Anti Muslim Hate | SabrangIndia News Related to Human Rights Wed, 12 Nov 2025 08:42:20 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.2.2 https://sabrangindia.in/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Favicon_0.png Anti Muslim Hate | SabrangIndia 32 32 A Conspiracy of Hate: The Aligarh temple graffiti incident https://sabrangindia.in/a-conspiracy-of-hate-the-aligarh-temple-graffiti-incident/ Wed, 12 Nov 2025 08:42:20 +0000 https://sabrangindia.in/?p=44337 Aligarh Police exposed that the “I Love Muhammad” graffiti on temple walls—first blamed on local Muslims—was a staged act of revenge over a land dispute, emerging amid state-wide crackdowns and communal tension, the case laid bare how personal vendettas can be weaponised to inflame religion and hatred

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]]> On October 30, 2025, police in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, announced a stunning reversal in a case involving inflammatory graffiti. Days earlier, the district was gripped by outrage after graffiti reading “I love Mohammad” was found spray-painted on the walls of at least four, and by some accounts five, temples in the villages of Bhagwanpur and Bulaqigarh.

The act, discovered on the morning of Saturday, October 25, 2025, was immediately seen as a deliberate communal provocation. Given the charged atmosphere in the state over the “I Love Muhammad” slogan, which had led to widespread police crackdowns in other districts, the incident was treated with extreme seriousness. Local Hindu residents and right-wing organisations were incensed. A formal police complaint (FIR) was swiftly lodged by Gyanendra Singh Chauhan, the All-India Vice President of the Karni Sena.

Based on this complaint, Aligarh police initially registered a case against eight Muslim men from the locality. The men named in the FIR were Mustaqeem, Gul Mohammad, Sulaiman, Sonu, Allahbaksh, Hameed, and Yousuf. After the incident, heavy police forces were deployed to the villages to prevent any outbreak of violence as tensions soared.

However, as investigators, led by Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Neeraj Kumar Jadaun, began their work, they noticed inconsistencies. According to a report in The Times of India, the officers observed that the slogans were “misspelled, and all in the same way.” This misspelling was crucial. It did not match the stencilling or lettering style of the “I Love Muhammad” banners and posters that had been seen during protests and processions in other cities, such as Bareilly. This discrepancy led investigators to suspect “mischief” and the possibility of a different motive.

Police investigation

Police teams pivoted their investigation. Shifting from the assumption of a communal motive, they employed technical surveillance and began examining local disputes. Their work led them to a group of men from the Hindu community.

On October 30, SSP Neeraj Jadaun held a press briefing to announce the arrest of four men, Zeeshanth Singh (also reported as Jishant Kumar), Akash Saraswat (or Akash Kumar), Dilip Sharma (or Dilip Kumar), and Abhishek Saraswat. A fifth accused, identified as Rahul, was reported as absconding.

The motive, police revealed, was not communal hatred. It was a calculated conspiracy born from a personal vendetta.

SSP Jadaun stated that the main accused, Jishant Singh, had a “personal dispute” with Mustakeem, one of the Muslim men who was initially named in the FIR. Media reports specified the conflict was related to a land-related rivalry. In a deliberate and malicious attempt to settle this score, Jishant Singh allegedly conspired with his friends to paint the inflammatory slogans on the temple walls. Their goal was to “falsely implicate” Mustakeem and his associates, leveraging the existing communal tensions surrounding the “I Love Muhammad” slogan to ensure their rivals were arrested and publicly disgraced.

“The investigation found that the graffiti was not a communal act but a deliberate attempt to implicate others due to a land-related rivalry,” SSP Jadaun said, as reported

The revelation was a profound shock to the local community. It demonstrated how easily personal conflicts could be masked as communal ones, with perpetrators willing to risk widespread violence to settle a score. Even before the arrests, some had suspected a setup.

On October 25, Samajwadi Party leader Zia Ur Rehman Barq had alleged that the graffiti was part of a “well-thought-out conspiracy” and stated, “If an impartial investigation is conducted, it will be clear that no Muslim person was involved in this act.”

Following the arrests, SSP Jadaun confirmed that the case registered against the eight Muslim men would be withdrawn, and the four arrested men were booked under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 for promoting enmity between groups and disturbing public peace.

Background: the “I Love Muhammad” campaign and state crackdown

The Aligarh incident did not happen in a vacuum. It was the volatile endpoint of a controversy that had been building for nearly two months, starting with a simple expression of faith.

The timeline begins on September 4, 2025, in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh. As part of the celebrations for Eid Milad-un-Nabi, the birthday of Prophet Muhammad, some young Muslim men in the Syed Nagar locality of Rawatpur put up a decorative light board at the entrance of a lane. It bore a simple message in English: “I Love Muhammad.”

As per a report in The Wire, this act drew objections from some local right-wing groups. They claimed the banner was a “new tradition” and alleged it was a “deliberate provocation” because it was placed on a public road near a gate also used for Hindu festival processions like Ram Navami.

On September 9, police in Kanpur registered an FIR against 24 people (nine named and 15 unidentified) for allegedly “disturbing communal harmony.” A local prayer leader, Shabnoor Alam, who was named in the FIR, told The Wire that police had asked him to help convince the crowd to move the board. Another accused, Mohammad Siraj, stated, “Last year, we displayed the same message on a cloth banner, and no one raised objections. This year, we used a light board, and suddenly people started protesting. I don’t understand why.”

The flashpoint: violence in Bareilly

The police action in Kanpur transformed the slogan from a festive decoration into a symbol of protest. In response to what they saw as the criminalisation of their faith and expressions, Muslim groups in other cities began displaying the slogan as an act of religious expression and defiance.

This set the stage for a major confrontation in Bareilly. Maulana Tauqeer Raza Khan, a prominent local cleric and leader of the Ittehad-e-Millat Council (IMC), called for a large protest after Friday prayers on September 26, 2025. The protest was called to oppose the police crackdowns and alleged derogatory remarks made against the Prophet.

Despite authorities denying permission for a march, thousands gathered at the Islamia Ground. The situation quickly spiralled out of control. Clashes erupted between protesters and police. Reports from the ground described stone-pelting from the crowd and even alleged gunfire, which prompted a heavy lathi charge from security forces to disperse the gathering.

The aftermath was severe. Maulana Tauqeer Raza Khan and seven others were arrested and later sent to 14-day judicial custody. As many as ten FIRs were registered across Bareilly, each naming between 150 and 200 Muslims, with over 2,500 people accused in total. By late September, the Association for Protection of Civil Rights (APCR), a non-governmental organisation, had already documented at least 21 FIRs nationwide related to the campaign, with 1,324 Muslims named and 38 arrested. In Meerut, five men were arrested simply for putting up a poster with the slogan, as per a report in The New Indian Express.

The counter-campaign and political rhetoric

As the “I Love Muhammad” slogan became a national controversy, it triggered a counter-campaign from right-wing organisations. In Varanasi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Lok Sabha constituency, activists from a saffron outfit called the Sanatan Sena began pasting posters with the slogan “I love Mahadev” on walls, temples, and mutts.

Jagadguru Shankaracharya Narendrananda, who led the effort, told Deccan Herald that the “saint community will respond to the fundamentalists through these posters” and that some elements were “trying to foment communal tension” with the “I Love Muhammad” posters.

This “poster war” highlighted a sharp political and social divide. Political leaders like AIMIM Chief Asaduddin Owaisi and PDP President Mehbooba Mufti publicly questioned the discrepancy.

They asked why expressing “I Love Muhammad” was being met with FIRs, lathi charges, and arrests, while slogans like “I Love Mahadev” or “Jai Shree Ram” were seen as acceptable expressions of faith.

Jharkhand Minister Irfan Ansari remarked, “Just like people who believe in Sanatan Dharma, write ‘I love Ram’… and I don’t have any problem, I love Prophet Mohammed… I cannot understand how these three words can be the cause of arrests.”

The controversy was further inflamed by the rhetoric of high-ranking officials. On September 28, 2025, in the wake of the Bareilly violence, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath made a series of widely reported public statements. Speaking at an event, he warned against “vandalism in the name of faith” and promised severe retribution.

“If you trouble us, we will not spare you,” he stated, using the Hindi phrase, “chedhoge to chodenge nahi.” He promised action that would be remembered by “future generations” and said that “denting and painting must be done.”

Civil rights groups and media critics argued that this language, which was amplified by national news channels, effectively framed the display of the “I Love Muhammad” slogan not as an issue of religious freedom, but as a severe law-and-order problem. This, they argued, legitimised the harsh police crackdowns across the state.

The Aligarh incident, therefore, serves as a crucial case study. It exposed the danger of a high-tension environment where a slogan had become so loaded with political and communal baggage that individuals felt they could weaponise it to settle a personal score, confident that the blame would fall along pre-existing fault lines. It was only through a police investigation that looked beyond the obvious communal narrative that the true, and more personal, conspiracy was brought to light.

Related:

From slogan to sanction: how a Chief Minister’s words hardened into punitive policing after the “I Love Muhammad” row

Free speech, even in bad taste, is protected if no incitement to violence: HP HC

Two Hate-Filled Speeches, One Election: CJP complaints against Himanta Biswa Sarma and Tausif Alam for spreading hate and fear in Bihar elections

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]]> From Words to Bulldozers: How a Chief Minister’s rhetoric triggered and normalised punitive policing in Bareilly https://sabrangindia.in/from-words-to-bulldozers-how-a-chief-ministers-rhetoric-triggered-and-normalised-punitive-policing-in-bareilly/ Fri, 17 Oct 2025 04:33:24 +0000 https://sabrangindia.in/?p=44010 Following the “I Love Muhammad” controversy in September 2025, Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath’s public warnings—using phrases like “chedhoge to chodenge nahi” and “denting and painting must be done”—were swiftly mirrored by mass arrests, property demolitions, and internet shutdowns, raising urgent questions about legality, proportionality, and the social impact of executive speech

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]]> On and after the “I Love Muhammad” controversy that began in September 2025, Uttar Pradesh’s Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath made repeated public statements — notably on September 28 — promising strict, visible punishment for those who “trouble” public order, using phrases such as “chedhoge to chodenge nahi”, “Generations will remember“, “Ghazwa-e-Hind would not succeed and would instead be handed a ticket to hell” and “denting and painting must be done.”

While the speech originated as a local executive response to the Bareilly protest, its propagation and amplification were largely mediated through national and regional media, especially Hindi television channels like Times Now Navbharat, Zee News Hindi, and News18 Hindi, which paired the CM’s words with dramatic visuals of protests, police action, and property demolitions. Short-form clips circulated widely on social media, creating a feedback loop that magnified both the rhetoric and the state response.

This media-driven amplification transformed a local law-and-order issue into a nationally visible spectacle of punitive governance, normalising coercive enforcement and targeting of a religious community. The timing and scale of dissemination may also have significant political resonance, particularly with the upcoming Bihar elections, as the Hindi-language media networks ensured that the CM’s rhetoric reached a broad, politically significant audience.

Within days the state response in Bareilly intensified: large-scale arrests, property-sealing and demolition actions, 48-hour internet suspensions, criminal FIRs (running into hundreds or thousands in some counts), and administrative notices against aides of the cleric who called the Bareilly protest. That sequence of ‘protest → CM rhetoric → heavy-handed enforcement’ raises three connected questions the rest of this piece examines in depth:

  • Did the CM’s speech cross legal lines such as incitement or unlawful discrimination?
  • Did the state response follow due process and the Supreme Court’s own safeguards (including the duty to investigate hate speech suo moto)?
  • What are the measurable social, legal and media consequences of that political rhetoric?

What happened — a timeline

The trigger (September 4–9, 2025): The flashpoint began on September 4 when an illuminated board/banners reading “I Love Muhammad” appeared during an Eid-e-Milad-un-Nabi procession in parts of Kanpur (Syed Nagar/Rawatpur). Local objections, framed by some Hindu groups as a “deviation from tradition”, led the police to register an FIR on September 9 against 24 persons (9 named, 15 unknown) for allegedly disturbing communal harmony. The complaint, according to the report of India Today, centred on shifting tents/banners into a location on a public road near a gate used by Ram Navami processions. That apparently small ritual alteration escalated as news and social media spread the story to other districts.

Escalation and the Bareilly protest (September 26–27, 2025): On September 26, a public gathering in Bareilly — called in sympathy with the “I Love Muhammad” campaign and associated with cleric Tauqeer Raza Khan — clashed with police after Friday prayers; police used lathi-charge and reported stone-pelting and injuries to officers. According to a report of Times of India, authorities say the protest had been called without permission; police also said the gathering showed signs of pre-planning through social media groups. Multiple FIRs and detentions followed. Local reporting states dozens detained with FIRs filed against hundreds — and some outlets report FIR counts running into the thousands across multiple stations. Shortly after the clashes, the cleric and several aides were arrested.

The Chief Minister’s response (September 28, 2025): Speaking at a public ‘Viksit UP’ event, CM Yogi Adityanath warned that those who “vandalise in the name of faith… attack the police… we won’t let you go… chedhoge to chodenge nahi aur chodenge nahi toh fir chootoge bhi nahi.” He used phrases such as “denting and painting must be done” and framed the response as necessary to protect festivals and public safety. These comments were widely reported and repeated across national news outlets the same day and the day after.

The contentious speeches delivered by CM Adityanath are:

 

2025): After the violence and speeches, the district administration moved decisively: large-scale arrests and FIRs were filed, properties linked to accused persons were sealed or demolished by the local authority demolished including a banquet hall and other structures allegedly used by those arrested, administrative notices, for example, power-theft notices, were issued against associates of the cleric, and internet and SMS services in Bareilly district were suspended for 48 hours citing maintenance of public order, as per The Economic Times. Several human-rights and legal activists have already filed petitions and complaints alleging lack of prior notice for demolition and possible collective punishment. Political parties and civil-society delegations have begun to visit the city; opposition leaders are demanding investigations.

The problem with the speech itself

  1. Targeting + personal reference. The CM specifically attacked a cleric’s actions, namely Tauqeer Raza Khan, and conduct in public, saying that the “Maulana forgot who is in power” and promising retribution that would be remembered by “future generations.” Targeting an identifiable leader and associating him and his followers with violence elevates the rhetoric beyond abstract law-and-order language.
  2. Punitive metaphors taken literally. The repeated use of “denting and painting” and explicit references to the “bulldozer” rhetorical universe, and actual demolitions in other recent UP campaigns, is not merely figurative; in the current UP context it has an institutional history as a public performance of punishment — a state spectacle with material consequences. The phrase therefore reads as both a policy cue and a public warning.
  3. Promise of force / deterrence directed at a community act. Even if the immediate trigger was violence, the CM’s formula — “If you trouble us, we will not spare you” — was framed to deter a specific form of expressive action, such as displaying I Love Muhammad posters, that political actors and some civil-society figures had defended as speech. The combination of delegitimisation, portraying the slogan as manipulation of children or anarchy, plus promise of collective discipline is consequential.

Those three features — naming, punitive metaphor, and generalised deterrence — are the elements that make legal and normative analysis urgent.

Media: Who amplified, and how amplification changed the story

The media ecosystem played a decisive role in transforming Yogi Adityanath’s remarks from a local political reaction into a nationally mediated performance of power. Within hours of his speech, both television and print outlets had front-paged his most aggressive lines — “chedhoge to chodenge nahi” and “denting and painting must be done” — turning threats of retribution into viral catchphrases.

