JAMMU: People’s Democratic Party (PDP) clarified her ‘controversial’ post where she expressed a strong criticism of ‘Hindutva’ calling it an “illness,” and said that there is a lot of difference between ‘Hindutva’ and ‘Hinduism’. This comes after the PDP leader, reacting to a purported video of the attack on minor Muslim boys forced to chant ‘Jai Shri Ram’, called Hindutva “a disease” that has “afflicted millions of Indians & sullied a Gods name.” “Ram the deity must hang his head in shame & watch helplessly as minor Muslim boys are whacked with chappals only because they refuse to chant his name,” she stated on Saturday. Clarifying her stance today, Mufti drew a clear distinction between Hindutva and Hinduism, emphasising that the former is a religion promoting values of secularism, love, and compassion, similar to Islam. She criticised Hindutva as an “ideology of hate” propagated by Veer Savarkar in the 1940s. “There is a lot of difference between Hindutva and Hinduism. Hindutva is a philosophy of hate that Veer Savarkar spread in India in the 1940s with the aim of establishing the hegemony of Hindus, and the philosophy was that India belongs to Hindus and is for Hindus. Like Islam, Hinduism is also a religion that promotes secularism, love, and compassion. So, let’s not deliberately distort it,” she said. Mufti further argued that the slogan “Jai Shri Ram” has been wrongly associated with violence and is being used as a tool to instigate hate, rather than representing the ideals of “Ramrajya.” “The slogan ‘Jai Shri Ram’ is not about ‘Ramrajya,’ but it is being linked to lynching… It is very shameful that Hinduism is being distorted…I criticised Hindutva as it is an illness,” she added. Following Mufti’s post, she drew a lot of flak, especially from the Bharatiya Janata Party. BJP leader Ravinder Raina said that the PDP leader had used “very derogatory language” for Hinduism and demanded an apology from her. “PDP leader has used a very derogatory language. This kind of language should not be used. There might be differences of opinion in politics but derogatory language should not be used…PDP leader Iltija Mufti should apologise for her remarks,” Raina said. Later, Iltija Mufti made another post, wherein she stated that the “senseless violence” carried out in the name of Islam has led to ‘Islamophobia’ and a “similar situation” is happening with Hinduism. “Much outrage over my tweet & also whataboutery about Islam. The senseless violence that’s been carried out in the name of Islam is what caused Islamophobia in the first place. Today Hinduism (not Hindutva) also finds itself in a similar situation where it’s being used & abused to lynch & persecute minorities. Let’s call spade a spade,” she stated on Sunday.
Meanwhile, in the recently concluded Jammu and Kashmir assembly Elections — first in a decade and after the abrogation of special status — Iltija Mufti failed in her aim of making a political debut after losing from South Kashmir’s Bijbehara constituency, in an election that saw her party being reduced to mere three seats.
