Hindutva Either Appropriates Sikhs or Indulges in Hate Speech

On 29 Oct, Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh stated the ‘Sikh community has done a lot to protect the Sanatan Dharma and that the Ram Janambhoomi Andolan was first started by the Sikhs.’ He was addressing a gathering at Lucknow's Alambagh Gurdwara on Parkash Purab (illumination day) of Guru Granth Sahib. Singh was referencing a little-known and ambiguous story of Nihangs entering the Babri Masjid in 1858 and performing a havan – ritualistic fire ceremony – and inscribing ‘Ram, Ram’ on the inner walls with charcoal. Similarly, even the Supreme Court verdict that allowed the building of the Ram temple in Ayodhya cited unauthenticated Janamsakhis to establish Guru Nanak had visited the site in his lifetime. This is an attempt to appropriate the Sikh religion in the Hindutva fold. However, underlying this is also an othering of the Sikhs that is not always vocalized. In a recent election rally in Rajasthan, in the presence of Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath, BJP leader Sandeep Dayma said, ‘Masjid and Gurdwara are on a rise. Upon forming the BJP government, it is our religious responsibility to uproot them.’ Following outrage against the ‘uproot Gurdwara’ comment, BJP leader Sandeep Dayma apologized, stating he ‘wanted to say Masjid-Madrasa, but somehow said Gurdwara.’ The SGPC rejected the apology. Panjab BJP called for him to be expelled, which the BJP did. Yet, no action has been taken against Dayma over the hate speech. The deeper concern is that in the last few years – during farmers' protests, Sidhu Moosewala’s death, Amritpal Singh’s manhunt – such vilification, hate speech, or threats against Sikhs have repeatedly surfaced on social media.