The rule of law, public trust in institutions and leaders, and the capacity to enforce accountability are all fruits of the trees planted during the freedom struggle. It is politically obvious that all political parties need some moral claim to have contributed to cultivation of these values in the Indian polity. Even many regional parties adopt icons from the Freedom Struggle to claim their legitimacy unless they themselves are resultants of some churn in the 80s or 90s. Examples include DMK adopting Periyar, or the Lohiaite socialist parties of North India. After all, fundamentalist and exclusivist religious nationalism cannot be the source of legitimacy forever.

And, it is also natural that the Congress, and even the Communists, do not have a need to constantly reiterate their contributions; these are etched into collective memory, passed down through generations from Telangana to Jammu and Kashmir, and from Assam to Maharashtra. This, however, is not the case with the Sangh Parivar. For this reason, the political power amassed by the BJP has been repeatedly deployed to weave itself into history. This article examines, with meticulous sincerity, not judgment, the nature and extent of the RSS’s contribution to the freedom struggle.

The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)—founded in 1925—presents a particularly complex and paradoxical case. Its existence spanned the zenith of Mahatma Gandhi’s satyagraha campaigns, the agonising political negotiations for self-rule, and the brutal culmination of Partition. Tracking the role of the RSS in the first quarter-century of its formation (1925 to 1950) reveals an organisation that was preoccupied not with overthrowing the colonial power, but with unifying the Hindu populace through quasi-military training and ideological purification, often drawing direct inspiration from Europe’s most destructive authoritarian movements.[1] This examination, drawing on existing extensive scholarship often overlooked by those who seek to whitewash the history of Hindu nationalism, finds the RSS’s contribution to the core anti-colonial struggle to be negligible, if not actively counterproductive, substituting nationalist action for communal consolidation and ideological emulation of colonial systems, albeit unknowingly.[2]

As one of the most important constituents of the current Indian ruling establishment, if not the most important, celebrates 100 years of its existence and now looks to have international influence via lobbying, it is important to examine whether it indeed was what it claims to have been.

I. The Foundation: 1925–1940

The RSS was established on the day of Vijayadashami (Dussehra) in 1925 by Dr. Keshav Baliram Hedgewar, a Telugu Brahmin doctor from Nagpur.[3] Hedgewar’s belief was that the fragmentation and deep social divisions among Hindus were the primary reasons for what he deemed a thousand years of foreign subjugation of the subcontinent.[4] The antidote he envisioned was a rigorous system of training focused on ‘character-building’ (chaaritya nirman), aimed at forging a disciplined cadre of men who would unify the highly pluralistic country and serve as a model for other Indians.[5]

The RSS’s foundational ideology was inextricably linked to the Hindu Mahasabha, sharing the core philosophy of Hindutva as propounded by V.D. Savarkar.[6] Savarkar, whose literary flourish and often ‘merciless and blunt’ prose provided ideological groundwork, defined the nation not by pluralistic geography but by religious and cultural unity, articulating a vision of Hindu Rashtra.[7] Indeed, the close symbiotic relationship between the Mahasabha and the RSS led the colonial government itself to view the Sangh as almost the youth wing of the Mahasabha in its early decades.[8] The Hindu Mahasabha formally commended the activities of the RSS in 1932.[9]

Hedgewar, despite having been involved in the revolutionary movement during his student days in Calcutta and having participated in the Congress movement in 1921, came to reject mainstream politics. As his views progressed, Hegdewar’s hypothesis about the reasons for subjugation of Indian subcontinent region (this in his mind was Hindu society) by Islamic invasions and British colonialism also took shape.[10]

He felt that in the disintegrated state of the country, only a Hindu organisation based on brotherhood and patriotism could secure independence.[11] The RSS focused heavily on establishing daily mandatory assemblies called shakhas, which involved physical exercise, military drills, and weapons training using the lathi (wooden staff).[12]

Critically, writer Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay notes that Hedgewar’s strategy explicitly demanded organisational distance from the core political struggle led by the Indian National Congress. When the Civil Disobedience Movement was launched in 1930, Hedgewar reluctantly participated in a satyagraha in his individual capacity for nine months. However, he intentionally kept the organisation and its members away from the movement. He worried that the RSS’s organisational work would suffer. The prohibition on direct political involvement was a strong message to members desiring action, as the RSS sought to attain the ideal of Hindu Rashtra through man-making and training, believing this goal required no ‘external stimuli’ such as agitations, which were categorized as morally corrupting or rajasik (valorous agitation).[13]

The Shadow of European Fascism: An Analogy

Compounding the RSS’s distance from the anti-colonial movement was its startling admiration for European fascism and Nazism. B.S. Moonje, Hedgewar’s political mentor, was particularly enamoured by these movements. After meeting Benito Mussolini in Italy in 1931, Moonje lauded the fascist youth group, the Opera Nazionale Balilla, for its contribution to Italy’s “military regeneration”.[14] He declared India needed such an institution for the “military regeneration of the Hindus” and believed the realisation of organising Hindus could only occur if India had “a Hindu as a Dictator like…Shivaji of Old or Mussolini or Hitler”.[15] British intelligence reports, assessing the RSS as early as 1933, warned that the Sangh hoped to be to future India what the “Fascist” were to Italy and the “Nazi” to Germany.[16]

The RSS mirrored this emphasis on racial exclusivity in its internal doctrine. M.S. Golwalkar, writing later, expressed admiration for Nazi Germany’s racial policies, specifically the purging of Jews to maintain “racial and cultural purity”.  Academic Shamshul Islam notes that Savarkar even suggested that Indian Muslims might have to “play the part of German Jews”.[17]  The RSS doctrine asserted that Hindus were the rightful inhabitants and that non-Hindus, categorized as invaders or guests, must fully assimilate or be forced to “live at its mercy”.[18] This emphasis on creating a unified ‘national race’ and preparing cadres through rigorous training, divorced from the anti-colonial movement, positioned the RSS against internal pluralism.

Ironically, this ideological leaning toward a militaristic, exclusionary nationalism aligns functionally with the founding principles of the Zionist project in Palestine. The Zionist project prioritised establishing “Strict communal and Jewish-centred colonies”, perceiving the indigenous Palestinians as an obstacle to national goals. The core Zionist strategy was converting settlement into the main thrust of nationalism, involving demographic control and the extraction of land and jobs.[19]

II. The Era of Acquiescence: 1940–1947

The second phase began with the ascension of Madhav Sadashiv Golwalkar as Sarsanghchalak in 1940. Golwalkar, who had demonstrated an inclination towards spiritual pursuits, placed the highest priority on the continuity of the shakha system and its character-building mission.[20] He was reluctant to engage in direct political action, fearing it would derail the primary task of building the Hindu Rashtra through man-making.[21]

This political aloofness defined the RSS during the Quit India Movement of 1942, the most powerful mass uprising against the British Raj. While many youth were mobilized into the RSS during World War II, the organisation maintained strict neutrality from the movement itself.[22]

The strategic non-participation was openly acknowledged by the British government. A Bombay Home Department report stated that the Sangh had “scrupulously kept itself within the law, and in particular, has refrained from taking part in the disturbances that broke out in August, 1942”.[23] Consequently, the Home Department concluded that the RSS did not represent an “immediate menace to law and order”.[24] This passive collaboration, or active non-opposition, enabled the RSS to focus entirely on its communal project while the Congress bore the full weight of British repression.[25]

During this period, Golwalkar codified the RSS’s exclusionary vision in Bunch of Thoughts. The extensive focus on ‘character-building’ within this work reaffirmed the ideological commitment to identity politics, analysing the forces that united Hindus and separated them from other communities. Golwalkar’s teachings defined nationalism narrowly, rejecting the individualistic principles of democracy and tracing the foundations of modern democracy solely to self-interest and materialism, which he labelled a rakshasi paddhati (demonic system).[26]

The militaristic aspect of the RSS’s character-building served its divisive mission in the run-up to Independence. Between 1942 and 1948, some RSS members in Sindh, for example, received training in handling bombs and hand grenades.[27] This training was primarily organized to address the perceived internal enemy, the Muslim community.[28]

The ideological framework of the RSS during this time strongly embraced the concept of a pure racial nation, justifying the organization’s militant focus.[29] The organisational template used centralized, hierarchical authority, mirroring the disciplinary and militaristic approach necessary for the physical control and consolidation.[30]

III. Partition, Assassination, and Suppression: 1947–1950

The Partition of British India in 1947 fundamentally undermined the RSS’s central goal of a unified territory (Akhand Bharat).[31] Despite this failure, energies were actively channelled  into the resultant communal violence, with some members even participating in the partition violence.[32] Renowned Constitutional Law Scholar and Lawyer AG Noorani notes that even Jawaharlal Nehru wrote letters to both Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and Govind Ballabh Pant about the violent activities of RSS and the need to curb such actions, even as Partition violence was being perpetuated.[33]

The RSS’s rhetoric and actions stood in direct opposition to the path of pluralism championed by Gandhi, who described the RSS as a “communal body with a totalitarian outlook”.[34]

The inevitable crisis arrived on January 30, 1948, with the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi. The killer, Nathuram Godse, had been an RSS member, though he claimed to have left the organisation in 1938.[35] Godse and his co-conspirator, Narayan Apte, ran the virulent communal magazine Agrani (later Hindu Rashtra), which fiercely criticised Gandhi and Nehru for allegedly neglecting Hindu interests.[36] Godse was intrinsically a part of the RSS’s “extended family” at the time of the murder.[37]

A police report cited a meeting attended by Golwalkar in December 1947 where the discussion included proposals to ‘assassinate the leading persons of the Congress in order to terrorise the public.[38]

On February 4, 1948, the Government of India declared the RSS an “unlawful association”.[39] The ban was prompted by the widespread “suspicion of RSS involvement in the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi” and the alleged creation of an environment conducive to “anti-Muslim violence.” Golwalkar was detained on February 3, 1948.[40] Jawaharlal Nehru explicitly criticised the RSS’s “real objectives” as being contrary to the spirit of the Constitution and characterized its activities as “anti-national and often subversive and violent.”[41]

Paradoxically, the RSS responded to the ban by resorting to its first mass agitation, using the Gandhian principle of non-violent resistance (satyagraha) that it had previously shunned as mere politics.[42] The organisation fought for legitimacy, eventually entering into rigorous negotiations with the government.

The ban was lifted on July 11, 1949, contingent upon the RSS adopting a constitution.[43] The RSS pledged in its draft constitution that the organisation would remain “aloof from politics and is devoted to social and cultural fields only”.[44] The government also demanded that the organisation declare allegiance to the national flag and commit to scrutiny of its accounts.[45] Despite these formal concessions for institutional survival, Golwalkar later assured his followers that the organization had “given up nothing” of its core principles, characterizing the required clarification as a mere governmental imposition.[46] The conclusion of this period saw the RSS severely tarnished but ideologically intact, prepared to continue its project of Hindu Rashtra from within the framework of the new Indian state.

The RSS spearheaded exclusivity through its doctrine of Hindutva. Golwalkar’s insistence that non-Hindus, including Muslims and Christians, were “foreigners” who must assimilate or reside at the mercy of the “national race”,[47] finds a direct counterpart in extremist imperative to manage and control the presence of the local ‘other’. Golwalkar’s explicit praise for Nazi Germany’s efforts to maintain racial purity provided a chilling template for dealing with internal minorities.[48]

Moonje’s vision of a Hindu dictator and his emulation of fascist military youth camps defined the RSS’s organizational goal as military regeneration and defence against the “aggressiveness” of non-Hindus. This training was vital for executing communal violence during Partition.[49]

Ironically again, post-1967, the RSS openly celebrated Israel’s “aggressive Zionist militarism” as a symbol of Hindu resurgence, confirming the organisation’s ideological alignment with exclusionary, militant ethnic nationalism as a valid path to realizing “historical destiny”.[50]

The RSS utilised the concept of historical reclamation, asserting that Hindus were the original inhabitants of a territory and that others were invaders, providing the rationale for their subjugation.[51] This ideological framework, rooted in exclusionary and racialist models of nation-building, clearly positions the RSS’s function in its first 25 years as parallel not to a unified anti-colonial front, but to a determined project preparing for ethnic hegemony in the post-imperial era.

