India: Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Mahasabha observed January 26, Republic Day, as "black day"

The Hindu
Meerut, January 26, 2016

Hindu group observes Republic Day as ‘black day’

Mohammad Ali

Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Mahasabha demands that India to be declared a "Hindu state."

Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Mahasabha observed January 26, Republic Day, as "black day" and took oath to make India a "Hindu Rashtra."

Over hundreds of activists of the Hindutva group waved black flags on the streets of Meerut on Tuesday.

Pandit Ashok Sharma, national Vice President of the Hindutva body, has been organising a protest against the Constitution of India since last five decades quite religiously. Tuesday, when entire country celebrated Republic Day, was no different for him.

Mr. Sharma, who was quite categorical in declaring that he didn't believe in Constitution of India, told The Hindu: "The purpose of my life and that of millions of people like me who are present in this country, is to make this country a Hindu Rashtra. Nobody can stop this country from becoming a Hindu Rashtra".

"This is the 51st year I, as an obedient solider of Hindu Mahasabha, have shown black flag to the idea of secular India and the Constitution which declares this nation to be secular," Mr. Sharma, a man in his late seventies who sports white beard told this correspondent.

Mr. Sharma got international limelight last year for coming up with the idea of temple for Nathuram Godse who had killed Mahatma Gandhi. On the occasion of mourning the Constitution of India, Mr. Sharma paid generous homage to Godse the "martyr" who "wanted to save India from Gandhi and his proposal of partition."

"Though the Indian State prevented us from installing Godse's statue in a temple but we are going to do that one day," he said.

Like Mr. Sharma, Bharat Rajput is also an old Hindu Mahasabha hand who has been actively taking up Hindutva causes.

Mr. Rajput, the district president of the Hindutva body, posed a question to this correspondent.

"When the partition of India happened, Pakistan became ‘Islamic Republic of Pakistan.’ So, why was India not declared to be a 'Hindu Rashtra?"

"The anti-Hindu leaders like Gandhi and Nehru declared this country to be secular. We want to correct the historical mistakes which these people forced on us," Mr. Rajput declared.

After the protest, the Hindu Mahasbha volunteers sent a memorandum to the President of India, like they have been doing since last fifty years, demanding India to be declared a Hindu state.