National and regional broadcasters, including Times Now Navbharat, Zee News Hindi, and News18 Hindi, ran segments that paired these quotes with dramatic visuals of protests, lathicharges, and property demolitions. The YouTube thumbnails and on-screen tickers themselves became an extension of the state’s messaging — text overlays like “Maulana bhool gaya kaun sarkar mein hai” or “Bareilly mein danga, sarkar ki kathor karwai” visually encoded the CM’s warning as spectacle and slogan.

This media choreography had a dual effect. First, it nationalised the CM’s rhetoric, ensuring that what began as a local communal disturbance was recast as a state-wide law-and-order triumph. Second, the widespread replaying of his lines — often stripped of context and accompanied by enforcement footage — normalised the language of punishment and deterrence. Even platforms that did not editorially endorse the speech contributed to its amplification through repetition and aestheticisation.

Some outlets, such as The Wire and The Indian Express, offered a countervailing frame: detailed timelines, verification of police claims about “online toolkits,” and critical analysis of the administration’s disproportionate use of force. But these were exceptions within an overwhelming current of performative law-and-order coverage. The split in framing — between law-and-order narratives and civil-liberties scrutiny — reveals how editorial positioning directly shapes the moral valence of communal incidents.

Short-form videos from these channels, extracted as YouTube shorts and Twitter/X reels, circulated widely on social media. These clips — the CM’s warning juxtaposed with scenes of violence and police deployment — fed a feedback loop: the more viral the visual, the stronger the administrative justification for subsequent measures like internet suspension and mass arrests. In effect, the media ecology and the state’s coercive apparatus became mutually reinforcing.

This convergence also raises a constitutional question about mediated governance. When executive speech, journalistic amplification, and administrative coercion operate in sync, the boundary between state messaging and independent reportage collapses. The outcome is not merely the spread of information, but the construction of a “performance of control”, where the appearance of decisive governance substitutes for adherence to due process.

Attached is a collection of YouTube thumbnails from Times Now Navbharat, Zee News Hindi, and News18 Hindi demonstrates this vividly — a montage of headlines that blur the line between news coverage and narrative reinforcement, framing punitive action as political virtue.

 

Legal frame: what the law says and where courts have drawn the line

Three interlocking legal rules matter here:

  • The statutory toolbox for “hate” / public-order speech: India’s criminal law criminalises speech that promotes enmity or hatred between groups (e.g., IPC Section 153A/Section 198 BNS), imputations prejudicial to national integration (IPC Section 153B/Section 197 BNS), deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings (IPC Section 295A/Section 298 BNS), and statements likely to create terror or public alarm (IPC Section 505/Section 356 BNS). These are the provisions courts and police typically invoke in communal-speech cases. The Supreme Court has emphasised that lawful restrictions must be precisely applied and proportionate
  • The Supreme Court’s duty-to-act on hate speech: Shaheen Abdulla and follow-up orders: In Shaheen Abdulla v. Union of India (2022), the Supreme Court highlighted the “growing climate of hate” and directed police chiefs to take suo motu action in hate-speech incidents — specifically instructing registration and investigation under IPC sections such as 153A, 295A and 505 without waiting for a private complaint. These directions were later extended to all States/UTs; the court took the view that proactive policing is essential to preserve the secular fabric envisaged by the Preamble. That jurisprudence puts an onus on state police: if a public utterance plausibly constitutes hate speech, police must investigate it on their own motion.
  • The constitutional limit: incitement and proximity to violence: Indian courts have insisted on a context-sensitive test. The classic guide is Kedar Nath Singh v. State of Bihar (1962), where the Supreme Court upheld sedition law only for words that have the “tendency or intention of creating public disorder” or inciting violence; mere abusive or critical expression cannot be criminalised. Modern caselaw returns to the same principle: to punish speech the state must show an intention or proximate tendency to produce imminent lawless action — not merely dislikeable or provocative words. This high threshold matters because it keeps robust political speech protected while allowing punishment where speech is truly dangerous.

Apply the law to the facts: Did the UP CM cross the line?

This is the crucial, uncomfortable question. Courts usually apply a two-part analysis to political speech by powerful actors:

  • Does the speech itself contain elements of the statutory offences?

The Chief Minister’s speech went beyond mere governance rhetoric. It singled out a specific cleric and his supporters, implicitly ascribing collective culpability to a religious community. The language of punishment and humiliation—phrases such as “denting and painting” or “beaten as in Bareilly”—was not random metaphor; it invoked a visual and historical grammar of state-sanctioned coercion. These expressions are deeply loaded in Uttar Pradesh’s recent political lexicon, symbolising demolition drives, police beatings, and targeted action that disproportionately affect Muslim localities.

Further, the assertion that “future generations” would be taught a lesson carries the unmistakable tone of collective retribution, extending the threat from present offenders to an entire community across time. Such language constructs Muslims not as citizens subject to law, but as an enduring adversarial category — a perpetual “other” against whom exemplary force is justified.

Under Sections 153A (now Section 196 of BNS) and 295A (now Section 298 of BNS)  of the Indian Penal Code, the test for criminality hinges not merely on overt incitement but also on whether the speech promotes enmity, targets a community, or is likely to disturb public tranquillity. Read against the backdrop of recent police actions in UP—demolition of Muslim-owned properties, custodial violence, and selective FIRs—the Chief Minister’s words may reasonably be understood as an endorsement and encouragement of discriminatory state practices.

Moreover, the Supreme Court’s jurisprudence in cases such as Amish Devgan v. Union of India (2020) clarifies that when influential figures make statements capable of mobilising real-world hostility, the likelihood of incitement must be assessed contextually, not in isolation. From that perspective, Yogi Adityanath’s remarks arguably cross the boundary from administrative assertion into speech that legitimises and incites discrimination.

In sum, while the speech may not contain an explicit call to violence, it performs a dog-whistle function: normalising state-backed hostility and signalling permissibility for coercive action against a targeted religious group. In legal terms, that makes it a fit case for prima facie examination under Sections 153A, 295A, and 505(2) IPC, especially given the speaker’s constitutional position and the demonstrable pattern of violence that followed.

  • What changed after the speech? (state action and proportionality)

The true constitutional stakes emerge not merely from what was said, but from what followed. When a Chief Minister’s public rhetoric is swiftly mirrored by administrative action—bulldozers rolling in, FIRs multiplying overnight, and digital blackouts silencing affected districts—the question is no longer one of abstract speech, but of state power animated by speech.

In the immediate aftermath of Yogi Adityanath’s address, municipal and police authorities in multiple UP districts launched coordinated operations: mass detentions of Muslim youth, property demolitions framed as “encroachments,” and sweeping suspension of internet services. These were not isolated law-and-order responses but a choreographed display of retribution, executed without adequate notice, hearing, or judicial oversight.

Courts have repeatedly emphasised that executive spectacle cannot substitute due process. In its observations concerning “bulldozer justice,” the Supreme Court has held that demolitions carried out as instantaneous punishment for alleged offences are unconstitutional unless preceded by notice, opportunity to respond, and adherence to municipal laws (Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind v. North Delhi Municipal Corporation, 2022). The law draws a bright line: urban planning cannot be weaponised as penal theatre. Yet, in Uttar Pradesh, the chain of events—fiery speech followed by visible coercive measures—suggests a punitive motive masquerading as law enforcement.

Equally significant is the Shaheen Abdulla v. Union of India (2022) principle, which imposes a positive duty on the police: they must initiate suo-moto FIRs against hate speech, irrespective of the speaker’s political stature. The judgment underscored that inaction is complicity, and selective enforcement deepens discrimination. In this case, law enforcement pursued alleged protestors with urgency but failed to act on the Chief Minister’s inflammatory remarks, despite clear statutory grounds under Sections 153A, 295A, and 505(2) IPC.

The constitutional doctrine of proportionality also comes into play. Administrative actions must bear a rational nexus to legitimate aims, employ the least restrictive means, and avoid discriminatory impact. Yet the scale and selectivity of post-speech measures—demolitions confined largely to Muslim-majority neighbourhoods, police raids on specific youth groups, and the near-complete absence of accountability for vigilante actors—suggest a pattern of collective punishment rather than targeted, proportionate law enforcement.

As many have noted, when executive speech operates as a signal and the bureaucratic apparatus responds with coercive overreach, the boundary between political rhetoric and state sanction collapses. The state ceases to act as a neutral arbiter and instead becomes a performer in its own moral spectacle, projecting deterrence through fear.

In sum, while Yogi Adityanath’s speech might be defensible as political expression if viewed in isolation, the temporal and causal sequence of events—immediate arrests, sweeping FIRs, and punitive demolitions—creates a compelling case that state power was deployed not for justice but for signalling. Such a pattern raises grave constitutional concerns under Articles 14, 19, and 21, even if establishing direct criminal culpability for the speech remains legally complex.

The ground reality: Evidence of disproportionate enforcement and social fallout

The aftermath of the Bareilly clashes reveals a pattern that extends far beyond a conventional law-and-order response. It reflects a multi-tiered exercise of coercive state power, activated in the wake of the Chief Minister’s speech and sustained through both formal and informal mechanisms of punishment.

  • Mass arrests and sweeping FIRs: In the immediate aftermath, police operations intensified across Bareilly and adjoining districts. Reports cited dozens of detentions within hours, and FIRs naming hundreds—sometimes even thousands—of individuals. According to The Times of India, nearly 2,000 people were named across multiple police stations, though the exact number varied by outlet. The breadth of these FIRs—often containing generalised allegations—raises serious questions about collective culpability and the use of preventive detention as a form of intimidation rather than targeted investigation.
  • Property sealing and demolitions: Municipal and development authorities undertook swift demolition and sealing drives against properties allegedly linked to the accused—among them a banquet hall and other commercial structures. Families reported that no prior notice or opportunity to be heard was provided, prompting complaints to the Uttar Pradesh Human Rights Commission. As The Times of India noted, these measures echo the state’s recent pattern of bulldozer-led punitive actions, widely criticised by rights groups as performative retribution designed to convey dominance rather than ensure compliance with planning laws. The recurrence of such demolitions immediately after communal incidents suggests a deliberate conflation of criminal liability with property ownership and community identity.
  • Administrative and regulatory reprisals: Alongside police action, the administration issued a series of “ancillary punishments”—including power-theft notices, income recovery claims, and regulatory sanctions against persons associated with the cleric at the centre of the protests. These quasi-civil penalties compounded the economic and psychological burden on affected families. The simultaneity of these measures—each lawful in isolation but collectively disproportionate—points to a pattern of cumulative punishment through bureaucratic instruments.
  • Communications blackouts: Authorities imposed a 48-hour suspension of mobile internet, broadband, and SMS services across Bareilly district, citing the need to curb rumours and prevent mobilisation. The Economic Times reported that this was one of several recent instances where internet shutdowns have become the default administrative reflex during communal tensions. Such measures, while framed as precautionary, raise acute proportionality and necessity concerns under the Anuradha Bhasin v. Union of Indiav (2020) standard, which requires narrowly tailored, time-bound restrictions and periodic review.
  • Societal reverberations and exclusionary practices: The social aftershocks were equally significant. Civil-society observers and media, such as LiveMint documented a perceptible tightening of social boundaries in the weeks following the incident. Muslims reportedly faced pressure to abstain from participating in garba celebrations and other public festivities, and instances were noted where Hindutva groups sought to monitor or exclude Muslim presence at cultural events. Though less quantifiable, these developments illustrate how executive rhetoric and coercive enforcement combine to legitimise exclusion at the community level, embedding state-endorsed bias within everyday social interactions.

Taken together, these events depict not an isolated breakdown of order but a coordinated sequence: rhetoric, repression, and social sanction. The cycle of speech, enforcement, spectacle, and exclusion forms a distinctive template of governance—where administrative action doubles as political performance, and punishment itself becomes a form of public messaging.

The Political Economy of Hard-line Rhetoric: How speech translates into power

Whether by deliberate strategy or downstream effect, hard-line public rhetoric by state leaders like Yogi Adityanath yields three tangible advantages for majoritarian or vigilante actors operating at the political margins. It converts language into action, rhetoric into legitimacy, and coercion into spectacle.

  1. Implicit legitimisation of vigilante policing: When a head of government publicly vows “uncompromising action” and uses metaphors of retribution—such as “denting and painting” or “we will not spare you”—the message travels well beyond the bureaucracy. It functions as a symbolic green light for local affiliates, vigilante groups, and ideological sympathisers. These actors interpret the rhetoric as moral endorsement for “citizen policing” or social intimidation campaigns under the guise of defending faith or nationalism. Civil-society reports document a consistent pattern: Hindutva outfits intensify surveillance of Muslim participation in cultural events—such as garba celebrations or processions—soon after high-profile communal statements. In practice, this rhetoric lowers the cost of vigilantism, creating a permissive environment where harassment appears state-sanctioned.
  2. Narrative control and inversion: Strongman rhetoric also reshapes the moral sequence of events. By branding expressive or devotional acts—such as the “I Love Muhammad” posters—as “provocations,” the state repositions itself as the neutral guarantor of order, while protestors are recast as disruptors. This narrative inversion turns a community’s assertion of faith into a law-and-order problem, allowing the administration to deploy coercion with minimal public pushback.
    As The Wire and other critical outlets observed, media framing plays a decisive role: channels that foreground “riots” and “discipline” amplify the executive’s preferred storyline, while those that question due process or disproportionality are marginalised as “soft on disorder.” The result is a feedback loop where political rhetoric and editorial selection co-produce legitimacy.
  3. Electoral signalling and mobilisation gains: Beyond its immediate administrative use, hard-line speech operates as a performative display of strength aimed at a political constituency. The imagery of bulldozers, swift arrests, and collective punishment serves as a spectacle of decisive governance, projecting control and dominance. Scholars of South Asian populism have noted that such performances of punishment—what The Loop terms “punitive populism”—transform the machinery of justice into an instrument of emotional reassurance for the majority. Each demolition or crackdown becomes not just an act of enforcement but a ritual reaffirmation of political identity, blurring the lines between public order and electoral theatre.

Taken together, these three dynamics show how rhetoric, media, and enforcement converge into a single ecosystem of majoritarian power. In this model, punishment is not merely administered—it is performed, televised, and voted upon.