Conclusion

RSS’ contribution to the freedom movement, therefore, was negligible. That is said multiple times. What also becomes clear from the above discussion is that the current brute force religious nationalism it espouses or effectuates has seeds in how it saw itself as the harbinger of Hindu nationalism that also spoke with a positive attitude about the then fascist ideologies. However, the most important takeaway from the above discussion is that the if the origins of RSS have any effect on the RSS today (which they obviously do but since we are doing this analysis in a sincere and non-judgmental paradigm), and therefore on the country today—such effects are not positive or inclusive but are exclusionary, virulently communal and dangerous to the idea of India—a secular, diverse and vibrant people’s democracy. If the origins do not have any effect on the RSS, then it does not make sense for the high constitutional and political functionaries of India to “yap” about RSS as if it is an organisation worth its salt.

(The author is part of the legal research team of the organisation)

[1] Pieter Friedrich, Saffron Fascists: India’s Hindu Nationalist Rulers (2020) 49

[2] Jyotirmaya Sharma, Terrifying Vision 49

[3] Walter Andersen and Shridhar D Damle, Messengers of Hindu Nationalism: How the RSS Reshaped India (C Hurst & Co (Publishers) Ltd, 2019) 14; Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay, The RSS Icons of the Indian Right (Westland Publications Private Limited, 2019) 11.

[4] Ibid.

[5] Ibid.

[6] M.S. Golwalkar, Bunch of Thoughts (Vikram Prakashan 1966) 85.

[7] Vikram Sampath, Savarkar Echoes from a Forgotten Past, 1883–1924 (Penguin 2019) 482;

[8] Vikram Sampath, Savarkar: A Contested Legacy, 1924-1966 (Penguin 2020) 390

[9] Pralay Kanungo, RSSs Tryst with Politics 47

[10] Pralay Kanungo, RSSs Tryst with Politics 43.

[11] Jyotirmaya Sharma, Terrifying Vision 216

[12] Walter K Andersen and Shridhar D Damle, Messengers of Hindu Nationalism: How the RSS Reshaped India (Routledge 2019) 91; Pralay Kanungo, RSSs Tryst with Politics 89

[13] Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay, The RSS Icons of the Indian Right 295; Pralay Kanungo, RSSs Tryst with Politics 41

[14] Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay, The RSS Icons of the Indian Right 44

[15] Ibid

[16] Ibid

[17] Shamsul Islam, RSS, School Texts and the Murder of Mahatma Gandhi: The Hindu Communal Project (Sage Publications 2008) 87

[18] Devanura Mahadeva, RSS: The Long and Short of It (2022) 24

[19] lan Pappe, A History of Modern Palestine: One Land, Two Peoples (2nd edn, Cambridge University Press 2006) 54, 41.

[20] Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay, The RSS Icons of the Indian Right 110

[21] Ibid

[22] Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay, The RSS Icons of the Indian Right 109

[23] Walter Andersen and Shridhar D Damle, Messengers of Hindu Nationalism 51

[24] Pralay Kanungo, RSSs Tryst with Politics 84

[25] Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay, The RSS Icons of the Indian Right 110

[26] Jyotirmaya Sharma, Terrifying Vision 24

[27] Jyotirmaya Sharma, Terrifying Vision 163

[28] Jyotirmaya Sharma, Terrifying Vision 58, 130

[29] Jyotirmaya Sharma, Terrifying Vision 26

[30] AG Noorani, The RSS: A Menace to India (LeftWord Books 2019) 101

[31] Walter Andersen and Shridhar D Damle, Messengers of Hindu Nationalism 8.

[32] AG Noorani, The RSS: A Menace to India (LeftWord Books 2019) 146

[33] AG Noorani, RSS:Menace to India 128

[34] Partha Banerjee, In the Belly of the Beast: The Hindu Supremacist RSS and BJP of India (Ajanta 1998) 162

[35] Dhirendra K Jha, ‘Historical Records Expose the Lie That Nathuram Godse Left the RSS’ (Caravanmagazine.in2020) <https://caravanmagazine.in/reportage/historical-record-expose-lie-godse-left-rss> accessed 8 December 2025.

[36] Vikram Sampath, Savarkar: A Contested Legacy 468

[37] Devanura Mahadeva, RSS: The Long and Short of It (2022) 46

[38] Jyotirmaya Sharma, Terrifying Vision 121

[39] Walter K Andersen and Shridhar D Damle, The RSS: A View to the Inside (Penguin Viking 2018) 6

[40] Hartosh Singh Bal, ‘How MS Golwalkar and Vallabhbhai Patel Ensured the RSS’s Survival after Gandhi’s Assassination’ (Caravanmagazine.in30 January 2019) <https://caravanmagazine.in/extract/gandhi-assassination-rss-vallabhbhai-golwalkar> accessed 8 December 2025.

[41] Noorani, RSS:A Menace to India, 9.

[42] Ibid 215

[43] Noorani (n 31) 146

[44] Jyotirmaya Sharma, Terrifying Vision 196; Walter K Andersen and Shridhar D Damle, RSS A View to the Inside 196

[45] A G Noorani, The RSS A Menace to India 560.

[46] Ibid 582

[47] Devanura Mahadeva. RSS: The Long and Short of It, 26

[48] M S Golwalkar, We or Our Nationhood Defined (Bharat Publications 1939) 87

[49] Noorani, RSS: A Menace to India, 108

[50]Sumantra Bose, ‘Why India’s Hindu Nationalists Worship Israel’s Nation-State Model’ <https://theconversation.com/why-indias-hindu-nationalists-worship-israels-nation-state-model-111450> accessed 14 December 2025; The Wire ‘Israeli Diplomats Forged Deep Ties with Hindu Right Wing from Early ’60s, Documents Reveal – the Wire’ (The Wire10 March 2024) <https://thewire.in/diplomacy/israeli-diplomats-forged-deep-ties-with-hindu-right-wing-from-early-60s-documents-reveal> accessed 15 December 2025.

[51] Vikram Sampath, Savarkar Echoes from a Forgotten Past 472

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The post Religious Nationalism Minus Anti-Colonialism: The RSS Between 1925 and 1950 appeared first on SabrangIndia.

The post Sangh Scares Off Santa: A Christmas of Fear appeared first on SabrangIndia.

From shopping malls and public markets to schools and churches, the days leading up to Christmas and Christmas Day itself witnessed a strikingly similar pattern of attacks: right-wing groups invoking cultural nationalism, forcibly disrupting celebrations, chanting religious slogans outside Christian institutions, vandalising decorations, and accusing ordinary citizens—women, children, teachers, and worshippers—of proselytisation merely for participating in a festival.

What makes these incidents especially alarming is not just their frequency, but their geographic spread, thematic uniformity, and political context—pointing to something far more systemic than sporadic unrest.

A national pattern, not isolated events

1. Raipur, Chhattisgarh: Criminality Masquerading as Protest

On December 24, a mob affiliated with VHP–Bajrang Dal stormed Magneto Mall in Raipur, smashing Christmas decorations and assaulting staff during a bandh called against alleged religious conversions. Videos show security personnel overwhelmed as festive installations were destroyed in broad daylight. As reported by Times of India, the bandh itself followed communal tensions in Kanker district over the burial of a Christian man—an issue already fraught with majoritarian hostility.

This was not a spontaneous outburst. It was symbolic violence—targeting Christmas imagery in a public commercial space to send a message: Christian visibility itself is unacceptable.

Militant Hindu outfit Bajrang Dal vandalizes Christmas decorations worth 100 thousands at Raipur Magneto Mall. People like @narindertweets are indirectly responsible for inciting these fanatics. Even her previous tweets were amplified by far-right Hindu nationalist groups. https://t.co/CaXQe0lyHf pic.twitter.com/iOaDrl1bTJ

— South Asian Christians (@S_AsianXtians) December 24, 2025

2. Assam: Policing Festivity as a Crime

In Nalbari district, VHP–Bajrang Dal members raided shops selling Christmas items, confiscated decorations, vandalised temporary stalls, and destroyed Christmas displays at St. Mary’s School, chanting slogans glorifying a “Hindu Rashtra” (Economic Times; Hindutva Watch).

The message was unmistakable: Christmas is not merely unwelcome—it is to be erased from public space.

3. Uttar Pradesh: Ritualised intimidation outside Churches

In Bareilly and other parts of UP, groups gathered outside churches chanting the Hanuman Chalisa and slogans like “Christian missionaries murdabad.” These were not counter-celebrations but deliberate acts of religious intimidation, timed precisely to coincide with Christmas Eve services (Independent UK; videos widely circulated on X).

The presence of police—who largely stood by—did not deter the demonstrators. Instead, it underscored a dangerous normalisation: majoritarian disruption of minority worship as an accepted public spectacle.

Members of right wing groups chant Hanuman chalisa outside a church in cantonment area in Bareilly district Uttar Pradesh. pic.twitter.com/ybUUHKZiG0

— Piyush Rai (@Benarasiyaa) December 24, 2025

4. Delhi: Gendered harassment in public markets

In Lajpat Nagar, Christian women wearing Santa caps were harassed, shouted at, and accused of conversion simply for walking through a public market. Wearing festive headgear was recast as criminal intent. The women were not evangelising; they were existing visibly as Christians in public space—and were punished for it (The Quint; X videos).

This incident exposes the gendered dimension of communal vigilantism, where women’s bodies and presence become sites of moral policing.

During pre-Christmas celebrations, Christian women were simply wearing Santa caps and walking in a public market in Lajpat Nagar. For that , Hindutva goons harassed them shouting, intimidating, and creating chaos .

This is a public market. Wearing a cap is not a crime.… pic.twitter.com/abDhicCduL

— aree_shuklajii (@th_anonymouse) December 23, 2025

5. Madhya Pradesh: Violence against the most vulnerable

Perhaps the most disturbing incident occurred in Jabalpur, where a visually impaired woman attending a Christmas lunch at Prince of Peace Church was allegedly manhandled and abused by a BJP district office-bearer, who accused the church of converting children. The woman later said, “Celebrating Christmas does not mean I’ve changed my religion” (Indian Express).

That a disabled woman—attending a community meal—could be publicly humiliated under the banner of “conversion vigilance” reveals the moral collapse of this discourse.

6. Kerala: Children attacked for singing carols

In Palakkad, a group of children aged 10–15 singing Christmas carols were attacked; their instruments destroyed. As per Times of India, an RSS worker was arrested, yet the incident sparked attempts to justify the assault through political statements that questioned the legitimacy of the carol group itself.

When even children become targets, the pretence of “protecting culture” collapses entirely. Detailed report may be read here and here.

The Conversion Narrative: A convenient alibi

Across states, one justification recurred relentlessly: allegations of “forced” or “illegal” religious conversion. These claims were often made without evidence, FIRs, or prior complaints—and yet they were sufficient to mobilise mobs, justify vandalism, and silence celebrations.

This narrative performs three functions:

1. Criminalisation of Christian presence—turning festivals, schools, lunches, and carols into suspect activities.
2. Delegitimisation of constitutional rights—suggesting that freedom of religion is conditional and revocable.
3. Moral cover for vigilantism—allowing mobs to act as self-appointed enforcers of cultural purity.

Anti-conversion laws in several states have further blurred the line between lawful regulation and extrajudicial policing, emboldening private actors to assume coercive power over minorities.

State Response: Uneven, reactive, and often silent

As reported by Indian Express and The Times of India, while FIRs were filed in some cases (Raipur, Nagaur), policing was largely reactive rather than preventive. In many incidents, police presence failed to stop intimidation; in others, celebrations were curtailed out of fear.

The silence—or ambiguity—of ruling party leadership at the national level has been particularly conspicuous. Condemnations came primarily from opposition leaders and Christian bodies, including the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India, which warned of an “alarming rise” in attacks and demanded protection for worshippers (CBCI statement).

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI) and other Christian leaders issued stern condemnations of the incidents. They described multiple attacks — including a viral video from Madhya Pradesh where a visually challenged woman was allegedly harassed — as deeply troubling, undermining India’s constitutional guarantees of freedom of religion and the right to worship without fear. CBCI demanded strict action against offenders and called for visible protection for communities celebrating Christmas. Reported Asia News.

In Mumbai, reports The Times of India the Auxiliary Bishop publicly lamented the “hurt and pain” caused by such attacks, even as here appealed for resilience and unity.

