Hinduwon Ki Ram Kahani (Hindi)

In a scathing critique, Anand Ranganathan challenges the claim that India is a Hindu authoritarian state by asking: what kind of Hindu nation is it where over a billion Hindus are not only treated as second-class citizens by the Parliament, judiciary, education system, and Constitution, but often pushed even lower? He points to incidents like stone-pelting during Durga Puja and Garba, the Prime Minister’s statement that minorities have the first right to national resources, and the resettlement of 40,000 Rohingya Muslims while 700,000 displaced Kashmiri Pandits remain neglected. He highlights judicial delays in prosecuting crimes against Hindus, government control over Hindu temples, discrimination against Hindu-run schools under the Right to Education Act, and the glorification of rulers like Aurangzeb and Tipu Sultan. He criticizes proposed laws that would have targeted Hindus as riot perpetrators even when they were minorities, and judicial interventions like in the Sabarimala case that affect only Hindu practices while others remain untouched. He contrasts the Hindu Places of Worship Act, which restricts Hindus from reclaiming historical sites, with the Waqf Act that allows Muslims to declare ancient Hindu temples as Islamic property. Ranganathan argues that if this is the reality of a Hindu nation, then a Muslim nation might at least offer clarity—without the pretense of equality. His statement delivers a sharp blow to the post-independence narrative of guilt and self-reproach imposed on Hindus, exposing what he sees as state-sponsored discrimination.