In the wake of the death of a French Sikh advocate in British Columbia, diplomatic relations between India and Canada are still in decline. A new violent clash at a Hindu temple in Brampton, Ontario, between pro-Khalistan activists and Hindu separatists has created more conflicts.
In one of the subsequent demonstrations in the Toronto area, lots of pro-Khalistan Sikhs gathered outside the Brampton church, many of whom were Sikhs for Justice people.
The Khalistan movement, which aims to erect a Sikh country in north India, is supported by the protesters. In Canada, however, the action is prohibited in India.
Most American media outlets covered the Brampton conflict, but the majority of them did not mention the far-right Hindu nationalists ‘ activism or the use of a controversial phrase chanted at the church.
The pastor at the Hindu Sabha Mandir church, later identified as Rajinder Prasad, is seen speaking to a sizable audience in movies that are available on social media.
He shouts in Hindi:” Batenge toh…”, and the group shouts up,” Katenge”!
What it means
The controversial term batenge toh katenge can become loosely translated to “if we are divided, we will be destroyed” or “divided we fall”. However, this menacing call for Hindu unity contradicts democratic norms and has an unsettling meaning that supports Hindu nationalist rules.
The phrase is directly related to Yogi Adityanath’s conversation at a protest in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India’s state of Uttar Pradesh, in August of this year.
Adityanath, a legislator and monk renowned for his radical traditional beliefs, said that” the country will only be empowered when we are united.” The catchy slogan has been adopted by a number of members of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party ( BJP) and Rashtriya Swayam Sevaka Sangha, its Hindu nationalist parent organization.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi utilized Yogi’s talk in another protest, saying,” Batenge toh baatne app mehfil sajayenge” — “if we divide, the persons who divide us may make joyful”.
Also, in Bihar in October, Union Minister Giriraj Singh called the market with “batenge” and heard the reply from the crowd: “katenge”. He continued:
You assert that if we don’t join, we will be butchered. So, all of you keep swords and trishuls]tridents ] at home. Goddess Durga has a dagger in her hands, while Lord Shiva has a trishul in his. You can protect yourself from adversaries by using these weapons, too.
Batenge bhai katenge, a term used in Singh’s conversation, uses Hindu militancy, which uses gods and their mythical forms and weapons as possible targets for violence.
Churches in Hindu nationalist politicians
Mythopolitics has a significant role in the spread of Indian Hindu nationalism, which has sparked concern about the risk of churches to “outsiders” episodes.
The debate over the Babri mosque in Ayodhya, one of post-colonial India’s longest legal and political wars, was one of the longest. Hindu republican organizations demolished the Babri shrine in 1992, insisting that there was a Hindu temple there prior to the mosque’s demolition.
The claim to construct a temple in the place of the destroyed shrine was a significant factor in the success of right-wing elections at the time. The debate over temple defense has since become a defining feature of Hindu nationalism in modern times.
Rhetoric of Hindu unification
It was obvious that the Indian diaspora is well-versed in the phrase as the Hindu crowd gathered just at the Brampton church and chanted batenge toh katenge regularly at the priest’s urging.
The word taps into an exaggerated history of temple problems that has been carefully planned and mobilized. Prasad, the Brampton pastor, was suspended from his jobs, though reinstated within weeks after temple-goers sharply criticized church control on social media.
The Hindu separatist conversation on unification has a lot to say. In Elements of Hindutva, Vinayak D. Savarkar, who is heralded as the parents of Hindu nationalism, writes:
We were all Hindus and had a typical heart, but some of us were Aryans and some were Anaryans, but Ayars and Nayars were different. Some of us are Sages and some are Namashudras or Panchamas, but we are all Hindus and have a typical heart. We are all Hindus and have a common body, but some of us are Gauds or Saraswatas, while others are Daxinatyas. We were Yakshas and Rakhasas, but we are all Hindus and share a common body.
To support Hindu unity, he makes a list of class differences and the assimilation of the various peoples of the Indian continent.
Hindu nationalist organizations have in truth attempted to centrally mysterious class conversations to give the impression of Hindu unity. However, this alleged Hindu unity finally aims to foster religious divisions and foster a linear between Hindus and non-Hindus.
Hindu populism in the West
In order to create and advance its political agenda in the West, the Hindu nationalist movement has made an effective use of liberalism and diversity. Social maneuvering often takes the form of tradition and history.
One of the first Hindu nationalist organizations in the country, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad of America, claims to be supporting Hinduism and engaging in social activities rather than social mobilization.
The American Hindu Association lists its objectives as creating “awareness in the younger generations about Hindu traditions”” and promoting” Hindi speech, society traditions and books in the community.”
However, the agency’s rulers have a long record of invoking violence. On the day of the fight, Ron Banerjee, the chairman of the non-profit Hindu Conference of Canada, was in the Brampton temple and was detained and charged with inciting anger.
Batenge hain katenge is a pro-violence dog bell, never a telephone for unity, and it needs to be understood in terms of how wild Hindu nationalism is covered and investigated in Canada.
Sheetala Singh is an associate professor in the Department of English, York University, Canada.
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