Groups like the Bombay Catholic Sabha condemned what they termed brutal intimidation, urging decisive protection for minority rights during festive seasons.

Political leaders across party lines criticised the incidents:

• Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin called the violence a violation of India’s secular Constitution and urged government action to protect communities, reports The Times of India.
• Kerala Leader of Opposition V.D. Satheesan explicitly blamed Sangh Parivar affiliates for routine obstruction of Christmas events across states, reports ABP Live.
• Shashi Tharoor described various incidents as an “assault on secular tradition,” warning that Christmas 2025 was marked by unprecedented anxiety triggered by intolerance, reports India Today.

A constitutional crisis in slow motion

Article 25 of the Constitution guarantees not only the right to believe, but the right to practice and propagate religion freely—subject only to public order, morality, and health. What unfolded during Christmas 2025 turns this principle on its head: minorities are asked to retreat into invisibility to maintain “order.”

When:

• decorations are vandalised,
• worship is disrupted,
• women are harassed,
• children are attacked,
• schools are raided,

the issue is no longer communal tension—it is constitutional failure.

Religious freedom cannot exist where celebration itself invites violence.

Conclusion: What Christmas 2025 reveals about India today

Christmas 2025 in India has drawn global attention, with international reporting how attacks on Christians have overshadowed festival celebrations and raised concerns about rising intolerance toward religious minorities.

These events stood as a powerful reminder that religious freedom and social harmony require active protection, not merely constitutional guarantee. Attacks on celebrations, mobilisation of cultural majoritarian rhetoric, and repeated disruptions of religious life reveal deep social and political fault lines.

True religious freedom is not merely the absence of formal prohibition, but the presence of safety, mutual respect, and civic equality. Ensuring these values requires not just effective policing and legal reforms, but a broader national commitment to pluralism, empathy, and constitutional values that protect every community’s right to worship and celebrate without fear.

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The ‘Shastra Poojan’ Project: How the ritual of weapon worship is being recast as a tool of power and hate propaganda

Kerala: Protests erupt after RSS-BJP man’s alleged attack on children’s Christmas carol group in Palakkad

MP, Odisha, Delhi, Rajasthan: Right-wing outfits barge into 2 churches ahead of Christmas, attack vendors selling X’mas goodies, tensions run high

The post Not Merry, Not Free: What the attacks on Christmas say about India’s shrinking pluralism appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Criminal antecedents of accused from right wing outfits 

The statement reads:

“The hardened criminals who have been arrested for leading the attack have been identified as activists and supporters of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). They are said to have actively campaigned for the BJP in the just concluded local body elections. They are history-sheeters with cases including attempt to murder against them. The first accused Anu son of Appunni has 9 criminal cases against him in the Valayar police station involving serious charges including attempt to murder for gravely injuring CPI (M) and DYFI workers 15 years ago. (FIR No. 336/2015, 419/2015, 002/2009, 106/2012, 569/ 2012, 829/2013, 364/2012, 30/2007, 04/2023 all in Valayar Town North and Kasaba Police stations).

“Another accused, Prasad son of Chandran has 2 cases (FIR No. 996/2014, 821/ 2015) and Murali son of Chathu has 3 cases (FIR No. 106/2012, 2/2009, 569/2012). During the court proceedings local BJP leader R Jineesh, an accused in another murder case visited the accused and arranged support.

In a detailed analysis of the state of affairs in the country has not spared the top leadership of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP.) Says the statement, “The hate-campaign unleashed by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah raising the false bogey of illegal “Bangladeshi infiltrators” for electoral benefits through communal polarisation is responsible for creating such an atmosphere. In the context of widespread murders of innocent people especially after Narendra Modi become the Prime Minister, AIKS once again reiterates the demand for a law against mob lynching with strong deterrent punishment and state support to victim families.”

“Widespread attacks against the Christian and Muslim minorities across India are going on in a way damaging national unity.  Christmas celebrations also were targeted by the Sangh Parivar organisations even in the capital city, New Delhi. The United Christian Forum (UCF) in a letter to the Home Minister had pointed out that there were 843 incidents of crime in 2024 alone against Christians across India, meaning 70 violent incidents per month. In 2025 till November 706 such incidents were recorded.”

The AIKS has appealed to all political parties, mass and class movements across the country to unite against hate politics and communal polarisation being spearheaded by the Sangh Parivar and the BJP. Let us all unite against hate and divisive communal polarisation.  The statement was signed by AIKS president, Ashok Dhawale and general secretary, Vijoo Krishnan.

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The post Demand that Modi provides Rs 1 crore compensation for migrant worker, Ram Narayan Baghel killed by right wing goons in Kerala: AIKS appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Clearly emboldened by some recent poll gains by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in local elections in the state, RSS-BJP worker Aswin Raj allegedly assaulted the children who participated in the carol and damaged their musical instrument. The band used by the carol group belonged to the CPI (M) area committee. The state police have promptly arrested Mr. Raj following a complaint.

This attack on Christians follows a ghastly incident of lynching of a Muslim migrant labour in Kerala on December 13. Reports of this may be read here.

Protest carols by DYFI

In a strong condemnation of the attack, the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) –affiliated to the CPI-M- has announced that it would organise protest carols across the district. All 2,500 DYFI units celebrate through protest carols, the youth organisation said. Challenging the RSS and the BJP to prevent or disrupt the protest carols, the DYFI warned that it would “respond in an appropriate manner.”

In a questionable reaction, the BJP State vice-president C. Krishnakumar justified the attack, claiming that the carol was organised by the CPI (M) area committee and that the participants were intoxicated. He alleged that the members of the carol group had “deliberately attempted to create trouble.” The BJP leader’s remarks have drawn sharp criticism. Describing Krishnakumar as “the Praveen Togadia of Palakkad,” the DYFI said he had “exposed his true communal face.”

Meanwhile, Palakkad Bishop Mar Peter Kochupurackal condemned the attack, saying he hoped that “those responsible will handle the matter legally.”

The Congress—at loggerheads with the CPI-M otherwise, has described the attack as the BJP’s “natural response to its failure to secure the expected support from the Christian community” in the recent civic body elections. It termed the incident “an attack on communal harmony” and demanded that those responsible be brought to book.

The police said Mr. Raj was already facing charges under the Kerala Anti-Social Activities (Prevention) Act (KAAPA). He has now been booked under various sections, including those relating to causing hurt and promoting communal violence.

Related:

MP, Odisha, Delhi, Rajasthan: Right-wing outfits barge into 2 churches ahead of Christmas, attack vendors selling X’mas goodies, tensions run high

No right to live, or die: Christians in Chhattisgarh, and India under attack

‘Brutal intimidation of Christians’ all India condemned: Bombay Catholic Sabha

The post Kerala: Protests erupt after RSS-BJP man’s alleged attack on children’s Christmas carol group in Palakkad appeared first on SabrangIndia.

The statement says that “there are videos galore of such tactics by right wing actors and actresses and some belonging to the ruling party.” One such video is attached (in the BCS’ spokesperson Dolphy D’souza’s social media post) showcasing such shameful tactics. The organization has already brought this to the attention of Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi, “seeking his intervention to stop this madness.”

Besides, the organization that represents close to 70,000 Catholics in the Mumbai region has also, through the social media, drawn attention to the serious matter of spiralling attacks against Christians, of Rahul Gandhi, Leader of Opposition, Ms Mamta Banerjee,TMC , Akhilesh Yadav, Samajwadi Party, Sharad Pawar , NCP (Sharad Pawar), Uddhav Thackeray, Shiv Sena (UBT), M. K. Stalin, DMK and. Pinarayi Vijayan of the CPI (M) for their immediate attention and intervention. The BCS has also tagged Chief Minister (CM), Maharashtra, Devendra Fadnavis pointing out that there were incidents of attacks of Christians in Maharashtra too during 2025.

To Fadavis, BCS has urged that he ensures that Christians in Mumbai, Maharashtra have a peaceful Christmas season. Police need to be instructed to strictly ensure enforcement of rule of law equally for all. We demand that such goonda elements responsible for such tactics must be arrested and prosecuted.

Dear Hon’ble Prime Minister,
Merry Christmas
This video of attacks on Christians during the Christmas season anguishes & pains all citizens.
We seek yr immediate intervention to prevent such atrocities. https://t.co/WnEseiAQMG @narendramodi @PMOIndia @AmitShah @Dev_Fadnavis

— Dolphy Dsouza (@dolphydsouza) December 23, 2025

Dear Hon’ble Rahul Gandhi, LoP,
Merry Christmas.
Need your intervention to stop this brutal and intimidating madness! @RahulGandhi @kharge @SoniaGandhiiINC @priyankagandhi @chennithala @kcvenugopalmp @DrAMSinghvi @Jairam_Ramesh @thecaravanindia @thewire_in @scroll_in https://t.co/aee04DyO36

— Dolphy Dsouza (@dolphydsouza) December 23, 2025

Dear Hon’ble C.M. Mr. Devendra Fadnavis
Merry Christmas
There hv been incidents of Anti- Christian violence in Maharashtra during this year. We urge you this Christmas season, the police are instructed to ensure that Christians are able to celebrate peacefully. @Dev_Fadnavis https://t.co/aee04DyO36

— Dolphy Dsouza (@dolphydsouza) December 23, 2025

Citizens for Justice and Peace (cjp.org.in) has, over the past few days been highlighting these systemic attacks against Christians especially in Delhi, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. These can be read here.

Related:

MP, Odisha, Delhi, Rajasthan: Right-wing outfits barge into 2 churches ahead of Christmas, attack vendors selling X’mas goodies, tensions run high

No right to live, or die: Christians in Chhattisgarh, and India under attack

Documenting a national pattern of vigilantism & targeted action against minorities

The post ‘Brutal intimidation of Christians’ all India condemned: Bombay Catholic Sabha appeared first on SabrangIndia.

The scattered incidents observed around Dussehra are not, as they might first appear, spontaneous expressions of religious fervour. They are the visible markers of a deeply entrenched, highly coordinated “hate agenda.” This agenda involves a network of right-wing organisations, explicit political patronage, and the strategic co-option of state and secular institutions.

This investigation, based on an analysis of dozens of events across India in 2025, will argue that the modern Shastra Poojan campaign is a multi-pronged political project. It is designed to (1) subvert secular public spaces, including universities and police stations, (2) normalise the public display of weapons as a symbol of religious-political power, (3) provide a sanctioned platform for anti-Muslim hate speech and communal incitement, and (4) indoctrinate a new generation—targeting young girls and children—by framing violence and weapon-bearing as a religious and civic duty. This is not about faith; it is about fomenting fear, asserting dominance, and preparing the ground for future conflict.

The breach of the secular citadel: co-opting universities and state machinery

The most concerning aspect of this pattern is its audacious encroachment into spaces that are, by design, secular and non-partisan: government institutions and universities. This tactic serves a dual purpose as it legitimises the weapon-centric ritual by stamping it with the state’s seal of approval, and it simultaneously attacks the very foundations of secularism in public life.

The Rajasthan University RSS event: a microcosm of conflict

The incident at Rajasthan University (RU) on September 30, 2025, stands as a revealing example of how the ritual is being politically instrumentalised. The university administration, with the Vice-Chancellor’s approval, granted permission to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) to hold a Shastra Poojan ceremony within the campus premises—effectively allowing a partisan socio-political organisation to occupy an academic space. This decision marked a serious institutional lapse, blurring the line between education and ideology. Reported Times of India.

The sequence that followed was both avoidable and foreseeable. Student leaders from the NSUI staged a protest against what they viewed as the communalisation of their university. The situation spiralled when a section of NSUI members reportedly vandalised the event stage set up by the RSS, triggering clashes between the two groups. 

राजस्थान यूनिवर्सिटी में RSS के कार्यक्रम के शुरू होने से पहले NSUI कार्यकर्ताओं ने मंच पर चढ़कर पोस्टर फाड़े और पोडियम गिराया

यह ताकत है कांग्रेस की संघियों देख लिया

pic.twitter.com/u4xLPyA4Xw

— Sandeep Singh (@ActivistSandeep) September 30, 2025

The police, instead of intervening impartially, allegedly stood by during the confrontation and later detained several NSUI members, including State President Vinod Jakhar. They were held for nearly 48 hours and booked under serious, unrelated charges.

