On August 8, a plea was moved in the Supreme Court seeking action against the social and economic boycott calls being made by several groups against Muslims in the state of Haryana. The said boycott calls are being raised against the Muslim community following the Nuh-Gurugram communal violence that took place on July 31. The plea was moved as interlocutory application by Shaheen Abdullah and was filed in his pending writ petition.
The said plea was mentioned before Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud by Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal. Seeking urgent hearing of the matter, Sibal had mentioned the same when the Constitution Bench hearing the Article 370 case was about to break for lunch.
Advocate Sibal had submitted the following–
“There is a very serious thing that has happened in Gurugram, where there is a call along with policemen, to say that if you employ these people in shops, you will all be ‘gaddars’…We have filed an urgency petition. Lordship may look at lunch time,” as reported by LiveLaw.
It is essential to note that prior to the current plea, on August 2, another application had been moved to the Supreme Court in the Shaheen Abdullah case against the Vishwa Hindu Parishad-Bajrang Dal rallies being organised in Delhi-NCR. The plea had highlighted that there was strong apprehension that hate speech and violence might take place at the same rallied. It had been further provided that the rallies organised by the same organisations before in Bhiwani and Najafgarh, Haryana had contained provocative, violent and anti-Muslim statements.
Notably, the Supreme Court had passed an order in the aforementioned application directing the police authorities in Delhi, UP and Haryana to ensure that no hate speech or violence take place in the rallies organised by Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal in the wake of Nuh communal clashes.
What did the plea entail?
Advocate Sibal in the current plea provided that despite the Supreme Court’s order, more than 27 rallies had been organised across various States where blatant hate speeches calling for the killing and social & economic boycott of Muslims were delivered openly.
To illustrate, the application also referred to a video that surfaced on social media on August 2, which allegedly showed a procession by the Samhast Hindu Samaj through a neighbourhood in Hisar, Haryana issuing warnings to residents/shopkeepers that if they continue to employ/keep any Muslims after 2 days, then their shops will be boycotted. The applicant further informed that the threat calls against the minority community was made in the presence of police officers.
As reported by LiveLaw, the application also alleged that open calls for violence and boycott of Muslims were given by VHP leader Kapil Swami in the presence of Police Officials in Sagar, Madhya Pradesh on August 4. The application also referred to a speech made by a Bajrang Dal leader in Fazilka in Punjab on August 6 where the murders of Nasir and Junaid, who were brutally beaten and burnt alive in February, 2023, were justified.
“It is submitted that such rallies that demonize communities and openly call for violence and killing of people are not limited in terms of their impact to just those areas that are presently dealing with communal tensions but will inevitably lead to communal disharmony and violence of an unfathomable scale across the country,” stated the application, as reported by LiveLaw.
The plea also sought action against police officers who participated in the said rallies and meetings for failure to prevent hate speeches. The applicant further seeks directions to the concerned State police to explain the action taken by them against hate speeches.
Videos, posters calling for boycott of Muslims going viral
- Location: Chamba, Tehri Garhwal, Uttarakhand
At a rally organised by the Bajrang Dal, the crowd could be heard raising slogans threatening Muslims to leave Chamba. Far-right leaders also gave speeches threatening Muslims to leave the town and asking locals to not rent them homes & shops. Muslims were repeatedly referred to as “Love jihadi” by the speakers. The video surfaced on August 7, 2023.
The video can be viewed here:
Location: Chamba, Tehri Garhwal, Uttarakhand
At the Bajrang Dal rally, far-right leaders threatened Muslims to leave the town & asked locals not to rent them homes & shops.
The rally was organized to protest an alleged case of “love jihad.” pic.twitter.com/TwQsJdN22j
— HindutvaWatch (@HindutvaWatchIn) August 7, 2023
2. Location: Tighri, Haryana
At a Mahapanchayat organised in Tighri in support of those who were arrested for killing a deputy Imam at a Mosque in Gurugram, anti-Muslim and violent hate speeches were made. One of the speakers at the said event made open calls for boycott of Muslims and stated:
“Check aadhar cards of everyone. Don’t give your houses or lands to Muslims. Muslims from outside come here and earn and then fire at us.”
The video surfaced on August 8, 2023. The video can be viewed here:
“Check aadhar cards of everyone. Don’t give your houses or lands to Muslims. Muslims from outside come here and earn and then fire at us.”
Open call for boycott of #Muslims at #Mahapanchayat in #Tighri in support of those arrested for killing Imam in #Gurugram Sector 57. pic.twitter.com/9w2QPLNJHQ
— Hate Detector 🔍 (@HateDetectors) August 8, 2023
3. Location: Haryana
Open call for boycott of Muslims were made in an unknown district of Haryana. The speaker donning saffron can be heard saying “We are giving two days ultimatum to all the shops to fire their Muslim employees or we will boycott them.”
The video also shows genocidal and violent slogans being raised as well. The speaker can be heard saying “Jab Mulle kaate jayenge, Ram naam chillaenge”. The video also shows a number of police officials being present in the rally.
The video surfaced on August 9, 2023. The video can be viewed here:
“We are giving two days ultimatum to all the shops to fire their Muslim employees or we will boycott them.”
Open call for boycott of Muslims in Haryana. “Mulle Kaate Jayenge” slogan raised.
All in POLICE PRESENCE. Anti-muslim hate is normalised everyday.pic.twitter.com/RLq837Ay3Q— Kaushik Raj (@kaushikrj6) August 8, 2023
4. Location: Ashoknagar, Madhya Pradesh
Members of Dhora Gram Panchayat of Dhaturia village of Madhya Pradesh issued a resolution banning Muslims and Christian traders from entry to their village. They further provided that if any trader wants to enter their village, they need to show their aadhar card to prove their identity.
The post surfaced on August 9, 2023. The post can be viewed here:
This is from #Ashoknagar, #MadhyaPradesh.
Entry of #Muslim and #Christian traders has been banned by villagers. pic.twitter.com/zqmKiougJ8
— Hate Detector 🔍 (@HateDetectors) August 9, 2023
5. Location: Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh
Posters containing economic boycott of Muslims by Samast Hindu Samaj surfaced in Ghaziabad. The posters read “Buy goods from your brothers (Bhai) not bhaijaan (Muslim brother)”.
The post surfaced on August 8, 2023. The post can be viewed here:
This is from #Gaziabad, #UttarPradesh.
Economic Boycott calls by Samast Hindu Samaj Posters in Gaziabad reads “Buy goods from brother(Bhai) not bhaijaan(Muslim brother)”. pic.twitter.com/bsw0obDYml
— Hate Detector 🔍 (@HateDetectors) August 8, 2023
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