Maharashtra: At Shaurya Path Sanchalan event, Shankar Gaikar makes anti-Muslim statements

A video has been gaining attention on social media wherein Senior Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader Shankar Gaikar can be heard spewing anti-Muslim venom. The said speech was given by Gaikar at a Shaurya Path Sanchalan event, held in Boisar, Maharashtra. The speech, link for which is attached below, makes several reference to the past Mughal and Maratha leaders of India, which have been presented by the speaker after giving a communal and divisive touch. At many points, the speaker has unfairly brought in the history of Islam and made hateful statements regarding the same.

The speech:

The video begins by Gaikar saying that “Military aur police ne kaha hai ki aap danda haath mei mat leke chalo, mai unko kehna chahta hu- yeh danda, yeh bajrang dal ka danda hai. Yeh samaaj ke suraksha ka danda hai mere police bhai ko mai kehna chahtaq hu. (The military and police have asked to not take the stick in our hand, I want to tell them – this stick, this is the bajrang dal’s stick. This is a stick for the security of the society, I want to tell my police brothers.)”

Following the example of the other extremist hindutva outfits, Gaikar instigates people to indulge in violence, and says, “Yeh danda uske upar hi pehar karega jo rashtra vitaghat kaam karega, bharat mata ko apmanit karega, bharat mata ke seene par talwar chalaega chaku chalaega. Yeh danda uss kaam mei aega. (This stick will attack those who work against the nation, insult Bharat Mata, wield a sword on the chest of Mother India and use a knife. This stick will be useful for that purpose.)”

He then says, “Aur aap ko mai kehna chahta hu, police humari dushman nahi hai. Jis police ke dwara humari suraksha hoti hai, aur jab jab samay aata hai toh bajrang dal bhi apna shaurya nahi dikhata, unke saath seva ka kaam karta hai. Unke saath kandhe se kandha ladata hai aur bharat mata aur samaj ki seva karta hai. (And I want to tell you, the police are not our enemy. The police who protect us, and when the time comes, Bajrang Dal also does not show its bravery, it works with them as a service. Fights shoulder to shoulder with them and serves Mother India and society.)”

The video then gets cut to him starting with his communal diatribe, where Gaikar can be heard saying, “Kisi mei itni takat nahi hindu ki beti uthakar le jae. Krurta unke khoon mei basi hai yeh dhayan mei rakho. Hindu kabhi krur nahi hota, hindu har samay shur hota hai, woh saamne se ladhta hai. (No one has the power to take away the daughter of a Hindu. Keep in mind that the bitterness is in their blood. Hindu is never cruel, Hindu is always angry, and he fights from the front.)” “Gaddari ka kaam kabhi Hindu karta nahi hai. (Hindus never do the work of treachery.)”

He then starts with his attack on the Muslim community and says, “Aur yeh parampara aaj ki nahi hai. Yeh krurta ki parampara hazaro saal se hai. Woh apne girebaan mei dekhe aur apne logo ko sudharo jo humme bhagane ki koshish karte hai. Humme mitane ki saugandh karte hai. (And this tradition is not of today. This tradition of cruelty has been there for thousands of years. Look at your community and correct your people, those who try to chase us. They take the oath of eliminating us.)”

Bringing in the Islamic history, Gaikar attempts to spread misinformation by saying, “Arre pehle yeh kaatila hamley aapne aap ko sambhalne padenge. Jisne hussain ko mara, jisne sakina ko mara, jisne Fatima ko mara. Nabi ke parivar ko khatam kar diya, unn “mullayon” (derogatory word used for Muslims) ko mai kehna chahta hu apne dharam ke andar sudhar karo. (First of all, you will have to handle the attacks happening within your community. Who killed Hussein, who killed Sakina, who killed Fatima. The prophet’s family has been destroyed, I want to tell these “Mullas” to improve their religion.)”

While claiming that he does not aim to speak against any culture, he continues with his attacks on the Muslim culture by saying, “Mere sakina ko peeta gaya. Quran padhiye. Mai kisi dharam ke khilaaf nahi bolta hu. Koi 20 tukde kiye, koi 100 tukde kiye, yeh tumhari parampara hai. Yeh nabi ka aadesh nahi hai. (My sakina was beaten up. Read the Quran. I don’t speak against any religion. Some do 20 pieces, some do 100 pieces, and this is your tradition. This is not the prophet’s order.)”

