Hindus must participate in political process to have space in global power-sharing structure: Swami Vigyananand

Hindus must participate in the political process to have a space in the global power-sharing structure, an influential Hindu religious leader has said ahead of a global meet of the community in Bangkok.

Swami Vigyananand, the founder and global chairman of the World Hindu Foundation which organises the once-in-four-year World Hindu Congress, said Hindus cannot make a mark for themselves in the modern world just through Bhangra, Dandiya and Pranayam (the ancient practice of controlling your breath).

An IIT graduate, Swami Vigyananand said: “I have respect for all these things.' But for power sharing, Hindus need to focus and strategies on its core strength for which not much effort has been made so far, he said.

“It is one-sixth of the global population, We are the richest people in many countries, and we are very successful .. also in education and academia. But we are nowhere in a real power-sharing game,” said the Indian religious leader.

“Hindus need to participate in the political process. I am not against anybody, but for instance, in Canada Hindus are much more in number than Khalistanis. But we have just four members of parliament. They are 27. In the real power game, 27 matter not four. This is what we are trying to educate the global Hindu community,” he said.

“This is our focus and efforts of the World Hindu Congress,” he said, referring to the next session in Bangkok from November 24 to 26.

On the global stage, there is a need to position Hindus as a “peace-loving, co-existing and contributing community, who don’t depend on government welfare,” he said.

Swami Vigyananand for more than a decade has been trying to bring Hindus from across the world on a platform through the World Hindu Congress.

The third edition of the World Hindu Congress in Bangkok, capital of Thailand, will be attended by thousands of Hindus from more than 60 countries. The theme of this year’s World Hindu Congress is Jayasya Aayatnam Dharmah, meaning “Dharma, the Abode of Victory”, he said. The last Congress was held in Chicago in 2018.