In a recent article, Rohith Krishna, a young and upcoming scholar wonders if we need an international day of Hinduphobia, like an international day of Islamophobia. He argues on both sides of the issue and explores the pros and cons of the matter. “International Day To Combat Islamophobia” is an international observance designated by United Nations in 2022 that takes place on 15th March each year in 140 countries worldwide. The purpose of observing this day is to show the true face of Islam to those who hate Islam. Apparently, Islam does not hate any other religions, and it is being unfairly hated by others. It is the result of an extraordinarily successful and well-funded campaign from Islamic activist groups.
A link to the original article is given at the bottom. A brief introduction to the article is given here.
The UN declaration of the International Day of Islamophobia came about in the wake of the Christchurch mosque shooting on March 15, 2019. While Muslims were clearly the victims in this case, it was fundamentally a case of ‘White Extremism. ” Any racial, gender, immigrant, and religious group could be the target of alt-right extremism.
India had expressed its concern about highlighting the phobia against one particular religion, thereby tacitly excluding phobia against all the other religions. Citing examples of attacks on temples, gurudwaras, and the glorification of breaking idols, India highlighted the contemporary forms of threat faced by non-Abrahamic faiths globally. India opined that the UN should acknowledge ‘religiophobia’ rather than elevating the phobia of just one religion. Notably, India didn’t demand a day for ‘Hinduphobia’ or ‘Sikhphobia’. Rather it only acknowledged such anti-religious narratives do exist with non-Abrahamic religions as well.
Krishna then poses the question: Should Hindus have a similar recognition for Hinduphobia? In other words, should there be an “International Day of Hinduphobia”? With a set of very cogent arguments, he concludes that such a move will be a net detriment to Hindu interests.
