Kapil Mishra, who is undoubtedly one of the most ‘successful’ foot soldiers of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Delhi and perhaps the most protected, has been known to use social media to gather crowds at record speed, initiate actions on the street with a simple tweet, and those who follow him do so blindly. He is also perhaps one of the most ‘protected’ of all right wing politicians even though he does not hold any major official post in the BJP, but is known to be noticed by all his senior colleagues. He has been named multiple times in connection with communal hate speeches that led to the February 2020 anti-Muslim pogrom in Northeast Delhi. Multiple news reports had stated that BJP’s Kapil Mishra said ‘shoot the traitors’ at a pro-CAA rally. Delhi Minorities Commission had put on record in its official fact finding report that hate speech by BJP’s top brass had fuelled the build up to Delhi riots of February 2020.
As the first anniversary of the December anti-CAA-NRC-NPR protests that began at Delhi’s Shaheen Bagh draws close, Mishra is now busy recruiting a private Hindutva army, that he calls the ‘Hindu Ecosystem’. He has announced, across his social media pages including Twitter and Facebook that he is recruiting a ‘Team – Hindu Ecosystem’. His message has been seen thousands of times and people have begun to fill up the google doc form he has been circulating. One of the most crucial questions he has asked apart from seeking personal details of his followers is if they have any ‘special interests’. The ‘special interests’ include: Love Jihad, Ghar wapsi, Gaurakhsa, terms created by the already existing right wing ecosystem, that are often used to unleash violence, especially on Muslims, Dalits, Christians, and also on women.
The responses to his form run into thousands, and apart from joining many are asking him to include even more personal information to make sure no Muslims infiltrate. The suggestions include asking for Aadhaar copies: “HOLD ON KAPIL MISHRA JI : URGENT. I saw the Google form. There is no column asked to provide an Aadhar Card. Please rework the form and resend it to include Aadhar Card. Otherwise like love jihad and to sabotage internally, “Abdul” will join as “Ramesh”. Cancel form & resend PLS”.
HOLD ON KAPIL MISHRA JI : URGENT. I saw the Google form. There is no column asked to provide Aadhar Card. Please rework the form and resend it to include Aadhar Card. Otherwise like love jihad and to sabotage internally, “Abdul” will join as “Ramesh”. Cancel form & resend PLS
— Ravi Indian (@Ravi_Indian9) November 16, 2020
There are even some who claim to be Muslims but want to join Mishra’s private army: “I have filled the form… I am a Shia Muslim and I am also against these Jihadi Muslims, I am always ready to protect this country… we have to deal with the Jihadis inside the country”
मैने फॉर्म भर दिया है में शिया मुस्लिम हू और में भी इन जिहादी मुस्लिमो के खिलाफ हू,इस देश की रक्षा के लिए में हमेशा तत्पर हू,सबसे पहले हम देश के अंदर बैठे जिहादियों से निपटना है, @KapilMishra_IND
— Mujahid Hussain (@rehankhan657) November 16, 2020
Mishra has begun claiming that he has recruited thousands already for his Team – Hindu Ecosystem. “5000 Members have joined in just three hours,” he claimed. Not a single legal or administrative authority has questioned this attempt at raising what can be used as a private militia.
5000 Members have joined in just three hours
Team – Hindu Ecosystem
Pls fill this membership form to join NOW : https://t.co/yqdlxcXzYA
— Kapil Mishra (@KapilMishra_IND) November 16, 2020
Mishra’s automatic acknowledgement to the google form stated that the ‘team’ will ‘work together’ on the ‘ground’ as well as online. He will also train his new recruits.
This is the latest from Kapil Mishra who so far has been let off by the long arm of the law of the land. He is yet to share what has inspired him to raise this ‘team’. It is important to recall similar ‘teams’ raised in the past by various methods of publicity which then grew into private militia. One of the most prominent ‘private armies’ seen wrecking havoc in recent times has been of the rape convict who calls himself a godman Ram Rahim Singh Insaan. Nearly forty people were killed on August 25, 2017 during public disturbances at Panchkula in Haryana after the CBI court verdict in the rape case of Gurmeet Ram-Rahim, allegedly when Police and para military forces fired after public rioting, burning, arson and assault were unleased by followers of Ram-Rahim.