Accountability gaps and legal remedies

The aftermath of the Bareilly episode demands more than commentary — it demands accountability. When executive speech, administrative action, and media amplification intersect to produce coercive outcomes, the constitutional order must provide correctives. The following lines of legal and institutional response arise directly from existing Supreme Court jurisprudence and human-rights practice:

  1. Suo moto inquiry into the Chief Minister’s speech under the Shaheen Abdulla directions: The Supreme Court has made it unequivocally clear that police are under a continuing duty to register suo moto FIRs in cases of hate speech, regardless of the speaker’s political position. Inaction in the face of potentially inflammatory statements by high public officials amounts to contempt of the Court’s directions. A representation to the High Court or Supreme Court seeking compliance would therefore be legally tenable if no inquiry has yet been initiated.
  2. Judicial review of demolitions and sealing drives for arbitrariness and disproportionality: The Supreme Court’s November 2024 observations on “bulldozer justice” caution that demolitions used as instant punishment violate due process. Every affected person is entitled to prior notice, an opportunity to be heard, and independent adjudication before property action. Where municipal or development authorities acted immediately after communal incidents, those demolitions merit judicial scrutiny as punitive theatre rather than lawful urban regulation.
  3. Human-rights complaints and public-interest petitions documenting the full sequence: The timeline itself — from the Kanpur FIRs to the Bareilly clashes, the CM’s speeches, and the administrative crackdown — forms crucial evidence of state overreach and selective enforcement. Complaints to the NHRC, the State Human Rights Commission, or the jurisdictional High Court can seek independent inquiry, victim compensation, and publication of findings. Precedents show that such petitions have successfully compelled state responses and stayed coercive action.
  4. Media accountability and transparency demands: Given the central role of television and digital platforms in magnifying punitive rhetoric, transparency measures are essential. Broadcasters and social media intermediaries should be required to preserve all footage, thumbnails, and metadata for future scrutiny. Outlets that used sensational promos can be asked to issue contextual clarifications or corrections through the NBDSA process. Simultaneously, police and civic authorities must disclose the legal basis for mass FIRs, demolition orders, and internet suspensions. Public disclosure often becomes the first step toward halting unchecked executive excess.

Conclusions — legal risk, democratic cost

The Bareilly “I Love Muhammad” row and its aftermath sit at a critical intersection of power and speech in contemporary India. What began as an expressive act — a slogan, a banner, a theological or identity affirmation — was transformed rapidly under political and administrative force into a narrative of provocation, then into a sequence of punitive state interventions.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s rhetoric did more than warn: it arguably furnished the legal and moral scaffolding for escalated state action — actions that, according to credible reportage, stretched procedural norms, threatened minority rights, chilled speech, and disrupted daily life for many. Legal redress is challenging but not impossible: the constitutional framework, statutory provisions, and Supreme Court precedents exist to push back against such overreach.

Bareilly is therefore not just a local incident. It’s a test case. If the judicial system, civil society, and media fail to rigorously examine speech + enforcement, the precedent is troubling: political speech that combines identity, faith, punitive promise and spectacle becomes a license to marginalise. For democracy to survive in such moments, the invisible boundary between “law-and-order” and state overreach must be policed with the same seriousness with which we monitor overt dissent.

 

References:

https://www.livelaw.in/top-stories/take-suo-motu-action-against-hate-speech-crimes-without-waiting-for-complaint-supreme-court-212282

https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/what-is-i-love-muhammad-row-and-why-it-sparked-protests-across-india-barawafat-procession-kanpur-nagpur-hyderabad-owaisi-full-story-2791497-2025-09-22

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/meerut/bareilly-cleric-among-8-held-2000-booked-31-detained/articleshow/124185812.cms

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/lucknow/i-love-muhammad-row-up-cm-yogi-adityanath-warns-habitual-law-breakers-after-bareilly-protest-says-denting-painting-must-be-done/articleshow/124189795.cms

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/india/internet-suspended-in-bareilly-for-48-hours-after-i-love-muhammad-row/articleshow/124273149.cms

https://www.livemint.com/news/india/yogi-adityanath-warns-i-love-mohammad-protesters-chedhoge-to-fir-chodhenge-nahi-11758975758381.html

https://thepolisproject.com/research/sc-verdict-demolitions-statecraft/

https://thewire.in/politics/i-love-muhammad-banner-controversy-how-routine-decoration-in-kanpur-sparked-nationwide-protests-and-crackdowns

https://www.scobserver.in/journal/bulldozer-demolitions-remind-of-a-lawless-ruthless-state-of-affairs-declares-supreme-court-as-it-issues-pan-india-guidelines

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/meerut/i-love-muhammad-row-plea-filed-in-human-rights-body-on-demolition-ofproperties-in-bareilly-affected-families-say-no-prior-notice-sent/articleshow/124345491.cms

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bareilly/i-love-muhammad-row-rs-1-crore-power-theft-notice-to-tauqeer-razas-aides/articleshow/124324197.cms

https://theloop.ecpr.eu/bulldozer-justice-punitive-populism-in-india/

https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/lucknow/i-love-muhammad-row-cleric-tauqeer-raza-detained-protest-10274731

https://theprint.in/politics/cleric-who-once-said-modi-should-learn-from-yogi-whos-tauqeer-khan-in-eye-of-i-love-muhammad-storm

https://kmsnews.org/kms/2025/09/20/muslims-protest-across-india-against-registration-of-case-for-writing-i-love-muhammad-saw.html

https://sabrangindia.in/register-prosecute-hate-speech-offences-promptly-uphold-rule-law-sci-all-states

https://sabrangindia.in/hate-crime-hate-speech-scs-scrutiny-continue

https://sabrangindia.in/free-speech-even-in-bad-taste-is-protected-if-no-incitement-to-violence-hp-hc

https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/138-lokur-damojipurapu

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/tension-in-bareilly-drones-are-up-ahead-of-friday-prayer-internet-shut-down/articleshow/124280351.cms

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/one-can-say-i-love-modi-but-not-i-love-mohammad-owaisi-amid-bareilly-unrest-condemns-violence/articleshow/124284809.cms

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/i-love-mohammad-march-violence-after-stone-pelting-in-bareilly-cops-resort-to-lathicharge/articleshow/124157113.cms

https://cjp.org.in/bns-2023-does-nothing-to-bring-in-a-nuanced-effective-understanding-of-hate-speech-making-its-prosecution-even-more-difficult

https://cjp.org.in/cjp-files-complaints-against-the-hate-speeches-delivered-in-uttar-pradesh

https://cjp.org.in/the-sentinel-and-the-shift-free-speech-in-the-supreme-court

https://thelogicalindian.com/chedhoge-to-chodhenge-nahi-yogi-adityanaths-warning-after-i-love-mohammad-protest-turns-violent-in-up

https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/internet-cut-for-48-hours-in-ups-bareilly-amid-i-love-muhammad-posters-row-9384013

https://article-14.com/post/govt-whataboutery-inaction-why-hate-speech-persists-despite-the-supreme-court-wanting-to-stop-it-64c3372224505

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]]> How the Hindutva propaganda machine turns citizens into ‘infiltrators’ https://sabrangindia.in/how-the-hindutva-propaganda-machine-turns-citizens-into-infiltrators/ Mon, 29 Sep 2025 05:59:17 +0000 https://sabrangindia.in/?p=43818 Hate speech primes state machinery to criminalise citizens as outsiders and justify unlawful deportations.

The post How the Hindutva propaganda machine turns citizens into ‘infiltrators’ appeared first on SabrangIndia.

]]> On the 79th Independence Day, from the ramparts of the Red Fort, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a “high-powered demography mission.” Invoking the pantomime of national security, he said, “As part of a deliberate conspiracy, the demography of the country is being altered. Seeds of a new crisis are being sown. These infiltrators are snatching away the livelihoods of our youth. These infiltrators are targeting our sisters and daughters. This will not be tolerated.”

This organised rhetoric, amplified at political rallies and religious gatherings, lays the ideological groundwork for the Union’s policy of nationwide profiling, detention, and covert deportations of suspected foreign nationals. The present escalation was triggered in April 2025 by Operation Sindoor, a military operation targeting cross-border terror camps, which catalysed a wave of jingoism and a new national purpose in spotting, detaining, and deporting illegal immigrants. This has led to a coordinated drive where more than 1,500 people were “pushed out” into Bangladesh in five weeks between May – July 2025. The scale and manner of these deportations – the absence of formal orders, access to legal aid, or verification by Foreigners Tribunals – reveal a disturbing trend of expulsions without due process.

The result has been a targeted attack on largely poor migrant workers from West Bengal who moved to cities such as Mumbai, Delhi, and Ahmedabad in search of jobs. Those working in the unorganised sector, such as domestic workers, vegetable vendors, and rickshaw pullers, are frequently targeted by individuals and groups affiliated with the Hindu far-right. Families say that men and women are being picked up in sudden raids, transported to Assam, and coerced across unguarded sections of the border by the Border Security Force (BSF). From lawful citizens vanishing in midnight raids to migrant workers being harassed, humiliated, and forcefully evicted, the pattern of systemic persecution demonstrates a calculated effort to terrorise Bengali-speaking Muslims working in different parts of the country under the pretext of them being Bangladeshi infiltrators.

This report tracks the incidents of hate speech during August – September 2025. The data shows a systemic, ideologically-driven campaign that leverages historic tensions and is enabled by state complicity. With elections approaching, this orchestrated fear-mongering reflects a calculated political strategy to stigmatize minorities, displacing democracy with majoritarianism. The rhetoric and tropes, from Gazwa-e-Hind to Love Jihad, are strategically deployed to create a climate of conspiratorial fear. The propaganda is designed to foster a public imagination in which the targeted community has no place in ‘Bharat,’ the Hindu Rashtra.

The Multiplier Effect: How Propaganda Works to Manufacture Consent

The sequence of raids and deportations targeting Bengali Muslim migrant workers is sustained by organised propaganda. The BJP’s campaign during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections is a crucial case study to understand how the ‘infiltrator’ rhetoric, initially used to popularize an electoral agenda, was given fire by the highest political figures. Even prior to 2024, in fact playback to 2014 and even before, the right wing party’s persistent rhetoric of “orchestrated demographic change” through “illegal immigration (the term ghuspetiya is the most weaponised adjective of the same) has been carefully used at election time, to fuel insecurities and cause voter division.

On April 21, 2024, Modi delivered one of his most inflammatory speeches at Banswara, Rajasthan, invoking the “infiltrator” bogey as a dog whistle against Muslim citizens. The speech remains publicly available on his YouTube and Facebook pages, where it has garnered over one million views.

“When they (the opposition) were in power, they said that Muslims had the first right to the properties of the state. This means that they would collect these properties and give them to the ones who have more kids (insinuating Muslims). They will give it to the ghuspaithiye (infiltrators). Do you want to give away your hard-earned money to the intruders? These urban naxals will not even spare the mothers and sisters or their mangal sutra. They will go that far.”

– Narendra Modi, Speech at Banswara

Modi continued to replicate similar hate speeches across India during the election campaign, delivering 63 hate speeches between April 21 and May 30.[1]

This was followed up by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. In a May 21, 2024 speech in Shravasti, he declared, “After conducting an X-ray of your wealth, they will distribute it to infiltrators—Bangladeshi infiltrators, Pakistani infiltrators, or any other Muslim infiltrators.”

 National leaders such as Narendra Modi and Amit Shah, along with powerful regional figures like Yogi Adityanath and Nitish Rane, seed this rhetoric from the top. This is seamlessly woven into campaign strategies and state addresses. Their authoritarian stature lends immediate credibility to the narrative, with every local election speech reaching nationwide audiences.

Once their signal words are introduced into political discourse, the rhetoric spirals outward. “Infiltrators” soon became common parlance among Hindu far-right and mainstream Indian media.

Concentrated ownership of mainstream media makes it a hyper-competitive market where survival depends on government approval. Furthering outrage and violence through disinformation makes the business of the media (both mainstream and digital) profitable. The ‘marketplace of ideas’ is a contest to see which channel can amplify hate and hysteria the loudest.

Leading the amplification is Sudarshan News’ Suresh Chavhanke, whose ‘Janata NRC’ campaign advocates for a vigilante-style “citizen-led” version of the National Register of Citizens (NRC), encouraging ordinary people to identify and expose “Bangladeshi infiltrators” or “illegal Muslims” in their neighbourhoods. CJP has filed 3 MCC violation complaints with CEO Maharashtra against Suresh Chavhanke in 2024.

Digital media is the most potent element of the propaganda flow. It allows hate speeches, often delivered at in-person mass gatherings like political rallies, religious parades, marches, and demonstrations, to transcend physical boundaries and amplify their reach far beyond their immediate audiences. Live streams are particularly crucial for hate actors, as they allow them to circumvent content moderation rules on hate speech and amplify their messages in real-time. Hindutva influencers like Kajal Hindustani and self-proclaimed monks like Mahant Raju Das frequently use Facebook Live to broadcast hate speech. This is then strategically clipped and reposted across platforms for maximum reach – from a full-length YouTube video to a 30-second Instagram reel. Tailored clips find a crucial delivery mechanism in private, tightly networked, and unmoderated WhatsApp channels (of which the BJP alone operates an estimated 50 lakh), which are ideal for closed-group persuasion, rapid peer endorsement, and sustaining echo chambers.

At the local level, amplified hate is converted into tangible action, mobilisation, and policy execution by BJP leaders, Hindu far-right organizations, and religious figures. The signal words penetrate hate speeches, communal rallies, and public interest litigations, justifying calls for violence, economic boycotts, and vigilante evictions. India Hate Lab reports that in 2024, 22% of hate speeches invoking the “Bangladeshi infiltrator” bogey included direct calls for violence.

Since the rhetoric has come all the way from the top, these ground groups are effectively granted impunity, operating with tacit state sanction that discourages police to file FIRs or pursue accountability.

The interplay between top-down and bottom-up hate speech flows saturates political discourse with narratives that vilify and threaten Muslims, effectively crowding out space for meaningful democratic debate.

Weaponising Historic Tensions: the Miya Kheda Andolon in Assam

The border state of Assam provides crucial historical context for the nationwide crackdown on Bengali-origin Muslims. For decades, fears about demographic change, purportedly caused by Muslim migration from Bangladesh, have been mobilised by the Hindu far-right to shape politics and policy in the state. These anxieties eventually led to the creation of the National Register of Citizens (NRC), a controversial mechanism aimed at identifying undocumented immigrants. The NRC was designed to “recognise and expel illegal immigrants” by determining “who was born in Assam and is therefore Indian, and who might be a migrant from neighbouring Bangladesh.” However, during its 2019 implementation, 1.9 million people, including several thousand Hindus, were excluded from the register. Muslims left out of the NRC faced disproportionately severe consequences, including detention in government-run facilities and harsh living conditions.

Since early June, Assam has witnessed a sharp escalation in hate speech, targeted harassment, violence, and state-led evictions against Bengali-origin Muslims, under the campaign to remove “illegal Bangladeshi immigrants.” Between July 9 and July 30, India Hate Lab (IHL) documented 18 rallies and protests across 14 districts, and nine cases of targeted violence and harassment.[2]

Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has been a powerful and consistent propagator of hateful rhetoric. Sarma has repeatedly referred to the evicted families as “illegal Bangladeshis” in several posts on X, asserted that the government will continue with its anti-encroachment drives to protect the ‘jati,’ and given a public appeal that people not provide shelter to those evicted.

On May 15, 2025, speaking at a rally in Giridih, Jharkhand, Sarma framed Muslim “infiltration” as an existential threat, claiming “Infiltrators are entering Jharkhand and are forcefully marrying Adivasi women [referencing the ‘original inhabitants’ of India]. These Muslim infiltrators are again becoming citizens and are grabbing lands in Jharkhand…. They came in thousands, then in lakhs, and now they are in crores. Today, we (Hindus) have to fight daily for our existence.”

On May 28, 2025, speaking at a press briefing, Sarma announced a new scheme to issue arms licenses to indigenous residents of “vulnerable and remote areas,” particularly those living along the Bangladesh border. He specifically named five districts with significant Muslim populations as the initial focus areas, stating that the initiative was intended to “tackle unlawful threats from hostile quarters.”

