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Jan 14, 2026
Siddhartha Dave

When the Communist Party of China Comes Knocking at Nagpur’s Doorstep

A civilisational, ideological and strategic reading The visit of a delegation of the Communist Party of China (CPC) to the headquarters of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in Nagpur, as reported by The Print, deserves to be read with greater strategic clarity and civilisational confidence than most early commentaries have allowed. This was not merely a “courtesy call,” nor an initiative born out of ideological curiosity alone. It was, in many ways, a compelled outreach—a pragmatic necessity for Beijing in a rapidly shifting Asian balance of power. That the CPC sought to understand “how the RSS functions” is itself telling. It reflects not Chinese confidence, but Chinese constraint. Beijing today finds itself with limited diplomatic manoeuvring space vis-à-vis Bharat, and dialogue—especially with forces that shape India beyond the state—is no longer optional. It is the only viable path left to avoid a prolonged strategic cold war in Asia. The Context: Engagement by Compulsion, Not Choice The CPC delegation’s visit to Keshav Kunj came immediately after its meeting with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) headquarters—its first such engagement in six years. As The Print notes, this followed the October 2024 disengagement agreement along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), after relations had remained frozen since the Galwan conflict of 2020. It is important to underline this sequencing. China did not initiate dialogue from a position of strength. It was forced into recalibration after four years of strategic stagnation, economic headwinds, growing global mistrust, and a hardened Indian posture—political, military, and societal. Bharat did not come seeking reassurance; China came seeking stability. Seen in this light, Beijing’s outreach to the RSS is less about goodwill and more about damage limitation. The Chinese leadership understands that in today’s Bharat, policy is not shaped merely by ministries and parties, but by a wider civilisational consensus—one in which the RSS plays a decisive role. Why the RSS Matters to Beijing According to The Print, the delegation met RSS General Secretary Dattatreya Hosabale for an hour, in the absence of RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat, who was travelling. Sangh sources described the meeting as a courtesy visit with no formal agenda. Yet, in strategic affairs, who seeks whom is often more important than what is said. The CPC’s interest in the RSS stems from a sober assessment of three realities: First, the RSS represents continuity. Governments change, coalitions shift, but the Sangh has sustained organisational discipline, ideological coherence, and grassroots penetration for nearly a century. For a party-state like the CPC—deeply concerned with regime durability—this longevity outside formal state power is impossible to ignore. Second, the RSS shapes the national mood. Post-Galwan, Indian public opinion hardened decisively against China. This was not a transient media reaction but a societal shift. Beijing understands that repairing ties with Bharat requires engaging not just with diplomats, but with the deeper sources of national resolve. Third, the RSS offers an alternative model of national organisation—one rooted in culture, memory, and voluntary discipline rather than coercive state control. For a Leninist party accustomed to top-down mobilisation, this bottom-up civilisational energy is both unfamiliar and strategically consequential. Strategic Signalling—The Core Meaning of the Meeting It would be mistaken to over-intellectualise this interaction as ideological convergence or mutual admiration. That is not its significance. What this meeting fundamentally represents is strategic signalling From China’s side, it is an acknowledgement—quiet but unmistakable—that India’s national will is no longer shaped by post-colonial diffidence or elite ambivalence. Bharat today speaks with a confident civilisational voice, one that draws legitimacy from history, culture, and societal consensus rather than external validation. Beijing is being compelled to engage with that reality. From the Sangh’s side, the meeting reflects composure and confidence. Dialogue was neither avoided nor sensationalised. There was no dilution of principles, no performative outreach. The message was clear: a meeting does not mean endorsement, and conversation does not mean compromise. The RSS engaged from a position of civilisational self-assurance, not diplomatic anxiety. This asymmetry is crucial. China reached out because it had to. The RSS received because it could afford to. The Larger Message for Bharat’s Intellectual and Strategic Community Perhaps the most important implication of this episode lies closer home. The fact that the CPC seeks to understand the RSS carries a powerful message for Bharat’s own intellectual and strategic class. For decades, sections of India’s elite—especially within academia, media, and policy circles—dismissed the Sangh as parochial, reactionary, or politically incidental. That narrative is no longer sustainable. Today, a global power with one of the world’s most sophisticated intelligence and party apparatuses recognises the RSS as a key node of influence worth studying. Not opposing. Not ignoring. Studying. This moment should prompt serious introspection within Bharat. It underlines that civilisational forces, long marginalised in elite discourse, are now central to India’s global posture. Strategic depth in the 21st century is not produced by GDP figures alone, but by societal cohesion, cultural confidence, and ideological clarity. Civilisational Confidence in an Uncertain World As The Print observes, these engagements are part of a broader attempt to stabilise India–China relations after years of confrontation. But stability today does not arise from accommodation alone; it flows from mutual recognition of resolve. The CPC’s visit to the RSS headquarters marks an unspoken admission: Bharat is no longer a passive civilisational space to be managed through diplomacy alone. It is an assertive civilisational state, anchored in institutions that predate the modern republic and will likely outlast any single political dispensation. For the RSS, this interaction reaffirms a simple truth—it does not need validation, but it commands attention. And in global politics, attention is often the clearest measure of influence.