And it makes international news when armed gau-rakshaks roam across North India terrorising Muslims. This Diwali there were Hindutva goons threatening Muslim fire-cracker shop owners and warning them of dire consequences if sold fire crackers with pictures or names of Hindu gods.
This is one of the most dangerous moves unleashed by Mishra yet. It needs to be questioned why he needs to raise this ‘army’ as it were and how does he plan to use this ready-to-activate database?
Among the first to call out Kapil Mishra for his hate speeches was Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP). CJP had appealed to the Chief Justice of India, to hold Kapil Mishra accountable, as the Indian criminal law has provisions for prosecution of those who incite violence using hate speech. The North East district of Delhi was plagued by anti-minority violence from February 23, 2020. The CJP had reacted quickly, and raised the issue and It cannot be denied that it was inflammatory speech by BJP leader Kapil Mishra that instigated the violence. On February 23, Mishra led a pro-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) rally close to the site of the anti-CAA protest near the Jafrabad metro station. At the protest site, standing next to a uniformed police officer Mishra had said, “We will remain peaceful till Trump leaves. After that we will not listen to you.” The video went viral on social media.
Mishra has been using social media, and his Hindutva ecosystem with blatant impunity and challenging the authorities including the Delhi Police time and again. Mishra helped build the anti-minority sentiment and support against anti-CAA protesters using a series of tweets:
आज ठीक तीन बजे – जाफराबाद के जवाब में
जाफराबाद के ठीक सामने
मौजपुर चौक की रेड लाइट पर
CAA के समर्थन में
डंके की चोट पर
हम लोग सड़क पर उतरेंगे
आप सभी आमंत्रित हैं
— Kapil Mishra (@KapilMishra_IND) February 23, 2020
ये हैं भजनपुरा चांद बाग रोड – अभी अभी ये सड़क भी बंद कर दी हैं मुस्लिम भीड़ ने
उधर से जाफराबाद बंद, इधर से चांद बाग बंद
यानी दिल्ली के जमनापार में रहने वाले लगभग 35 लाख लोग अब कैद में हैं, ना कोई आ सकता, ना जा सकता
बाहर जाने के दोनों रास्तों पर कब्ज़ा हो चुका हैं pic.twitter.com/8FNplzi982
— Kapil Mishra (@KapilMishra_IND) February 23, 2020
दिल्ली में दूसरा शाहीन बाग नहीं बनने देंगे
— Kapil Mishra (@KapilMishra_IND) February 23, 2020
The law against hateful and inflammatory speech: The first step towards acting on hate speech is to be alert in order to monitor/ tape/video–tape the entire text of such a speech. Sections 153A and 153B of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) oblige the state to prosecute those guilty of such violations. Section 295 of the CrPC is also a section that can be invoked whenever there are deliberate attempts to disrupt communal harmony. Read more here.
Complaints can also be filed with social media platforms in case of hate filled posts or tweets. In fact, Twitter has already taken down one tweet by Kapil Mishra dated February 23, 2020. Though it was retweeted, it is no longer visible:
More power to @KapilMishra_IND. #ISupportKapilMishra https://t.co/mIQ3V3rsdc
— Rahul Kaushik (@kaushkrahul) February 23, 2020
Mishra had joined the BJP in August 2019, and has been a regular before, and after his BJP membership too spew venom against Muslims. Read more here.
The CJP has always demanded that Kapil Mishra be held accountable for his words and actions. With thousands of signatures since it was launched, the campaign against his hate speech is still being shared by concerned citizens.
Related:
Didn’t give speech, told police about dharna plan: Delhi police charge sheet believes Kapil
Is BJP’s Kapil Mishra above the law of the land?
Videos of hate speech by Kapil Mishra played before Delhi HC
Hate Speech by BJP’s Top Brass fuelled Build Up to Delhi Violence: Minorities Commission
Delhi violence: Is Kapil Mishra the villain of the story?
BJP’s Kapil Mishra says ‘shoot the traitors’ at pro-CAA rally
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