On June 9, 2025, Sarma claimed that “newly arrived” Muslims have weaponized the consumption of beef and the call to prayer as tactics to drive out local Hindus.

On July 21, 2025, at a state event in Darrang, he referred to Bengali-origin Muslims as “suspected Bangladeshis,” dismissed slogans of communal harmony as naive, and claimed that reclaimed land from Muslims was being put to better use.

On July 24, 2025, responding to a question about whether this situation might turn violent, Sarma replied that he wanted the “situation in Assam to be explosive,” adding that Assamese people could only survive if armed.

On August 2, at an election rally in Udalguri, Sarma said there was no need to ask for documents from those he referred to as “our people.” He claimed that documents should be demanded from people who were recently evicted and alleged that people from Bangladesh were entering Assam daily. He urged the public to recognise who the real enemies of Assam are.

This rhetoric was repeated by the local ethno nationalist organization, Bir Lachit Sena, whose chief Shrinkhal Chaliha stated that his group would carry out evictions themselves if the police failed to act. In the Sivasagar district, the Sena along with at least six other organisations have been conducting house-to-house searches to verify the documents of people working as labourers and staying on rent, with the object of forcing people of “suspect nationality” to “go back to where they came from.

On July 25, Bir Lachit Sena protested against illegal Bangladeshi infiltrators in Kaliabor. Members stopped vehicles on roads and questioned them, leading to a chaotic situation eventually requiring police intervention.

On August 10, a maktab in Tinsukia district was demolished. Shahin Alam, a teacher at the maktab, was harassed to show his Aadhaar card and threatened by a group of people saying, “Toi iyar pora jaboi lagibo” (You must leave this place). A recording of the demolition shows a group of youth chanting slogans such as “Jai Aai Axom” (Hail mother Assam) and “Bir Lachit Sena Zindabad.”

Veer Lachit Sena, All Tai Ahom Students’ Union, Hindu Suraksha Sena, and AHP-Rashtriya Bajrang Dal have been undertaking similar harassment and vigilante eviction drives.

On September 5, Veer Lachit Sena staged a protest at the Police station in Dhemaji over allegations that Bengali-origin Muslim men assaulted an Assamese rickshaw driver, raising slogans targeting the community like “Bangladeshi Miya go back,” “Remove Miyas, save Dhemaji,” and “Miya hooliganism won’t be allowed.”

On September 2, at a meeting of AHP-Rashtriya Bajrang Dal-Rashtriya Mahila Parishad in Bongaigaon, leader Debajit targeted Muslims, alleging that over a thousand villages had been taken over by “Bangladeshis.” He claimed that places with names like Islampur were being established across the district and called it a conspiracy to turn India into an “Islamic State” by buying land at high prices to prevent Hindus from purchasing it.

On August 31, at an AHP-Rashtriya Bajrang Dal meeting in Rangia, Kamrup, state president Dinesh Kalita targeted Muslims, alleging that wherever their population increases, Hindus are attacked and women assaulted and killed. He promoted the conspiracy theory of “love jihad”, claiming those involved in the district are RSS-Rashtriya Muslim Manch leaders. He called for strengthening their organisation to stop the “intimidation of Bangladeshi-Miyas” and kill those who shelter them in villages.

On August 28, Hindu Suraksha Sena staged a protest in Barpeta, chanting slogans such as “Bangladeshi Miya be warned,” “Islamic expansion won’t be allowed in Assam,” and demanding that those they deemed traitors of the country be shot. They also burned effigies of Mahmood Madani and Syeda Hamid for opposing the recent eviction drives targeting Bengali-origin Muslims.

On August 8, NewsNow circulated a video showing vigilantes in Tinsukia district demanding NRC documents from a woman.

On August 5, following the direction of the president Milan Buragohain, the union intercepted 16 “Miyas” near a bus stand in Tinsukia town. These persons were on their way to Arunachal Pradesh to work as masons and construction labourers, but were made to return home to western Assam’s Barpeta, Dhubri, and South Salmara-Mankachar districts. The union also said it issued a month’s notice to some 50 families of “illegal immigrants” to leave an area near the district’s coal-rich Margherita town.

The Miya Muslims of Assam live predominantly in the flood-prone Char Chapori (river islands and embankments) areas, where thousands have lost their land to river erosion. Many landless families have resettled on government land or migrated to different cities and other districts within Assam in search of livelihoods.[3] The term “Miya” is now used pejoratively and often as a slur against Bengali Muslims, who are accused of “weaponising” beef consumption, polluting Hindu areas, and threatening Assamese identity. The eviction drives in Assam have disproportionately affected Miya Muslims, many of whom have lived there for decades. Assam news channels have published videos showing vigilante groups going door to door in Upper Assam, threatening Miya Muslims to leave within 24 to 48 hours.

On August 8, a public meeting in Sivasagar district called for homeowners to check tenants’ documents before renting out properties, in a bid to keep Upper Assam “free from illegal Bangladeshis.” An attendee told a reporter from the Wire that Miya migrant workers from Lower Assam resemble “Bangladeshi people” – because they wear lungis and tupis (skull caps) – sparking “anxiety” among “indigenous communities”, as people cannot identify who is a ‘Miya’ and who is a Bangladeshi.

Also on August 8, indigenous Assamese Muslim woman Wazida Begum stirred controversy with her strong statements distancing ‘Assamese Muslims’ from ‘Miya Muslims’ amid an ongoing eviction drive in Upper Assam. “A section of Assamese Muslims in Upper Assam have provided shelter to Miya Muslims and even entered into marital relations with them. This is extremely alarming.” She further warned that cultural assimilation through intermarriage could threaten indigenous identity by stating, “Marriage with Miya Muslims must be barred. We are Assamese by birth and we must live and die in Assam.” Wazida added, “One mistake by a local marrying a Miya girl has jeopardized the entire Sonari town today. In another remark she said, “When indigenous communities begin marrying Miya Muslims, it legitimizes their stay. We must not allow such marriages or give them shelter.”

On August 3, Situ Barua, a member of the Jatiya Sangrami Sena, is seen warning a man from Hojai district: “Shut up, you Miya… Miyas have to vacate Upper Assam within 24 hours.”

Assam is scheduled to go to polls in 2026, making the ‘Miya Kheda Andolon’ (movement to drive away the Miyas) a timely electoral tool. By stoking xenophobic anxieties and communal fear, the campaign diverts public attention from pressing governance failures and corruption scandals, such as the ‘Gir Cow Scam’ – a controversy involving allegations of corruption, mismanagement, and favouritism in a government-backed dairy initiative under the Gorukhuti Bahumukhi Krishi Prakalpa (GBKP), which implicates BJP ministers and has sparked protests across the state. The political opportunism of the xenophonic narrative serves not just to exclude a minority, but to shield the political elite from accountability.

Political Opportunism and the Consolidation of the Majoritarian Vote in Bihar

In Bihar, the political campaign against Bengali-origin Muslims has been weaponized to secure electoral gains ahead of the assembly elections. This has been synchronised with a state-level administrative exercise – the Special Intensive Revision (SIR). This exercise by the Election Commission began on June 25, tasking booth-level officers tasked with collecting enumeration forms from 7.89 crore voters in the state within 31 days. While the opposition is demanding a rollback, the BJP has framed the process as necessary to “purge” foreign nationals from the voter list.

On July 22, BJP leader and Deputy CM Samrat Choudhary accused RJD chief Lalu Prasad and West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee of being ‘anti-national’ for opposing the SIR, claiming, “for vote bank politics, they want to keep lakhs of infiltrators in the voter list and are opposing the ongoing SIR of the electoral rolls in Bihar.”

On July 23, Hindutva channel Sudarshan News repeated the claim that the opposition is rattled because their vote bank “thrives on fake identities and infiltrators.”

On July 25, BJP MP Jagannath Sarkar alleged that “Rohingya Muslims from Bangladesh have learned Bengali and changed their names to obtain Aadhaar and voter cards” in India.

This political leveraging of the SIR to attack the opposition and reinforce the ‘infiltrator’ narrative has also spread to neighbouring states. West Bengal is a key ideological battleground, where Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has publicly accused BJP-ruled states of using deportations to harass Bengali-speaking Indians.

On July 25, West Bengal BJP President Samik Bhattacharya called for the implementation of the SIR, warning that failing to do so could result in the state becoming “West Bangladesh.”

On July 31, BJP leader and the Leader of Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, vowed that not a single Rohingya or Bangladeshi intruder would stay in Bengal if BJP comes to power. “First, these Rohingyas and Bangladeshi Muslim intruders should be deleted from the voter list. Then they should be expelled from the country, the way the Haryana government and other governments are doing. Not a single Bangladeshi Muslim intruder or Rohingya will stay here. This is our commitment,” he said

The much-publicised draft of electoral rolls was released by the Election Commission on August 1, after the first phase of the SIR was completed. Contrary to the widespread claims, not a single voter’s name was deleted on the ground of alleged infiltrators from Bangladesh, Nepal, or Myanmar. However, the propaganda continued unabated.

On August 2, Union Minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh dismissed claims of harassment of Bengali-speaking migrants in BJP-ruled states. He reasserted that the verification process is also part of efforts to identify Bangladeshi infiltrators who may be living illegally in India using fake documents such as Aadhaar cards.

On August 8, Union Home Minister Amit Shah backed the Bihar SIR, declaring “Names of infiltrators must be removed from the voters’ lists. They have no right to vote.” He further attacked the opposition, saying “Lalu Prasad, Tejashwi Prasad and Rahul Gandhi should answer who they want to save — those from Bangladesh who devour jobs of the people of Bihar? Bihar people will never accept infiltrators who Rahul Gandhi and Tejashwi want to use as vote bank.”

On August 24, BJP national secretary and IT cell head Amit Malviya said that Aadhar card cannot be used as a valid document for citizenship. “The truth is simple: SIR is intact, Aadhaar alone cannot get you enrolled; dead, fake, Bangladeshi and Rohingya names will be removed and only Indian citizens will elect the next government – not foreigners,” he said.

On August 25, Union Minister and BJP MP Giriraj Singh, speaking at an NDA alliance meeting in Purnia, referred to alleged Bangladeshi immigrants as “demons,” asked attendees if they should be killed, and urged them to buy only from Hindu vendors, eat only jhatka meat, and avoid halal.” Singh denounced statements by a former-UPA official alleging that they “aimed at carrying out a Ghazwa-e-Hind.”

On September 15, speaking at an election rally in Purnia, Modi launched a sharp attack on Congress and RJD, accusing them of supporting illegal infiltrators for vote-bank politics. “Congress and RJD have not only threatened the honour of Bihar but also the identity of Bihar,” he said. “Today, a huge demographic crisis has arisen due to infiltrators in Seemanchal and Eastern India. People of Bihar, Bengal, Assam and many states are worried about the safety of their sisters and daughters. That is why I have announced the Demography Mission from the Red Fort.”

On September 16, BJP national spokesperson Rohan Gupta supported the Prime Minister’s stance, repeating that infiltrators are a “serious threat to national security.” Speaking at Ahmedabad, Gupta claimed, “Aadhaar card registration in Seemanchal has reached 108 percent and even 110 percent. This means there are more Aadhaar cards than people. This is a warning signal. This is not just data manipulation, but a direct threat to our internal security.” Gupta said that infiltrators weaken the demographic structure, strain resources, and create law and order problems.

On September 18, Amit Shah asserted that SIR) would remove “impurities” from voters’ list in Bihar. Speaking at back-to-back workers’ conclaves at Dehri-on-Sone and Begusarai, which were attended by party activists from 20 of the state’s 38 districts, Shah called upon party workers to “visit every house in the state and spread the message that all districts of Bihar will be left teeming with infiltrators from Bangladesh if they (Congress, RJD and Left combine) came to power, even by fluke.”

Also on September 18, Giriraj Singh alleged that mosques in Bihar are sheltering infiltrators from Bangladesh to boost the Muslim vote-bank. Speaking in Patna, he claimed that around 25 lakh votes were removed in Begusarai and accused RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi of protecting infiltrators through their yatras. Giriraj Singh compared the situation to Bengal, saying Hindus have become a minority in many districts.

The chief target of the SIR campaign has been the Seemanchal belt in northeast Bihar. This region, flanked by Nepal and West Bengal, comprises the four districts of Purnia, Katihar, Araria, and Kishanganj, where the Muslim population is far higher than the rest of the state. Various ‘sources’ in the Election Commission have claimed that the real aim of this voter-list revision is to flush out Bangladeshi infiltrators in Seemanchal.[4]

After the first phase of the revision, not a single ‘infiltrator’ was identified in Seemchal. However, the exercise did strike off a total of 65 lakh voters, with 7.6 lakh from Seemchal, on other grounds. The majority are workers from Patna, East Champaran and Madhubani. This data strongly suggests that the SIR is not a purge of infiltrators, but a calculated political ploy that disproportionately targets migrant labourers—many of them Bengali-speaking Muslims—who are away from home and unable to verify their enrolment.

The entire operation, from political mudslinging by Modi and Shah, to hate speeches by Giriraj Singh, to the Election Commission’s SIR, serve a cohesive political and ideological purpose. By relentlessly branding Muslims as “infiltrators” and creating a “demographic crisis” bogeyman, the campaign simultaneously attempts to suppress the minority vote while galvanizing the majority Hindu vote. This consolidation is essential in the Hindu Rashtra framework, the administrative process of voter deletion is transformed into a performative act of “purifying” the nation, cementing the idea that the only legitimate citizen is one who fits the dominant religious and cultural identity.

Propaganda Tropes and their Ideological Underpinnings

The ‘Bangladeshi infiltrator’ bogeyman and the hateful rhetoric that accompanies it is not haphazard, but a meticulously constructed architecture of exclusion that serves political, patriarchal, and ideological goals.

Hindutva is a political project of nation-building which conceptualises Bharat as the land of the Hindus, and a Hindu as one for whom Hindustan is not only a Pitribhu (Fatherland) but also a Punyabhu (Holyland). Followers of Islam and Christianity, whose holy sites lie outside India, are perpetual ideological outsiders – infiltrators. This ideological denial of a community’s sacred belonging is then translated into a territorial mandate. By delegitimising their citizenship, the propaganda cements Muslims as an internal enemy whose very presence undermines the nation’s integrity. The call to expel “ghuspaithiye” is thus presented as a necessary act of national purification.

On Independence Day, members of Antarashtriya Hindu Parishad and Rashtriya Bajrang Dal held a slogan march in Balrampur, Uttar Pradesh, demanding an “Akhand Bharat” and calling to drive out “Bangladeshi ghuspaithiya” (infiltrators). A few days before, on August 11, AHP-Rashtriya Bajrang Dal members held a procession in Haldwani, Uttarakhand, chanting slogans demanding the eviction of those they alleged to be Bangladeshi ghuspaithiya (infiltrators).

As we can already see, the ideological architecture is built upon specific, repeated propaganda tropes.

Trope 1: Demographic Supremacy: “Population Jihad” and the Great Replacement Bogey

This trope is designed to create a manufactured sense of existential threat and economic scarcity among the Hindu majority. For years, Hindu nationalists have mobilized anti-Muslim sentiments around an imagined threat of “population jihad,” which rooted in the unsubstantiated claim that Muslims will take over India’s population by intentionally producing more children than Hindus. This argument about demographic change is now being made by invoking the “Bangladeshi infiltrator” bogey.

