This refers to the editorial, “Fringe returnsIJ” (February 8). The ideals of our culture is to achieve unity not only by showing respect to diversity but also by accepting it as our own. In his famous Chicago speech, Swami Vivekananda had said, “We believe not only in universal toleration, but we accept all religions as true.” But there always are some fringe vigilantes who have been trying to destroy our ideals since ages. Swami Vivekananda had warned us about the danger of such regressive fringe elements who made liberal Hinduism a narrow cooking pot centric Hindutva. He said, “We are just don’t-touchists”. Our religion is in the kitchen. Our god is the cooking-pot, and our religion is ‘Don’t touch me, I am holi’. If this goes on for yet another century, every one of us will be in a lunatic asylum.”
Now, fairytale vigilantes, marriage vigilantes, cow vigilantes, Hindutva vigilantes, Hindi vigilantes and vegetarianism vigilantes want to make us forget the great teachings of Maha Upanishad — Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, meaning “the whole world is one family.” These fringe groups are spreading the disease of xenophobia which is against the ideals of what India has always stood for. As a matter of fact, xenophobia can manifest itself in many ways involving relations and perceptions of an in-group towards an outgroup, including a fear of losing identity, suspicion of its activities, aggression and desire to eliminate its presence to secure a presumed purity. If we fail to quarantine these xenophobic fringe vigilantes then as Swami Vivekananda had said, “Every one of us will be in a lunatic asylum”.