NEW DELHI, September 5 (IslamOnline) - President of Congress Party Intellectuals Cell Syed Shamim Hashmi demanded Thursday, September 5, the "immediate arrest" of International President of Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP-World Hindu Council) Ashok Singhal, for inciting "genocidal violence" against Muslims.

In a statement issued following Singhal’s anti-Muslim hate speech, former Member of Parliament and Congress leader Hashmi said that by now Singhal should have been in jail for saying publicly on September 3: "We will repeat the Gujarat experiment against Muslims all over India." He called Gujarat pogroms a "successful experiment."

"Godhra happened on February 27 and the next day, 50 lakh [5 million] people were on the streets. We were successful in our experiment of raising the Hindu consciousness, which will be repeated all over the country," Singhal said according to a report in the Indian Express on September 4.

Singhal, whose VHP is part of the Sangh family of myriad organizations, including the Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) which rules Gujarat and heads the ruling coalition at Center, had also said in his speech earlier this week in Amritsar, Punjab, that Muslims deserved the genocidal attack in Gujarat.

"People say I praise Gujarat. Yes I do." He gloated over how "whole villages had been emptied of Islam" within days and how "whole communities of Muslims [were] dispatched to refugee camps… This was a victory for the Hindu society, a first for the religion."

Singhal has gone free despite repeated hate speech as do most of his colleagues of VHP, BJP and allied outfits. Of late, their impunity has grown because their people have been in power at Center and in some states, which is detrimental to secular democracy and security of religious minorities, especially Muslims and Christians.

The Congress Party has launched a campaign to halt hate speech against fellow citizens. Congress spokesman Anand Sharma has demanded Singhal’s arrest along with that of other leaders. Senior Congress leader and former Parliament speaker Balram Jhakhar said this fascist maniac must be put behind bars for his speech which could potentially create nationwide strife. Jhakhar said VJP leaders must be put in jail for their anti-national acts.

The influential Hindustan Times in a Thursday editorial wondered as to how men like Singhal roam free while others are jailed under harsh anti-terrorist laws for far lighter offences. "Ashok Singhal has ceased to be a mere nuisance factor. He is a threat to any democratic, secular, modern society, " the paper said. The writer wondered "what stops the NDA government from booking this man who is openly inciting mob violence against Indian citizens?"

Though the Hindustan Times has "wondered" over the ruling coalition at Center, National Democratic Alliance (NDA), allowing Hindu nationalists like Singhal to do as they please, there is nothing much to wonder about here.

These people are allowed free-play because the ruling BJP shares its ideology with them and is a self-proclaimed part of Sangh family of VHP-RSS-BJP-Bajrang Dal. But it is anybody's guess why Singhal was not booked in Punjab which is ruled by the Congress Party. Last month AIDMK-ruled Tamil Nadu placed an important ally of the central government behind bars for supporting LTTE which is banned in India.

A prominent Urdu daily published from Delhi, Qaumi Awaz, in its editorial on Thursday, September 5, said that Singhal was a self-proclaimed follower of Hitler. (The entire Sangh family, including BJP, lionize Hitler.) "This man must be crushed like Hitler to prevent the rise of Nazism," the strongly-worded editorial said.

By now Singhal should have been jailed, but we know the present central government would not do that. "Now is the time for civil society to rise against this menace," the Qaumi Awaz wrote.

Supported by its Parivar (family) organization BJP, which holds power at Center and some states, VHP remains unrepentant, despite widespread condemnation. Central Secretary of VHP Mohan Joshi said at a press conference in Delhi Wednesday, September 4, that the special protection provided in the Indian Constitution to minorities should be done away with.

This is an idea which the BJP too believes in, although it is a little discreet about saying it publicly. Last month India’s Solicitor General Harish Salve, on BJP leaders’ orders, told the Supreme Court of India that the minorities constitutional rights to establish their own educational institutions should be subjected to curbs. This move of the Center, against the advice of the Attorney General of India, was very much in line with the anti-minority ideas of VHP.

Hindu nationalist organizations like VHP and BJP are against India’s secular Constitution also. They want a new Constitution, shorn of all guarantees to minorities, but at present cannot muster enough support in Parliament for this venture. Failing that, they formed a Constitution Review Commission 2000, which has not supported their ideas. The secular ethos of the country and independence of press, judiciary and other constitutional entities thwarts Hindu fascist plans for the country.

Despite a thriving democracy, the justice dispensing system, however, has not always been successful in stopping fascist thuggery. There is no proper law against genocide or genocide-like crimes. Hence it is very difficult to book criminals against humanity, though there are certain other laws under which such people can be prosecuted.