On March 18, a Digital Hindu Conclave was organised in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. This Hindu conclave, knows as the Digital Hindu Bhopal, was a convention of state’s nationalist social media influencers, which was held at RGPV Naronha Academy in the city. Several provocative and divisive hate speeches were made here. Many “popular” far-right hate speakers found themselves on the invitation list. That this meet and similar conclaves have the backing of the political regime in Delhi is clear from the active participation of elected officials and even ministers of the MP government.
On Saturday March 25, BJP national co-organisational general secretary Shiv Prakash, state organisational general secretary Hitanand Sharma, State BJP president VD Sharma, medical education minister Vishvas Sarang had inaugurated the Digital Hindu Bhopal convention at RCPV Noronha Academy of administration in the state capital. The Madhya Pradesh state BJP incharge, Murlidhar Rao, had fanned public hysteria, unsubstantiated by fact, stating that after Independence the Muslim population, mosques and number of namazis (faithful from the Muslim community) had increased. “This is a demonstrative example. Hence, no country in the world has the right to teach a lesson to India,” he said, as was reported by the Free Press Journal.
He added that if social media had not existed, the Hindutava revolution would have taken another 30 years to take shape, and that a true Hindu would never oppose Muslims. If Islam eradicates Kafir ideology, only Hindus will be able to coexist peacefully with Muslims around the world, he claims.
He accused the Congress of severing the country from its cultural values while supporting Love Jihad and Land Jihad, and shed light on “diversity.” Referring to BJP MLA Vishnu Khatri’s long struggle to rename Islam Nagar Jagdishpur, he claimed that the Congress never stated that Aurangzeb was the country’s enemy. “If the effigy of Ravana, a Hindu and learned man, is burned every year, why not of Aurangzeb?” he asked, as reported by the Free press Journal.
VD Sharma, the state BJP president, also chastised Rahul Gandhi for claiming that he was not permitted to speak in Parliament. Cultural terrorism, according to Minister Vishvas Sarang, is today’s most serious problem. He emphasised the importance of preserving the country’s culture through social media. Hitanand Sharma also shared his thoughts.
Shivprakash, general Secretary of the national BJP, stated that anti-national forces have adopted a new weapon in the form of social media to spread their narrative. Their principles remain the same, but their appearance and language have changed. They are fighting with the help of social media. “Their conspiracy must be addressed through social media,” he added.
The speakers at the event
In addition to the above mentioned speeches made by BJP functionaries, star hate offenders like as Kajal Hindusthani (alias Kajal Shingala) and BJP leader Kapil Mishra, famed for his Goli Maro Salo ko remark on peaceful Shaheen Bagh protesters were prominent participants.
A Gujarat resident, Kajal Singhala also known as Kajal Hindustani, who calls herself an activist, has, in the past, delivered hate speech against the Muslim community at Mira Bhayandar, Mumbai. At the event on March 12, she had made aggressive calls for the economic boycott of the entire Muslim community while unabashedly making ridiculous claims about incidents of Love jihad, land jihad and justifying the economic boycott of Muslims. Before this, the hate offender, who purports to be working for the cause of ‘Hindu human rights,’ was a keynote speaker at the Hindu Jan Aakrosh Morcha on February 26, where she made extremely derogatory remarks about the Muslim community in front of an audience of over 1,500 people.
Making exaggerated and misleading statements, she said that “In Navi Mumbai, land jihad has become so prevalent that today 25 Bangladeshi Muslims live in one room.” Making an unconstitutional call, that violates Article 14, 15 and she urged people to boycott Muslim vendors. Hindusthani falsely claimed that they (Muslims) have taken over our produce and fruit markets. I want you to repeat after me: “We, the people of Maharashtra, will boycott them economically.”
Then again today, March 29, at Jamnagar, Gujarat the very same Kajal Shingala aka Kajal Hindusthani delivered anti-Muslim hate speech, peddling conspiracy theories to destroy communal harmony. Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal organised the event.
Location: Jamnagar, Gujarat
Kajal Shingala aka Kajal Hindusthani delivers anti-Muslim hate speech, peddling conspiracy theories to destroy communal harmony.
Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal organized the event. pic.twitter.com/6925pkijhZ
— HindutvaWatch (@HindutvaWatchIn) March 29, 2023
BJP leader and hate offender Kapil Mishra, apart from 2020, made his last vocal hate speech on April 10, 2022, during the occasion of Ram Navami, was also a speaker at this event. Kapil Mishra has been one of the most well-known mainstream politicians who is often the first to comment with a communal tone and intent. Even in the year 2020, it was Mishra’s words spoken at a pro-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) rally at Maujpur that had led to the most brutal targeted violence in East Delhi on February 23.
