By Michael Swan
India’s prime minister Narendra Modi has made Hindu nationalism a central part of his party’s political philosophy, aiming to define Indian identity primarily in terms of Hindu values, heritage and religion.
With India accounting for the largest source of immigrants to Canada, Modi’s politics matter in Canada too. Here, Hindus make up a small but growing share of Canada’s population, numbering about 830,000 individuals in the 2021 census.
At a major celebration of Hindu culture in Toronto in mid-July, thousands of Hindu-Canadians paraded down Yonge Street as part of the annual Rath Yatra Festival of Chariots. Canadian Affairs spoke to several participants to get their views on Hindu nationalism and its place in Canada.
“Politicians are politicians. There’s not much you can do,” said Mahabhagavat Das, referring to Modi’s sometimes charged rhetoric.
Das is a Canadian leader in the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, a global Hindu religious organization. He acknowledged that he hears plenty of talk about how Hinduism is under threat and how Hindus must counter external menaces to their culture from Muslims, Sikhs, a global liberal elite, secularism and others.
But he resists giving into this noise, he says, which only makes it harder for Hindus to really connect with their own religious tradition. “You lose sight of the spiritual reality,” he said.
This story was originally published in canadianaffairs.news. Read the full story here.
