Hindutva labelled a ‘disease’ in derogatory post comparing Bhagwan Parashurama to Aurangzeb
Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, India 
11 March, 2025
Case Summary
In Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, a derogatory post about lord Parshuram was made by former Congress leader Rekha Vinod Jain. She also referred to Hindutva as a "disease." Former Women’s City Congress President Rekha Vinod Jain, quoting Kathakar Manika Mohini on social media, wrote that Aurangzeb beheaded his brother and presented the head to his father, and that Parashurama beheaded his mother and offered it to his father. The post stated: “In my understanding, senseless and savage beasts exist in both instances. But the disease of Hindutva is more dangerous, because Parashurama is considered an incarnation and a symbol of dharma, not just by those upholding Brahminism, but also by the leaders and representatives of Hindus as a whole.” Outraged by her post, the Brahmin community, along with Hindu organisations, protested against Rekha Vinod Jain for her derogatory remarks on Lord Parshuram. The Congress party issued a notice to Rekha in this regard and asked her to apologise. When the controversy over the post grew, Rekha deleted it and apologised. She explained that someone had sent the post to her, and the following day, she realised that she had accidentally made the controversial post go viral. She immediately deleted it, accepted her mistake, and publicly apologised. She issued a clarification that her intention was not to hurt anyone's feelings and that the post had gone viral by mistake.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case has been added to the tracker under the prime category of - Hate speech against Hindus. The sub-category relevant under this case is - Anti-Hindu slurs, mocking faith. Anti-Hindu slurs and the deliberate mocking of the Hindu faith owing to religious animosity involve the usage of derogatory terms, stereotypes, or offensive references to religious practices, symbols, or figures. One of the common anti-Hindu slurs used against Hindus is “cow-worshipper” and “cow piss drinker”. The intention of using this term is to demean and mock Hindus as a group and their religious beliefs since Hindus consider the cow holy. Additionally, some symbols and the slurs attached to them have a historical context that exacerbates the insult, hate, stereotyping, dehumanisation and oppression against Hindus. Cow worship has been used for centuries to denigrate Hindus, insult their faith and oppress Hindus specifically as a religious group. There has been overwhelming documentation about how cow slaughter has been used to persecute Hindus with cow meat being thrown in temples and places of worship. There has also been overwhelming documentation where cow meat (beef) has been force-fed to Hindus to either forcefully convert them to Islam or denigrate their faith. Apart from cow worship, the Swastika – which holds deep religious significance for the Hindus – has also been misinterpreted and distorted to use as a slur against Hindus. Similarly, the worship of the Shivling has been used by supremacist ideologies and religions to denigrate Hindus owing to religious animosity. Such slurs and denigration stem out of inherent animosity and hate towards Hindus and their faith, therefore, it is categorised as hate speech targeted at Hindus specifically owing to their religious identity. This case has been added to the tracker because the statement made by former Congress leader Rekha Vinod Jain goes beyond political or literary commentary and falls squarely within the realm of hate speech, as it deliberately denigrates a Hindu deity. Bhagwan Parashurama is revered as the sixth avatara of Bhagwan Vishnu. By equating Bhagwan Parashurama with Aurangzeb, one of the most brutal Muslim tyrants known for temple destruction, forced conversions, and persecution of Hindus, the post mocks the core beliefs and religious sentiments of Hindus. The derogatory comparison not only insults Hindu theology but also targets the Brahmin community and, more broadly, Hindus as a whole, by claiming that those who revere Parashurama are plagued by a "disease" called Hindutva. Labelling Hindu belief itself as a “disease” is a form of religious dehumanisation, intended to malign and vilify the Hindu worldview, its sages, symbols, and devotees. It is important to note that such rhetoric is rooted in religious animosity, not simply ideological disagreement. 'Hindutva' is often used as a euphemism to make the targeting of Hindus more palatable. Hindutva is essentially a unifying ideology for Hindus which became imperative for Hindus to find and preserve their cultural identity which was being eroded and attacked due to Islamic invasions, British colonisation, Christian theological impositions and conversions. Hindutva is not a destructive ideology, as some attempt to portray, but one that is used as a unifying edifice for Hindus. Hindutva is also often used as a euphemism to target Hindus on the whole and their religious identity and faith. It is essentially semantic jugglery to confuse Hindus into believing that their own persecution by supremacists is somehow 'justified' because the specific victims espoused an ideology (Hindutva) which deserves the onslaught. The fact that the use of 'Hindutva' is merely to mask animosity towards Hindus was evident from the "Dismantling Global Hindutva" conference held in the USA, where speakers unabashedly spoke about how Hindutva and Hinduism are indistinguishable and therefore, the "dismantle Hindutva" one would have to "dismantle Hinduism". The practices of targeting Hindus and their religious and cultural identity and justifying that victimisation and dehumanisation by using euphemisms like "Hindutva" stems out of inherent animosity and hostility towards Hindus. Hence, this case is added to the hate crime database.
Case Status
Unknown
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Others
Perpetrators Range
One Person
Perpetrators Gender
female
Sources 
