It seems like 2019 saw the worst of Islamophobic tweets but with the BJP in power at the centre for next 4 years and continuing its hate politics, this seems like just the beginning. Here are the 10 worst hate speeches of 2019:
1. After the terrorist attack on CRPF jawans in Pulwama, Kapil Mishra, an MLA from the Karawal Constituency in Delhi, made series of deeply disturbing tweets some of which were a virtual call to commit genocide. His worst quote being, “destroy the womb that gives birth to terrorists”. He was suspended from Aam Aadmi Party after this comment and he is now a member of BJP.
2. Raja Singh is not just any other BJP politician. He is a repeat offender when it comes to hate speech. He has a Facebook page whose banner reads, “Let us establish Hindu Rashtra by awakening Dharma and uniting Hindus under the guidance of Saints!”. In 2015 he said he was “ready to ‘kill or get killed’ to protect the ‘Gau Mata’ (cow)”. In a video he warns the Muslims of India “Till now there was the government of impotent people, now under Modiji’s government you can survive (only) by keeping quiet and obeying us. Otherwise, we’ll pull the carpet below your feet and you won’t even know.”
3. A former district judge, Syed Tauqeer from Anantnag district of Jammu and Kashmir landed in trouble by saying, “I have been told that the forest department is closing your roads. Now you have my permission, and if any of them (forest employees) comes again, chop their hands and feet and tell them that NC’s nominated candidate has given you the permission.” An FIR was filed against him for this inflammatory comment.
4. Feroze Khan, Samajwadi Party leader and close aid of Azam Khan, made series of sexist and derogatory comments against former Member of Parliament Jaya Prada for which he was issued a notice by the National Commission for Women (NCW). While responding to that fact that Jaya Prada was contesting against Azam Khan in Rampur, Feorze Khan said, “Nights would now become more colourful in Rampur.” He added that Jaya Prada would now enthral people with her ghungroos and thumkas. He seems to be following the footsteps of his master as Azam Khan had called her a nachne wali earlier.
5. BJP’s Mumbai Unit President Mangal Prabhat Lodha was pulled up by Election Commission for making a communally charged speech during election campaign in Mumbadevi area of Mumbai. Targeting Congress candidate and sitting MLA Amin Patel, Mr. Lodha called on the memories of riots and terror attacks, claiming that the bombs and bullets used in these incidents were manufactured “in lanes within 5 km”. Lodha did not name any locality, but it is common knowledge that the Dongri and Nagpada areas in the vicinity have a large Muslim population.
6. With an aim to ignite communal tension immediately before and after the Ayodhya verdict of the Supreme Court, news channels like Aaj Tak posted on their social media, a highly inflammatory statement full of othering. The post has an image of Lord Ram and it said, “Janmabhoomi hamari, Ram hamare, Masjid wale kaha se padhare” (The birthplace is ours, Ram is ours, where have these ‘mosque people’ come from?). CJP filed a complaint against this with the News Broadcasting Standard Authority and NBSA has issued a notice to that regard to the news channel.
7. Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev, founder of the Isha Foundation was forced to issue a clarification to the Student Union of the London School of Economics (LSE) after he referred to a Muslim student in the institute as a ‘Proper Talibani’. The student union further rejected Jaggi Vasudev’s clarification where he claimed the word ‘Taliban’ was used in the context of ‘over-enthusiastic’ in India. He was at the institute to deliver a talk and later while having a discussion with Bilal Bin Saqib, a Muslim student, he called him a “Talibani”
8. Madhu Kishwar who brands herself as a human rights activist, has put out posts now and again against Muslims or Christians. One of the most problematic statements of hers include, “Thank you @asadowaisi for refusal to accept 5 acres of land decreed by Supreme Court. A masjid in Ayodhya would be an eye sore and keep alive bad memories”
9. Senior BJP leader and MLA from Karnataka, KS Eshwarappa, had said that Muslims won’t get the party ticket as they don’t trust the party. He said, “If (Iqbal) Ansari wants a BJP ticket, he should first join the BJP and sweep the office floor for at least ten years.”
10. In the aftermath of the passage of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) also came comments from the BJP leadership. Leela Ram Gurjar BJP MLA from Kaithal in Haryana, at a public meeting in support of CAA said, “It is the India of Narendra Modi and Amit Shah…through news and WhatsApp you have heard of people coming and threatening….Miya ji (Slur for Muslims) this is Narendra Modi’s India and we will wipe out within an hour if asked to.”
At a pro-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) protest which Kapil Mishra, now part of BJP, was leading on Friday night in Delhi despite Section 144 being imposed there, he and his followers were heard chanting “shoot the traitors” as they marched on with their protest. This was an apparent reference to the people who were opposing the Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019.
Assam leadership did not stay far behind. Mrinal Saikia, MLA from Khumtai in Upper Assam, while addressing a public meeting in Chabua in Dibrugarh, Assam, which was also a site of massive anti-CAA protests, he said, “The BJP has become strong, you can be strong too. You all just have to come out…have tolerated enough. If someone comes to burn your house, you also burn down their houses. If they touch one worker of ours, do the same with 10 of their workers.”
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