The OCADU & UofT “Rath Yatra” event has troubling symbolism. We call for an alternative approach to celebration.
The Hindu Students Council at the Ontario College of Art and Design University (OCADU) and the University of Toronto (UofT) have scheduled an event titled “Rath Yatra & Art Mela” on 30th September at the universities. The event’s choice of the title “Rath Yatra” (literally translating to “chariot procession”) is steeped in the symbolism of Hindu nationalism that is associated with an anti-Muslim and caste-based hate and violence. Hindu nationalists are inspired by a Hindu supremacist ideology, which is Islamophobic, anti-Sikh, and casteist. A joint letter signed by 80+ organizations in Canada delivered to PM Trudeau in the form of a rally in Ottawa this past August details the oppression of religious minorities and oppressed groups in India at the hands of Hindu nationalists.
The "Rath Yatra" is symbolic of mass violence against Muslims and the oppression of Dalits by Hindu nationalists in India and in the diaspora. The rise of India’s Hindu nationalist ruling party, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and its parent body, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), which is active in Canada, is attributed to the 1990 Rath Yatra. This led to the demolition of a historic mosque (Babri Masjid) in 1992, which resulted in mass ethnic violence against Muslims that continues to this day. “Rath Yatras” have since then been the catalyst for instigating violence against Muslims, other religious minorities, and oppressed communities.
The Jagannath temples (located in the Indian state of Odisha), which this event commemorates, have had a particularly long history of casteist discrimination including denying entry to Dr. Ambedkar, the Dalit leader who drafted India’s Constitution, and Mahatma Gandhi who attempted to enter with Dalit compatriots. Despite existing legislation in India banning caste discrimination, a court had to intervene in 2006 to force a Jagannath temple in Odisha to remove the ban on Dalits. Even after legal intervention, Odisha Jagannath temples continue to thwart entry into temples by Dalits (for example, by designating different entries, casteist slurs, and so on). The "Rath Yatra" terminology is deeply traumatizing and fear-inducing for students who are Muslims or caste-oppressed or from other religious minorities of India. It is associated with incidents of gross violations of human rights.
Through this joint letter, we wish to bring awareness about the “rath yatra”’s association with incidences of hate and violence against Muslims, caste-oppressed people, and other religious minorities in India. Universities are supposed to create spaces that promote learning for all students and not be a place where symbols of oppression, hostility and hate are celebrated.
Given the concerns about the event promoting hate, we the undersigned call upon OCADU and UofT to:
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Condemn the use of the “rath yatra,” a symbol of hate, for the event;
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Encourage alternative approaches to celebrating Hindu heritage and culture; and
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Use the opportunity to educate students, faculty, staff, and the wider public about Hindu nationalism and its hate-filled ideology.
Signatures:
1. Vasanthi Venkatesh, Associate Professor, Faculty of Law, University of Windsor
2. Aparna Sundar, Independent Scholar
3. Anonymous, Anonymous
4. Anonymous, Assistant Professor, University of Toronto Scarborough
5. Anonymous, PhD candidate, York University
6. Anonymous, Anonymous
7. Anonymous, Anonymous
8. Divyani Motla, PhD, University of Toronto
9. Anonymous, PhD researcher, Concordia University
10. Anonymous, Student, Concordia University
11. Gopika Solanki, Carleton University
12. feroz mehdi, General Secretary, Alternatives International
13. Anonymous, Anonymous
14. Patricia Roy, student UQAM
15. Jooneed Jeeroburkhan, Writer, Rights Activist, Retired Journalist
16. Anonymous, CERAS
17. Anne goldenberg, Artist, facilitator and teacher, uqam & uqo
18. Shahnaz Khan, Professor Emerita Wilfrid Laurier University
19. Anonymous, Anonymous Anonymous
20. Naila Saeed, Vice President- International Council of Indian Muslims
21. Anonymous
22. Vinod Mubayi, Insaf Bulletin
23. Leena Manimekalai, Independent Filmmaker
24. South Asian Dalit Adivasi Network, Canada (SADAN), Canada
25. Jonathan McPhedran Waitzer, National Organizer, Resource Movement
26. Anonymous, Anonymous
27. Anonymous, Anonymous
28. Jillian Rogin, Associate Professor, University of Windsor
29. Cheryl Benson, Benson Visuals
30. tess sheldon, Windsor Law
31. Samantha Anne Chrisanthus, Lawyer
32. Anonymous, Anonymous
33. Shubhra Gururani, Director, York Centre for Asian Research,York University
34. Terri Ginsberg, film scholar