Jan 12, 2026
Vladimir Adityanaath

Systematic Violence and Targeted Persecution of Hindus in Bangladesh: An Evidence-Based Assessment of Incidents, Patterns, and State Response (Nov–Dec 2025)

1. Statistical Overview and Pattern Analysis Between the documented incidents compiled in this report, at least 82 distinct acts of violence, intimidation, or persecution targeting members of the Hindu minority community have been recorded during November and December months of 2025. These incidents have directly affected no fewer than 317 individuals, excluding broader secondary impacts such as displacement, community-wide fear, loss of livelihood and long-term insecurity. The nature, frequency, and geographic dispersion of these incidents demonstrate a consistent and discernible pattern of targeted harm rather than random, isolated or purely opportunistic criminal activity. 1.1 Breakdown of Recorded Incidents Murders: 17 Targeted killings, including lynchings, stabbings, shootings and deaths following abduction, demonstrate extreme violence and a persistent environment of impunity. Attacks, vandalisation, desecration or obstruction of Hindu religious sites: 13 Including destruction of idols, theft from temples, obstruction of access to places of worship and desecration or occupation of cremation grounds, acts that directly undermine freedom of religion or belief and cultural continuity. Targeted attacks intended to economically impoverish Hindu families: 15 Deliberate destruction of crops, arson of homes and businesses, looting of savings, and systematic extortion aimed at rendering affected families economically unviable. Land grabs and forced dispossession: 12 Illegal occupation of ancestral land, seizure of harvested crops, coercive threats, and intimidation designed to compel displacement or permanent migration. Abduction of Hindu women and girls: 2 Cases involving forcible removal from family protection, unlawful confinement, and threats underscore acute gender-specific vulnerabilities. Hate speech by political, religious, or legal actors: 4 Public statements by political figures, religious leaders, or members of the legal profession that dehumanise Hindus or delegitimise Hindu religious practices contribute to a permissive environment for discrimination, hostility, and violence. Arrests or attacks under blasphemy-related allegations: 4 The use of “hurting religious sentiments” selectively as an excuse to criminalise identity, suppress expression or legitimise mob action. 1.2 Observed Patterns and Modus Operandi Taken together, these figures reveal several recurring and interlinked patterns: Disproportionate targeting of Hindus in rural and semi-urban areas, often distant from sustained media scrutiny or rapid institutional oversight. A strong overlap between economic violence, land dispossession and threats of forced migration, indicating coercive strategies aimed at long-term removal rather than momentary harm. Repeated failures of law-enforcement intervention, including delayed responses, lack of follow-up or routine attribution of responsibility to “unknown miscreants,” resulting in minimal accountability. The strategic use of fear — through murder, arson, sexual violence, abduction and public humiliation to enforce silence, compliance, and displacement. 1.3 Pattern Characterisation: RULLS Model The violence documented in this report conforms to what may be described as a Random, Unceasing, Low-Level, Scattered (RULLS) violence model. Under this model, persistent yet geographically dispersed acts of violence generate continuous insecurity without triggering immediate national or international alarm. While individual incidents may appear isolated when assessed independently, their frequency, similarity, and cumulative impact reveal a sustained environment of persecution. 1.4 Information Suppression and Media Constraints The scale and consistency of reporting by mainstream Bangladeshi media outlets remain markedly limited in comparison to the volume of incidents documented by minority rights organisations and local monitoring groups. Several incidents are reported primarily as generic “law and order” issues without acknowledgement of targeting patterns or the minority status of victims. Concerns regarding media pressure intensified following attacks on media institutions on 18 December 2025, when the offices of outlets such as The Daily Star and Prothom Alo were surrounded and subjected to arson attacks. Journalists investigating minority-related violence have also faced direct threats. In November 2025, journalist Trina Roy Chowdhury publicly reported threats of gang rape and expressed grave concerns for the safety of herself and her child, underscoring the risks faced by those documenting these abuses. 1.5 Organised Hate Propagation and Grassroots Mobilisation Evidence gathered since September 2024 indicates that hardline Islamist groups have engaged in coordinated and frequent grassroots-level mobilisation, including leaflet distribution and local gatherings extending even to remote villages. These campaigns promote narratives that dehumanise Hindus and normalise hostility. One such leaflet circulated at the village level during late 2024 is reproduced below for reference. This sustained ideological environment has been repeatedly observed to translate into acts of violence arising from minor disputes or everyday interactions, a pattern documented throughout November and December across multiple districts in the form of murder, assault, abduction, and property destruction. 1.5 State Response and Compensation Gaps A notable trend emerging from the data is the targeted use of economic destruction as a tool of persecution. This approach has proven particularly effective due to the near absence of restitution or state-supported recovery mechanisms. During the reporting period, compensation by the current interim administration was extended to Hindu victims in only one documented case, that of Dipu Chandra Das, leaving the overwhelming majority of affected families without redress. 1.6 Methodological Note This report is based on systematic documentation compiled from ground-level reports produced by local human rights and minority rights organisations, supplemented and cross-checked where possible with national and regional media reporting. Each incident referenced in this analysis has been chronologically recorded, source-linked with URLs and case summaries in Annexure I, enabling independent verification. Given persistent constraints on media freedom, structural underreporting and fear-driven non-disclosure by victims, the figures cited represent minimum documented and verifiable incidents, not the full scale of occurrence. 1.7 Conclusion Viewed holistically, this statistical profile strongly indicates systematic persecution rather than sporadic criminality. The documented patterns raise serious concerns under international human rights standards, including violations of the right to life, freedom of religion or belief, security of person, equality before the law, and protection from discrimination. These findings warrant urgent, independent scrutiny and remedial action consistent with Bangladesh’s obligations under international human rights law. 2. Annexure 1: Chronological Documentation of Reported Atrocities Against Hindus in (Nov–Dec 2025) HinduPersecutionBangladesh_NovDec2025_EveidencebasedAssessment.pdf

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Featured Articles

When the Communist Party of China Comes Knocking at Nagpur’s Doorstep

Systematic Violence and Targeted Persecution of Hindus in Bangladesh: An Evidence-Based Assessment of Incidents, Patterns, and State Response (Nov–Dec 2025)

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