May 13, 2024

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other leaders say their Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is the protector of Hindus and Hinduism in India. Very often though, certain actions of BJP leaders appear to protect the interests of upper caste Hindus and insult and hurt lower caste Hindus.

Last year, Modi, followed by dozens of Brahman priests, inaugurated India’s new parliament building in New Delhi. Typically, such roles are performed by the president who is the country’s highest constitutional authority.

Opposition members of parliament boycotted the inauguration saying Modi’s role was an insult to President Droupadi Murmu. An opposition leader said that Murmu was asked not to inaugurate the parliament building – in fact was not even invited to the event - because she is an Adivasi, a member of a tribe, and not an upper caste.

Last week, the upper caste bias of the BJP was in the news once again after its members “washed and purified” the Gauri Shankar Temple in Kannauj, Uttar Pradesh (U.P.), with water from the Ganges River. The purification took place after Akhilesh Yadav, an opposition leader, visited and prayed at the temple.

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