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How do you recognize a Hindutva fascist?

Release of the RSS book at World Hindu Congress in Chicago
If you are alarmed at the outcome of the Indian election 2019, you should be. This is the largest democracy (used to be) in the world that has now turned to full blown Hindutva fascism. You should also be alarmed with the knowledge that a large chunk of the money funding Hindutva fascist party, the BJP, and its sister fascist organizations, the RSS, Bajrang Dal etc. comes from the diaspora.

 How do you recognize a Hindutva fascist? 

 From the surface you can’t. 

 Not especially in the diaspora. You see, Hundutva fascists use the sort of cultural tropes that fit perfectly the Western liberal ideas of multiculturalism. His/her performance of culture will serve the perfect recipe of multiculturalism to your claims of being diverse.

 He/she won’t be the scary image of the lumpens shouting Ram chants with spear in his/her hand. 

 More likely, he will be suited booted. More likely, she will be decked up in the latest designer clothes. More likely, he/she will speak perfect English, with the hint of the Queen in his/her accent. More likely, he/she will throw potlucks and diversity conversations. 

 You might just think he/she is your ambassador of multiculturalism, with celebrations of Holi, Diwali, and other things Indian.

 More likely, he/she will be your perfectly assimilated migrant, successful and hard working. More likely, he/she will be your neighbor, colleague, friend, who will regale you with Bollywood songs, tandoori chicken, and gifts of bangles and bindis. He/she will invite you home to have beer and desi food. 

 To recognize a Hindu fascist, you have to ask her/him, who she voted for, what organizations does she support, what cultural groups in the diaspora is he/she a part of. 

 Then you have to look at the money trails of these cultural groups and service organizations that supposedly do social work in india, funded by his/her money. You would have to look at the organizations in the diaspora that he/she is a part of. Do these organizations have the names Saraswati, Vivekananda in them? Do they cultivate children? Do they claim to teach HInduism, Vedas, the epics? What is the ideological pedagogy they offer?

 You could also ask her/him to comment about the ongoing reports about atrocities on Muslims in India.

 In other words, you would have dig much beneath your superficial multiculturalism. These would be your starting points to identifying a Hindutva fascist.

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