The intention behind organizing this digital event was clear from a profile of the list of speakers. At the event, Mishra, Kajal Shingala, and far-right author Kshitij Patukale made specifically stigmatizing statements, compared religious minorities to snakes, distorted history by calling for violence as the only way to achieve ‘Akhand’ Bharat, and raised the issue of Love Jihad.
A transcript of the speeches made by her, a resident of Gujarat, are given below:
Kajal Shingala aka Kajal Hindusthani
Kajal Shingala delivered hate speech targeting Muslims, where she eulogised violence. In her speech, Shingala said that there can never be brotherhood between Hindus and Muslims, and called out those who support secularism and peace between the two communities as a “sinking ship”. She stressed that the making of the Hindu Rashtra is inevitable and no one can stop them.
Without mentioning names, Shingala referred to Shah Rukh Khan’s recent visit to Vaishno Devi temple, before the release of his movie Pathaan, as well as Aamir Khan’s photograph doing Kalash pooja, and said that “Ghar Vaapsi” will be performed on all such non-Hindus. “Ghar Vaapsi” is a Hindutva programme meant to convert those belonging to other religions to Hinduism. it is conducted by right-wing organsations Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Bajrang Dal, and their allies. Through her speech, she spread misinformation regarding the property controlled by Waqf Board and alleged that the Waqf board is forcibly snatching land from the Hindus.
She also spoke highly about the bulldozer culture introduced by the Ajay Bisght/Adityanath-led government while praising the ongoing demolition in Gujarat.
The speech:
“Now when I talk about Hindu nation, those who are watching this clip and have “sulemani” germs in the stomach will get cramps. Those people say that they will not let India turn into a Hindu nation. To them, I just want to say that you people also used to say that we will not let Ram temple be built, and now look at it.” (Time stamp- 0:00-0:20)
“I saw the photos of Ram Mandir a few days ago. You used to say that we won’t let Article 370 be removed, and yet, it was removed. I am telling you that we will ensure that India gets declared as a Hindu nation. It is a Hindu nation already, but now it will get declared.” (Time stamp- 0:20-0:36)
“There are people now are worshipping Mahadev now, Bolly people who go to Vaishno devi temple, some of them even do “Kalash Puja”, all these will undergo “Ghar waapsi”.” (Time stamp- 0:36-0:48)
“Lord Krishna himself said that whoever is with the religion, they are “Dharmi”, but those who are not siding with the religion, they are “a-dharmi”. So, all those who come in the way of religion, they all will be cleaned out of the way. These people might be our own or someone else, they will all be destroyed.” (Time stamp- 0:48-1:04)
“The chale ithaas likhne, mrityu se ghabra gaye ho,
Chahta balidan hai ran, aur tum ghar ko aa gaye ho.
Yeh ahinsa matr bharm hai, shtruyon ka jaal hai yeh,
Maan lo tum baat meri, Hinduon ka kaal hai yeh.
Yadi ahinsya pujya hoti, shri Krishna kyu gita sunate,
Aur shanti hetu youdh nishchit, bhed kyu humko batate.
Kayaro ke bhaanti tum kyu yudh se katra rahe ho,
Chahta balidan hai ran, aur tum ghar ko aa gaye ho.
Soo rahe hai jo abhi tak darp saare jaag jae,
Ab utho toh ghosh karo ki sarp saare bhaag jae.
Yeh samay sangram ka hai, tum svayum se takra rahe ho,
Chahta balidan hai ran, aur tum ghar ko aa gaye ho.
Bhaed saare bhul kar varna saare bhul kar, socho ki hum ek hai
Bheej lo sab muthiyan, bolo ki hindu ek hai.
(You have to re-write history, but you are afraid of death,
The sacrifice is to be made, and you have come home.
This non-violence is just a myth, it is a web of chains of the enemies,
Just listen to what I am saying, this is the time of Hindus.
If non-violence were revered, why would Shri Krishna sing the Gita?
And if the war would have been won by peace, then why did you tell us the difference?
Why are you shying away from war like coward?
The sacrifice is to be made, and you have come home.
All those who are sleeping, may they wake up,
Now get up and announce that the snake will run away.
This is the time for struggle and you are clashing with yourself,
The sacrifice is to be made, and you have come home.
