Image Courtesy:muslimmirror.com
A video has been gaining attention on social media wherein RSS Pracharak, Ishwar Lal can be heard spewing hate against the religious minorities in India, especially the Muslim community. The said speech was given by Lal at a Trishul Deeksha event, held in Lohwat, Rajasthan. The speech, link for which is attached below, makes several offensives statements against the minority communities, encourage problematic and divisive mentalities and give a communal and divisive touch to our history and present. At many points, the speaker has unfairly brought in the culture of Islam and made hateful statements regarding the traditions of Muslims, and calls for the boycott of Halal products. The said event was organized by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bajrang Dal. Ishwar Lal is also the Sanghatan Mantri of the VHP.
Through this speech, Lal had dehumanised Muslims, made misleading and provocative statements, and also made the unlawful and provocative calls for converting 30,000 mosques into temples, all with the aim of pushing the exclusionary agenda of Hindutva outfits.
The speech
Ishwar Lal begins with his communal diatribe by bringing in the baseless issue of temples demolished in the past, and says, “Bharat ke Andar tees hazar mandir hai jin ko todh kar unke upar kya bana die Masjide. Kitni Sankhya hai? 30,000. (Thirty thousand temples in India were destroyed and mosques were built on them. What is the number? 30,000.)”
He then provokes his audience by saying, “Bolo wapis mandir banana hai ki nahi banana hai? Ram jika toh bana diya, lekin abhi 30,000 baaki hai unko mandir banana hai. (Do you want to convert them back to temples or not? We made the Ram temple, but still, 30,000 temples remain. We have to convert them into temples.)” Wapis apna sthan hum ko lena hai. Aur uska naam hai Bajrang Dal. [We have to take back our lands. The name (of the organisation) is Bajrang Dal]
Lal then brings in the issue of citizenship and says, “Pakistan aur Bangladesh se bhagae hue Hinduyonko India mei Nagrikta milna chahie ya nahi milna chahie? Nagrikta dilane wale sangathan ka naam hai Bajrang Dal. (Hindus who were thrown out of Pakistan and Bangladesh should get citizenship in India or not? the name of the organization that will help them get citizenship is Bajrang Dal.)”
Continuing with his misinformed statement, Lal says, “Yeh jo humare desh ke aaju baaju ke bhaaghai- yeh Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangadesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Sumantra, Java, Indonesia, Malayasia- yeh sab kiske the? Humare the. (The countries that are in our neighborhood, like Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Sumantra, Java, Indonesia, Malayasia- who did they belong to? They were ours.)” “Humari kamzoori ke karan tut tut ke alag ho gaye. Bolo inn hisso ko wapis lena hai ya nahi lena? Bhujao mei dum paida karna hoga. Yaad rakhna, majboot banoge toh hisse wapis aenge. (They were divided because of our weaknesses. Do you want to take them back or not? We need to strengthen ourselves. Remember, these parts will only come back if we are strong)”
Then, pushing the exclusionary and divisive agenda of Hindutva outfits, Lal then says, “Desh ko akhand banana wale sanghathan ka naam hai Bajrang Dal. (The name of the organization that will work towards uniting these parts is Bajrang Dal.)”
Attacking the minorities and the secular essence encouraged by our Constitution, Lal says, “Ghar mei kutta ata hai, billi ghuss jaati hai. Aur kayi ghar mei toh Muslim aur Isaiyon ko laa laakar tum bithate ho. Jo mandir ko todhta hai jo gae ko marta hai. Gaeka maas khata hai. (We allow dogs and cats inside our house. And in many homes, you all allow Muslims and Christians. The ones who broke our temples. The one who kills our cows. The one who eats cows.)”
Referring to the existing caste system and the Hindutva motivated agenda of forced conversions, Lal says, “Daadhi rakhta hai aur Muche saaf karta hai, usko tum ghar mei laake bithate ho. Aur humare jaati kabhai, jogae ki pooja karta hai, ghar mei diya jalata hai, tirth yatra karta hai, who humare ghar mei nahi aa sakta. (He keeps a beard but not a moustache. You make them sit in your homes. But our brothers of the same caste, who worships the cow, blow an earthen candle, and go on a religious pilgrimage, can’t visit our homes.)”
