2008 was an unusual year in which scarcely a month went by without a conflict or controversy involving Hindus in some part of the world.

In the mountain ranges of the Himalayas millions spontaneously took to the streets in Jammu. In the dense forests of Eastern India the killing of a local Swami set off a retaliatory spiral of violence that has yet to fully subside. In the plush studios of South Delhi angry activists are attacking perceived insults to their religion and culture. Hindu army officers and holy men were accused of being involved in bomb blasts across the nation. In Sri Lanka, the Hindu minority find themselves in a complex and ferocious struggle for survival. The remote Northeastern regions of India in and around Assam are in a total ferment with armed groups ruling the roost eager and ready to push to violence at the slightest provocation. Court rooms in southern India are blown apart.

Outside of India we see Malaysia’s Hindu minority in ferment to defend their rights as hundreds of thousands marched on the streets of Kuala Lumpa, many of whom were arrested and imprisoned. There is increased awareness of the appalling conditions of Hindu minorities in countries like Pakistan and Bangladesh, and about the denigration of Hinduism in the schools and academic institutions of Europe and America.

A simmering rage is slowly spreading across the Hindu world. As yet, apparently unconnected and regionalised a feeling of being driven to extreme measures is gradually taking hold amongst many communities of Hindus.

Up until a few years ago, Hindu dissent and assertion found its main expression through the supposedly Hindu “Bharatiya Janata Party” (BJP) of India, which had emerged from relative obscurity in the early 1980s to become the largest political party in India by the late 1990s. However, the BJPs track record in power, whereby the party would consistently raise populist Hindu issues during election times, yet forget their electoral manifestos soon after the elections had passed, left the Hindu masses deeply cynical and disillusioned.

It is now clear that Hindu activism and assertion has thrown off its erstwhile dependence on the BJP. Indeed, the new Hindu movements often show the BJP disdain. In Jammu, the protesting Hindu crowds made it clear that BJP leader L. K. Advani was not welcome to their state. The Hindu crowds in Jammu even targeted BJP offices (along with those of the Congress Party).

What has happened to the Hindus? What is generating such rage amongst a people previously celebrated for their tolerance and artistic expression? Comprising nearly 15% of the world’s population more than one in seven people in the world are today Hindus. In an increasingly globalised world, expansionary cultures and religions have encroached upon Hindus’ rights in many areas. Many Hindus are trying to pay back in kind by taking on attributes of the aggressors. The image of the mild inoffensive Hindu prepared to buckle against any insult is no longer the one that many young Hindus are prepared to accept.

Furthermore, the decision of some of the founders of the modern Indian state to adopt an aggressive secularism has sharpened the sense of anger and deprivation. The concept that the majority Hindus must be kept at bay and the refusal to discuss and debate sensitive issues has led to the steady development of a counter culture amongst some Hindus. An awareness of perceived threats to Hindu culture and values is now widespread and together with the refusal of the powers in the Indian state to engage this awareness is leading to a furious churning.

Most of this churning is expressed constructively through an increase in the number of Hindu groups engaging in and propagating Hindu dharma and values through mediums such as yoga, meditation and religious TV channels.

There is a darker side too. Some are reacting rather through agitation and counter-aggression, and there is also evidence of an evolving Hindu militancy which is seeking to use more sophisticated weapons than knives and swords.

We see the end of 2008 – a year of wrath and rage for the Hindus with a lot more promised for 2009. Will we see another year of rage or will the tide turn backward - only time will tell.

The author is a lawyer and member of Acamediam, a think tank specialising in South Asia

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