‘If a Bengali Hindu Offers Meat to Goddess Kali, Hindutva Will Object’: Mahua Moitra Sparks Fresh Debate

Kolkata:
Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Mahua Moitra has triggered a fresh political controversy with her sharp remarks on Hinduism and Hindutva, at a time when the electoral climate remains highly charged. Speaking at an event organised by the Calcutta Debating Circle on the theme “Hinduism Needs Protection from Hindutva”, Moitra described Hindutva as “harmful” and fundamentally opposed to the plural and inclusive nature of Hinduism.

Elaborating on her argument, Moitra said that cultural and religious practices accepted within Hindu traditions are often rejected by proponents of Hindutva. “A meat-eating Bengali Hindu may offer meat to Goddess Kali, but a follower of Hindutva will say this is not right,” she remarked. According to her, this reflects a deeper attempt to impose a uniform interpretation of religion that undermines regional customs and long-standing traditions within Hinduism.

Moitra further argued that while Hinduism allows space for coexistence and even love between people of different faiths, Hindutva rejects such ideas outright. “Where a Hindu can imagine love between a Hindu and a Muslim, a Hindutva follower will dismiss it as ‘love jihad’,” she said, asserting that Hindutva promotes division rather than harmony.

Raising a broader philosophical question, Moitra asked whether Hinduism needs to protect itself from Hindutva. She answered it herself by stating that the best way to safeguard Hinduism is to recognise that it existed long before Hindutva and does not require a political ideology to survive. “Hindutva exists because Hinduism existed first,” she said.

The event also featured former Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar, who launched an equally scathing critique of Hindutva. Aiyar described it as a “paranoia” imposed on Hinduism, claiming it creates fear among the Hindu majority by projecting minorities, particularly Muslims, as threats. He drew a clear distinction between the two, calling Hinduism a great spiritual tradition, while defining Hindutva as a political ideology that emerged only in the early 20th century.

Aiyar argued that Hinduism had survived and flourished for thousands of years without the need for Hindutva’s protection. He cited incidents such as attacks on Christmas celebrations and opposition to interfaith interactions as examples of what he termed the aggressive and exclusionary nature of Hindutva.

The remarks by Moitra and Aiyar have reignited the long-standing debate over the relationship between Hinduism and Hindutva. While leaders from the BJP, including MP Sudhanshu Trivedi, have consistently maintained that Hindutva represents the core essence of Hindu values, critics argue that it reduces a diverse and philosophical religion into a rigid political framework.

With these statements, Mahua Moitra has once again positioned herself at the centre of a polarising national debate, one that is likely to intensify as political parties sharpen their ideological narratives ahead of upcoming elections.