On August 22, AHP–Rashtriya Bajrang Dal staged a protest in Garoth, Mandsaur, Madhya Pradesh and submitted a memorandum to the SDM, targeting Muslims, fear-mongering over their population, and demanding population control laws and action against alleged Bangladeshi and Rohingya “ghuspaiths” (infiltrators).

On July 31, AHP-Rashtriya Bajrang Dal staged a protest in Aonla, Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, demanding a population control law, alleging that the country’s population growth is driven by the infiltration of Bangladeshi Muslims. They called for the eviction of those they termed as infiltrators and urged measures to curb the Muslim population.

The ‘infiltrator’ narrative, therefore, feeds on and reinforces a fear of demographic change in India based on bogus claims of “explosive population growth” among Muslims, which will lead to Muslim domination and the eradication of Hindus. The coordinated demand for discriminatory population control laws translates abstract demographic anxiety into concrete political policy.

This demographic fear is immediately weaponized by political leaders to invoke economic scarcity, recasting systemic socio-economic failures as the direct fault of the minority community.

On August 25, at a Varaha Jayanti celebration organised by Vishwa Hindu Kranti Sanghatan in Navi Mumbai, BJP MLA Nitesh Rane fearmongered about alleged Rohingya and Bangladeshi “infiltrators” taking jobs and casting votes to make non-Hindu candidates win. He spread anti-Muslim conspiracy theories of “love jihad” and “land jihad”, declaring, “We are not goltopis or dadiwallas; we are Hindus!”

Hindu far-right leaders like Nitish Rane frequently demonized Indian Muslims as parasitic and thieving, alleging that they were either wrongfully granted resources that rightfully belonged to Hindus or were stealing Hindu wealth through acts of aggression. This narrative manufactures an artificial fear of resource scarcity amongst the local population, creating fear and panic among marginalized groups that are the most reliant on social services (e.g., subsidized ration, public healthcare) and most prone to unemployment. The lie that “infiltrators” are illegally obtaining identification documents and claiming indigenous land makes the constitutional rights of Indian Muslims seem like an act of aggression against the majority.

Trope 2: “Love Jihad” and Conversion Hysteria

“Love Jihad” is a fear manifested from Brahmanical Patriarchy. The trope defines Hindu women as naive, unintelligent, or brainwashed, justifying the constant surveillance and control of their bodies and choices by Hindu men. Simultaneously, it portrays the Muslim man as inherently lustful and predatory, whose interest in a Hindu woman is never based on consent or genuine affection, but is part of a wider, organized, terrorist plot to convert and co-opt the “vessel of the Hindu Rashtra” – the body of upper-case women.

On August 15, at a government school in Budwa, Shahdol, Madhya Pradesh, BJP leader Durgesh Tiwari peddled all three components of the trope: anti-Muslim conspiracy theories of “love jihad,” the economic threat of Bangladeshi/Pakistani “ghuspaithiye” (infiltrators), and the claim that Muslims and Christian missionaries were carrying out religious conversions.

On August 20, at the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) Foundation Day celebration at PGDAV College, Lajpat Nagar, Delhi Cabinet Minister Kapil Mishra spread fear over alleged demographic change and claimed that Rohingya and Bangladeshi “ghuspaith” (infiltrators) have been settled in several states. He also peddled the anti-Muslim “love jihad” conspiracy theory and stoked fears of religious conversion.

“Love Jihad” is the gendered face of the wider conversion hysteria, leveraging sexual anxiety to reinforce the political demand for national purity, Hindu patriarchy, and Muslim exclusion.

Trope 3: Othering & Dehumanisation: Sanctioning Violence and Eliminating Dissent

Dehumanisation is the ultimate rhetorical tool in the architecture of exclusion. Its primary goal is to strip the targeted community— Bengali-origin Muslims and anyone who speaks up for them—of their human status, moral consideration, and constitutional rights.

On September 8, speaking at a yoga programme in Dagarpur village, Baghpat, Uttar Pradesh MLA Nandkishore Gurjar (BJP) claimed, “Swines and Bangladeshi Rohingyas are being settled here, and they will ruin the country. I am fighting with them every day.”

On August 25, at an Akhand Aryavarta Arya Mahasabha event in Lucknow, speaker Mahadev Baba claimed that Bangladeshis and Rohingyas are cannibalistic and “eat human flesh,” alleging they are obtaining Aadhaar cards in India. He targeted Muslims with slogans like “We two, our forty, everyone with an AK-47 in hand” and “We two, our seventy, everyone with bricks and stones in hand,” and questioned who would protect Hindu women from them.

Again, we see how framing the minority as a savage, inhumane threat to Hindu women – the honour of the Hindu community – sanctions aggressive pre-emptive action against Muslim men.

On August 26, the Association for Protection of Civil Rights (APCR) and Karwan-e-Mohabbat jointly convened a public tribunal titled ‘People’s Tribunal on Assam: Evictions, Detentions and the Right to Belong’ at the Constitution Club of India. The event was disrupted by a mob with aggressive and communal sloganeering, including “Desh ke Gaddaro ko / Goli maaro saalo ko” (Shoot the ones who are traitors to the nation).

This report demonstrates how civil society’s attempt to address state-led human rights violations is immediately and aggressively characterized as anti-national activity, thus suppressing democratic dissent in favour of authoritarian majoritarianism.

The Final Test: Invalidation of Constitutional Citizenship

The repeated political rhetoric of the ‘Bangladeshi infiltrator’ ensures that the public consciousness is primed to view Bengali-speaking Muslims as illegal aliens, predatory savages, inhuman – in other words, immediate and acceptable targets for attack.

Reports from Odisha in August 2025 demonstrate the immediate and brutal translation of high-level political hate speech into on-ground action, as Bengali-speaking Muslim migrant workers faced targeted violence in Sambalpur, Keonjhar, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara and Bhadrak districts.

Journalists reported that BJP leaders roughed up and handed over 34 Bengali-speaking Muslim migrant workers engaged in the construction sector to the police. The police later released them after verifying that they were from West Bengal, not Bangladesh.

27-year old Noorul Sheikh, a hawker from Chunakhali village (West Bengal), was attacked, beaten and injured by a group of people with saffron flags. “I failed to convince them that I am from West Bengal, not Bangladesh, despite providing my Aadhar card and other residential documents. They dismissed them as fake and were adamant about targeting us for being Bengali-speaking Muslims,” he reported to TwoCircles.

A mason recounted that Bengali-speaking Muslims were made easy targets by individuals carrying saffron flags and loudly chanting “Jai Shri Ram.” “They used vulgar language against Muslims and our religion, Islam, abused us, threatened us to go back to Bangladesh, and attacked and beat some of us despite us showing our Aadhar and Voter ID cards upon request. With folded hands, we repeatedly told them that we are Indian residents of Murshidabad and not Bangladeshi Muslims, but they refused to accept it.”

The pattern of profiling and violence is replicated by state actors across India. On September 8, 18 migrant hawkers from West Bengal were detained for five days by police in Uttar Pradesh’s Basti district after allegedly being labelled as illegal Bangladeshi immigrants. The workers, all residents of Murshidabad district, claimed that they were detained despite possessing valid Aadhaar and voter ID cards. Police first detained four or five of the migrants. Their landlord then told the remaining workers to go to the Nagar police station with their identity documents for verification.

The ‘infiltrator’ rhetoric therefore provides ideological cover for state-aligned political groups to conduct arbitrary violence and detention against Indian citizens, based solely on their linguistic identity and religious affiliation. Citizenship, the rule of law, and documentation are all rendered invalid in the face of majoritarian fervour.

The Complete Circuit: Ideology to State-Policy

The incidents recorded during the last few months demonstrate that the systematic targeting of Bengali-origin Muslims as “Bangladeshis” or “ghuspaithiye” (infiltrators) is a targeted campaign of communal nation-building: Indian citizenship is defined not by constitutional rights but by religious identity, aligning with the exclusionary tenets of Hindutva.

The data shows that the hate campaign leverages pre-existing ethnic and communal tensions for electoral gain. The ideological arrow is pushed from the top down: originating from elected ministers like Kapil Mishra and Nitesh Rane, amplified by party subsidiaries (AHP, VHP, Rashtriya Bajrang Dal) and media, and enacted by state police and vigilante mobs.

The rhetorical architecture, encompassing Population Jihad, Love Jihad, and Dehumanisation, converges on the citizen question. By denying the community their Pitribhumi and Punyabhumi, the campaign strips them of the fundamental premise of rights, from which all other civil and democratic rights arise.

The constant, coordinated nature of the campaign, from rallies organized solely for hate speech to the relentless electronic media bombardments, is designed to normalize the narrative. These regurgitated narratives aim to rewrite truth and history through continuous repetition. By the time complaints or judicial processes are put into action, the damage is already done through physical violence, economic deprivation, or deportation.

To dismantle this architecture of exclusion and uphold the constitutional mandate of India, immediate and coordinated action is required from all branches of the state and civil society.

  1. Halt Displacement and Ensure Due Process: The state authorities in Assam and other states must immediately halt all eviction and demolition drives targeting Bengali-origin Muslim communities. Due process and rehabilitation for all those evicted must be ensured.
  2. Hold State Actors Accountable: State officials, political leaders, and vigilante groups who incite hate or enable communal violence must be held accountable through effective prosecution.
  3. The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) should launch a fact-finding mission into human rights violations related to demolitions, hate speech, and displacement.
  4. Indian courts should take suo moto cognizance of mass evictions and hate mobilizations to ensure the safety and security of minorities.
  5. The Supreme Court’s guidelines on hate speech must be strictly enforced. Concrete steps must be taken to ensure that police stations are not left alone; handbooks detailing these guidelines should be printed in regional languages and provided to all police personnel for education and immediate reference.

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


Footnotes:

[1] India Hate Lab, ‘Hate Speech Events in India – Report 2024’ (February 6, 2025)

[2] India Hate Lab, ‘Data Reveals Rising Hate and Violence Against Bengali-Origin Muslims in Assam’ (July 31, 2025)

[3] Kazi Sharowar Hussain, ‘’You’re Bangladeshi’: ‘Nationalist’ Groups Target Miya Muslims, Give Ultimatum to Leave Upper Assam’ (The Wire, August 14, 2025)

[4] Yogendra Yadav, ‘Bihar SIR: 789 pages, 1 B.I.G. lie, 0 foreigners’ (National Herald, August 2, 2025)


Related:

  1. A Targeted Campaign: The orchestrated crackdown on Bengali Migrants and the rising pushback from courts, Bengal government, and civil society
  2. India’s Stealthy Pushback: Thousands of alleged “Bangladeshi immigrants” deported without due process across states

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]]> Indore’s Bazaar Purge: Muslim workers and shopkeepers forced out under BJP leader’s ultimatum https://sabrangindia.in/indores-bazaar-purge-muslim-workers-and-shopkeepers-forced-out-under-bjp-leaders-ultimatum/ Sat, 27 Sep 2025 06:24:30 +0000 https://sabrangindia.in/?p=43824 Over 50 workers and several shopkeepers’ face job loss in Sheetla Mata Bazaar as Eklavya Singh Gaud directs traders to remove Muslim employees, citing “love jihad”; police inaction fuels fears of targeted communal displacement

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]]> In Indore’s Sheetla Mata Bazaar, one of Madhya Pradesh’s largest garment markets, fear and uncertainty have gripped hundreds of Muslim workers and traders after a ruling party leader ordered that they be removed from their jobs and shops. The directive came in mid-August from Eklavya Singh Gaud, BJP Indore vice-president and son of sitting MLA Malini Gaud, who instructed traders to dismiss all Muslim salesmen within a month and to ensure that Muslim shop tenants vacate their rented spaces within two months.

According to a Newslaundry investigation, Gaud framed the order as a safeguard against “love jihad,” claiming that Muslim salesmen could use interactions with women customers to form relationships. He gave traders a September 25 deadline. By the eve of the deadline, the impact was visible: more than 50 Muslim employees had already lost their jobs, and at least four Muslim shopkeepers had been forced to vacate their spaces. The market has around 500 shops, with between 100–125 Muslim salesmen and 10–15 Muslim shop renters, many of whom have now been displaced.

Human Cost: “Jobless just because I am Muslim”

The consequences of the campaign have been devastating for those who built their lives in the market.

  • Gabbar Ghori (52), who has worked in the bazaar for four decades, told Newslaundry: “I was only 12 when I started here. Since then, I’ve never left. Both my sons also worked here. Now, all three of us have lost our jobs. We earned ₹50,000–60,000 together, with ₹21,500 going towards our flat’s EMI, ₹3,500 for a bike loan, and ₹5,400 for a personal loan. Suddenly unemployed, we don’t know how to survive. For the past 25 days, I haven’t eaten or slept properly.” His employer, he said, was sympathetic but afraid, asking him to either take leave or work secretly until “things calm down.”
  • Mohammad Gulzar (42), another salesman with 30 years in the market, said he earned ₹22,000 a month, with ₹7,000 going towards rent and the rest supporting his two children’s schooling. “Now I am jobless just because I am Muslim. Employers are compelled to remove us under political pressure. Despite being citizens of this country, we are forced to endure this,” he told Newslaundry and later repeated during a protest march covered by the Free Press Journal.
  • Rahmat Khan (32, name changed) explained that Muslims have worked in the market for decades. “Suddenly political leaders accuse us of being part of so-called ‘love jihad.’ They are forcing our employers to remove us. The most painful part is that no one—police, politicians, or social workers—is helping. Who will give us jobs now?” he asked in his complaint, cited by Newslaundry.
  • Shakir Mohammad, the sole earner for his mother, wife, sister, and two children, told Newslaundry: “Tomorrow is the deadline. Around 50–60 people have already been removed.”
  • Mohammad Harun (55), who has run a rented shop in the bazaar for 20 years, told Newslaundry that Gaud’s supporters demanded ID cards of all his eight employees—six Muslims and two Hindus. Days later, his landlord asked him to vacate by September 25. “My owner was kind to me, but he was under pressure. They would have targeted him if he had refused.”

Association’s endorsement of “cleansing”

Rather than resisting, the Sheetla Mata Bazaar Vyapari Association has largely endorsed Gaud’s diktat. In a report by ThePrint, association president Hema Panjwani defended the order, saying: “Muslim salesmen would stand on the road to call in customers and stare at women passing by. Now Aklavya bhaiya has tightened the noose. Nobody should have rented their shops to Muslims in the first place; all of them will have to vacate. Once this succeeds, we will implement it in other markets too.”

Association member Anil Sharma, described as a close aide of Gaud, told ThePrint that Aadhaar details of shop employees are being collected to note their religion. The campaign has been named “bazaar ka shuddhikaran” (purification of the market), with Sharma adding: “The second step would be to investigate each Muslim employee’s involvement in ‘love jihad’ cases.”

Another member, Pappu Maheshwari, confirmed to ThePrint: “Bhaiya has requested us to politely ask retailers to remove Muslim salesmen.”

