Image Courtesy: Twitter
On January 6, 2023, a video of targeted hate speech surfaced on the internet. At a joint event organized by the Bajrang Dal and Vishwa Hindu Parishad in Ranapur, Madhya Pradesh, named the Shaurya Path Sanchalan, hate filled speeches were given against the religious minorities of India. The Hindutva speaker -espousing supremacist views —can be seen espousing a hard, right-wing, exclusionist ideology through their incendiary and inciteful speech, targeting the Muslim and Christian community.
The speaker:
The speaker in these videos is Azad Premsingh. His facebook profile is:
https://www.facebook.com/azad.premsingh?mibextid=LQQJ4d
As can be seen through a brief view of his profile, the speaker has shared various posts and videos that propagate a false image of minority religions. In the name of “protecting” Hindu religion, Azad Premsingh has encouraged the oppression of and violence against the individuals belonging to minority religions. He has also spread misinformation about conversions, and has used termed such as “missionary terrorism” to denote conversion of Dalits and Adivasis to Christianity.
The speech:
The speaker in these videos has not yet been recognised/identified. In the first video, the speaker can be heard saying that “woh ek bajrangi tha jisne purri Lanka jala di thi, hum toh fir bhi saekado mei hai (He was a Bajrangi who burnt the whole Lanka, we are still limited to hundreds).” As soon as this dialogue is said by the speaker, the crowd can be heard clapping and chanting “Jai Shree Ram”.
The speaker continues with his hate-filled instigating speech, and says “Bajrangiyo ka kaam aap logo ko maalum hi hai- Lanka Dehan, only Lanka Dehan. Baaki jo kaam hai who humare nahi hai, who Saadhu-Santo ke kaam hai (You all know the work of Bajrangis – Lanka Dahan, Only Lanka Dahan. The rest of the work is not ours, it is the work of saints)”
“Usssamay Bajrang Bali ne kari thi, isssamay, Kalyug mei, ab humko karna hai (At that time what Bajrang Bali had done, at this time, in the era of Kalyug, now we have to do it.)”
Again, the crowd starts clapping and chanting.
The speaker then said, “woh zamana alag tha, aaj kazamana alag hai. Aaj ka humara jo samagam hai, humare dharam mei, humari sanskriti mei, jo bedharmi paida ho rahe hai, jo Hindu ko Hindu se ladha rahe hai, ek jaat ko dusri jaat se ladha rahe hai, who ab dheere dheere gaon-gaon fael rahe hai(That era was different, today’s era is different. Today’s confluence, in our dharam, our culture, those who are being born unrighteous, those who are making Hindus fight with Hindus, making one caste fight with the other caste, are now slowly spearing to villages.)”
Continuing with his communal diatribe, the speaker then says, “Toh yeh jo bedharmi hai, yeh vahi rakshas hai jo uss samay bhagwan ram ko bohot pareshan kiya tha. Woh jo Lanka mei inke beech yudh hua tha, same vese hi condition hai, bas roop badal liya hai. Iss baar humko kanoon aur samvidhan ka pariyog karna hai, aur saath mei dandt toh hai hi humare paas (So this one who is ungodly is the same demon who had troubled Lord Rama at that time. It also had the same condition as the war between them in Lanka, just the form has beenchanged. This time we have to use the law and the Constitution, and at the same time we have a lot of punishment.)”
The first video can be viewed here:
This is from #Ranapur, #MadhyaPradesh.
Anti-Muslim and anti-Christian hate-mongering at #ShauryaPathSanchalan event organized jointly by Vishwa Hindu Parishad (#VHP) and #BajrangDal. pic.twitter.com/CvtHPRVAcA
— Hate Detector ? (@HateDetectors) January 6, 2023
The second video begins with the audience chanting “Jai Shri Ram” loudly. Then, the same speaker as from the first video can be heard continuing with his speech and saying, “Jo samaj ko todhte hai, jo humare Sanatan Dharam par ungali uthate hai, jo ek jaat ko dusri jaati se ladhwate hai, jo log gaon gaon bathak rahe hai unko chinhit karna hai aur detail nikalti hai ki yeh hai kon, yeh aye kaha se hai, inke andar se zeher kon paida kar raha hai, jo jaatiyonko apas mei ladhwa rahe hai, Hindu dharam ke baare mei nafrat paida kar rahe hai. (Those who break the society, those who point fingers at our Sanatan Dharam, who are putting one caste against another caste, those who are roaming around in villages, we have to identify them and the details must come out regarding who is they, who is creating poison from inside them, who is making castes fight with each other. Especially, who is creating hatred about Hindu Dharama) ”
The speaker further instigates the audience by bringing in the issue of forced conversion, with the aim of causing a rise in the audience, and says “toh mai aapko ek jaankaari dena chahuga ki yeh jo log hai who dharamantrit hai, jo Hindu se Isaai bann chuke hai. Jo humari dharam chhod kar gaye hai unka istemaal kar rahe hai Isaayi Missionary, humare hi dharam, humare hi samaaj aur humare hi vyavastha hai uske khilaaf”(So I would like to give you an information that these people are converted, who have changed their religion from Hindu to Christian. Christian missionaries are using those who have left our religion against our own religion, our society and our own system)”
The crowd then against chants their slogan, “Jai Shri Ram.” The video ends as the speaker says, “yeh jo samasya hai, inn logo se ladhne ke liye, hum logo ko bhi unse kayi guna Shakti badhani padegi (To fight these people, we will also have to increase our power many times)”
The second video can be viewed here:
— Hate Detector ? (@HateDetectors) January 6, 2023
The menace of false allegations and oppression
The Local Vishwa Hindu Parishad units and its youth branch, Bajrang Dal, have long complained about these “conversion rackets” that are taking place in India. They have been continuously levying these false allegations of conversions on the religious minorities, barring them from celebration their religious practices and leading arbitrary arrest of practitioners of other faiths. When hate speeches, such as given above, are made at Hindutva events, misinformation is spread and the audience gets instigated, leading to oppression and violence of the individuals belonging to the religious minority communities. A rising number of cases are being reported from different parts of our country, such as crimes against Missionaries, priests, nuns, etc. only on the mere suspicion of involvement in religious conversions, or lynching of Muslims on false accusations of cow slaughter, illegal sale of beef, etc.
Such speeches and mobilizations have produced a wider social climate of danger, fear, violence, and intimidation that threatens daily life, particularly for religious minorities. The speaker’s address at this gathering intended to encourage Hindus to take action against people from the Christian community. The terms used, such as “Lanka Dehan”, have the potential to incite violence and lead to overall targeting of the Christian community. It is important to recognize the propaganda being promoted by such false statements and put a halt to the growth of hatred.
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