A controversial new structure set to be unveiled a
t India’s Maha Kumbh pageant would prohibit the fitting to contest elections solely to followers of Sanatan Dharma, successfully barring members of a number of main spiritual communities from looking for public workplace within the proposed Hindu nation.
The 501-page doc, to be introduced on 3 February throughout Basant Panchami at Prayagraj, outlines a system the place solely adherents of Hinduism and Indian-origin faiths corresponding to Jainism, Sikhism, and Buddhism could be permitted to vote in elections, while limiting candidacy strictly to followers of Sanatan Dharma – a time period more and more utilized by Hindu right-wing teams to seek advice from Hinduism, emphasising what they contemplate its everlasting and historic nature.
The announcement comes regardless of India already having a constitutional democracy in place since 1950, which establishes the nation as a sovereign, secular democratic republic. The spiritual leaders, who don’t have any constitutional authority to draft governing paperwork, say they’ve spent 12 months and 12 days making ready what they time period because the structure for an ‘Akhand Hindu Rashtra’ (United Hindu Nation). The doc has been ready by a committee of 25 students drawn from varied establishments throughout north and south India, together with Banaras Hindu College, Sampurnanand Sanskrit College, and Central Sanskrit College.
Shambhavi Peethadheeshwar Anand Swaroop, one of many key figures related to the structure’s improvement, defended the controversial provisions by noting, “There are international locations of Christians, Muslims and Jews however there isn’t any nation of Hindus.” Nonetheless, he insisted that the structure wouldn’t impinge on spiritual freedoms, stating that folks from all faiths would be capable to dwell freely within the nation.
The proposed governance construction centres round a unicameral legislature known as the ‘Dharm Sansad’ (Spiritual Parliament), the place representatives have to be graduates of Vedic Gurukulas. The structure units the voting age at 16 years, whereas candidates have to be at the very least 25 years previous to contest elections. The Dharm Sansad would comprise 543 members, who could be required to submit common progress stories alongside their fundamental duties. The doc stipulates that parliamentarians would obtain solely fundamental provisions, together with constituency allowance, safety, and a automobile.
Past its restrictive electoral provisions, the structure introduces a number of sweeping adjustments to present governance buildings. It mandates obligatory navy service for all residents, utterly exempts agricultural revenue from taxation, and features a ‘Proper to Recall’ provision permitting 50,000 constituents to set off a plebiscite to take away their consultant.
The doc additionally proposes vital instructional reforms, calling for the conversion of all English-medium colleges into Gurukulas and the closure of state-funded madrasas. Extra provisions embody the abolition of the caste system, promotion of joint household methods, and enforcement of monogamy.
The timing of the structure’s unveiling coincides with the presence of influential spiritual figures on the Maha Kumbh, together with Bageshwar Dham chief Dhirendra Krishna Shastri, who arrived in Prayagraj expressing help for the idea of a Hindu nation. “We wish to awake Hindus and to make Hindustan a Hindu Rashtra,” Shastri declared upon his arrival for a holy dip within the Sangam.
The structure’s presidential choice course of would require candidates to exhibit experience in Dharmashastra and Rajashastra, together with 5 years of sensible governance expertise. Throughout wartime, the president would assume direct command of the armed forces.
The spiritual leaders plan to submit this different structure to the central authorities after receiving approval from the 4 Shankaracharyas, who maintain vital spiritual authority. The doc reportedly attracts inspiration from historic Hindu texts together with Ram Rajya, Manu Smriti, and Chanakya’s Arthashastra, with its creators aiming to determine the proposed Hindu nation by 2035.
Whereas the spiritual leaders keep that their structure would permit individuals of all faiths to dwell freely within the nation, its provisions would successfully exchange India’s current secular structure with a system that restricts political participation based mostly on spiritual id. The proposed doc would basically alter the present framework the place all residents, no matter religion, get pleasure from equal political rights beneath the regulation.