Forget all that segregates us, all the hierarchies and the separation, and think we are one
Raise all fists, say Hindus are one.)” (Time stamp- 1:04-2:07)
“We should have a very clear mindset now, either you can ride in the boat of a Muslim or a Hindu. If you say that I will keep one foot on the Muslim boat and the other one on the Hindu boat, then it is guaranteed that you will drown. You can ride two boats at a time, just as there cannot be two swords in the same field.” (Time stamp- 2:08-2:33)
“Those who preach the message of brotherhood, I want to tell them they openly killed Kanhaiya lal, is this brotherhood? They are still sloganeering regarding Nupur Sharma, saying “Gustakh -E- Nabi Ki Aik Saza Sar Tan Se Juda,” is this brotherhood?” (Time stamp- 2:33-2:47)
If this is brotherhood, then I want to say that
“Jab jihadi khulam khula talware leharate ho,
Aur humari yatraon par patthar fenke jaate ho,
Jab inke bhopu din mei 5 baar chillate ho,
Aur chalisa padhne wale jail mei daale jaate ho,
Jab mancho se shiv Shankar ka mazak udhaya jaata ho
Aur pratikaal karne wale ke sarr tan se juda kiye jaate ho,
Peedha kahugi har hindu ki aur har jihadi ka kratiya kahugi,
Bhaadh mei jae bhaichaara, mai toh keval satya kahugi.
(When jihadis openly wave swords,
And stones are thrown at our rallies and yatras,
When their loud speakers screams 5 times a day,
And those who read the Chalisa are put in jail,
When Shiv Shankar is mocked from the stage
And the ones who say anything have slogans of death raised against them,
I will say that I will put forth every problem faced by Hindu and call every jihadi a criminal.
Damn with the brotherhood, I will only tell the truth.)” (Time stamp- 2:47-3:19)
“How did Islamic illegal capture increase in India? The PFI has already said that by 2047, they have to make India an Islamic state, even though the said PFI have already banned them. But who put this in their mind? It must have come from some Jama Masjid in India, the Jama Masjid must have set this agenda that they need to convert India into an Islamic state before 2047. (Time stamp- 3:19-3:45)
“What do they need to do for that? Commit love-jihad, illegal capture of land in the name of Waqf Board, commit forced religious conversions. This is just the preview of how these people want to take over India as they say “Ladh ke liya Pakistan aur hass ke lenge Hindustan”. In the name of waqf board, they are taking over our land.” (Time stamp- 3:45-4:04)
“In Tamil Nadu, there is this village called Tiruchendur, wherein the waqf board is establishing claim on a Chandraswami temple that has been there for 1600 years. These people themselves came here around 1400 years ago, how is this land yours?” (Time stamp- 4:05-4:23)
This waqf board and these encroachment agencies are very fond of poetry, so I thought that okay maybe I should also write two lines for them:
“Kahi flyover, kahi roadways, kahi railway aur kahi defense ki zameen kabzate hai
Yuhi nahi hari chaddhar oudh kar yeh peer baba bann jaate hai”
(Somewhere flyovers, some roadways, somewhere railways and some defense lands are occupied.
That is how they suddenly start wearing the green supatta and become the messenger of God)”
(Time stamp- 4:23-4:44)
“At every place, these people have encroached upon lands illegally. If you look at it carefully, after the defense and the railways, it is the waqf board that has the most space.” (Time stamp- 4:45-4:56)
“Because we were just talking about the Islamic illegal capture, it makes me really happy to tell you that there has been a very long struggle for the Hindus of Gujarat in regards to the Dwarka district which was the land of our Krishna. On Dwarka, there had been a lot of Islamic illegal capture. Since last 4 months, the bulldozer has been working there and a lakh acre land is now Islamic illegal encroachment free.” (Time stamp- 4:56-5:26)
“This ongoing demolition is the biggest demolition in the whole of India.even in our history there has not been such a big demolition.” (Time stamp- 5:26- 5:35)
The video can be viewed here:
Location: Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh
Kajal Shingala aka Kajal Hindusthani delivered hate speech targeting Muslims, where she eulogized violence and said there could never be brotherhood between Muslims and Hindus.