Former Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot later remarked that “no action” was taken against RSS members accused of initiating the violence. 

राजस्थान विश्वविद्यालय में RSS द्वारा शस्त्र पूजा का कार्यक्रम रखना ही आपत्तिजनक है। शिक्षा के स्थान को इस तरह की राजनीतिक गतिविधियों के लिए इस्तेमाल करना कैसे उचित माना जा सकता है? जब NSUI के कार्यकताओं ने इसका विरोध किया तो पुलिस ने बल प्रयोग किया। इसके साथ ही, RSS के… pic.twitter.com/Ew6d2doKen

— Ashok Gehlot (@ashokgehlot51) September 30, 2025

The episode, in essence, reflects a chain of administrative misjudgements—had permission for such an event not been granted in the first place, the confrontation and its aftermath might never have escalated into a larger controversy. The Rajasthan University incident thus encapsulates a troubling pattern that secular institutions are being repurposed as ideological venues, dissent is criminalised, and impunity becomes institutionalised.

State sanction from law enforcement: the Gwalior police incident

If the RU incident demonstrates the subversion of education, the events in Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, demonstrate the co-option of law enforcement itself. On October 2, 2025, At the DRP line, a Shastra Poojan event was not just permitted; it was actively participated in by the highest-ranking police officials. The Inspector General (IG), Deputy Inspector General (DIG), and Superintendent of Police (SP) were all present, firing celebratory shots from service weapons. The event was further legitimised by the presence of top political figures, including Assembly Speaker Narendra Singh Tomar, as Dainik Bhaskar reported.

This event shatters the illusion of a neutral police force. When the state’s guardians of law—those entrusted with a monopoly on legitimate violence—publicly and ritualistically worship weapons alongside partisan politicians, the line between law enforcement and ideological militia evaporates. It sends an unambiguous message to the public and to the officers themselves: the state’s power and the party’s ideology are one and the same. On many occasions, police permissions are granted because, in many cases, the police themselves are participants.

The organisational machinery:  coordinated national campaign

The incidents might appear as “scattered incidents” actually belies the reality of a highly coordinated, nationwide campaign. The list of events from September and October 2025 reveals a clear organisational footprint, dominated by a familiar network of Hindutva groups. This is not a grassroots phenomenon but a top-down strategy.

The key players: VHP, Bajrang Dal, AHP, and Durga Vahini

The key organising force behind this nationwide campaign appears to be the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) and its youth wing, the Bajrang Dal. Their operational footprint is vast, creating a dense cluster of events across Madhya Pradesh. 

On October 2, in Indore, they conducted a Shastra Pujan displaying and worshipping swords and guns. 

This was mirrored in multiple Bhopal events on October 2, including one on Vijay Dashami where dozens of guns and swords were displayed and a speaker called weapons “essential for the protection of dharma” while peddling “love jihad” conspiracies.

On October 2, at another Bhopal event participants brandished guns and swords, chanting, “Who will protect the country, women, and cows? We will.” 

The pattern continued in Sihora, Jabalpur on October 2, where members brandished guns and swords while speakers justified keeping weapons for self-defense.

On September 29, a similar event unfolded in Bina Etawa, which also featured members brandishing guns and swords as speakers justified weapon possession for self-defense.

This template was replicated across the country. On October 2, in Agra, Uttar Pradesh guns and swords were worshipped and religious slogans were raised. 

Likewise in Jammu participants worshipped guns and swords and raised religious slogans on October 2, 2025

In Odisha, VHP-Bajrang Dal events followed the same script. The event in Godabhaga, involved brandishing and worshipping weapons. 

On October 2, the ceremony in Gudbhela also involved displaying and worshipping weapons.

On October 2, in Dhanakauda, a rally was held after the puja where participants brandished their weapons.

Operating in parallel, on October 2, the Antarrashtriya Hindu Parishad (AHP) and its arm, the Rashtriya Bajrang Dal, led by Pravin Togadia, organised their own series of weapon worship events. Togadia glorified the Babri Masjid demolition, calling it “an act of bravery,” and declared, “Until we started the Ram Mandir movement, only temples were demolished and mosques built over them. This was the first time we demolished that Babri structure and made a temple.” He warned, “To the dreamers of Ghazwa-e-Hind, remember — it is on your chest we built the Ram Mandir. That is just the start; Kashi and Mathura are waiting to be constructed on your chests.”

On September 28, in Mandla, Madhya Pradesh, their ceremony involved public processions and martial demonstrations with weapons. 

On September 28, in nearby Seoni, MP, their event also included a procession with members brandishing swords, while a speaker justified violence in the name of religion by citing religious texts. 

On September 30, in Simbhaoli Hapur, Uttar Pradesh, AHP leader Gaurav Raghav explicitly linked the ritual to protecting “dharma, daughters and sisters, and cows,” peddled the “Love Jihad” conspiracy, and urged followers to arm themselves against “Jihadis.”

Targeting women and children: the role of Durga Vahini

Crucially, the concern about “young girl students being manipulated” is substantiated by the central role of the VHP’s women’s wing, Durga Vahini, and its partner group, Matru Shakti. Their involvement is a deliberate strategy to frame weaponisation as “empowerment” and “self-protection.”

• On September 28, in Rampura, Neemuch (MP), Durga Vahini and Matru Shakti members organised Shastra Puja at multiple Garba pandals, brandishing weapons.

• On September 26, in Hatta, Damoh (MP), a VHP-Bajrang Dal event explicitly “involved children in exhibiting weapons,” with Durga Vahini members in attendance

• On October 2, in Adegaon, Seoni (MP), VHP, Bajrang Dal, Matrushakti, and Durga Vahini organised a program where “young children and girls” worshipped swords.

• On September 30, in Jamshedpur, Jharkhand, a VHP-Durga Vahini event on Durga Ashtami, attended by “large numbers of women and children,” featured speakers who peddled the “love jihad” conspiracy, explicitly linking the need for such “awareness” to the Vahini’s founding.

This organisational synergy, replicated from state to state, proves that these are not isolated events. They are the planned execution of a national agenda, sharing a common script, common targets, and a common goal.

From ritual to rhetoric: the weaponisation of hate speech

This leads to the crux of the matter: these events “evolve into platforms for hate speech and inflammatory remarks.” The Shastra Poojan is merely the stage; the main performance is the propagation of communal hatred and open calls for violence. The weapons are not just symbolic props; they are a backdrop that physically underscores the violent rhetoric being delivered.

A platform for vile, anti-Muslim incitement

The speeches delivered at these events are not subtle. They are direct, eliminationist, and consistently target the Muslim community.

• Bhopal, MP (Sadhvi Pragya): On September 28, at a VHP-Durga Vahini event, former BJP MP Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur delivered a virulently anti-Muslim speech. She urged Hindus to “assault non-Hindu sellers” near temples, referred to all Muslims as “jihadis,” and claimed they “could never consider Hindu women as sisters”

This speech was given in front of an arsenal of displayed guns, swords, and other weapons.

• Indore, MP (Tannu Sharma): On October 1, VHP-Bajrang Dal leader Tannu Sharma used his Shastra Pujan speech to promote the “love jihad” conspiracy in its most graphic form, claiming Muslim men are “trained in mosques to target Hindu girls” for trafficking and to be used as “baby-making instruments.” He then issued a direct call for beheading: “He urged Hindu women to follow Kalka Mata and ‘behead’ anyone who dares to target them”

• Kanpur, UP (Madhuram Sharan Shiva): October 3, at a Ramlila forum, the leader of the “armed-monks group” Shiva Shakti Akhada, Madhuram Sharan Shiva, declared, “To destroy sin, the sinner must be destroyed.” He explicitly called on youth to “fight and eliminate ‘jihadis,’ likening them to demons (rakshas).”

Mainstreaming conspiracy and glorifying violence

The hate speech is built upon a foundation of well-worn conspiracy theories and the glorification of past violence.

• “Love Jihad” and “Land Jihad”: This theme is ubiquitous. On September 30, in Hapur, UP, AHP leader Gaurav Raghav linked the ritual to protecting “dharma, daughters and sisters” and peddled the “Love Jihad” theory to justify arming against “Jihadis”

October 2, in Nagod, Satna (MP), a VHP-Bajrang Dal speaker, with guns displayed on stage, targeted Muslims by invoking both “love jihad” and “land jihad” conspiracies.

• Glorifying Babri Demolition: October 2, in Surat, Gujarat, AHP President Pravin Togadia used a “Trishul Deeksha” event to glorify the Babri Masjid demolition as an “act of bravery.” He then issued a direct threat for future action: “That is just the start; Kashi and Mathura are waiting to be constructed on your chests.”

• Worshipping Godse: The glorification extends even to the assassin of Mahatma Gandhi. October 2, in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, the Hindu Sena held a Shastra Pujan “chanting slogans in praise of Nathuram Godse.” 

This was repeated in Ujjain, MP on October 2, where Hindu nationalists “worshipped weapons and a portrait of Nathuram Godse.”

This evidence confirms the analysis completely. The Shastra Poojan is the legitimising framework for events whose primary purpose is to spread hate, dehumanise Muslims, and openly call for their elimination, all while normalising violence as a sacred duty. This directly leads to events like the Cuttack clashes and other riots, as the weapons and the incitement from these events spill over into the streets.

A pedagogy of violence: indoctrinating the next generation

Perhaps the most insidious component of this agenda is the focus on “young girl students” and children. This is not about self-protection; it is a systematic “pedagogy of violence.” It seeks to indoctrinate children at their most impressionable age, severing their connection to a secular society and re-forging their identity around the twin poles of weaponry and communal hatred.

The evidence for this is widespread and deeply disturbing.

• Giving weapons to children: On October 2, in Ujjain, MP, the indoctrination was explicit: “swords were given to young girls.” 

On September 26, in Hatta, Damoh (MP), “Children were involved in exhibiting weapons” at a VHP-Bajrang Dal-Durga Vahini event.

• Martial demonstrations: On September 29, in Udaipura, Raisen (MP), a VHP-Matrushakti event featured “many children performing martial demonstrations using” weapons.

This was also seen in Mandla, MP on September 28, at an AHP-Rashtriya Bajrang Dal event. This normalises the weapon as an extension of the child’s body.

• Chants of hatred: The indoctrination is both physical and verbal. On October 2, in Maharashtra, far-right influencer Sangram Bapu Bhandare, at a Shiv Pratisthan Hindusthan Shastra Pooja, “led armed children in chanting, ‘Tu Durga ban, tu Kali ban, kabhi na burke wali ban’ (You become Durga, you become Kali, never become one in a burqa. This is a direct, hateful chant that pits one religious identity against another, taught to armed children.

• Posing with weapons: On October 1, in another event in Maharashtra, “Children, including young girls, posed with trishuls” under the guidance of an AHP leader. 

On October 2, in Adegaon, Seoni (MP), “young children and girls” were documented worshipping swords.

This strategy aims to create a future generation for whom public weapon-bearing is normal, communal hatred is righteous, and violence is a celebrated tool for religious assertion. It is a long-term project to ensure the pipeline of cadres for this extremist agenda never runs dry.

The architecture of impunity: egal legality and political patronage

The legal basis for stopping these events is clear, rooted in existing statutes that are routinely ignored. The core of the issue lies in The Arms Act, 1959, which is not just about firearms.

• Section 2(1)(c) defines “arms” to include “sharp-edged and other deadly weapons… as the Central Government may… specify.”
• Section 4 strictly prohibits the acquisition or possession of any firearm without a license.
• Section 5 controls the manufacture, sale, and transfer of arms.

The argument that trishuls are merely “religious symbols” is a deliberate smokescreen, one that has been legally challenged and documented for decades. Reports from as far back as 2003 noted that items distributed at Trishul Deeksha events were often “cleverly disguised Rampuri knives, six–eight inches long and sharp enough to kill.” This led the Rajasthan state government itself, in April 2003, to issue a notification “prohibiting people from distributing, acquiring, possessing or carrying double or multi-bladed sharp pointed weapons” as per a report in The Times of India.

This ban was openly defied by organisations like the VHP, setting a long-standing precedent of conflict between these events and state law. The illegality extends far beyond just possession. The Arms Act provides clear authority for law enforcement to act:

• Section 20 allows police to arrest anyone “carrying or conveying any arms under suspicious circumstance” without a warrant.
• Section 22 empowers the District Magistrate to order a search and seizure of any arms believed to be for an “unlawful purpose.”
• Section 25 outlines punishment for the unlicensed sale or transfer of arms.

