No human rights for Hindus abroad?

Dr Pravin Togadia

“Government has not sent Indian students to Australia or to Canada or to UK; they went there themselves by their own choice. Anyway, there are many Indians in many countries and the Government is NOT responsible for whatever happens to them there every time.” You thought that was a comment by an Australian Government’s representative? NO. This is a comment on the TV Channels by a State Minister of External Affairs, Government of India. He also happened to have enjoyed a high level global diplomatic position before and after losing the highest level election there, suddenly remembered Indian roots and contested on a ruling party’s ticket. It is not important what any person has been before he / she joins the government as minister or how many fancy haircuts he has had or how many coffee table books he has written; it is significant as to WHAT VIEWS and VALUES, he/she carries as India’s Minister about things that happen to and hurt India and Indians anywhere.


The point is that from Malaysia to Indonesia, from Canada to UK, from US to Australia, from Bhutan to Nepal and from Sri Lanka to Pakistan… and many other countries, Indians are being beaten up, man handled, killed, taken hostage, looted, discriminated with and what not. Twenty-seven attacks on Indian students in Australia were reported in Indian media, India was shocked and then realised to her utter pain that this number was just an iceberg. There have been more than 600 such attacks in past 3 years on Indians in Australia and by the locals there- it does not matter whether the attackers were native Australians or sheltered Lebanese. The attacks on Indians happened on the Australian soil and therefore the Australian Government must protect the Indian students and professionals there- not because Australia earns millions out of them, but because Australia claims to be secular.


As much as Australia, even the Indian Government is to blame for continuous racist attacks of such heinous types on Indians in many countries – sometimes even with the obvious goal of Ethnic Cleansing as in Malaysia, Sri Lanka etc. The comment given in the beginning is not just mere words; it shows the apathy of those sitting in the government towards well-being of millions of Indians staying, studying, working abroad. Strangely, even in this inbuilt apathy, Indian Government seems to be showing extra love & choice for certain religions when it comes to helping an Indian in trouble abroad. India has yet not forgotten Indian PM’s tears for Haneef after seeing his pregnant wife speaking to media.


Haneef was arrested on the charges of terrorism. Whether they were true or false, the haste PM showed to send top lawyers’ team to help him. There was quite shocking on the background the great apathy and indifference shown to Mr. Kutty who was abducted by Talibans in Afghanistan or even the disgusting level of indifference shown to the horrible plight of Indian students in Australia as barring 1 or 2, the people who were hurt were either Hindus or Sikhs. We have to blame Australia for their show-case secularism but what about Indian Government’s Selective Secularism?


It is not that our government’s apathy and indifference are recent . For the last many decades Hindus in Sri Lanka have been struggling to stay alive there. What has been happening to them is nothing less than Ethnic Cleansing and state sponsored terrorism. From suppressing the true figures of the dead in the blanket bombarding on Hindu civilians to preventing food & medicines from reaching the ill, hurt Hindus even recently, Sri Lanka could do all such brutality in broad day light only due to various Indian Governments’ apathy. About 400,000+ Hindus displaced, at least 1/8 of it have been massacred, children and young women abducted, old and ill suffering.


In Bhutan over 150,000 Hindus suffered brutal Ethnic Violence in the hands of state sponsored terrorists. Those Hindus ran away to Nepal where they were again harassed. Now The United Nations has been shifting them to other countries like Canada etc – disturbing their livelihood and making them forfeit their ancestral properties in Bhutan and on the condition that they convert. No. Indian Government will not move a finger on this as their names are NOT Haneef, Naushad etc. They are Shyam, Ram, Mohan, Arjun….


Same thing happened in Malaysia. Not just breaking ancient Hindu temples, but officially Muslim Malaysian Government have been killing, displacing Hindus there. They try to defend themselves without any help from Indian Government. Organisations like VHP or many other may have will to help but without political will, no organisation gets teeth. Hindus in Malaysia are not migrants; they are natives there. They have ancient temples, lands, properties, farms, businesses there dating even before the official religion of Malaysia was even born! But now they are being chased out same as it happened to Kashmiri Hindus in our own country. Same is happening in Indonesia, Kenya and where not!




This is not a complaint; this is an appeal from the bottom of a Hindu heart to all well-meaning Hindus all over the globe to wake up and get Indian Government woken up to the bitter and horrifying fact that if it continues like this, there will be many more Barak Hussein Obamas who would hate Indians not just for their intellect and hard work, but who may even resort to state sponsored terrorism against Hindus in many countries after using them to get those nations’ businesses networked and flourished.


If there is any Hindu suicide as it has been happening recently in the US, UK, Canada or if there is any more Hindu battering in Australia or in Malaysia or in Sri Lanka, it is the full responsibility of Indian Government. Mass exodus of Indians from many countries will start any moment – which has already started from Sri Lanka, from US, from UK… - THEN IT ALSO HURTS EVERY INDIAN BACK HOME. EVERY INDIAN GETS TEARS IN HIS EYES BY SEEING HINDU PLIGHT IN MANY OF THESE COUNTRIES. So, at least the Indian PM should realise that the democratic price for every Hindu Tear is quite high to pay. Those who speak of Human Rights and shout in Indian and western ‘Genocide Genocide’ when even one Haneef type’s wife is seen crying on TV, must sit up as Hindus KNOW that they have to get not only their BASIC HUMAN RIGHTS but also THEIR FIRST RIGHT ON THE RESOURCES OF THEIR COUNTRY AND THE EQUAL RIGHT ON THE RESOURCES THEY CREATE IN ANY COUNTRY.


Hindu Organisations try their best to reduce suffering of most Hindus impacted by such ethnic violence, racist brutality and socio-political discrimination. But the damage is vast, time is short & resourceful hands are limited. It is time for Hindus to RE-GROUP, RE-NETWORK and RE-SURGE to stand up democratically against any justice.


The author is a renowned Cancer Surgeon & International Secretary General of VHP