Hate Speech

Even after submitting an undertaking stating that no hate speech will be made at the rally, Singh made inflammatory comments while addressing an audience of thousands, BJP MLA Geeta Jain plays supporting role

The recently published novel Zeherkhurani (Samayik Prakashan, Delhi, 2023) by Nirmala Bhuradia depicts the horrendous implications of putting religion to the worst abuse in the pursuit of remorselessly divisive power politics. Bhuradia is an Indore-based fiction writer and journalist (associated with a Hindi periodical of Indore, Nai Duniya) and a known name in the Hindi literary world.

After the Bombay High Court granted permission to Hindutva outfits to organise a shobha yatra near the Mira Bhayandar area in Mumbai which had recently seen violence, residents of Mira Road wait with trepidation for the February 25 rally and meeting of controversial BJP MLA Raja Singh to take place

Pursuant to the conditional Court order, CJP files follow-up complaint with Maharashtra police, urges officials to take necessary action; listed below are the list of offences for which Raja Singh has been charged

Yesterday, February 20 itself, Citizens for Justice & Peace had in a detailed pre-emptive complaint to the Mira Road Bhayander police pointed out not just the antecedents of the organisation and speaker, but also a slew of judgements of the Supreme Court directing the Maharashtra police in particular to take stern and pre-emotive steps to prevent provocative hate speech and resultant stigmatisation of minorities and violence. CJP moved to file the complaint after Singh released a video on social media calling people in large numbers to join his ‘Hindu Jan Aakrosh’ rally on February 25

Mira Road continues to be a tense neighbourhood. Citizens from the neighbourhood filed a complaint with the police, demanding a fair enquiry and asking that there be an investigation of those BJP politicians, who put the already-tense neighbourhood in danger by making reportedly incendiary statements.

From individual hate crimes to anti-Muslim slogans at rallies, Mumbai witnesses growing attacks and fear against Muslims

In a petition demanding arrest and prosecution of BJP leader Vikram Pawaskar, HC expresses surprise over state’s claim for need for a forensic examination of the video of the event that the police had themselves recorded

Kankavli’s MLA from BJP, Nitesh Rane reached Govandi last week in Mumbai to lead a rally where he demanded bulldozer action against the mosques and Madrasas in the area, stating that they were illegal and that the area was becoming increasingly populated by “Rohingya and Bangladeshi.”

With multiple guidelines on curbing hate speech issued by Supreme Court in 2023 (and 2022 before that) continue to fall on deaf ears, how do citizens ensure a hate free 2024?