An All India Hindu Convention organised by the Hindu Janagagruti Samiti held in Goa, said “the central government should take steps to ensure that innocent seekers of Sanathan Sanstha are not harassed by the agencies investigating the murders of rationalists.” The Samiti is a brother concern of the Sanstha. A key leader of the Sanstha, Virender Tawde (pictured above), was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation in connection with the murder of rationalist Narendra Dabholkar.

Chetan Manerikar, of the Hindu Vidhidnya Parishad that organises lawyers, told a post convention press conference that the organisation would support “innocent sadhaks” accused and implicated in cases, including the 2009 Margao bomb blast case. Six Sanathan Sanstha members were investigated for their role in the blasts, that killed two accused when their scooter exploded near a local Narakasur effigy burning parade on the eve of Diwali.

“Pro-Hindus who are engaged in nation building and Dharmajagruti continuously face legal hurdles. Also the administration and police machinery pose further problems in their work,” the HJS press note stated. Manerikar said meetings are being planned to unite Hindu advocates all over India on these issues.

Ramesh Shinde, national spokesperson of the Hindu Janajagruti Samiti, said 400 delegates from 161 Hindu organisations had gathered for the four-day convention at Ponda’s Ramnathi temple, where growth plans and programs to “publicise the concept of Hindu Rashtra” were chalked out. Forty one regional Hindu conventions are planned over the next year, nine at the state level and 32 local level conventions to “unite Hindus for the task of establishing of Hindu Rashtra.”

Resolutions passed at the convention said “the Indian Parliament should declare the country to be a Hindu Rashtra”. It supports the same cause in Nepal, while calling for a separate Hindu homeland in Bangladesh, since “the Bangladeshi government has failed to protect the Hindus there”. The meet also pressed for a nation wide ban on cow slaughter, a ban on all anti national activity in universities, but it condemned the Goa government’s ban on the entry of Sriram Sena chief Pramod Muthalik.

The Convention has also decided to expand HJS work from “nation building” and “dharma awakening,” to taking up social campaigns against obscenity, donations collected in schools, corruption in education, medical practice, ‘day light robbery’ in hospitals, and issues of corruption in government administration, including “if there is judicial corruption”. HJS plans to focus on local issues to build and increase participation of “patriotic” and “Dharmik Hindus” in these campaigns.