We’d Like to Ask the Indian Man Who Got a Tattoo of the Nazi Swastika: Why?

World War II is one of the most devastating global incidents of the past 100 years—and the man behind the war is one of the most notorious figures in history. The world has, since then, reflected on its mistakes. Now, 80 years down the line, Hitler is no longer a man many look up to and Nazism is no longer an ideology most people would proudly declare their affiliation to. Nor is it an ideology whose symbol most people would be pleased to see a tattoo of.

Rahul Easwar, a popular social activist from Kerala in India and an alumnus of the London School of Economics, on May 17, tweeted he got a tattoo of the swastika on his forearm in an attempt to reclaim the religious symbol. A noble attempt, except, the tattoo he got isn’t the Sanskrit swastika.

It’s the Nazi Swastika.

https://twitter.com/RahulEaswar/status/1261910760457936896

On some of the holiest Buddhist temples of Japan – many built by the mighty Samurai – the Buddhist swastika symbol can be seen. Japan has refused to remove Swastikas seen across the nation as they are a part of Buddhist heritage & not the Hakenkreuz or hooked cross of Hitler. 📿

— Zenji Niō Fans – Asian Pride Buddhatva (@NioZenji) May 17, 2020

The symbol Easwar ended up getting, however, is, in fact, the very symbol the Nazis “misused against Jew bros and sis”. And while one might say the tattoo—regardless of the way it is portrayed here—is a tattoo of good fortune, people online weren’t happy.

https://twitter.com/wickedjohnie/status/1262013040225955841?s=20

https://twitter.com/Ssaniya25/status/1262021824340099072?s=20

Why would you get the Nazi version tattooed chetta?? You do realise you'll be in trouble right? You could have got the regular actual one that Hindus still use.

— Arya 𓅓 (@RantingDosa) May 17, 2020

How can you be smart enough to go to LSE and IIM(A) and still dumb enough to get this tattoo? https://t.co/IGAyqM1AoJ pic.twitter.com/kC4cjncuWV

— Anushka (@Anushkannot) May 17, 2020

The last thing you'd want to do to reclaim the swastika is to get the Nazi version tattooed !! Why propagate this stupidity ?!? https://t.co/HN2PSPEqp8

— R@. (@ByTheTons) May 17, 2020

How foolish can people be. That's the nazi symbol you tinpot. Swastika is different https://t.co/9zen8iuc5L

— KanteTheMan (@kanu195) May 17, 2020

Easwar seems no stranger to controversies even before his Twitter blew up with his tattoo post. When the Supreme Court of India overturned the ban on women of menstruating age from entering the infamous Sabarimala temple, he defended the ban and protested against the verdict—a decision that even got him arrested under Section 153 (wantonly giving provocation with the intent of causing riot) of the Indian Penal Code.

On May 18, he tweeted once again to clarify his decision of using the Swastika, by posting a screenshot of a Twitter complaint made against him, where Twitter denied finding any violation to its rules and German laws.

#卐 to you all. Esp to Left Liberal friends.. who wanted to report to Twitter.

May God Bless U

Twitter finds NO violation to it's own rules or German Rules.

Pls rmbr stop acting out of HATE and that is the real way to Win over Hate.

Both #Hinduphibia & #Islamophobia wrong. pic.twitter.com/2GG0vHadoU

— Rahul Easwar (@RahulEaswar) May 18, 2020

He tried even harder by putting up a photo of the Indus Valley Civilisation-time swastikas.

Fool!

The dots are NOT an essential feature of "Sanskrit Swastika". Dots within Swatika is a 19th century innovation originally from North India.

For thousands of years, Hindus have depicted Swastika without any dots. Here is a Swastika from Harappa (c.2500 BC) without any dots https://t.co/yxzWBTloZq pic.twitter.com/HKQOACKb9Z

— True Indology (@TIinExile) January 17, 2020

But the real question here is: can a culturally appropriated symbol—and in this case grossly misused—ever be truly reclaimed? Some say its “weaponisation” makes it “irredeemable” but some believe “people should not have to give up their traditions because they were misused by others”. In Easwar’s case though, the least he could’ve done if his intent was pure and not his ideology, is simply not having it tilted.

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