Police cite “no video evidence”

When Newslaundry asked Indore Police Commissioner Santosh Singh about the issue, he claimed no one had approached him and referred queries to the local DCP. DCP Anand Kaladgi said no FIR could be filed against Gaud because “he has not made any statement openly, and there is no video evidence except what is in the media.” This, despite Muslim workers submitting a written complaint to the commissioner’s office on September 15, explicitly alleging that they were being targeted for political gain.

Two traders told Newslaundry anonymously that no action would be taken since the market lies in the constituency of Gaud’s mother, BJP MLA Malini Gaud.

Protests and political reactions

As the deadline approached, Muslim workers staged silent protests inside the market and later held a march from Bajaj Khana Chowk to Rajwada, reported by the Free Press Journal. Carrying placards, they demanded the right to continue their work without religious discrimination. “We are Hindustani and have been doing business here for decades,” Gulzar told FPJ. “Business should be business, not politics. For 30–35 years we lived peacefully here, and now we are being pushed out just because we are Muslims.”

This communal move was not only protested by Muslims, but also Hindus. Many came out to resist this forceful eviction, like Balwant Singh Rathore (40), a shopkeeper in Indore.

“The harmony between Hindus and Muslims should not be shattered, and they should be given equal opportunities to earn a living,” he said.

 

The Congress also intervened, with city chief Chintu Chouksey submitting a memorandum demanding an FIR and warning that Gaud’s statement was an attempt to “disturb communal harmony” in Indore (FPJ Shorts).

Gaud’s controversial record

This is not the first time Eklavya Singh Gaud has found himself in controversy. As Newslaundry noted, he was accused of roughing up a police constable during a temple visit, booked for assaulting Congress workers, and was the complainant in the case that landed comedian Munawar Faruqui in jail for over a month over a joke he reportedly never cracked. According to FPJ, he even warned that the Hind Rakshak Samit would take “direct action” if his directive was ignored.

A chilling precedent

The Sheetla Mata Bazaar episode reflects a broader trend where livelihoods and businesses are targeted through the lens of communal identity. As September 25 arrived, scores of Muslim families were left jobless—not for misconduct or inefficiency, but because of a political ultimatum backed by the local trade association and tolerated by police inaction.

 

Related:

Two Sons, One Spirit: Muslim men perform Hindu mothers’ last rites in Rajasthan and Kerala

Tilak, ID Checks & Religious Tests: what’s happening at Garba events?

Madhya Pradesh Muslim man lynched in Rajasthan’s Bhilwara over cattle transport; family alleges religious targeting & extortion plot

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]]> Manufactured Realities: Assam BJP’s AI video and the politics of fear https://sabrangindia.in/manufactured-realities-assam-bjps-ai-video-and-the-politics-of-fear/ Fri, 19 Sep 2025 12:05:08 +0000 https://sabrangindia.in/?p=43658 A dystopian campaign film weaponises misinformation, vilifies Muslims, and rewrites Assam’s history — exposing the dangerous nexus of technology, politics, and communal polarisation

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]]> In a politically charged move ahead of the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) elections, the Assam BJP unit’s official X handle released a series of AI-generated videos. One of them, titled “Assam Without BJP”, depicts a dystopian future where Muslims allegedly dominate every aspect of the state—shown seizing land, running public beef stalls, and transforming Assam’s landmarks into Islamic sites. The video goes further, flashing the claim of a “90% Muslim population” and urging viewers to “choose your vote carefully.”

The narrative did not stop there. Congress leaders Gaurav Gogoi and Rahul Gandhi were shown alongside images of Pakistan’s flag, insinuating an unholy alliance between opposition politics and anti-national elements. In one stroke, the video attempted to reduce the state’s complex history of migration, identity, and politics to a simplistic binary: BJP means safety; Congress means Muslim domination and cultural erasure.

The intent was clear: to construct fear, vilify the Muslim community, and paint the Congress party—particularly Rahul Gandhi and state president Gaurav Gogoi—as collaborators in this imagined downfall.

Congress strikes back

Outraged by the communal overtones, the Assam Congress lodged a formal complaint at the Dispur Police Station. The FIR, filed by Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) Media Department chairman Bedabrata Bora, named:

  • Assam BJP president Dilip Saikia
  • State social media convener Shaktidhar Deka
  • Other unnamed functionaries of the BJP’s digital wing

The charges pressed include:

  • Criminal conspiracy
  • Incitement to communal disturbances
  • Promoting enmity between groups
  • Violation of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) under the Election Commission

The Congress also wrote to the State Election Commission, demanding that the videos be taken down, devices seized from BJP’s IT cell, and a forensic investigation conducted under the IT Act, 2000.

Congress leaders, including Gaurav Gogoi, condemned the videos as cheap propaganda: “The words, actions, and images produced by the BJP IT cell do not have the strength to scratch the surface of Assamese society. Assam deserves politics that uplifts people to new heights.”

Other opposition voices joined in. The AIUDF described the video as a dangerous attempt to communalise Assam’s electoral space. According to the report of The Telegraph, AIMIM President Asaduddin Owaisi called it “disgusting,” remarking that it treated the very presence of Muslims in India as a problem for the ruling party. Civil society commentators warned that such imagery could deepen long-standing tensions in a state scarred by the Assam Accord, the NRC exercise, and decades of migration-related conflicts.

BJP’s Defence: “illegal immigrants” vs. communal targeting

The BJP defended the videos, with State Information Minister Pijush Hazarika arguing that the campaign only sought to highlight the “threat of illegal immigrants changing Assam’s demography.” According to The Print, he accused Congress of crying “Islamophobia” to shield its vote bank.

But the content of the videos betrays this defence. If the concern was only about illegal migration, why were the visuals overwhelmingly directed at portraying Muslims—men in skullcaps, women in hijabs, Islamic motifs—while ignoring the complex demographic reality of Assam’s migration issue?

The numbers don’t lie

At the heart of the video’s message was the claim of a “90% Muslim population.” Yet this crumbles under scrutiny.

Claim in video What data shows
Assam will become “90% Muslim” without BJP The 2011 Census places Assam’s Muslim population at 34.22%. Even accounting for growth, nowhere near 90%.
Muslims “taking over” airports, tea estates, heritage sites While there are legitimate debates about undocumented immigration and border issues, there is no credible evidence that public institutions, heritage sites, or airports are being overtly “taken over” by any community in the way depicted. The imagery is symbolic, built for fear, not a factual record.
Congress leaders linked visually to Pakistan flags The video shows leaders in front of Pakistan flags etc. These are visual insinuations intended to generate suspicion. There is no publicly verified evidence that Congress leaders are aligned or in collusion with Pakistan. These are contentious political accusations.
Only Muslims are “illegal immigrants” The final draft of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) excluded 1.9 million people—but the composition was mixed:

  • About 7 lakh Muslims
  • Around 5 lakh Bengali Hindus
  • 2 lakh Assamese Hindus
  • 1.5 lakh Gorkhas

The reality is that the issue of documentation cuts across communities, but BJP’s video conveniently narrows the “problem” to Muslims alone.
Assam is on the brink of cultural erasure Demographic shifts are slow, regulated, and legally scrutinised through NRC, Foreigners Tribunals, and border enforcement. Alarmism oversimplifies the issue.
There is vote bank politics related to religious identity in Assam Despite comprising a third of the state’s population, Muslims remain underrepresented in government jobs, politics, and public institutions. Claims of a “takeover” are exaggerated and not backed by data.
Congress will legalise beef and impose “Sharia-like laws” India’s food choices and dietary diversity are constitutionally protected. Assam itself has a long history of beef consumption across communities, including tribal and Scheduled Caste groups. Portraying this as a uniquely “Muslim imposition” distorts cultural realities.

 

The gap between claim and reality underscores how the video weaponised misinformation. It was not simply political rhetoric but an attempt to rewrite demographic reality through AI imagery.

The deeper risks

The use of AI in political propaganda opens a troubling new chapter. Unlike crude photoshopping, AI-generated images are hyper-realistic and immersive. When they depict crowded mosques in airports or skull-capped men at cultural monuments, they can be mistaken for actual documentary evidence rather than fabricated visuals. This blurring of truth and fiction is especially dangerous in Assam, a state where migration anxieties and identity politics already run deep.

Legally, the video raises serious red flags. Indian criminal law prohibits content that incites hatred or promotes enmity between groups. The Election Commission explicitly bars communal appeals during elections. If laws and codes are enforced, those responsible could face consequences ranging from takedowns to prosecution. Yet beyond legality lies a more urgent ethical question: should ruling parties normalise the use of communal fear as an electoral strategy, especially through manipulative new technologies?

Assam’s Fragile Social Fabric

Assam’s history makes this controversy particularly volatile. For decades, the state has wrestled with the question of undocumented migration from Bangladesh, culminating in the 1985 Assam Accord, the NRC process, and ongoing litigation in Foreigners Tribunals. These issues already create fault lines between communities, often leading to suspicion, exclusion, and even violence.

Injecting an AI-amplified narrative of Muslim domination into this landscape risks tipping the balance further. It reduces diverse communities to stereotypes and ignores the reality that both Hindus and Muslims have been implicated in migration patterns. More dangerously, it frames coexistence itself as impossible — projecting one community’s presence as another’s loss.

A Warning for the Future

The Assam BJP’s AI video is not just a campaign gimmick; it is a warning of how easily technology can be harnessed to inflame divisions. It shows how quickly artificial intelligence can shift from innovation to manipulation, and how communal anxieties can be magnified into existential threats.

At one level, the video may energise segments of the electorate receptive to such messages. At another, it risks further alienating communities already made vulnerable by citizenship processes and constant suspicion. In the long run, it is Assam’s fragile social fabric — not merely electoral arithmetic — that stands to pay the heaviest price.

If unchecked, such content could set a precedent for future campaigns across India, where AI is used not to inform or persuade but to distort and divide. The responsibility lies not just with the police or the Election Commission but also with political actors, civil society, and media platforms to resist this descent into fear-mongering.

In the end, the question goes beyond one video or one state. It is about the kind of politics India is willing to tolerate: one that thrives on communal fear, or one that confronts real challenges without reducing entire communities to threats. Assam, with its complex history and fragile peace, deserves the latter.

 

Related:

The life and death of Amzad Ali: Declared foreigner, buried Indian

Right-wing groups demand Muslim ban at Jabalpur Navratri garba

Assam’s New SOP Hands Citizenship Decisions to Bureaucrats: Executive overreach or legal necessity?

 

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]]> 15-year-old Muslim teen died by suicide in Gujrat, alleged communal harassment https://sabrangindia.in/15-year-old-muslim-teen-died-by-suicide-in-gujrat-alleged-communal-harassment/ Wed, 17 Sep 2025 09:40:08 +0000 https://sabrangindia.in/?p=43609 Saniya Ansari, a 15-year-old aspiring police officer from Ahmedabad, died by suicide after months of harassment over a house purchase, her death has sparked questions, exposing how Gujarat's Disturbed Areas Act is allegedly being misused to marginalise Muslim families

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]]> On August 9, 2025, 15-year-old Saniya Ansari ended her life in Ahmedabad’s Gomtipur, leaving behind a suicide note, a grieving family, and a community grappling with the grim realities of communal discrimination. Her death has raised disturbing questions about the enforcement—and alleged misuse—of the Gujarat Disturbed Areas Act, 1991 a law originally meant to maintain communal harmony.

The ordeal began in October 2024, when Shahjahan Banu Khosro, Saniya’s mother, purchased a house in Gomtipur for Rs 15.5 lakh from Suman Sonavde, a Hindu neighbour. Payment was fully made by December, but before the formal handover, Sonavde’s husband passed away.

When the mourning period ended, instead of transferring the property, the Sonavde family allegedly refused to vacate the house. Suman’s son Dinesh Sonavde and other family members began harassing the Ansaris, citing Gujarat’s Disturbed Areas Act to threaten the nullification of the transaction.

The Wire reported that Sonavde’s son began threatening the family and said he would nullify the deal, citing the Disturbed Areas Act. What was supposed to be a legal transaction turned into a communal and legal quagmire.

Law as a weapon for communal discrimination: The Disturbed Areas Act

The Gujarat Disturbed Areas Act, originally enacted in 1986 and strengthened in 1991 and 2019, was introduced to prevent distress sales of properties in riot-prone or communally sensitive areas. It mandates prior approval from the district collector for inter-religious property transactions.

But reality shows, in practice, serves as a tool to block Muslims from moving into Hindu-majority areas, thereby reinforcing ghettoisation and communal segregation.

Kaleem Siddiqui, a social activist monitoring the case, told The Wire, “Instead of protecting vulnerable families, the law is weaponised to deny them agency. It tells Muslims: you may have the money, but you cannot choose where to live.”

Background

On August 7, the conflict turned violent. Members of the Sonavde family allegedly barged into the Ansaris’ home and attacked them. Saniya was dragged by her hair and beaten. Her brother, Mohammad Hussain, sustained head injuries, and Saniya was left badly bruised.

Despite CCTV footage and eyewitness accounts, police initially filed a case against only one person—Manav Sonavde, who was granted bail the very next day.

“Saniya killed herself waiting for someone to save us, help us,” said her sister Rifat Jahan to The Wire

Two days later, Saniya left behind a suicide note naming four individuals, stating that they took her family’s money without giving them the house and had tormented them for months.

“Mere ghar mein inki wajah se 10 mahine se koi khushi nahi, sirf rona dhona aur ladaai (Because of them, there has been no joy in my house for the last 10 months, only tears and fighting)”, Saniya wrote.

Delayed justice and police apathy

The family alleged that local police refused to file an FIR despite the suicide note and video evidence. Officers initially termed the death “accidental” and insisted on forensic verification of the note. According to The Wire, it was only after intervention by Police Commissioner G.S. Malik that a case of abetment to suicide and other charges were filed against six individuals. However, many critical facts—including the months-long harassment and physical assaults—were left out.

Advocate Satyesha Leuva, the family’s lawyer, said, “Even getting the police to register an FIR was a struggle for us. The initial FIR mentioned the suicide, but not the months of harassment or the brutal beating.”

The aftermath: Silence and protest

Since the FIR, the Sonavde family has gone missing, reportedly absconding. Meanwhile, Saniya’s case has become a rallying point for civil rights activists and Muslim families across Gujarat.

Prasad Chacko, national secretary of the People’s Union for Civil Liberties, told The Wire, “The young girl who was forced into suicide is yet another victim of the Hindutva supremacist elements that terrorised a Muslim family that engaged in a legitimate transaction of buying a house.”

Systemic discrimination and ghettoisation

For civil society organisations like the Minority Coordination Committee (MCC), Saniya’s death is not an isolated tragedy—it is a symptom of structural marginalisation.

MCC convener Mujahid Nafees stated: “The Disturbed Areas Act has become a big weapon for them. They don’t care about society or the social fabric. The incident that happened in Ahmedabad is a dark picture of this Act.” He added, “This law deepens marginalisation and ghettoisation. It tells Muslims they are not welcome in certain neighbourhoods, regardless of their rights or resources.”