The claim that these processions are protected as an “essential religious practice” under Articles 25 and 26 of the Constitution has also been tested and refuted by the Supreme Court. In the landmark 1983 case Acharya Jagdishwaranand Avadhuta v. Commissioner of Police, Calcutta (1983) 4 SCC 522, the Court ruled that the Ananda Marga’s Tandava dance with items including a trishul and a knife was not an essential religious rite that could be performed in a public procession. 

The Court affirmed that such public displays are subject to regulation by the state for “public order,” a precedent that directly applies to today’s armed processions.

The copy of judgement Acharya Jagdishwaranand Avadhuta v. Commissioner of Police, Calcutta (1983) can be found here

Despite this clear legal framework, attempts to enforce it on a macro level have been thwarted, contributing to the architecture of impunity. 

Following widespread communal violence during Ram Navami processions in 2022, a PIL was filed in the Supreme Court by Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP) in May 2022. This petition sought the creation of national guidelines to regulate these armed religious processions.

The plea was dismissed by the Supreme Court on December 9, 2022. The bench, led by Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, declared that law and order is a “state subject” and that the court could not be “dragged into every area.” The court also remarked that one should not “portray that all religious festivals are the time for riots.” 

This dismissal effectively denied a national-level regulatory framework, placing the onus back on the same state and district-level authorities—the DMs and police—who, as seen in Gwalior and Rajasthan University, are often participants or enablers. This judicial deference, while procedurally sound, in practice grants a free pass, ensuring that the law remains on the books but is rarely, if ever, enforced on the streets.

The argument that these are merely “religious symbols” like trishuls is a deliberate smokescreen. The evidence from 2025 shows this is patently false. These events openly and proudly feature modern firearms, transforming the ritual into a menacing display of force.

• Guns and Rifles as centrepieces: The public display of firearms is a consistent theme. 

On October 2, in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, a VHP-Bajrang Dal event on Vijay Dashami saw participants displaying “dozens of guns, swords, and other weapons.” 

On September 28, at another Bhopal event featuring ex-MP Sadhvi Pragya Thakur, the proceedings “also featured guns, swords, and other weapons” as a backdrop to her inflammatory speech.

On October 2, in Indore, Madhya Pradesh, a VHP-Bajrang Dal Shastra Pujan involved the worship and display of “swords, guns and other weapons.”

This was mirrored in Jammu, where on October 2, VHP and Bajrang Dal members organised a Shastra Pujan “worshipping swords, guns, and other weapons” 

On October 2, in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, a VHP-Bajrang Dal event was characterised by the “displaying [of] guns, swords and other weapons.”

On October 2, in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, an AHP and Rashtriya Bajrang Dal procession “worshipped and displayed guns, swords and other weapons.” 

On September 29, in Bina Etawa, Madhya Pradesh, VHP-Bajrang Dal members “brandished guns and swords.”

On October 2, in Nagod, Satna (MP), a VHP-Bajrang Dal event featured “several guns on stage” while speakers targeted Muslims.

• Political displays of massive firepower: This display of weaponry is not limited to militant organisations; it is also a tool for political strong-arming. On October 2, in Kunda, Uttar Pradesh, the event was a staggering show of force at the residence of a sitting politician. MLA Raghuraj Pratap Singh, popularly known as Raja Bhaiya, “held a Shastra Pujan displaying hundreds of guns and rifles at his residence.”

This act, involving an arsenal far beyond any symbolic need, demonstrates a fusion of political power and a capacity for violence, sending an unambiguous message of dominance.

The mass distribution of trishuls, particularly in states like Rajasthan, also contravenes the law, as these are often sharpened and designed as weapons. But the open display of hundreds of unlicensed (or even licensed) firearms in a public, politically charged gathering is a blatant violation of The Arms Act and provisions of the CrPC related to unlawful assembly.

The enablers: political patronage and state impunity

This illegality thrives because it is protected from above. The involvement of “influential figures—MPs, MLAs, and politicians” is not a suspicion; it is a documented fact.

• Elected officials: MLA Raja Bhaiya (Kunda, UP), Assembly Speaker Narendra Singh Tomar (Gwalior, MP), and ex-MP Sadhvi Pragya Thakur (Bhopal, MP) all actively participated in and legitimised these events.
• Government Llegitimisation: A key part of this legitimisation is the government’s formal decision to lift long-standing bans on employees participating in such events, removing any professional consequence for state actors who align with this agenda. This process reversed decades of policy. The initial ban, which barred central government employees from participating in the activities of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), was first imposed on November 30, 1966, and pointedly reiterated on October 28, 1980, to ensure a secular outlook in the bureaucracy. 

This 58-year-old prohibition was officially lifted by the central government via an office memorandum from the Department of Personnel and Training on July 9, 2024. This move paved the way for state governments, such as the BJP-led government in Rajasthan, which, around August 24, 2024, issued its own circular lifting a similar 52-year-old ban, thereby granting explicit permission for state employees to participate in RSS activities. As per reports in the The Hindu.

• Systemic impunity: The “no legal action” outcome is the rule, not the exception. The Rajasthan University incident is the most damning proof that the victims are jailed, and the attackers walk free. In Cuttack, as has been noted, rioters with weapons faced no consequences. This is a deliberate tactic, one that draws parallels to the Gujarat Riots: the state machinery steps back (or actively assists) to allow “religious celebrations” to morph into organised violence, knowing that the legal system will be deployed to protect the perpetrators and punish any resistance.

This is how permissions are granted. This is how the law is ignored. The agenda is state-sanctioned, protected by powerful politicians, and enforced by a compromised or complicit law enforcement and legal system.

A year of weaponised faith: the continuum from Ram Navami to Ganpati

While the Shastra Poojan events of Dussehra 2025 present the most recent manifestation of this trend, they are merely the crescendo of a year-long symphony of hate. To view them in isolation is to miss the systemic nature of the rot. An analysis of events stretching back through 2025—encompassing Ram Navami, Ganpati Visarjan, and Durga Puja—reveals that the weaponisation of religious festivals is no longer an anomaly, it has become the standard operating procedure of the right-wing outfits. 

This sustained aggression is not accidental. It is the inevitable yield of over a decade of the current regime’s governance, a period characterised by the systematic dismantling of constitutional values and the emboldening of majoritarian forces. The frequency and ferocity of these displays are direct metrics of how deeply the “Hindu Rashtra” project has penetrated the social fabric, sanctified by political patronage and shielded by a compromised state machinery.

The Ganpati festival: from devotion to macabre propaganda

The Ganpati festival in September 2025 witnessed a disturbing shift where the celebration of the deity was side-lined for the promotion of gruesome political propaganda. 

In Madhya Pradesh, a state that has become a laboratory for right-rings’ experimentation, religious tableaux (jhankis) were utilised to broadcast graphic Islamophobic imagery. In Mahidpur, Ujjain, on September 5, a tableau explicitly promoted the “Love Jihad” conspiracy theory, depicting Muslim men slaughtering women. This was not a subtle dog whistle but a visual scream designed to provoke, leading inevitably to communal tension and stone-pelting. 

In Mahadevgarh, Khandwa, on September 5, another tableau featured a refrigerator with mutilated dolls—a crude exploitation of a high-profile murder case—to suggest that Muslim men are inherent butchers of women. 

In Kasravad, Khargone, on September 7, similar gory visuals were paraded through the streets. These were not religious processions; they were mobile hate-speech units, designed to instil fear in minorities and radicalise the majority, turning a festival of joy into a procession of trauma. 

The “Decade Plus” of impunity: the state as an extension of the mob 

This was explicitly articulated in Karnataka during the Ganpati Visarjan. In Raichur, on September 16, VHP-Bajrang Dal State Convenor Shivananda Sattigeri delivered a speech that stripped away any remaining veneer of the rule of law. He did not just threaten violence; he claimed ownership of the state apparatus, asserting that “the police and army are all Hindus” and that the Prime Minister is aligned with the RSS. He threatened to “chop off the hands” of dissenters and warned that legal challengers would be “beaten and sent to Pakistan.” 

The rhetoric is echoed by elected representatives, further blurring the lines. On September 10, in Maddur, Mandya, BJP MLC C.T. Ravi publicly threatened Muslims with “beheading” and “cutting,” reminding them of the consequences of “showing strength.” When lawmakers speak the language of lynch mobs, the weaponisation of festivals ceases to be a law-and-order issue and becomes a state-sponsored project of intimidation. 

Durga Puja: the gendered radicalisation 

The narrative of 2025 also highlights how this weaponisation is deeply gendered, using the imagery of the Goddess to militarise women and children against a fabricated “other.” During the Durga Puja festivities, the VHP and its wings, Durga Vahini and Matru Shakti, intensified their campaign to frame Muslim men as existential threats. 

In Gaya, Bihar, on September 30, women were made to brandish weapons, while in Jamshedpur, Jharkhand, on the same day, speakers used the platform of Durga Ashtami to peddle “Love Jihad” conspiracies to a captive audience of women and children. The message was clear: your faith requires you to be armed. 

This indoctrination has reached the level of hate-filled conditioning for children. 

In Maharashtra, on October 2, far-right influencer Sangram Bapu Bhandare led armed children in a chant that pitted the identity of the Goddess against the identity of the Muslim woman: “Tu Durga ban, tu Kali ban, kabhi na burke wali ban” (Become Durga, become Kali, never become the one in the burqa). By weaving hate into the rhymes and rituals of children, the regime’s ideological affiliates are ensuring that the cycle of violence continues well beyond the current political tenure. 

The calendar of hate: how a decade of impunity weaponised 2025

The festivals of 2025 have ceased to be mere celebrations of faith but they have morphed into a synchronised calendar of intimidation. This year’s timeline—stretching from the aggressive posturing of Ram Navami, through the macabre tableaux of Ganpati Visarjan, to the open weaponisation of Durga Puja—reveals a terrifying new normal. 

In Madhya Pradesh, the sanctity of Ganesh Chaturthi was desecrated by floats depicting gruesomely mutilated women, designed solely to incite anti-Muslim hysteria under the guise of “Love Jihad.” In Karnataka, the mask of democracy slipped entirely when BJP leaders publicly threatened beheadings, and VHP convenors declared the police and army to be extensions of the RSS.

This unchecked aggression is not spontaneous but it is the toxic harvest of a “Decade Plus” of the current regime. Ten years of majoritarian party rule have systematically dismantled the firewall between the state and the street. 

The normalisation of a violent public square

The 2025 Shastra Poojan campaign, as documented here, is not an expression of Hindu faith. It is the tactical expression of a political agenda that views violence, intimidation, and communal hatred as legitimate tools. It is the “weapon agenda” in its most tactical form.

The evidence is overwhelming. We are witnessing a systematic effort to subvert India’s secular institutions, transforming universities into ideological battlegrounds (Rajasthan University) and police forces into partisan participants (Gwalior). We are seeing a coordinated, nationwide campaign by the VHP, Bajrang Dal, and AHP to use these events as platforms for the vilest, eliminationist hate speech, explicitly calling for the assault (“assault non-Hindu sellers”) and murder (“behead,” “eliminate jihadis”) of Muslims.

Most chillingly, we are watching the deliberate indoctrination of children. By placing swords in the hands of young girls (Ujjain), making children chant anti-Muslim slogans (Maharashtra), and having them perform martial demonstrations (Udaipura), this agenda is attempting to create a new generation for whom violence is not just normal but sacred.

This entire enterprise is shielded by a formidable architecture of political impunity, where MLAs (Raja Bhaiya), MPs (Sadhvi Pragya), and Assembly Speakers (Narendra Singh Tomar) provide cover. The law is rendered meaningless, as police either participate in the rituals or, as seen in Rajasthan, arrest the very students protesting the illegality.

This is the terrain. The ritual of Shastra Poojan has become the chosen vehicle for normalising violence, mainstreaming hate, and asserting a militant religious supremacy over the public sphere. The parallel to pre-riot tactics in places like Gujarat is not just an academic reflection, it is a clear and present warning.

When a mob leader can openly claim the state apparatus as “theirs” without fear of arrest, it proves that impunity has been institutionalised. The most chilling aspect of this year’s agenda was the targeted radicalisation of families, women brandishing swords and children chanting hate before they can fully understand faith. 

