The growing intolerance among Hindu youngsters

Every religion uses youngsters to ignite violence. This is happening around the world and in India. Hindu fundamentalists too use them for political mileage and other sectarian needs. But unfortunately, most of the Hindu youngsters are ignorant about Hinduism.

There are two types of Hindu youngsters. One type goes to temple, prays, take part in festivals. They stay away from all the activities of organized religion. For them, religion comes to fore only during functions like marriage etc. Then they are off to their materialistic world and return to religion when they are depressed or suffer losses. They consider Bhagavad Gita and other spiritual texts for the old age or to be read in their retired life.

The second type is proud of being a Hindu. They take part in all activities associated with the religion. They argue about the superiority of their religion. This is when they are ignorant about the basic tenants of the religion. For them, Hinduism is building temples and taking on other religions.

The first type is silent, so they receive little media attention. The second type is violent and receives all media attention and is often seen as the young face of Hinduism. These young defenders of Hindu religion react to hearsay. They are ready to take arms at the slightest provocation. They vandalize and use muscle power to show the superiority of their religion.

These young Hindus often forget that we live in a democratic country. If any one has hurt their religious sentiments, there are several platforms to raise the issue peacefully. Taking up arms is not the Hindu way. Nonviolence has found its highest expression in Hinduism.

A person who has understood Hinduism will keep quite and will only smile at the ignorance of the perpetrator. From time immemorial, Hinduism has withstood the assault of several different forces through nonviolent methods. In this 21^st century, Hinduism don’t need any young defenders.