Sadhvi Ritambhara’s Hate-Mongering Yatra to US

The Indian Muslim Council USA has rightly appealed to the people of conscience to disassociate themselves from the hate-mongering speeches of Hindutva activist Sadhvi Ritambhara. (Radiance Viewsweekly, 22-28 August 2010).

Written by

MOHAMMAD YACOOB

Published on

August 16, 2022

The Indian Muslim Council USA has rightly appealed to the people of conscience to disassociate themselves from the hate-mongering speeches of Hindutva activist Sadhvi Ritambhara. (Radiance Viewsweekly, 22-28 August 2010). The Sadhvi has been importing racism and hate to the United States of America after the demolition of the Babri-Masjid Mosque and brainwashing decent Hindus living in the US about the nefarious plans of VHP and RSS.

Several Indian organisations in the US have been protesting her presence in the United States for the last 12 to 15 years. Ms. Ritambhara has always been involved in India in activities that are against Indian pluralism and harmony between decent Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Sikhs and other communities. Even before the destruction of the Babri Mosque, Ms. Ritambhara made speeches in India calling for the destruction of the Babri Mosque.

Ms. Ritambhara was present at the site of the Babri Masjid on December 6, 1992, when it was being demolished brick by brick by the militants belonging to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), Bajrang Dal and Rashtra Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), etc. At the Babri Mosque site Ms. Sadhvi embraced Ms. Uma Bharati, a member of the former Prime Minister, A.B. Vajpayee’s cabinet, while the destruction of the Mosque was in progress, and congratulated her.

Ms. Uma Bharati also had openly expressed anti-Muslim, anti-minorities feelings, terrorised and incited credulous and naïve Hindus to join the militant and extremist Hindus in the demolition of Babri Mosque. She was also charge-sheeted for her involvement in the destruction of the Babri Mosque. A report by Ruth Pitchfork of Reuter published in India West, California, on January 4, 1991, says:

“The VHP denies its campaign is anti-Muslim but some of the taped speeches, such as the best seller by Member of Parliament Uma Bharti, imply otherwise. ‘We cannot suffer anymore the descendants of Babar… who raised the sword of oppression in this country… and who now proclaim with pride that they are Muslims,’ she told the crowd in Ayodhya in October.’ Let us build a grant temple to Ram. And if this means a bloodbath, let there be a bloodbath. For our honor, we are ready even for complete annihilation. But before we sacrifice ourselves, we shall exact thousands of sacrifices from the other side”.

The India West also reported about Ms. Sadhvi Ritambhara’s activities in its Friday January 11, 1991 issue:

“Police has registered a case against VHP activist Ms. Sadhvi Ritambhara for allegedly promoting enmity and hatred between two religious groups in the Najafgarh area of southwest Delhi by delivering provocative speeches on January 2. If convicted, she will have to undergo imprisonment up to three years, either with or without a fine. Police have already banned audio cassettes which contain her speeches on the Ayodhya shrine controversy”.

The Bush administration’s policy of turning a blind eye to the extremists and hate-mongers from other countries – other than those that have Muslim majority – using double standards and taking advice from bigoted, hypocritical and demagogues in the United States in formulating its warped foreign policy after the September 2001 attack, was responsible for allowing Sadhvi Ritambhara to come to the United States in July 2002. She came three months after the massacre of more than 2000 Muslims in Gujarat in anti-Muslim riots of February 2002. Muslims and decent Hindus in the United States protested her presence in the United States.

“Tensions among Hindus have broken into the open in Queens (New York), coming to a head at a protest outside a prominent Flushing temple where about 50 protesters decried the appearance of a right-wing Indian activist.

Sadhvi Ritambhara of New Delhi – well-known in India for calling for the notorious 1992 destruction of a Muslim mosque in Ayodhya, in the state of Uttar Pradesh – arrived in New York Thursday, her first stop on a five-week tour of the United States and Great Britain.

Protesters – who held signs bearing images of charred bodies and messages such as “Real Hindus Don’t Support Genocide” and “No Money for Terrorists” – charged that the conservative activist’s real cause was to foment anti-Muslim sentiment and raise money. “Sadhvi Ritambhara is a prime mover of the ethnic hate speech that goes on in India,” said Hanna Lessinger, an anthropologist at Barnard College who has done research in India. “She preaches hatred against Muslims. She preaches violence.”

Critics say events such as Friday’s reception are actually disguised fund-raising opportunities, with money being funnelled to militants fomenting violence such as that touched off in February in the Indian state of Gujarat….” (HINDU DIVISIONS RISE TO SURFACE, Arun Venugopal, Newsday, July 29, 2002,

http://www.newsday.com/mynews/ny-nyhind292802785jul29.story)

The Bush administration again allowed her to return to the United States in August 2004.  This was possible because the so-called terrorism experts in the US were seeing things through their own chosen colours. They did a thorough job of placing burqas on the brains and niqabs on the eyes of the top officials of the Bush administration in Washington. This translated into one thing. It is alright to allow an extremist and a hate-monger to come to United States and collect funds to carry on the anti-Muslim activities in India. Sadhvi Ritambhara has come back again. This is saffron terrorism.

The Union Home Minister, Mr. P. Chidambaram has mentioned about saffron terrorism.

“New Delhi, Aug. 25: The Union home minister, Mr P. Chidambaram, pointed out towards a “new phenomenon” which he called “saffron terrorism”.

“There is no let up in the attempts to radicalise young men and women in India. Besides, there is the recently uncovered phenomenon of saffron terrorism that has been implicated in many bomb blasts of the past,” he said while speaking at the annual DGPs conference organised by the Intelligence Bureau on Wednesday.

Mr Chidambaram’s comments come in the backdrop of the investigations by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and the CBI into bomb blast cases such as the 2007 Ajmer Dargah bomb blast and Hyderabad Mecca Masjid blast of 2007, Malegaon blasts, 2008 bombing in Modasa in Gujarat, and the 2009 Goa blast throwing up evidence of involvement of radical Hindu outfits.” (Saffron terror rising: PC, Deccan Chronicle, Hyderabad Deccan (AP) INDIA, August 26th, 2010).

The Obama administration should not allow the Saffron extremists belonging to BJP, VHP and RSS to collect funds in the United States to finance anti-Muslim riots in Hyderabad, Malegaon, Modasa, New Delhi, Mumbai, Gujarat and other places in India.