“Mandir mei nahi jaa sakta. Godhi par nahi beth sakta. Samshaan Ghat par hum usse ghusne nahi dete. Bolo yahi aisi maan sikta hui, toh yeh varn humse tut karudhar jaega ya nahi jaega? (Cannot enter temples. Cannot sit on a horse. We do not let them enter our cremation ground. If we keep such a mentality, then this section will go away from us or not?)”
Making more exclusionary and offensive statements, Lal says, “Aur iska andar Muslim ghussghuss ke bolo ‘Jai Bheem aur Jai Meem’ ke naare lagate hai ya nahi lagate? Bheem toh humari hi tha, yeh ‘Meem’ kaha se aagaya beech mei? (And Muslims will get into [these groups] and raise the slogan of ‘Jai Bheem Jai Meem’, don’t they? Bheem was our own, but where did these ‘Meem’ (Muslims) come from?)”
Pushing their agenda of ban on Halal and Halal products, the speaker then says, “Bharat ke andar Halal khareedte ho. Halal likhi hui cheez ko mat lena. Varna uska paisa kisko milta hai? Musalmaano ko milta hai. Usko bandh karwane wale sangathan ka naam kya hai? Bajrang Dal. (You buy Halal products. Never buy products that are ‘Halal’. Who gets that money? It goes to Muslims. What’s the name of the organization that stops this? Bajrang Dal.)”
Bringing in another issue communalized by the Hindu outfits, Lal says that, “Jansankhya niyantran ka anon lagu karna padega. Nahi toh yeh phir mandir tut jaenge. Jansankya niyantran kaanon lagu karwane wale sangathan ka naam kyahai? Bajrang Dal.(Population control bill has to be enacted. Otherwise, the temples will against be destroyed. The organization that will help enact the Population Control law is Bajrang Dal.)”
The speech ends with the speaker promoting the idea of establishing a Hindu nation and says, “Bharat ko Hindu rashtra banana wali sangathan ki kalpana leke jo chal rahe hai uss sangathan ka naam hai Bajrang Dal. (The organization that will made Indian a Hindu nation is Bajrang Dal.)”
The video can be viewed here:
Location: Lohawat, Rajasthan
Event: Trishul Deeksha
Organizer: Vishwa Hindu Parishad & Bajrang DalRSS Pracharak & VHP Sangathan Mantri Ishwar Lal delivers hate speech; dehumanizes Muslims, calls for converting 30,000 mosques into temples & boycott of Halal products. pic.twitter.com/4puOYifpMp
— HindutvaWatch (@HindutvaWatchIn) January 21, 2023
Previous Instances of hate speech by IshwarLal
Ishwar Lal is a repeat offender and hate speech on his Youtube channel has been reported by CJP and taken down by YouTube in the past. At another event held in the month of January, near Rajasthan, a video gained attentionon social media wherein Ishwar Lal can be heard making stunning, provocative claims in a speech laced with disinformation. The entire thirty nine minute of the speech is replete with hate speech against minorities, egregious lies, and occasional misogyny and deliberate fear-mongering. He raises familiar bogeys of ‘Love Jihad’ and reiterates disinformation like Muslims brought untouchability to India and that with rising population Muslims will take over temples from Hindus in the coming decades.
Several ‘Trishul’ distribution programs have apparently taken place in rural Jodhpur, some of which have been addressed by Ishwar Lal. These incidents are said to have taken place in Balesar, Rampura, Odiyan, and Dechu, among other places.
CJP has also alerted and complained to authorities in Rajasthan on this disturbing trend over past weeks all over the state as they have the potential of not just causing social disharmony but also disrupting harmonious relations within villages and towns. Apart from all else, they render the minority community vulnerable to stigma, ghettoisation and even physical attack.
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