Hindutva’s growing intolerance over gathering for Eid in society

Come Eid and there is this general fear among Hindutva-wadis (Hindutva followers) that no Hindu should celebrate Eid or spread the message of celebrating the festival together or try to find ways to disrupt Eid celebrations in some way or the other. This is evident in the many incidents that have been reported from different parts of the country.

Namaazis booked in UP

In Hapur, Uttar Pradesh, the police registered an FIR against 250 Muslims for offering namaz on the road. As per inspector Satyaveer Singh, the police had met with the Peace Committee regarding Eid and told them that Eid namaz must be offered only in Eidgahs and mosques and if there is too much overcrowding, they would make special arrangements. Reportedly, even section 144 was imposed and thus when people came out on the streets to offer namaaz, they were held in violation, the police removed them from the street so they started offering Namaaz sitting in the graveyard and an empty plot near Idgah.

While one may think that Muslim are obstructing the roads offering namaaz during Eid, one is not aware of how Eid has been traditionally celebrated in the various parts of the country. A Twitter user, Darab Farooqui, wrote a rather beautiful account of how, growing up, he offered namaaz on the Jaipur-Delhi National Highway for the last 20 years at a location known as the idgah locally. Eidgah is a term used in South Asian Islamic culture to refer to the open-air enclosure usually located outside the city that is reserved for Eid prayers offered in the morning of Eid al-Fitr (Mithi Eid in Local parlance) and Eid al-Adha (Bakra Eid), he explained. He further said that when he was a kid, the Highway did not see much traffic. He added that as over the years populations grew or families grew larger, people had to spill over from the designated spots of prayer even though roads are not ideal spots for prayer.

“In 2023, they make it appear to be some grand conspiracy, as if it’s a plot to disrupt the nation’s peace. As if we intend to take over the highways. When it’s just something we’ve learned to live with. This is an Indian Muslim’s lived experience… But now you understand why Muslims pray on roads. It’s only on rare occasions. We don’t want to do it, but we have no choice,” he added.

Premchand’s Eidgah

In Dehradun, Sri Chaitanya Techno School celebrated Eid by performing a story written by popular Hindi and Urdu writer Premchand called “ Eidgah ”. This did not go down well with certain right wing groups there who started protesting about the same and alleged that students were made to offer namaz. The right wing extremists reached the school on Monday and vandalized it while sitting in protest and creating a ruckus. The City Magistrate directed the District Education Officer to submit a report in this matter within 7 days. The school denied these allegations and said that only the skit was performed and no students were not made to offer namaz.

It can be seen in the video above, that a police officer is at the site while these miscreants created ruckus and instead of dealing with them with a firm hand, he can be seen smiling at them and trying to pacify them calmly, as if they did not commit any crime!

Little did Premchand know that while he, being a Hindu, studied in a madrassa and lived peacefully with his Muslim brethren, his communally harmonious works would be badmouthed and slighted by such right wing groups. Eidgah is one of the most well known stories by Premchand, written under the pen name ‘Nawab Rai’. It is a story of a four-year-old orphan living with his grandmother who, on the day of Eid, buys a pair of tongs for her because he sees her burning her fingers while cooking. While he is mocked for the same by his friends, he offers some clever arguments to them. Ultimately, he gets scolded by his grandmother for not buying some toy or food at the Eid fair but she then bursts into tears looking at how thoughtful the child is.

As one can see, it is just a story about a little boy who cares about his grandmother and it is only their religious identity and the name of the story (Eidgah) that bother these right wing groups.

Artist Shaan trolled for Eid wish

Artist and singer, Shaan who has sung many songs in Hindi movies was trolled on his social media account for posting a picture of him wearing a skull cap from an old song of his. He had put it up for wishing everyone Eid Mubarak but this was the bone of contention for right wing trolls who wasted no time in calling him out, in rather large numbers and that really disturbed Shaan. The song was “Karam kar de” and was a qawwali song where Shaan had donned a skull cap and was shown reading namaz in the song’s video. After he noticed the reactions in large numbers saying why did he have to do this being a Hindu. He thus posted a video recording taking a stand on this and said that last week he had gone to Golden Temple and covered his head and prayed there but there was no backlash then so he wondered why he was trolled for this.

“If we wear some outfit pertaining to a particular festival, it does not mean that my religious beliefs would get distorted. Please change your thoughts,” he said. “How can we progress if we keep such backward views,” he questioned.

I am a Hindu, an Indian and I know that every festival should be celebrated together. I grew up in Bandra and it is mostly a Christian and Muslim populated area and most of my friends are Muslims and I never got this feeling we are different from each other. I feel bad that such views are spreading. I know my views are right. An Indian is one who celebrates every festival together and respects all religions,” he added.

Hathras

In UP’s Hathras, BLS International School came under fire after a self-proclaimed Hindu leader, Deepak Sharma protested outside the school claiming that the school was forcing students to read namaz, while the school was celebrating World Heritage Day. The school denied the allegations but at the same time suspended two teachers. Hathras SDM Ashutosh Kumar told The Indian Express that the principal, Sonia McPherson, along with teachers Kambar Rizwan and Irrfan Elahi have been suspended and that an inquiry is going on. The protests were later joined by some parents as well and posters saying ‘I am not secular’, ‘BLS Principal, Chairman and Staff Apologise’ and ‘Make kids read Hanuman Chalisa, Save Hindu Religion’ were posted on the school gates.

One school student refuted these claims and told IE, “I was at the assembly to attend the World Heritage Day celebrations. We were only reciting and singing patriotic songs and prayers from our school diary. There was no namaaz. My parents also came when they heard about the protests. I later explained how none of this was true. They suspended our teachers and principal for no reason. It was a regular celebration…”

Tripura content creator thrashed

A vlogger in Tripura was thrashed by a local BJP leader for making a video celebrating Eid with some of his Muslim friends. The song which they were performing asked people not to get divided along communal lines and to celebrate the festival of Eid in harmony and together. The attack was filmed on video and a female BJP leader, BJP Panchayat vice president Anu Mura Singh can be heard saying in Bengali, “You are doing these things even though you are a Hindu. You should be beaten and spanked. You are ruining all the honor of Hindu, your parents and family.”

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