She was speaking at the Digital Hindu Conclave on March 18. pic.twitter.com/0AUGWuUU8i
— HindutvaWatch (@HindutvaWatchIn) March 26, 2023
BJP Leader Kapil Mishra
BJP leader Kapil Mishra spoke about ‘Love Jihad’. Taking the recent murder of Shraddha Walker, whose live-in partner Aftab Poonawala stored her chopped body in a refrigerator, he attacked the Muslim community and their festival of Ramazan. Weaponising the issue of inter-faith marriages, which the Hindutva outfits refer to as Love-Jihad, Mishra tried to instigate the audience.
The speech:
“This Bollywood teaches us to not waste water on the occasion of Holi. The day that you and I become one, the Bollywood will start advertising that on this Ramzan, keep fruits in your fridge and not Shradhha.” (Timestamp- 0:00- 0:38)
“The issue of love-jihad in India is so widespread that there is no district no village left where the conspiracy of love jihad is not happening with our daughters. And even after this, we are the ones who are question on why we even talk on the issue of love-jihad.” (Timestamp- 0:39- 0:55)
“What is solution? The only solution is if you take a pledge in your mind that a daughter is not only one person’s daughter, she is everyone’s daughter. Just like Mother India is everyone’s mother, even when we have our own mothers. Similar to that, a daughter is everyone’s daughter.” (Timestamp- 0:55- 1:22)
“A daughter is a connection. Only when u start thinking that the daughter who is going is also my daughter, her honor is also my responsibility, only then will we have the half solution to this problem.”
(Timestamp- 1:22- 1:36)
The video can be viewed here:
BJP leader Kapil Mishra made hateful remarks against Muslims and peddled the conspiracy theory of “love jihad.” pic.twitter.com/W3G2DZCwz6
— HindutvaWatch (@HindutvaWatchIn) March 26, 2023
Kshitij Patukale
Far-right author Kshitij Patukale weaponised and misappropriated our history and called for revenge. To invoke the feelings of the audience, the speaker said that the Hindus should take revenge for the Hindu women that have alleged been raped in Kabul, Iran and Iraq.
The speech:
“Ramdas Swami has said that keep you god on your head, and then raise a storm. If the need comes, you must destroy your own country too. But, to protect religion, one must do whatever it needed.”
(Time stamp- 0:00- 0:37)
“The current time is utterly unique. Today I feel like this slavery is not just of 300-400 years, but has lasted for 1200 years. Sometimes I feel that the rapes that happened with our women, our daughters and sisters, in the markets of Kabul, or in the cities of Iran and Iraq, or by the Arabian people, that lasted for years, I want to take revenge over that.” (Time stamp- 0:37- 1:10)
“In the morning, we were talking about love. In Maharashtra, there is a prominent poet who wrote about Lord Krishna, and said that one must love everyone, even the ones that you want to hurt. Love is such only that the same Duryodhan that you want to love, you should also kill him if it comes to it.” (Time stamp- 1:10- 1:38)
“Why is our Prime Minister getting entertained everywhere in the world? It is only because we are the youngest country and have the youngest people. It is you young people that are going to rule the whole world. I want to tell you all today that out of these 140 crore people in India, 110 crore are Hindu, and 70% of them are below 40 or 35.” (Time stamp- 1:38- 2:05)
“This means that 77 crore or 80 crore Hindu youth, and the world population is 800 crore. 10% world population is Hindu youth. And if we strengthen this percentage by teaching them about Hindu knowledge and Indian culture, then you people will rule the whole world.” (Time stamp- 2:05- 2:32)
“The average age of USA is 40-50, in Europe is 70, and in Japan, no kids are being born. Even in China, the average age is between the ages of 45-50. But, the average age in India is 24. If we look at the economics, in the year 2040, when USA’s average age will reach 75, Europe’s age average will be 90, and the average age in China will be above 65-70, India’s average age will only be 31.” (Time stamp- 2:32- 3:19)
“Then, at that time, the opportunity to rule the world will be with the younger generation of today.”
(Time stamp- 3:19- 3:29)
The video can be viewed here:
Far-right author Kshitij Patukale weaponized history and called for revenge. pic.twitter.com/Mdo3trdMP1
— HindutvaWatch (@HindutvaWatchIn) March 26, 2023
As citizens groups and individuals get increasingly concerned by this level of public discourse that legitimizes a narrative and creates the ground for stigmatizing and targeted violence, the dominant ruling regime openly patronises these tendencies. On the backfoot when it comes to forcefully countering hate, the political opposition is also wanting.
What are the forces and mobilisations that need to come together to effective counter and prevent the proliferation of hate?
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CJP’s PIL seeking directions for established law & procedure on religious processions: A Factsheet