The Indian community in Australia has been left shocked after videos emerged from a Hindu event in northern India where religious leaders called for the ethnic cleansing of 220 million Muslims in the country.
The three-day event, known as the Dharma Sansad, or religious meeting, involved Hindu nationalist leaders in Haridwar inciting violence against Muslims in a bid to transform India into an exclusively Hindu state.
The event has been dubbed as a "hate speech conclave" by critics on Twitter where videos of the leaders have gone viral.
The Dharma Sansad was organised by right-wing figure Yati Narsinghanand who claimed on the first day of the event that swords are insufficient in the "battle against Muslims", and better weapons are necessary to become victorious.
Another right-wing Hindu figure, Sadhvi Annapurna, allegedly encouraged the audience to kill Muslims as part of their duty as Hindus.
"Even if just a hundred of us become soldiers and kill two million of them, we will be victorious ... if you stand with this attitude, only then will you able to protect sanatana dharma [an absolute form of Hinduism]," she said.
The meeting was attended by at least one member of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's right-wing political party, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
It comes as some states are on the cusp of holding state elections, including in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, the latter state hosting the event.
President of Indian Crescent Society of Australia, Abbas Raza Alvi expressed genuine concern over the rhetoric displayed at these events.
"This incident is very unique because [the speech] is coming from the religious leaders saying, 'Do it, kill the Muslims, train India from Muslims'", Mr Alvi told SBS News.
Abbas Raza Alvi is the president of Indian Crescent Society of Australia. Source: Supplied/Abbas Raza Alvi
"We have never ever seen such a covenant from religious leaders.
"Religious leaders are examples for creating love and peace in the community, they should bring everyone together rather than divide. If they are not doing their job, then they should not be in the position as leaders and I don't think they should get the support from any political party."
The BJP has refused to comment on the event, a silence that has not gone unnoticed by the disappointed Indian-Australian community.
"I'm surprised [he has not yet commented]. This is the right moment, he should be courageous enough to impact on that," Mr Alvi said.
"Indians believe in Mahatma Gandhi's policies, and you can't throw out his policies in one day and start the policies of the hatred like this, so somebody needs to take some action."
The BJP has previously rejected accusations that its agenda is to evolve India - known to be one of the most prominent secular countries in the world - into a Hindu nation.
'Deeply troubled'
The Hindu Australian community have actively denounced the hate speech that has been attributed to the religious leaders.
Spokesperson for Hindus for Human Rights, Shanti Raman, said she is "deeply troubled" by both the event and the state of affairs India has been navigating since the BJP came into power in 2014.
Muslims and other minority groups in India have such as lynchings and mob attacks on mosques by extremist Hindu nationalists in recent years - attacks that Ms Raman says are fuelled by the ruling party's rhetoric against Islam.
"We want to register that we're deeply troubled by this turn of events, but it's not new," Ms Raman told SBS News.
Ms Raman said the hate speech at the event is contradictory to the spiritual practices of Hinduism, which "celebrates diversity."
"The most unique thing about Hinduism is that we celebrate your own path to salvation in whichever way you choose. So this is very concerning to see that the dominant voice for Hinduism seems to be these splinter, crazy groups that are actually spreading hatred."
Public officer of the Indian Muslim Association of Australia Sirajuddin Syed said the comments made at the conclave were not surprising, as hate speech against Muslims in India has become "normalised" since the BJP came to power.
"I'm not worried about my [Muslim] community, I'm worried about my nation that is getting destroyed slowly and slowly," Mr Syed told SBS News.
Mr Syed and Mr Alvi have called on the federal government to denounce the hate speech in India that they say are being "ignored" to preserve Australia's friendly relations with India.
"Not a single statement has come from Prime Minister Scott Morrison about condemning any sort of hate," Mr Syed said.
"India is our friend, so when something is not going correct, we should engage in talks about how things are shaping in India."
"Our Prime Minister Mr Scott Morrison has a very good relationship with Mr Modi, so he must convey our feelings that we are not really happy about what is happening in India," Mr Alvi said.
"This event will have a very big impact if it is not neutralised."
SBS News has contacted the Prime Minister's Office for comment.