Today, the Ansari family still lives across from the house they paid for but never received. In the last 10 months, they have lost Rs 15.5 lakh, their trust in the law, and their daughter. “We kept going to the police, but they said the law is not on our side. We have been feeling helpless and hopeless,” Rifat said, as reported

Related:

Surviving Communal Wrath: Women who have defied the silence, demanded accountability from the state

Navratri: Communal demands mark pre-festival protest in Jabalpur

Fact Check: The RSS Had No Role in India’s Freedom Struggle

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]]> Navratri: Communal demands mark pre-festival protest in Jabalpur https://sabrangindia.in/navratri-communal-demands-mark-pre-festival-protest-in-jabalpur/ Tue, 16 Sep 2025 11:00:47 +0000 https://sabrangindia.in/?p=43589 Right-wing outfits AHP–Rashtriya Bajrang Dal demands Muslim ban at Navratri garba in Jabalpur, citing ‘love jihad’, demand Aadhaar checks, warns administration of consequences if tensions escalate

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]]> On September 13, during a protest in Omti, Jabalpur (Madhya Pradesh), members of the right-wing groups Antarrashtriya Hindu Parishad (AHP) and Rashtriya Bajrang Dal submitted a memorandum demanding a ban on Muslim participation in the upcoming Navratri Garba events. Citing the conspiracy theory of “love jihad,” the group called for Aadhaar verification at venues and urged that Muslims be barred from organising or attending garba programs.

They argued that such participation, along with the playing of Bollywood songs, would hurt the sentiments of Sanatan Dharma. The group warned authorities that if communal tensions escalated, the responsibility would lie with the administration.

 

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Communal flashpoints around festivals: a pattern repeating itself

Communal tensions around festivals are no longer isolated flare-ups but part of a disturbing, repeated pattern in several parts of India. In recent years, especially in BJP-ruled states like Uttar Pradesh, Gujrat and Madhya Pradesh, right-wing groups have targeted Muslim youth and artists for participating in Hindu cultural events such as Garba during Navratri. Last year in n Jhansi, artist Baby Imran was barred from performing despite being invited, with the event’s electricity cut off as she began.

In Madhya Pradesh’s Indore, Bajrang Dal members disrupted a dandiya celebration over a Muslim youth allegedly carrying chicken, while in Dewas, Hindu Jagran Manch threatened non-Hindus with violence if they didn’t leave the event. In Guna, Muslim youths were physically assaulted and handed over to police—one even beaten on video for resisting expulsion.

These incidents reflect a larger pattern of orchestrated exclusion and hate, masked as protection of religious sentiments. Festivals, once symbols of unity, are now flashpoints of division. This rising intolerance not only alienates minorities but also corrodes India’s pluralistic spirit. If left unaddressed, it risks normalising communal hatred as a part of public celebrations.

Related:

VHP leader assaults Muslim youth attempting to enter Navratri event in UP

When Navratri’s joyous Garba dance becomes a garb for exclusion: Gujarat, MP

‘Check Aadhaar card to keep out Non-Hindus’: Bajrang Dal to Garba organisers

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]]> BJP MLA Balmukund Acharya apologises amid uproar over Mosque protest in Jaipur https://sabrangindia.in/bjp-mla-balmukund-acharya-apologises-amid-uproar-over-mosque-protest-in-jaipur/ Mon, 05 May 2025 11:14:51 +0000 https://sabrangindia.in/?p=41606 A protest led by BJP MLA Balmukund Acharya against the Pahalgam terror attack escalated into a communal flashpoint outside Jaipur’s Jama Masjid, sparked outrage after alleged controversial slogans outside mosque, while Acharya apologised and called for unity, Muslim leaders condemned the timing and manner of the protest, an FIR was filed against the MLA for hurting religious sentiments

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]]> On the evening of April 25 (Friday), Jaipur’s historic Chardiwari area became the epicentre of a political and communal storm. BJP MLA Balmukund Acharya led a protest outside the Jama Masjid, condemning the recent terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Kashmir that resulted in the deaths of 26 tourists. What began as a demonstration against terrorism quickly escalated into a significant controversy, drawing sharp criticism from various quarters.

On Friday night around 8:30 PM, Acharya, accompanied by BJP leaders and supporters, marched to the Jama Masjid from an ‘Akrosh Sabha’ held at Badi Chaupar. The protesters raised slogans such as ‘Jai Shri Ram’ and ‘Pakistan Murdabad,’ and displayed saffron flags and torches. Allegedly, some individuals entered the mosque premises, pasted posters reading ‘Pakistan Murdabad,’ and raised offensive slogans. Eyewitnesses reported that Acharya entered the mosque wearing shoes, a gesture considered highly disrespectful in Islamic tradition.

The protest led to heightened communal tensions, with a large number of people gathering to protest against the MLA’s actions.

According to reports, Congress MLAs Rafiq Khan and Amin Kagzi, along with Police Commissioner Biju George Joseph, arrived at the scene to control the situation. Despite their efforts, the unrest continued to simmer.

After controversy, BJP MLA issued apology, urged for stay united against terrorism

In the face of mounting backlash, Acharya issued a video statement on Saturday, April 26, 2025, expressing regret over the incident. He stated, “If anyone’s sentiments were hurt due to the posters or my words, I sincerely apologise. It was never my intention to hurt any community or religion. At this time, unity among all of us is very important.” He emphasised that India functions according to the Constitution, where every citizen has the right to respect their religious sentiments.

Acharya further appealed for calm, urging people to stay united and support Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s efforts to combat terrorism and respond strongly to Pakistan. However, his apology did little to quell the growing discontent among the Muslim community and political opponents.

Moreover, BJP MLA Balmukund Acharya has also called for an end to the speculation surrounding a proposed bandh in Jaipur. In a message posted from his official X handle, he wrote that, “Many rumours are being spread about a Jaipur bandh tomorrow. I want to make it very clear — there should be no bandh.”

Expressing gratitude for the public’s support, Acharya further added, “The love and trust I have received from you is a matter of great pride for me. However, I do not want you to harm your businesses. We must continue our work, keep the markets open, and remain united.”

FIR filed against MLA for hurting religious sentiments

After the incident, the Jama Masjid Committee lodged a complaint against Acharya, leading to the registration of a First Information Report (FIR) under several sections of the Indian Penal Code. The charges included sections 298 (Injuring or defiling a place of worship), 300, (Disturbing religious assembly), 302 (Uttering words with intent to wound religious feelings) and 351(3) (Criminal intimidation).

The police investigation was transferred to the CID-Crime Branch, the nodal agency for probing cases involving public representatives. As communal tensions spread across the city, a heavy police force was deployed at the Jama Masjid to maintain law and order. Nearly all shops in the market were closed, and the police conducted a flag march on the main road of Johari Bazaar. Contingents of the Rajasthan Armed Constabulary (RAC) and Special Task Force (STF) were also deployed in sensitive areas of the state capital.

Members of the Muslim community staged a counter-protest near Badi Chaupad

The incident sparked widespread outrage among the Muslim community. After evening prayers, a crowd of restive youths gathered outside the mosque in Johari Bazaar, raising slogans demanding Acharya’s immediate arrest. The police used mild force to disperse the crowd, but the situation remained tense.

In response, members of the Muslim community staged a counter-protest near Badi Chaupad, adjacent to Jaipur’s famous landmark, the Hawa Mahal. They raised slogans and displayed posters of their own. A brief altercation between the two groups followed, leading to the registration of an FIR against Acharya at Manak Chowk police station. The FIR accused him of inciting religious sentiments and disrupting social harmony.

The Indian Express reported that, MLA Rafiq Khan said, “We have no objection to slogans like ‘Pakistan Murdabad’ or ‘Terrorism Murdabad.’ We too oppose terrorism. But the BJP MLA deliberately tried to provoke religious sentiments under the pretext of the protest.”

Muslim leaders hold press meet over Jama Masjid incident

Following the incident, a press conference was held on Saturday (April 26) at the Jama Masjid in Johari Bazaar, Jaipur, prominent Muslim leaders were present at the meet, including MLAs Amin Kagzi and Rafiq Khan, Rajasthan Waqf Board Chairman Khan U Khan Budhawali, and Jamaat-e-Islami Hind’s state president Mohammad Najimuddin.

State president of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, Mohammad Najimuddin, began by condemning the terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Kashmir. However, he also levelled serious allegations against MLA Balmukund Acharya, claiming that Acharya and his supporters raised provocative and objectionable slogans both inside and outside the mosque during Friday prayers—a time considered highly sacred in Islam, as per a report in the Dainik Bhaskar.

Community leaders give administration a two-day ultimatum

Najimuddin revealed that the Police Commissioner had assured them of action. However, he added that the community had issued an ultimatum to the administration—demanding action against Acharya by April 27 or 28. He stated that they would meet the Police Commissioner again on April 29, and if no concrete steps were taken, a mass agitation would be launched.

“What kind of MLA behaves like this?” he asked, alleging that Acharya does nothing but provoke religious sentiments. “A person like him does not deserve to remain an elected representative,” Najimuddin asserted, as reported

No Muslim supports Pakistan, we will always chant ‘Pakistan Murdabad’: Congress MLA Amin Kagzi

According to the Dainik Bhaskar, local Congress MLA Amin Kagzi addressed another emerging narrative—accusations that Muslims objected to the anti-Pakistan slogans. Kagzi firmly dispelled these rumours, stated that, “There is a misconception being spread about the ‘Pakistan Murdabad’ slogans raised outside the mosque. Neither I, nor the Muslim community here, have any sympathy for Pakistan. We will always chant ‘Pakistan Murdabad’ when the situation demands it.”

He went on to accuse Acharya of forcefully entering the mosque, putting up posters, and creating a disruptive atmosphere. Kagzi said Muslim leaders had already met with the Police Commissioner and given the administration a two-day deadline to act on the community’s demands.

 “Pakistan Murdabad Then, Now and Forever”, said MLA Rafiq Khan

Echoing similar sentiments, MLA Rafiq Khan stated that the entire country is grieving the tragedy that unfolded in Pahalgam. Referring to the recent all-party meeting, he said that all parties agreed to support the government in responding to the attack—so why, he asked, was Acharya trying to politicise the issue?

“Pakistan Murdabad was, is, and always will be our slogan,” Khan declared. “Today, we are standing with posters that say ‘Pakistan Murdabad’ right inside the mosque. We are not upset about the posters. What we condemn is the act of entering a mosque during prayer and shouting slogans. That was disrespectful” he said, reported Bhaskar

He alleged that Acharya was deliberately trying to disrupt communal peace in the city, adding that the BJP MLA has repeatedly violated the law, yet no action has been taken against him. Khan warned that the community would take to the streets if no action was taken within the next two days.

What lies ahead: peace or protest?

The situation in Jaipur remains tense. Muslim leaders have so far shown restraint, opting for legal routes and official communication with law enforcement. But the community’s patience seems to be wearing thin. With deadlines issued and the promise of protests looming large, it remains to be seen whether the administration will act against Balmukund Acharya—or risk further communal unrest in Rajasthan’s capital.

Political fallout: BJP leadership distances itself

The controversy drew criticism from within the BJP as well. According to reports, Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma and senior party leaders were unhappy with Acharya’s actions, especially given the sensitive environment. State BJP President Madan Rathore reportedly called Acharya to express his disapproval. Following the conversation, Acharya assured the leadership that he would exercise greater caution in the future and avoid similar incidents.

Previous controversies: a pattern of provocative actions

This incident is not the first time Acharya has found himself at the centre of controversy. Earlier, he had campaigned against the consumption of meat, the use of loudspeakers by mosques, and the wearing of hijabs by girls in schools. He also demanded the removal of Bangladeshi and Rohingya refugees from Jaipur. These actions have drawn criticism from various quarters, with opponents accusing him of stoking communal tensions for political gain.

In one notable incident, Acharya was accused of trespassing and inappropriate behaviour at a Shia religious site in Jaipur’s Bada Badanpura area. Community leaders urged swift action, citing threats to communal harmony and complaints about police inaction as troubling factors.

The road ahead: nurturing communal harmony

The events of May 2 have laid bare the fragility of communal relations in Jaipur. Though Acharya’s apology may have been intended to calm tensions, the strain it placed on inter-community trust is hard to ignore. While the courts will eventually determine legal accountability, the deeper task lies in mending the city’s social fabric.

Leaders from both Hindu and Muslim communities have stepped forward, calling for honest dialogue, mutual respect, and a reaffirmation of shared values. They remind us that India’s strength lies in its commitment to unity in diversity, and that upholding constitutional ideals must remain a common purpose.

The protest outside the Jama Masjid—and everything that followed—highlights how easily words and actions can shape, and sometimes shake, the delicate balance of communal life. Political leaders, in particular, must tread carefully, knowing their influence carries real weight in such moments.

As Jaipur looks to move forward, the path must be one of listening, empathy, and rebuilding trust—step by step, neighbour by neighbour.

Related:

Rajasthan: Newly elected BJP MLA from Hawa Mahal constituency, Bal Mukund Acharya launches assault on minority-run meat food stalls

Hindu Extremist Groups Target Meat Shops in Multiple Indian Cities

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]]> Terrorism’s Shadow: Rising hatred against Indian Muslims after Pahalgam terror attack https://sabrangindia.in/terrorisms-shadow-rising-hatred-against-indian-muslims-after-pahalgam-terror-attack/ Mon, 05 May 2025 06:16:49 +0000 https://sabrangindia.in/?p=41593 Pahalgam attack: A blot on humanity The first and foremost basic right is the right to live and respect human life. The holy Quran lays down: “Whosoever kills an innocent, it is as if he has killed all mankind; and whoever saves a person, it is as if he has saved all mankind”. On April […]

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]]> Pahalgam attack: A blot on humanity

The first and foremost basic right is the right to live and respect human life. The holy Quran lays down: “Whosoever kills an innocent, it is as if he has killed all mankind; and whoever saves a person, it is as if he has saved all mankind”.

On April 22, India witnessed the unprecedented terror attack that led to the death of 26 innocent civilians in the Baisaran Valley (Kashmir). The five terrorists who were involved in the firing were members of the Resistance Front (TRF), a unit of Laskar-e-Taiba. The group claimed that the attack was in response to the government policy of the Indian government in Kashmir.

In response to the cowardly attack on the civilian, the Indian government has suspended the Indus treaty, expelled Pakistani advisors, cancelled SAARC visas, and closed the Attari border for Pakistani citizens.

The whole country stood in solidarity with the victims and condemned the terror attack in a single voice irrespective of religion or any differences. The prime minister said that ‘India will pursue Kashmir attackers to the end of the earth.’ He further said that the biggest strength in the war against terrorism is the unity of the country and the solidarity of 140 crore Indians.

The Home Minister, Amit Shah, called an all-party meeting to explain the incident and status in the Kashmir Valley. The whole opposition united and gave their unprecedented support to the government, demanding a strict punishment for the terrorist.

The government in the meeting had accepted that there was a security lapse that led to the unprecedented attack that killed 26 civilians and injured more than 20. Since 2019 i.e. after revocation of Article 370, the Modi government has argued Kashmir was returning to normalcy, the attack exposed loopholes in its approach.

The Discrimination faced by Muslims after Pahalgam attack

The whole issue has been diverted to the Hindu-Muslim, Muslim-Pakistan issue in social media. The major reason that needs to be debated on national TV should be what led to this incident, instead of discussing these problems and questioning the security lapse on the part of the government, the whole burden of attack has been shifted on the shoulders of the Muslims.

A post was uploaded on social media ‘X,’ previously Twitter, by the official account of the ruling party BJP’s Chhattisgarh state unit, making a Ghibli image of a woman mourning the death of her husband at the attack site with the caption “Dharm pucha Jaati nahi.”