35. Anonymous, Anonymous
36. Laurie Adkin, Professor, University of Alberta
37. Bhavani Raman, University of Toronto
38. Amina Jamal, Professor, Toronto Metropolitan University
39. Indu Vashist, Executive Director, SAVAC (South Asian Visual Arts Centre)
40. Anonymous, AIMS
41. Anonymous, Assistant Professor (LTF), Department of Criminology, Toronto Metropolitan University
42. Rita Kaur Dhamoon, Associate Professor, UVIC
43. Sanaa Ali-Mohammed, PhD candidate, Toronto Metropolitan University
44. Naved Bakali, Assistant Professor, University of Windsor
45. Anonymous, Anonymous
46. Angel glady J, Queer Tamil collective
47. Shozab Raza, Assistant Professor, University of Toronto
48. Dia Da Costa, Professor of Social Justice and International Studies in Education, University of Alberta
49. Anonymous, Anonymous
50. Anonymous, Anonymous
51. Mandeep Mucina, University of Victoria
52. Anonymous, Anonymous
53. Anonymous, Co-Founder Canadians Against Oppression And Persecution(CAOP)
54. Mathew Edassery
55. Jeffrey Monaghan, Associate Professor, Carleton University, Criminology
56. Jeff Bale, Associate Professor, University of Toronto
57. Irfana Majumdar, PhD student, York University
58. Marina Seuve, Student
59. Dr. Alicia Turner, Associate Professor, York University, Program Coordinator Religious Studies
60. Shraddha Chatterjee, Visiting Scholar, University of Houston
61. Htet Min Lwin, PhD student, Religious Studies, York University, Toronto
62. Anonymous, Professor of Sociology, University of Alberta
63. Salman Hussain, York University
64. Anonymous, Anonymous
65. Sabina Chatterjee, PhD Candidate, York University
66. Dip Kapoor, Professor, University of Alberta, Social Justice & International Education Specialization
67. Nilanjan Das, Associate Professor, Department of Philosophy, University of Toronto
68. Anonymous, Associate Professor, University of Toronto
69. Fahad Ahmad, Assistant Professor, Toronto Metropolitan University
70. Rakesh Sengupta, Assistant Professor, University of Toronto
71. Ahana , International League of Peoples' Struggle in Canada
72. Dolores Chew, Faculty, Marianopolis College, Montreal
73. CERAS (Centre sur l'asie du sud/South Asia Centre)
74. Hana Ahmed, PhD Student, York University
75. Gurpreet Singh, Radical Desi
76. Katherine Blouin, Associate Professor, University of Toronto
77. Girish Daswani, Associate Professor, University of Toronto
78. Anonymous, Collective member, Kashmir Gulposh
79. Anonymous, York University / Student
80. Alex Da Costa, Associate Professor, University of Alberta
81. Ali Kazimi, Professor, York University
82. Anonymous, Anonymous
83. Marie Boti, President, Diffusion Multi-Monde Inc.
84. Amanda Montgomery, Student/Laurentian University
85. Janet Lumb, Individual
86. Freda Guttman, former teacher Dawson College
87. Kajri Jain, Professor, University of Toronto
88. Anonymous
89. Anonymous, Women of Diverse Origins
90. Anonymous, PhD Student, York University
91. Alisha Zaida Ali, Centennial College, Queer Tamil Collective
92. Min Sook Lee, Associate Professor, OCAD University
93. Sheryl , Affiliated Scholar, New College, U of T
94. Richard Fung, Professor Emeritus, OCAD University
95. Alan Wong, Teacher, Vanier College
96. Anonymous
97. Anonymous, Anonymous
98. Anonymous, QPIRG Concordia
99. Anonymous, University of Toronto
100. Anonymous, Professor, University of Toronto
101. Critical Diasporic South Asian Feminisms, South Asian Academics at Multiple Canadian and US Institutions
102. Malavika Kasturi, Associate Professor of History, University of Toronto
103. Ashique Ali Thuppilikkat, University of Toronto
104. Anonymous
105. Siddan Chandra , kidocracy.com
106. Jasmin Zine, Professor, Wilfrid Laurier University
107. Hesser Garcia, Community organizer
108. Baljit Nagra, Associate Professor, University of Ottawa
109. Chinnaiah Jangam, Carleton University
110. Rita Acosta, Directrice Mouvement contre le viol et l'inceste
111. Ilan Kapoor, Professor York University
112. Anonymous, PhD student, York University
113. rosalind hampton, Assitant Professor, University of Toronto
114. Anonymous, Canadians for Indian Democracy (CID)
115. Anonymous
116. Anonymous, Assistant Professor, OCAD University
117. South Asian Diaspora Action Collective (SADAC)
118. Tazeen Hasan, Advocacy manager, Justice For All, Canada
119. Anonymous, Student, UofT
120. Afzal Rahman
121. Muhammed Ahmad, University of Alberta
122. Ashar Mumtaz, Concordia University
123. Jyotika Virdi, Associate Professor, University of Windsor
124. Atul Jain, Financial advisor
125. Anonymous, Parent of a student
126. Anonymous
127. J Sharma, Associate Professor University of Toronto
128. Vinod Bhardwaj, Retired
129. Anonymous, Anonymous
130. Vishwas Aggrawal, Consultant - Legal Services
131. Anupam Agarwal, CIBC
132. John Nathaniel Gertler, Student, Concordia University
Signatures are being updated on the Google Form here: https://forms.gle/T6CfEsqTapHKEq3C9