Indigenous Ethnography
Padma Bhushan Prof. Kapil Kapoor, Former Director – IIAS
Dr. Mahesh Chandra Sharma, Editor – Manthan
Prof. Rajkumar Bhatia, Professor- University of Delhi
Sh. Sankrant Sanu, Founder CEO, Garuda Prakashan
Ms. Adhishree Mittal representing KK Mittal Foundation &  Uttamjan Family Trust
Closing Remarks: Dr. Jai Bansal, VP of Education – VHP America

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