The rising tide of polarization in India has created an environment where Muslims are often targets of discrimination and hate speech. The question of their faith, religion, and nationalism subjected them to public humiliation.

Various videos and images surfaced on social media wherein hatred was spread against the Muslims and especially the Kashmiri Muslims, portraying them as the accomplices of the attack.

As Indian government forces continue to hunt for the attackers in Kashmir’s dense jungles and mountains, Kashmiris living across India, especially students, have reported heckling, harassment and threats by far-right Hindu groups – or even their classmates.

From Uttarakhand, Punjab, to Uttar Pradesh, landlords are pushing Kashmiri tenants out; and shopkeepers are refusing to trade with them. Several Kashmiri students are sleeping at airports as they try to make their way home.

Areeba, 22 years Kashmiri student said (Reported by Article 14) “we are stuck”. We can’t go outside, and we can’t go home. Even booking a cab to the airport feels like risking our lives,” “I feel like a prisoner here, just because I’m Kashmiri, just because I’m Muslim. This flat that was once my home feels like a cage now.”

A video was released by Hindu Raksha Dal leader Lalit Sharma warning the Kashmiri students to leave the state within the stipulated time or face consequences. The Jammu and Kashmir Students Association (JKSA) claimed that the students received mass threats from the right-wing organization.

Another incident occurred in Kolkata wherein a doctor refused to give treatment to a pregnant Muslim woman, saying, “After the Kashmir incident, I’m not going to treat any Muslim patients.”

All these incidents, led to the brewing of hatred against the Muslims, especially the Kashmiris, across the country, which subsequently led to the atrocities against the Muslims.

Pahalgam Attack casts big shadows on Kashmir’s tourism economy

Kashmir was slowly rebuilding its image as a peaceful tourist destination and bring large investment in the valley after the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019. When Kashmir valley should have encroaching with the laughter of tourist, it was silenced by the gunfire. The attack on innocent civilians on April 22 didn’t just end lives, it ended the season of hope.

Kashmir, which was on the path of development and innovation from conflict to calm, has once again been dragged back by the same old shadows; it’s not just silenced the people but the whole economy of Kashmir.

The right wing openly criticized and boycotted the Kashmiri goods and vendors across the country. The Congress president, Mallika Arjun Kharge, and other MPs from the opposition have raised the similar issue that there are several social media handles that are raising such false narratives against Muslims and Kashmiris, which must be tackled with a hard hand.

Kashmir has been affected by tourism, which is the lifeline of the Kashmiri people. The government of India must provide financial assistance to the local people of Kashmir. In case of unemployment and poverty, the people of Kashmir will lose confidence in the democracy and turn back to militancy once again. If this were to be the case, the objective of repealing Article 370 will fall short in just a minute.

Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, a prominent freedom fighter and first Education Minister of Independent India, while standing on the stairs of Jama Masjid Delhi, addressed the Muslims planning to leave India for Pakistan at the time of partition and said, “Jo chala gaya usey bhool ja, Hind ko apni Jannat bana!  (Forget all those who had left/Treat India as your only trust.”). Muslims are very much Indian by birth and by choice; they have a double claim over the country. The question of their faith and love for this country will weaken the social fabric of this country.

Khan Obaida & Mohd Saem Ansari, currently in his 4th year pursuing B.A.LL.B from Aligarh Muslim University

Disclaimer: The views expressed here are the author’s personal views, and do not necessarily represent the views of Sabrangindia.

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]]> Echoes of Hate: Online anti-Muslim hate spreads against Muslim businesses and workers after Pahalgam attack https://sabrangindia.in/echoes-of-hate-online-anti-muslim-hate-spreads-against-muslim-businesses-and-workers-after-pahalgam-attack/ Mon, 28 Apr 2025 12:10:41 +0000 https://sabrangindia.in/?p=41475 Following the Pahalgam attack, a wave of anti-Muslim incidents reported across the country, from online targeting of Muslim businesses to harassment of shopkeepers and vendors, communal rumours spread like wildfire, igniting fear and fracturing the nation's social fabric, this is the dangerous consequence of unchecked online hate manifesting in real-world violence

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]]> In the digital aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack, a disturbing trend of online hate has taken root, demonstrating a clear object: the economic and social marginalisation of the Muslim community. The meaning behind this digital onslaught is the propagation of collective guilt and the dehumanisation of Muslims, falsely associating an entire religious group with an act of terror committed by individuals. This manifests through the widespread circulation of readymade templates and scripted messages on social media platforms, specifically targeting businesses owned by Muslims and explicitly calling for their economic boycott.

The effect of this orchestrated online hate campaign is multi-faceted and deeply damaging. Socially, it fosters an environment of fear and distrust, further polarising communities and entrenching existing prejudices. The constant barrage of hateful content online normalises discrimination and can incite real-world violence and ostracisation. This digital propaganda effectively weaponises social media, turning it into a platform for disseminating prejudice and enacting a form of collective punishment due to stereotypes.

In Dombivli, protesters called for economic boycott of Muslim vendors

While a protest was organised in Dombivli city of Thane district ostensibly to condemn the Pahalgam terror attack, disturbing elements within the gathering have surfaced, raising serious concerns about the underlying motivations and potential for communal incitement. A video from the event reveals a man addressing the assembled crowd, and instead of solely focusing on denouncing terrorism, he openly called for the economic boycott of non-Hindus within the area. This inflammatory rhetoric specifically targeted the livelihoods of fruit sellers and local vendors, effectively painting an entire community with the brush of suspicion and demanding their economic marginalisation.

This shift in focus from condemning a specific act of violence to targeting an entire religious demographic for economic strangulation is deeply alarming. It highlights how events intended to express national solidarity and condemnation of terrorism can be hijacked by individuals seeking to propagate divisive agendas and incite discriminatory practices against minority communities, turning grief and anger into tools for economic coercion and social exclusion within the local sphere of Dombivali.

The insidious nature of online hate lies in its ability to spread rapidly and anonymously, leaving a lasting scar on the social fabric and hindering any prospects of reconciliation and understanding.

Nine BJP workers booked for ‘abusing, assaulting’ Muslim hawkers in Dadar

Similarly, Mumbai police have registered a case against nine BJP workers, including Akshata Tendulkar, president of Mahim Assembly, for allegedly abusing and assaulting Muslim hawkers in the Dadar market area, following a complaint filed by hawker Saurabh Mishra. The case is being handled by the Shivaji Park police.

The Indian Express reported that the incident happened on Thursday evening. Tendulkar and his eight associates reached Dadar market area opposite Rangoli store and allegedly asked hawkers if they were Muslims, the complaint read. Mishra added that they assaulted one of the Muslim workers who work under him.

“They asked my worker Sofiyan Shahid Ali his name and then abused and assaulted him. When Ali ran away from the place, they chased him and again assaulted him,” Mishra said

In a separate account, Tendulkar, speaking to a news channel, defended the group’s actions by asserting they were pressing for police intervention against alleged Bangladeshi nationals using forged Indian documents. He claimed that their repeated complaints about illegal immigrants selling produce in the area had been consistently ignored by law enforcement.

“We had requested police to take action against those Bangladeshi nationals who have created fake Indian documents and were selling fruits and vegetables as hawkers. We and local residents were angry over the matter. Local residents were asking us what the BMC and police are doing? On Thursday we had gone on a round to check where all Muslim people works and what (solution) can be done” Tendulkar said, reported the Indian Express.

DCP Zone 5 Ganesh Gawde stated that the Shivaji Park police station has registered a case against the nine accused under sections 189(2), 191(2), 115(2), 351(2), and 352 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, as well as sections 37(1) and 135 of the MP Act. He confirmed that the investigation into the matter is currently underway

BJP’s national spokesperson, Shehzad Poonawalla, offered a similar narrative, using the same platform to urge a different kind of boycott. He took to X, stating, “Dear Hindus Jaat ke naam pe batoge, Toh Dharm ke naam pe katoge Telling you this as an Indian Muslim, Jo tumhe jaati me baante – take a pledge to boycott such people forever #PahalgamTerroristAttack.”

Muslim worker removed from temple job by right-wing group

In a disturbing manifestation of the heightened communal tensions, a Muslim youth named Shahid reportedly faced the abrupt termination of his employment at a temple. The sole reason cited for his dismissal was his religious identity, with the tragic incident in Pahalgam being used as a pretext. Shahid’s case starkly illustrates the insidious reach of communal prejudice, where an individual’s established work within a place of worship became irrelevant in the face of generalised suspicion directed towards an entire community.

A user while sharing the video of incident, wrote o X that “Hindus are no longer in a mood to tolerate. After #PahalgamTerrorAttack, an economic boycott has begun, removing them from business and labour roles. Finally, Hindus are uniting”

Indore doctor refused to treat a Muslim patient in response to the Pahalgam attack

The ripple effects of the Pahalgam terror attack tragically extended into the realm of healthcare, as evidenced by a deeply concerning incident in Madhya Pradesh’s Indore. Dr. Neha Arora Verma, a medical professional, reportedly refused to treat a Muslim patient, explicitly citing the terror attack as the reason for her denial. The doctor went so far as to share a screenshot of her message, in which she callously informed the Muslim woman, “I’m sorry, we are no longer taking any patients at our centre.”

This act of blatant discrimination, seemingly motivated by collective punishment and prejudice, highlights the dangerous ways in which fear and communal animosity can permeate even essential services like healthcare.

While Dr. Verma subsequently deleted the post, the initial message served as a stark and disturbing illustration of how the aftermath of a terror attack can be shamefully exploited to deny fundamental rights based solely on religious identity, further fracturing the social fabric of the community.

Hate banners surface in Punjabi Bagh calling for economic boycott

Shockingly, hate-filled boycott banners have surfaced in Punjabi Bagh, openly targeting an entire community and inciting economic ostracisation. This blatant display of prejudice, in a public space, sends a chilling message, fostering an atmosphere of fear and distrust. The banners represent more than just isolated incidents; they are a symptom of a larger, more insidious problem.

Adding fuel to the already raging online propaganda advocating for the economic boycott of Muslims in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack, a right-wing organisation identifying as Sanatan Hindu Ekta Vichar Manch amplified this divisive rhetoric on X. Their post explicitly called for a sweeping boycott, urging followers to “Boycott everything from which even one rupee goes to terrorists or has the possibility of going,” before listing a wide array of targets including “Films, Tourism, Hotel business, Street vendors, Shops, Building material, Anything at all.”

Inflammatory Speech by VHP leader in Alibaug

Chetan Patel, the Raigad district president of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), delivered a deeply troubling speech during a gathering in Raigad, Alibaug. In his address, Patel called for the social and economic boycott of Muslims, labelled secular-minded individuals as “worms” who must be crushed, and encouraged the use of violence and public humiliation against those advocating communal harmony. Referring to the situation as a “dharma yudh” (religious war), he invoked dangerous communal imagery, urging Hindus to tighten economic controls and sever ties with minorities. His statements not only vilified an entire community but also encouraged vigilantism and collective punishment, striking at the very foundations of India’s constitutional commitment to secularism and equality.

Following the circulation of the video on social media, several concerned citizens raised complaints against Patel, highlighting the incendiary and divisive nature of his remarks. In response to mounting backlash, Patel issued a video apology, attempting to limit the scope of his comments by claiming they were directed solely at those supporting terrorism and foreign forces. He further stated that his intention was to preserve communal harmony in Alibaug. However, his original speech remains deeply problematic: it normalised hate speech, promoted unlawful actions like economic boycotts and violence, and severely undermined efforts to foster peace and unity. Even the subsequent apology fails to meaningfully address the dangerous consequences of the original call to action, which risked legitimising discrimination and communal violence in an already volatile environment.

Transcript of the violent derogatory speech:

“In Alibaug, the town of ‘dead’ Hindus, to see so many of you gathered, I feel happy. Every time, instead of acting, we sit at home and curse some Salim, Maqdoom, or whoever, blaming them. Don’t blame them. Spot and single out the ‘secular worms’ among us, in our society, in your society — get them, crush them.”

“These are the people who have taken on the mantle (the vakalatnama) and constantly say, “All Muslims are not like this,” and so on. Catch hold of them and ask them: who gave you this vakalatnama? If we want this to end, we must first crush these ‘secular worms’ among us. Single them out. Socially boycott them. If they are making these arguments anywhere, slap them, fling cow dung on them. This has to stop. Until this stops, such incidents will continue happening.”

“Most critically, cut off their economic lifeline. This started during the Nagpur riots. Things in Nagpur are hawa tight (they have been taught a lesson). It has started in Nashik too. I know that in Alibaug squeezing them economically is tougher, but we must try and crush them economically.”

“Every rupee you spend on their business will be used against you. No one was asked over there whether you are Agri, Mali, or of any particular caste. They were simply asked to read the kalma, their pants were stripped, and then they were shot dead. They attacked only Hindus. Make them feel ashamed.”

“From tomorrow itself, when you are purchasing anything, at least practice an economic boycott. (Claps from five or six people.) Ask the names of those you are buying from. Until this starts, every month we will be meeting here for a shradhanjali (condolence meeting).”

“If we want to escape this cycle, economic boycott is the way. Every path has its method — not every person needs to brandish a sword. This should not be announced publicly, but it must sometimes be said. All of you assembled here — spread this message to your neighbours.”

“Purchasers too: look at whom you are buying from. If he is giving it for two rupees less, why can’t you? Start this. Tighten their economic strings. Squeeze them. Start now.”

“Cursing PM Modi or any Prime Minister or Home Minister every morning is not enough. This is a dharma yudh (religious war). Understand the 350-year-old history. Stand united, or else we will be chopped like potatoes and onions!”

“Forget brotherhood and harmony. A person who is not a brother to his own cousin sister, how can he be a brother to you?”

“Be ready for war. Economic boycott is the only way.” (Claps; around 15 onlookers present.)

Transcript of the apology:

“Namaskar. Jai Shri Ram. A video of mine has gone viral on social media. In order to prevent any misuse or misunderstanding, I wish to clarify that my words and opinions were not directed against any patriotic Indian citizen. They were aimed solely at those who, directly or indirectly, support the heinous act that took place in Pahalgam on April 22. My words were against those forces — from Pakistan, Bangladesh, or individuals associated with them — who should not be economically empowered. In my peaceful Alibaug, nothing should happen to disturb political, communal, or inter-religious harmony. It is with this intent that I am issuing this second video statement. If any Indian citizen’s religious sentiments have been hurt by my previous statement, I sincerely apologise. Jai Hind.”

The digital firestorm following the Pahalgam terror attack has tragically ignited real-world flames of discrimination. Online calls for economic boycotts against Muslim businesses, amplified by right-wing groups and reflected in localised protests like the one in Dombivli, have chillingly materialised into tangible acts of prejudice. The assault on Muslim hawkers in Dadar by BJP workers, explicitly targeting their religious identity, and the discriminatory dismissal of a Muslim youth from his temple job, alongside the denial of medical care to a Muslim patient in Indore, paint a grim picture of collective punishment and eroding social trust.

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The post Echoes of Hate: Online anti-Muslim hate spreads against Muslim businesses and workers after Pahalgam attack appeared first on SabrangIndia.

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