We are witnessing the solidification of a “militant piety,” where the sword replaces the prayer, and the Constitution is quietly suspended in favour of the rule of the mob. These incidents stand as a warning that the secular citadel is not just being breached, it is being dismantled, festival by festival, under the protective gaze of the state.

Related:

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Arm yourself with knowledge, not tridents, swords or knives

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The post The ‘Shastra Poojan’ Project: How the ritual of weapon worship is being recast as a tool of power and hate propaganda appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Relentless attacks carried out by right-wing outfits inside churches in Madhya Pradesh, resulting in violence, have surfaced this week ahead of Christmas. On Monday, December 22, a controversy over alleged religious conversion of visually impaired students escalated into a political flashpoint in Jabalpur after a video surfaced showing a local BJP functionary in a physical altercation with a visually impaired woman inside church premises.

The incident occurred at a church located behind Hawabagh Women’s College, where members of several right-wing organisations, accompanied by BJP district vice-president Anju Bhargava, entered the premises alleging that visually impaired children were being coerced into religious conversion. The allegations triggered a confrontation inside the church, culminating in scenes later captured on mobile phones and widely circulated on social media.

Viral footage available on social media shows Bhargava confronting a visually impaired woman seated inside the church. At one point, Bhargava is seen violently holding the woman’s face and engaging in a heated exchange. At this point, the woman responds by grabbing and twisting Bhargava’s arm, repeatedly asking her not to touch her and to speak without physical contact. Other people present intervene as tempers flare, following which police arrive at the spot and defuse the situation.

Meanwhile, in Odisha, lumpens on the loose are evident in a social media that shows a group of men bullied and arm twisted street vendors in Odisha, objecting to their sale of Santa hats on the occasion of Christmas. A video of this assault has gone viral on social media. It shows the men getting out of a white car, with one of them – dressed in an all-yellow ensemble – asking the vendors where they are from, what their religion is, before shouting at them for selling the hats.

The Video may be viewed here

This is what BJP’s ‘New India’ looks like in 2025. A de facto ban on Christmas in Odisha, enforced by mobs emboldened by power.

Poor roadside vendors selling Santa hats are being harassed, bullied, and threatened by self-appointed custodians of religion who arrogantly declare… pic.twitter.com/c2avKGB0Jz

— All India Trinamool Congress (@AITCofficial) December 23, 2025

In Delhi too, Bajrang Dal goons were seen abusing women who sported Santa hats

In Odisha, a group of men questioned street vendors in Odisha for selling Santa hats. In Delhi’s Lajpat Nagar, the Bajrang Dal cornered women and children in Santa caps, accusing them of attempting to convert people. In Madhya Pradesh’s Jabalpur, a BJP leader harassed a visually… pic.twitter.com/kuvJwzVa84

— Spot On (@Spotnews_media) December 23, 2025

According to police officials, related to the attacks in Madhya Pradesh –specifically the one at Hawabagh National College—the gathering involved visually impaired students who had been invited for a meal as part of Christmas-related charitable outreach by members of the Christian community. The students told officials that they had been brought from a government-run hostel for lunch and prayers, and denied any attempt at religious conversion. “At this stage, there is no evidence of forced conversion. Statements of the students are being recorded,” a senior police officer said, adding that the children were safely sent back after the commotion.

This has not deterred right-wing organisations from “lodging a complaint”, questioning how students from a government hostel were taken to a religious site without prior intimation to authorities. They have also alleged that prayers conducted at the venue were exclusively Christian in nature and claimed that non-vegetarian food was served.

This is the second such incident in Jabalpur this week. On Sunday morning, December 21, a prayer service at a church in Madhotal descended into mayhem after members of a right-wing organisation entered the premises, leading to violent confrontations and multiple detentions. The confrontation occurred around 11 am at a church near Shiv Shakti Nagar, where a prayer meeting was underway. What began as questioning about the size and composition of the congregation quickly escalated into physical violence, with chairs thrown and slogans shouted inside the place of worship.

Members of the Hindu Seva Parishad allege they approached the church after receiving information about an unusually large gathering that included attendees from outside districts. They claim they were questioning potential religious conversion activities when violence erupted.

Worshippers present at the service tell a markedly different story. They assert that 15 to 20 young men forcibly entered the church during prayers, chanting “Jai Shri Ram” and creating panic among the congregation.  According to media reports Jitendra Barman, who was present during the incident, stated: “Worship of the Lord happens in the church, not conversion. For years, people have been coming here of their own will and praying. Today when the prayer meeting was going on, young men barged in shouting. They assaulted women and children.”

Police said several youths were detained for creating a disturbance, and investigators are working to establish the sequence of events based on testimonies from both sides.

Senior journalist Rajdeep Sardesai has tweeted this on X:

Have been receiving a few videos of Christians being threatened ahead of Xmas. This verified video has shocked and angered me. A BJP district vice president Anju Bhargav assaulted and abused a visually impaired girl in MP’s Jabalpur, claiming she was enabling ‘religious… pic.twitter.com/2O4k1eqX9b

— Rajdeep Sardesai (@sardesairajdeep) December 23, 2025

Related:

No right to live, or die: Christians in Chhattisgarh, and India under attack

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The post MP, Odisha, Delhi, Rajasthan: Right-wing outfits barge into 2 churches ahead of Christmas, attack vendors selling X’mas goodies, tensions run high appeared first on SabrangIndia.

According to the latest available data, in 2024 alone, a comprehensive survey by India Hate Lab (IHL) documented 1,165 in-person hate-speech events targeting religious minorities across India, marking a 74.4 percent rise from the 668 incidents recorded in 2023. A significant number of these incidents occurred in states governed by the ruling coalition, underlining the geographic and political concentration of communal hate mobilisation. Many of these hate-speech events including rallies, processions, public speeches, and nationalist gatherings were accompanied by social-media amplification, transforming offline aggression into widely visible and shared public spectacle. At the same time, India is entering a high-stakes electoral cycle in 2025–2026, with state assembly elections scheduled in key states such as Delhi, Bihar, Assam, Kerala, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, and Puducherry. This convergence of rising hate speech, online amplification and election-era mobilisation has created a volatile environment in which ordinary citizens increasingly act as self-appointed enforcers of identity and morality, often targeting religious minorities under the guise of vigilante zeal. Reported NDTV.

These dynamics now play out not only through speeches or online rhetoric, but through direct interference in everyday life. Across markets, highways, neighbourhoods, schools and private homes, civilians have increasingly taken on roles that mimic policing functions. They stop individuals from demanding proof of citizenship or religious identity, supervise what businesses may sell or display, disrupt prayer gatherings inside homes or churches, compel public chanting of religious slogans, and enforce boycotts against minority traders. In several cases, these acts escalate into physical violence, public humiliation, or forced displacement. The presence of cameras and mobile phones has added another layer to the intimidation; confrontations are recorded and circulated as proof of ideological performance, converting harassment into spectacle. Police responses frequently blur the line between enforcement and endorsement, with officers either standing by during mob action, detaining victims after vigilante complaints, or acting only once public pressure mounts. Within this landscape, the distinction between civilian vigilantism and state authority weakens, leaving targets without clear avenues of protection while aggressors operate with growing confidence that their actions fall within tolerated political behaviour.

The incidents documented across states fall broadly into six categories: vigilante violence; economic harassment and boycott; raids on prayer meetings; identity policing and forced slogans; evictions and demolitions; and patterns of state response and police complicity.

Vigilante violence

Across states, groups identifying themselves as cow-protection or majoritarian outfits have moved from episodic intimidation to repeated physical enforcement on public roads, markets and transit routes. These actions take several common forms. Perpetrators intercept transporters and vendors, they detain and humiliate people on the spot, they physically assault those who resist, and they record and circulate the confrontation to amplify the act. The incidents collected here show that such attacks are not isolated. They recur in different states, follow similar scripts, and often end with victims being punished while perpetrators face little immediate consequence.

In Maharashtra on September 24, 2025, two cattle transporters – one Hindu and one Muslim – were intercepted and assaulted; a later video shows the victims forced to apologise as their cattle were taken away. In Sambhajinagar on November 10, 2025, a vigilante named Shobhraj Patil is recorded slapping and kicking a Muslim cattle transporter and verbally abusing others who were made to sit on the ground; other Bajrang Dal members restrained Patil only after the violence escalated. On November 12, 2025, In Balikuda, Jagatsinghpur, members of the Bajrang Dal and Hindu Sena entered a Muslim neighbourhood armed with sticks and, following their complaint, police confiscated meat for “investigation”; there is no contemporaneous record of action against the groups that forced entry.

Vigilante attacks also target traders. On November 2, 2025 in Ludhiana, Gau Raksha Dal members raided a biryani shop on beef allegations, detained the owner and handed him to police. In Hisar on November 4, 2025, a Bajrang Dal activist identified by local reporting assaulted a meat vendor for opening on a Tuesday and forced the vendor to chant “Jai Shri Ram,” an episode that was filmed and circulated – The Tribune reported. In Indore on November 10, 2025, Members of the Bajrang Dal assaulted a Muslim gym trainer after seeing him driving with a Hindu woman, accusing him of “luring” Hindu women. Despite the woman defending him and no formal complaint being lodged by her, the police allegedly transferred the case between police stations citing jurisdiction issues and ultimately sent the gym trainer to jail under restrictive legal sections. No reported police action against the vigilante attackers was available at the time of documentation.

The interplay between vigilante coercion and state action is evident in Damoh, Madhya Pradesh. On November 2, 2025, following pressure from far-right groups and cow vigilantes, police publicly paraded nine Muslim men accused of cow slaughter, despite statements from local butchers that the animal involved was a buffalo. In the local butcher market, vigilantes allegedly attacked with sticks while accusing traders of cow slaughter, leading to clashes. Police action was taken only against the Muslim men, who were jailed under provisions of the Animal Cruelty Act, even as officials later described the slaughtered animal as a buffalo calf. No action against the vigilante attackers was reported at the time of documentation. That sequence shows how vigilante pressure can shape law enforcement responses and how public parading becomes a tool of humiliation rather than a neutral investigatory procedure.

Legally these incidents implicate offences such as assault, criminal intimidation, trespass and unlawful assembly. These attacks also raise serious constitutional concerns about arbitrary deprivation of liberty when arrests follow vigilante complaints rather than independent police inquiry. The recorded habit of filming and broadcasting confrontations converts private violence into public spectacle, and that publicity frequently insulates perpetrators by forcing rapid public narratives that favour the aggressors. Across the documented cases, police responses range from delayed intervention to actions that appear to prioritise complaints lodged by vigilante groups rather than protecting those they have attacked. That pattern underlines why vigilante violence in the present period cannot be treated as random crime. It must be understood as a coordinated set of practices that enforce ideological norms through force, humiliation and selective use of formal law enforcement.

Harassment, Economic Intimidation and Boycott

Across multiple states, economic life has become a stage for enforcing majoritarian identity rules. Markets, roadside stalls and ordinary workplaces have turned into sites where Hindutva groups and sympathisers dictate who may trade, which foods may be sold, what symbols may be displayed and how Muslim vendors must present themselves in order to remain in business. These interventions do not involve claims of law and order. They operate through intimidation, accusations of deception and appeals to communal purity, all of which seek to restrict the economic presence of Muslims in public spaces. The incidents recorded here show that harassment often comes first, followed by pressure on police or local authorities to legitimise the exclusion.

In Ludhiana on November 2 2025, members of the Gau Raksha Dal stormed a biryani shop, accused the shopkeeper of selling beef and detained him before handing him to police. The manner of the raid reflects a broader trend in which Hindutva groups conduct their own inspections and arrests, treating Muslim-run establishments as inherently suspect while assuming the authority to punish on the spot. Police treatment of the incident focused on the allegation of beef sale rather than the unlawful detention and intimidation carried out by the vigilantes.

Economic policing is even more overt in Dehradun, where on November 14 2025, Kali Sena leaders publicly confronted a Muslim contractor who managed a dry-fruit stall. The men accused him of engaging in what they termed “mungfali jihad,” claiming that Hindu vendors and a calendar displaying a Hindu deity were being used to deceive customers. The language deployed in the confrontation draws directly from Hindutva propaganda that imagines Muslim economic activity as a covert threat. No action was taken on the leaders who staged the intimidation, although the harassment was filmed and circulated.

