By Kavita Mistry 
Mumbai: Maharashtra Minister Mangal Prabhat Lodha, who has over the past few years become one the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) most assertive voices on Hindutva in the state, earlier this week inaugurated and promoted a private job portal specially designed for Hindus.
The digital platform (‘Call Hindu’) has been developed by one Vishal Durafe, a former state executive member of the BJP Yuva Morcha who is also associated with the RSS affiliate Hindu Jagran Manch.
The portal primarily aims to put Hindu employment providers in touch with job seekers from the Hindu community, with its stated objective being, “Pehle baat Hindu ke saath” (initial conversation with Hindus).
While the website was launched Wednesday, the app is still under construction, Durafe said.
Lodha told reporters that he chose to inaugurate the platform simply as a minister who holds the skill development and entrepreneurship portfolio in the Mahayuti government.
मंत्रालयात ‘कॉल हिंदू जॉब्स’ या खाजगी डिजिटल व्यासपीठाचे उद्घाटन केले. प्रसंगी उपस्थित पत्रकारांशी संवाद साधून त्यांना या डिजिटल व्यासपीठाची माहिती दिली. pic.twitter.com/fJL8iZPIKo
— Mangal Prabhat Lodha (@MPLodha) April 30, 2025
The website, ‘Call Hindu’, will help many youngsters “get opportunities, help for self employment,” he said. “Their organisation primarily works for Hindus, but I have the employment portfolio with me. If anyone is getting employment then as a minister of the department, I will support it,” he told reporters here Wednesday.
Lodha added that every community in Maharashtra works for its own people, and it is “not a crime” to work for Hindus. “But nobody can restrict anyone from using an app. Out of their own sentiment they have named the portal for Hindus, but if anyone in Maharashtra uses it, nobody is going to say no.”
Mahesh Tapase, spokesperson of the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) questioned how a minister, who is a representative of the government, can speak for a platform designed for one particular community. Speaking to ThePrint, Tapase said, “Any minister has to work as per what is defined by the Constitution, which clearly spells out equal opportunity for everyone. Once a minister endorses a communal jobs portal, it raises the question on whether he understands the role he has to play as a minister.”
While Lodha maintained that people from all communities in Maharashtra are free to use the portal, the website specifically lists out services for Hindus.
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From Hindus, for Hindus
The website, ‘Call Hindu’, lists out 10 tabs for which visitors can register.
The ‘Call Hindu Jobs’ tab, which Lodha was primarily promoting at the launch inauguration, says it aims to empower the Hindu youth by providing job opportunities and encouraging self-reliance. It lists a website, which currently shows nonfunctional, and an email id for candidates to submit their resumes and “find opportunities through your own community”.
Another such tab even advocates becoming a volunteer with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), ideological parent of the BJP.
The ‘Call Hindu Shakti’ tab leads visitors to a “digital gateway of patriotism”. This page talks about putting “Sanatani warriors and true patriots” in touch with “nationalist campaigns, patriotic movements and Dharma protection initiatives.”
“For example, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)—an organization devoted to the nation with various active wings across the country working for social harmony—will be listed here for awareness and involvement,” this page says.
Similarly, there is a tab called ‘Travo Hindu’ for booking temple visits, pilgrimages and cultural tours, saying it is an effort to make one’s religious journeys “safe, respectful and community driven”.
There’s a tab for Hindu matrimony called ‘Call Hindu Vivah,’ a digital marketplace promising to feature only Hindu businesses, entrepreneurs and products called ‘Hinduzon,’ and ‘Call Hindu Mandirs,’ which aims to digitally connect all temples across India for all temple-related services at one click.
At the inauguration in Lodha’s presence, the creator of the platform, Durafe said, “There are many Hindus who are intelligent, but somehow there is a distance between Hindu consumers and service providers. We are trying to reduce that by taking everyone along and providing employment.”
(Amrtansh Arora)
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