He then further attempts to show the Muslims under a bad light, and says, “Aaj isliye maine kaha, jo nabi ke parivar ke the, allah taala ke parivar ke the…sakin ko 4 saal tak ek beti ko kheench kheench kar mara gaya. Pathar se mara gaya, chaku se noocha gaya. Hussain ka sarr uski jholi mei daal diya gaya. (Today I say, those who belonged to the family of the Prophet, belonged to the family of Allah….Sakins was killed by being dragged and tortured over 4 years. She was hit by a stone, stabbed. Hussain’s head was put in his lap.)”

“Aise krurta ka itihaas, yahi peedhi ka Aurangzeb tha, yahi peedhi ka yeh chengiz khan hai. Isliye hum sabko dhayan mei rakhne ki aavashyakta hai. (The history of such cruelty, there was Aurangzeb in this generation, this is the suffering committed by Chengiz Khan. Therefore, we all need to be careful.)”

Then, with the aim of inciting the audience and getting a rise out of them, Gaikar says, “Jo 27 saal yaha par jisne aatank machaya, jisko laga chhtrapati shivaji maharaj abhi raha nahi. Mai maharajao ko kabiz kar dunga, Maharashtra ke upar raj karuga. Aisi saugandh kha kar, ek namard Aurangzeb yaha aya, uski kabar mere 32 saal ke Tanha ne yaha khodh di. (The one who created terror here for 27 years, who felt that Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj is no more, he thought he would capture the Maharajas, rule over Maharashtra. After taking this oath, an impotent humble Aurangzeb came here, and instead his grave was dug here by my 32-year-old Tanha.)”

“Kaal ke kagaar par haath daal kar humne apna itihaas khada kiya hai. Yeh dhayan mei rakho. (We have created our history by putting our hands on the brink of time. Keep this in mind.)”

Bringing in the history of the Marathas, the speaker says, “Sharer ki boti boti ho gayi, ankhein nikali gayi paer todhe gaye, lekin mera shambhu maharaj jhuka nahi. Yeh dharamveer hai dhayan mei rakho. (His body was chopped down into pieces, eyes were removed, legs were broken, but my Shambhu Maharaj did not bow down. This is Dharamveer, keep it in mind.)”

Continuing with his problematic remarks, the speaker then said, “Jo kehta hai na yeh dharamveer nahi hai, arre inke ghar ke andar, inke khandaan mei yeh rashtravaadi ke khandaan mei, aaj ta ek kutta bhi desh ke liye mara nahi. Saare “hijre” (a community of transgender people in India), raja ke baare mei baat karte hai. (Those who say that this is not Dharamveer, inside their house, in their family, in the family of this nationalist, not a single dog has died for the country. All these eunuchs talk about our king.)”

Giving a communal color, Gaikar then says, “Ek paer zameen mei hai, dusra paer kabar mei hai. Rashtrya purush ko gaali dete hai. Rashtra guru ko tolte hai. Mumbra ka woh Nizammuddin, vaishya ki aulaad, (crowd cheers) mere yuvraj ko gaali deta hai. (One leg is in the ground, the other foot is in the grave. They abuse the national hero. The nation weighs the Guru. This Nizamuddin in mumbra, the son of a prostitute, abuses my prince.)”

“Aakhiri dum tak, yeh iss mitti ke liye, iss bhoomi ke liye, iss rashtra ke liye, iss Maharashtra ke liye, aapke aur mere liye jisne apna sarvasu balidaan kiya, kya diya tunne? (Till the very end, what has it been for this soil, for this land, for this nation, for this Maharashtra, for you and me, who sacrificed everything?)”

“Mai aap sabko puchna chahta hu ki, apna zindagi kyu jeena isko tey karo. Zindagi hai zinda dili ka naam aur murde jeeya nahi karte. (I want to ask all of you, why live your life? Life is the name of the living and the dead do not live.)”

He ends his hate-filled speech by saying, “Jab jab yeh desh, jab jab yeh maati, hindu pariwar, yeh rashtra khatre mei aega, toh pehle apni bali chadha dena. (Whenever this country, whenever this soil, Hindu family, or this nation comes under threat, then sacrifice yourself first.)”

(crowd chants Jai Shree Ram)

The video can be viewed here:

Previous instance of controversies

In the year 2017, Shankar Gaikar stoked up a controversy by demanding that the recruitment of Kashmiri Muslim youth in the security forces be stopped. Gaikar alleged that there were incidents of theft of weapons and ammunitions from the security forces. According to him, these weapons were used against our own forces. So, he demanded that the recruitment of Muslim youths from Kashmir should stop. Gaikar made several other controversial statements and even went on to demand that the educational and other facilities provided to Muslims in the valley should be stopped. He had also urged that shops/businesses owned by Kashmiri Muslims in tourist destinations be shut down.

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