In Mapusa, Goa, on  October 3, 2025 far-right men harassed a Muslim shopkeeper and his staff, insisting that they present themselves as visibly Muslim by adopting green colour, changing their names and refraining from touching the picture of a Hindu deity displayed in the shop. That episode shows how Hindutva surveillance extends into everyday bodily behaviour and demands that Muslims perform identity as perceived by majoritarian norms. The threats were issued in the presence of staff and customers, yet there is no record of police intervention.

In Delhi’s Gokulpuri area on November 27, 2025, Hindu nationalist supporters forcibly shut down meat shops on the grounds that a temple was nearby. The idea that Muslim vendors should not operate in proximity to Hindu religious sites has become a recurring argument in Hindutva campaigns that seek to push Muslims out of mixed localities. The forced closures left vendors without income for the day and reinforced the message that their right to livelihood is conditional on the whims of majoritarian groups rather than equal protection under law.

These incidents illustrate a pattern in which economic activity becomes an arena for enforcing communal boundaries. They reflect a deliberate strategy within Hindutva politics to curtail Muslim economic visibility and participation. The absence of police action against harassers and the willingness of authorities to act on vigilante complaints further institutionalise these informal boycotts. Through repeated intimidation and public humiliation, these groups attempt to reshape markets into spaces that mirror and reinforce majoritarian social control.

Raids on Prayer Meetings and the Criminalisation of Christian Worship

Across several states, Christian prayer gatherings have become one of the most visible targets of Hindutva surveillance, reflecting a climate in which routine worship is increasingly cast as suspicious activity. Civil society reports show that the portrayal of Christians as agents of coercive conversion has become a central plank of Hindutva mobilisation, creating an atmosphere where even small home-based gatherings are vulnerable to intrusion and violence. This narrative has normalised vigilante entry into private spaces and produced situations where state institutions appear more responsive to the allegations of disruptors than to the rights of Christians who are attacked.

The incidents documented here show three recurring elements. Hindutva groups repeatedly enter private houses to disrupt worship, often accompanied by assault or the burning of religious books, as seen in Rohtak where, November 9, 2025 Christian participants were beaten and their Bibles burnt. These forced entries are justified through claims of “illegal conversion,” a narrative that has gained wide circulation in political speeches and local mobilisation campaigns, reinforcing the idea that Christian worship should be monitored rather than protected. The allegations themselves become tools that shift suspicion onto victims, making the act of prayer appear as evidence of wrongdoing.

A second pattern emerges through state response. In Rohtak, police allegedly questioned the victims rather than the perpetrators and later monitored their calls, reflecting a deeper institutional assumption that those who pray are the ones who require investigation rather than protection. This inversion of victim and accused also appears in Uttar Pradesh, where on November 16, 2025 members of the Bajrang Dal raided a Christian prayer meeting, alleging that illegal religious conversions were taking place. They claimed that poor Hindu women were being offered money to convert to Christianity. Following their complaint, police reached the location and arrested three individuals on charges related to unlawful religious conversion. No action against the vigilante group was reported. Similar patterns have been documented nationally wherever anti-conversion rhetoric is deployed to justify interference in Christian worship.

A third pattern concerns how the state frames these incidents. When on November 8, 2025 Hindu nationalist groups confronted a Christian gathering in Korba, Chhattisgarh, the disruption escalated into clashes after outsiders entered the residence and accused attendees of conversion. Official accounts framed the situation as a two-sided confrontation, obscuring the fact that the meeting was peaceful until disrupted. This framing aligns with rhetorical strategies that recast minority communities as sources of instability, even when they are the ones targeted.

In Agra, on November 23, 2025 members of the VHP–Bajrang Dal raided a private Christian prayer meeting and filed complaints alleging inducement to convert. Police detained a man and several women for questioning but did not act against the raiding group, entrenching the perception that majoritarian actors can intrude upon religious spaces with impunity. This is consistent with research showing that police often absorb the assumptions of vigilantes, reinforcing structural bias in how minority religious practice is policed.

Taken together, these episodes reveal a pattern in which prayer is treated as potential evidence, faith is framed as a threat and Christian worship becomes subject to the approval of hostile majoritarian actors. Hindutva groups position themselves as regulators of religious life, while police responses often validate their claims through investigation of the victims and neglect of the perpetrators. The result is a message that Christian communities can neither rely on privacy in their own homes nor on equal protection from the state.

Forced Slogans and Identity Policing

A striking feature of the current wave of communal hostility is the policing of Muslim identity in everyday spaces. These incidents do not involve allegations of crime or conversion. They revolve around humiliation, coercion and the demand that Muslims publicly affirm majoritarian slogans as proof of loyalty. National reports show that such practices have increased alongside online hate campaigns that dehumanise Muslims and frame them as permanent outsiders requiring discipline. The pattern is not incidental. It reflects a deliberate cultural project in which asserting Hindu nationalist symbols becomes a test of citizenship.

The confrontation of a Muslim fruit vendor on October 25, 2025 in Doimukh, Arunachal Pradesh, where locals accused him of being Bangladeshi and demanded NRC documentation, illustrates how identity policing collapses into racial profiling and suspicion of illegality. Research shows that “Bangladeshi” rhetoric has frequently been used to target Bengali-speaking Muslims, turning documentation status into a tool of exclusion . The vendor was forced to close his stall despite no official verification, demonstrating how communal assumptions override legal process.

Forced sloganeering further reveals the psychological dimension of this violence. In Uttarakhand, a Muslim cleric was stopped on the road and threatened when he refused to chant “Jai Shri Ram,” a moment intended to remind him of his vulnerability in public space. India Today reported that in UP, on November 25, 2025 an elderly Muslim cab driver, Mohammad Rais, was harassed near the Taj Mahal parking area by a group of young men who demanded that he chant “Jai Shri Ram.” When he initially refused, the men threatened him. The incident was filmed and later circulated on social media. Local police at Tajganj Police Station registered an FIR and said they are investigating the video evidence, though no arrests had been made at the time of the report.

Identity policing functions as a low-threshold form of violence. It does not require large groups or organised campaigns. It relies on the everyday assertion of dominance, the demand for symbolic compliance and the threat of punishment for refusal. These incidents demonstrate how Hindu nationalist mobilisation penetrates ordinary life. The pressure to chant slogans, produce documents or justify one’s presence signals a shift in which Muslim identity is treated as suspicious unless actively performed in ways that satisfy majoritarian expectations.

Evictions and Demolitions as Instruments of Displacement.

The most far-reaching form of exclusion documented in this period appears in state-led eviction and demolition drives. These actions are carried out through legal and administrative mechanisms, yet their impact falls overwhelmingly on Muslim communities, raising questions about selective enforcement and the absence of safeguards. Research on eviction patterns in Assam and Gujarat has shown that state narratives of encroachment often overlap with political rhetoric that casts certain communities as illegitimate occupants.

In Goalpara, Assam, more than 580 Bengali-origin Muslim families were displaced during a large-scale eviction operation in the Dahikata Reserve Forest on 9 November (Incident 17). Officials stated that the drive was aimed at addressing human-elephant conflict and was conducted pursuant to Gauhati High Court directions, and notices were reportedly issued fifteen days earlier. Heavy machinery entered the area under substantial police presence and demolished remaining structures. No immediate rehabilitation or resettlement measures were announced, leaving hundreds without shelter. Protests were minimal and swiftly contained, with some residents detained. Reporting from the region CNN has noted that eviction drives disproportionately affect Bengali-origin Muslim settlements and often lack clear post-eviction planning.

The Wire reported that in Gujarat’s Gir Somnath district, demolitions on 10 November focused on Muslim-owned homes, shops and a dargah (Incident 18). While several structures were removed without resistance, the attempt to demolish the dargah triggered confrontation. Residents opposed the demolition, leading to clashes with police who used crowd-control measures to disperse them. No rehabilitation measures were reported for those who lost homes or commercial property. Coverage from previous years shows a sustained pattern of demolitions in the region that disproportionately target Muslim religious structures.

A second demolition sequence that same day saw tensions escalate further when locals attempted to prevent the removal of another dargah near the Somnath Temple area. Police responded with lathi charges and tear gas and arrested thirteen people who were later paraded publicly (Incident 19). Authorities described all demolished structures as illegal constructions on government land. Details of any resettlement process were absent.

These cases demonstrate how eviction functions not only as an administrative measure but also as a tool of dispossession when applied without safeguards or rehabilitation. The selective concentration of demolition activity in Muslim neighbourhoods reinforces perceptions that state power is being deployed unevenly.

State Complicity and Biased Policing

CNN reported that across multiple states, the line between vigilante activity and state response becomes increasingly difficult to distinguish. The incidents documented here show repeated patterns in which police act on the allegations of vigilante groups while neglecting the rights of the victims. Human rights analyses have noted that policing in communal situations often reflects underlying majoritarian assumptions, leading to disproportionate scrutiny of minorities and minimal accountability for aggressors. This dynamic is visible in cases involving Christians, Muslims and those accused of violating religious norms.

In Rohtak, Haryana, on November 9, 2025 police reportedly interrogated Christian victims after an Arya Samaj group assaulted them, burnt their Bibles and injured a pastor during a prayer meeting. Rather than treating the attack as a criminal intrusion into a private residence, officers shifted attention onto the victims and monitored their phones. This reflects a broader pattern identified by rights organisations, where anti-conversion rhetoric shapes police behaviour and legitimises scrutiny of Christian gatherings.

In Uttar Pradesh, on November 23, 2025 police acted on the complaint of Bajrang Dal members who raided a Christian prayer meeting and alleged inducement to convert, arresting three attendees while declining to take action against the vigilantes. The same reversal appears in Agra, on November 20, 2025 where VHP and Bajrang Dal members entered a private home to disrupt another Christian meeting. Police detained a man and several women for questioning, again treating the accused vigilantes as complainants rather than aggressors.

In Madhya Pradesh, state complicity took a more punitive form. In Damoh, on November 2, 2025 police publicly paraded nine Muslim men after allegations of cow slaughter, even though local butchers stated that the animal was a buffalo and not a cow. No action was taken against the vigilantes who attacked the butcher market. In Indore, on November 10, 2025 a Muslim gym trainer assaulted by Bajrang Dal members was jailed despite the Hindu woman involved not filing any complaint, while no action was initiated against the attackers.

These incidents show how policing becomes aligned with vigilante narratives. When state institutions absorb the assumptions of majoritarian groups, minority communities lose access to impartial protection. The result is not simply inadequate investigation but a structural failure in which victims are recast as suspects and unlawful violence becomes socially sanctioned through official inaction.

Legal Framework: Constitutional Protections, Criminal Law and Supreme Court Guidelines

The incidents documented in this report engage multiple areas of Indian law, including constitutional guarantees, criminal prohibitions under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), procedural obligations under the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) and binding Supreme Court directives on mob vigilantism. At their core, these cases reflect violations of the rights to equality, non-discrimination, personal liberty and religious freedom under Articles 14, 15, 19, 21 and 25 of the Constitution. Article 25 protects the right to freely profess and practice one’s faith, which extends to prayer meetings held in private homes or neighbourhood spaces. Evictions and demolitions without rehabilitation trigger concerns under Article 21 and the prohibition against arbitrary state action.

As per a report in the LiveLaw Under the new BNS, many of the acts witnessed here constitute clear criminal offences. Assault and causing hurt are covered under Sections 124 and 125, which penalise physical injury regardless of motive. Criminal intimidation is defined under Section 351, which applies to threats used to instil fear or force compliance. Forced entry into homes, including raids on Christian prayer meetings, falls within the definition of criminal trespass under Sections 329 and 330. The public parading of detainees undermines the constitutional guarantee of dignity and violates custodial safeguards linked to Article 21, which has been repeatedly upheld in Supreme Court jurisprudence.

Communal incitement and hate speech are addressed under Section 194 of the BNS, which criminalises acts that promote enmity between groups or deliberately provoke violence on grounds such as religion or race. This provision is directly relevant to forced slogans, threats and the circulation of humiliating videos, which mirror the trends identified in recent national analyses of hate speech escalation.

