TAKE THE PLEDGE

[. . .] Hate, discrimination, and violence [are] in power in India, and on the rise in many democracies around the world. Almost all over, liberal democracies are in decline, compromised by self-serving leaders with autocratic tendencies. The fascination [with] strong, decisive leaders has grown, and this has enabled leaders [with] such tendencies to be able to manipulate public opinion and grab power. Radical prejudices and regional chauvinism are handsomely contributing to the rise and legitimization of regimes and leaders with fascist inclinations. In India, the extremist radical and caste supremacist ideology [that] orchestrated the murder of Gandhi, is today in power. The RSS and its political offspring, the BJP [. . .] are leaving no stone unturned to turn Indian society into hateful mobs, rampaging, seeking redress for often imagined crimes of the past. Gandhi's murderer, [Nathuram] Godse, is being deified. Shrines are being built to commemorate this ‘patriot,’ whose achievement in life was all the failed attempts on Bapu's life, until the last one on 30th January [1948], when he finally murdered Gandhi, Mahatma, at the behest of his mentor Savarkar and the extremist organization, the RSS. But in the new India, the murderer is systematically being turned into a patriotic hero. And his victim is being demonized. The national and mental ideological condition today resembles the state in which Germany and Germans were immediately before the Second World War, when the Nazis held sway in Germany. The RSS is an extremist right-wing Hindu organization which took its inspiration from the Nazis and the fascists of Italy. It actively conducts a campaign of hate and incites violence. The union government is the progeny of the RSS and so the government patronizes, [. . .] promotes, and orchestrates the campaign of hate and violence of its ideological parent. The government has effectively been capturing so far independent, Gandhian organizations and memorials to corrupt them and to project a distorted image of Gandhi. 

The Gandhian legacy of inclusiveness, compassion, and love is under attack. The RSS and its affiliates are largely funded by groups of Indian expats and right-wing organizations founded by them in the West. They send large amounts of funds to ensure that the campaign of hate and violence is well-funded in India. Under the pretext of development, the government recently demolished an important center of Gandhian ideology in the Indian Prime Minister's parliamentary constituency. The attack on Gandhi and his legacy of love is under siege, in the land he helped liberate. But it is not exclusive to India. The ideals of liberty, compassion, inclusiveness, peace, nonviolence, equality, and justice are being attacked and weakened all over the world. We are becoming increasingly intolerant, aggressive, and prone to violence. Wars and conflicts are jeopardizing our very existence. 

At such a bleak time, SACRED, South Asian American Coalition to Renew Democracy, brings a welcome ray of hope with its program to convince leaders all over the world to take the 2024 Illinois Nonviolence Pledge, and to vow to stand up to bullies, mobs, and radical organizations, who preach and practice prejudice, hate, and violence. We have reached the stage when we must choose nonviolence or non-existence. We need to change for our very own existence. My best wishes to SACRED and the people behind it. They need to succeed. We have no other hope. Thank you very much."