Procedurally, the BNSS continues to require prompt registration of FIRs, impartial investigation and accountability for dereliction of duty by law enforcement. These duties operate alongside the Supreme Court’s directives in Tehseen S. Poonawalla v. Union of India (2018), which remain binding. The Court mandated state responsibility to prevent mob violence, protect targeted communities, arrest perpetrators and discipline officers who fail to act. The recurring inaction or reversal of attention onto victims in the incidents documented here reflects clear non-compliance with these obligations.

Targeted demolitions and evictions further implicate constitutional protections. The Supreme Court in Olga Tellis v. Bombay Municipal Corporation held that the right to life includes the right to shelter and that demolitions carried out without due process violate Article 21. The lack of rehabilitation reported in Assam and Gujarat contradicts these principles. Rights groups have noted that demolition and eviction in these regions disproportionately affect Muslim communities and often mirror political narratives of encroachment or demographic threat.

Taken together, the constitutional framework, the BNS and BNSS, and Supreme Court jurisprudence make clear that the acts described here violate established protections and statutory duties. The failure to act against vigilantes, the criminalisation of victims and the use of demolition powers without due process point not to isolated lapses but to structural disregard for the rule of law.

Conclusion

Taken together, the incidents documented across these states reveal a common pattern in which ordinary citizens, vigilante networks and state institutions participate in the policing of minority identity and belonging. What appears on the surface as scattered episodes of harassment, forced slogans, raids on prayer meetings or localised demolition drives becomes, in aggregate, a system of pressure that constrains the everyday freedoms of Muslims and Christians. National analyses of hate speech and communal mobilisation show that this pattern is not accidental but reflects a wider political environment in which minorities are cast as security risks, demographic threats or ideological adversaries. This environment encourages vigilantism by signalling that such conduct aligns with majoritarian expectations.

The unevenness of state response reinforces these pressures. Police often act on the allegations of vigilante groups while questioning, detaining or monitoring the victims. Eviction drives in Assam and demolition actions in Gujarat further illustrate how administrative power, when exercised without safeguards, produces large-scale dispossession that disproportionately affects Muslim communities. These practices undermine constitutional principles of equal protection and due process and violate the standards set by the Supreme Court in Tehseen Poonawalla, which requires proactive prevention of mob violence and accountability for official inaction.

As per a report in CNBC TV 18 a potential institutional response has emerged through Karnataka’s Hate Speech and Hate Crimes (Prevention) Bill, 2025, which for the first time proposes a clear statutory framework for defining hate speech and penalising organised intimidation. The Bill prescribes penalties of one to seven years for initial convictions, up to ten years for aggravated offences and empowers authorities to direct digital platforms to remove hate content. While some view this as a needed attempt to address escalating violence, its effectiveness will depend on impartial enforcement. Without structural reforms that ensure equal protection for minority victims, even progressive legal tools risk becoming instruments of selective repression.

The incidents in this report therefore point not only to unlawful actions by private actors but to a weakening of constitutional guarantees in everyday life. Restoring trust in the rule of law requires consistent action against vigilantism, accountability for discriminatory policing and a commitment to protecting the right of every community to live, worship and work without fear.

(The legal research team of CJP consists of lawyers and interns; this resource has been worked on by Risha Fathima)

Related:

Faith Under Fire: Coordinated Harassment of Christians After the Rajasthan Bill

Targeted as ‘Bangladeshis’: The Hate Speech Fuelling Deportations

The Architecture of Polarisation: A Structural Analysis of Communal Hate Speech as a Core Electoral Strategy in India (2024–2025)

Sanatan Ekta Padyatra: Unmasking the March of Majoritarianism

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Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP), along with women’s rights groups, constitutional lawyers, and minority rights organisations, has repeatedly cautioned that such laws—already operational in several BJP-ruled states—have functioned less as safeguards against coercion and more as tools for communal profiling, moral policing, and the criminalisation of adult consensual relationships. Maharashtra is now being pushed to replicate a model that is not only deeply abusive in practice but also under active constitutional challenge before the Supreme Court of India.

It is essential to note that previously, the Maharashtra Government had issued a Government resolution on December 13, 2022, following the gruesome murder of Shraddha Walkar in Delhi allegedly by her inter-faith live-in partner, forming a committee to provide a platform to ‘counsel, communicate and resolve’ issues between couples and families. According to the GR, the committee can seek information of both registered and unregistered marriages. Furthermore, the committee can intervene at the behest of any person, which the plea alleges is a breach of the couple’s privacy “especially when two consenting adults are married to each other”. A challenge against the same, filed by CJP, remains pending in the Bombay High Court. Details of the petition may be read here.

A state-wide, synchronized campaign- Event by event

The scale and coordination of the recent mobilisations are striking. On November 27, in Jalgaon, the Hindu Janajagruti Samiti organised an ‘Anti–Love Jihad’ protest where speakers openly demanded that the Maharashtra Chief Minister ensure the passage of an anti-conversion law in the upcoming winter session of the Assembly. The demand was framed as a matter of urgency and inevitability. Organisers claimed support from over 35 organisations, cited more than 300 citizen statements, and referenced a petition purportedly carrying 15,000 signatures—figures repeatedly invoked to manufacture the impression of overwhelming public consensus.

As the Assembly session approached, the campaign intensified. On December 5, in Amravati, far-right organisations led by the Hindu Janajagruti Samiti submitted a memorandum to the District Collector, addressed to the Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister, demanding a ‘strict’ law against the alleged conspiracy of ‘love jihad’. A signature campaign claiming the support of over 3,000 citizens accompanied the submission, making explicit that the objective was legislative pressure during the session rather than redressal of any specific grievance.

On December 7, protests were held across multiple districts. In Dapoli, Ratnagiri, far-right groups once again alleged a systematic conspiracy of ‘love jihad’ and demanded immediate legislative action. The framing was uniform: inter-faith relationships were projected as demographic warfare, and state inaction was portrayed as civilisational betrayal.

The same day, in Akola, the campaign descended into overt communal abuse. At an anti–‘love jihad’ protest, a Hindu Janajagruti Samiti member used derogatory slurs against Muslims—calling them “cowards who used to be Hindus” and “jalli-topiwallas”—and invoked the trope of ‘gaddar Hindus’. Such speech is not incidental; it reveals the communal animus that animates the demand for criminal legislation and signals how such laws are likely to be enforced on the ground.

Also on December 7, in Kothrud, Pune, at a Vishwa Hindu Parishad–Bajrang Dal ‘Shaurya Diwas’ event, speakers claimed that only organisations like the Bajrang Dal could stop ‘love jihad’, religious conversions, and cow slaughter. This assertion effectively erased the boundary between state authority and vigilante power, suggesting that the proposed law is intended to legitimise extra-legal social control.

On December 8, the campaign expanded simultaneously into administrative offices and mainstream political platforms. In Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar, delegations led by the Hindu Janajagruti Samiti, alongside BJP leader Kamlesh Katariya, submitted requests at District Magistrate offices across Maharashtra, uniformly urging enactment of a ‘strict’ anti–love jihad law.

The same day, at Hotel Center Point, Nagpur, during a ‘Majha Maharashtra’ event organised by Anand Bazaar Patrika, BJP MLA Nitesh Rane amplified these conspiracies from a mainstream political stage. He invoked ‘love jihad’, ‘land jihad’, and ‘halal jihad’, and further referenced ‘ghazwa-e-Hind’, explicitly linking these ideas to terrorism. Such rhetoric performs a crucial legitimising function: it converts fringe paranoia into a perceived security threat, thereby manufacturing public consent for exceptional criminal law.

Core Criticisms of Anti-Conversion Laws: Why civil liberties groups oppose them

CJP and other civil liberties organisations, women’s rights groups, and constitutional scholars have consistently raised serious objections to anti-conversion laws across states—objections that apply with equal, if not greater, force to the proposed Maharashtra legislation.

1. Criminalisation of consent and autonomy: These laws operate on the presumption that adult women—particularly Hindu women—are incapable of making informed choices about relationships and faith. By treating consent as inherently suspect, the laws directly contradict Supreme Court jurisprudence recognising decisional autonomy, bodily integrity, and the right to choose one’s partner.
2. Vague and overbroad offences: Terms such as ‘allurement’, ‘undue influence’, and ‘fraud’ are undefined or expansively defined, allowing ordinary acts—companionship, emotional support, marriage, or assistance—to be reinterpreted as criminal inducement. This violates the principle that criminal offences must be narrowly and clearly defined.
3. Burden-shifting and presumption of guilt: Many anti-conversion laws invert the foundational criminal law principle of presumption of innocence by shifting the burden onto the accused to prove that no coercion occurred. This is constitutionally suspect and procedurally unjust.
4. Third-party complaints and vigilante policing: By allowing relatives—or even unrelated persons—to file complaints, these laws institutionalise vigilante interference in intimate relationships. In practice, police action is often triggered not by the alleged convert but by ideological organisations or hostile family members.
5. Discriminatory enforcement: Empirical evidence from other states demonstrates that enforcement disproportionately targets Muslim men and inter-faith couples, entrenching communal profiling and selective policing.
6. Chilling Effect on Religious Freedom: Mandatory prior notice requirements and intrusive inquiries deter individuals from exercising their freedom of conscience, effectively converting a fundamental right into a regulated privilege.

CJP has repeatedly warned that these laws do not prevent coercion; they prevent choice.

Pending Petitions Before the Supreme Court: Laws under constitutional cloud

Importantly, CJP’s challenge to anti-conversion laws in several states—including Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Gujarat—is currently pending before the Supreme Court of India. Multiple petitions contend that these statutes violate core constitutional guarantees under Articles 14, 15, 19, 21, and 25.

Detailed report may be read here.

Petitioners have argued that the laws:

• Undermine the right to privacy and decisional autonomy recognised in K.S. Puttaswamy v. Union of India
• Criminalise adult consensual relationships, contrary to Shafin Jahan v. Asokan K.M. and Lata Singh v. State of UP
• Treat women as lacking agency, in violation of equality and dignity
• Enable arbitrary, discriminatory, and communalised policing
• Invert the presumption of innocence by shifting the burden of proof

The Supreme Court has been urged to examine whether the state can subject personal faith, marriage, and belief to prior scrutiny and criminal sanction in the absence of demonstrable harm. These challenges remain pending, rendering the legal framework that Maharashtra is being urged to adopt constitutionally unstable.

Manufacturing panic, normalising surveillance, reshaping criminal law

The Maharashtra campaign exemplifies a broader shift in law making: from evidence-based policy to ideology-driven criminalisation. There is no credible data demonstrating widespread forced conversions through marriage in Maharashtra. Existing criminal law already addresses coercion, cheating, kidnapping, trafficking, and sexual exploitation. The demand for a new law is therefore not remedial but symbolic—designed to signal dominance, discipline intimacy, and legitimise social surveillance.

By framing adult women as perpetual victims, these campaigns rein scribe patriarchal control. By singling out Muslims as conspirators, they normalise collective suspicion. By demanding preventive criminalisation, they erode the basic premise that criminal law punishes acts, not identities or intentions.

What is at stake for Maharashtra

If enacted, an anti-conversion law in Maharashtra will not remain a neutral legal instrument. It will embolden vigilante groups, legitimise moral policing, and place police machinery at the service of ideological enforcement. For inter-faith couples, religious minorities, and women asserting autonomy, the consequences are likely to be immediate and severe: arrests, harassment, prolonged incarceration, and social ostracisation.

As CJP has consistently argued, the real question is not whether forced conversions should be prevented—existing law already does so—but whether the state can be permitted to criminalise choice itself. Maharashtra today stands at a constitutional crossroads: between safeguarding liberty and importing a legal regime already notorious for abuse and under active constitutional scrutiny. The street pressure is loud. The constitutional warning signs are louder still.

Related:

Gujarat High Court Widened Anti-Conversion Law: ‘Victims’ can be prosecuted as offenders

K’taka HC: Ruling on state’s ‘anti-conversion’ law, lays down precedent against potential weaponisation by third-party vigilantes

Supreme Court seeks states’ replies on pleas for stay of anti-conversion laws, to decide on interim stay after six weeks

“Anti-conversion laws being weaponised”: CJP seeks interim relief against misuse of anti-conversion laws

The post Street Pressure, State Power, and the Criminalisation of Choice: How Hindutva groups are pushing Maharashtra’s anti-conversion law appeared first on SabrangIndia.