In reflecting the state of hate that the Hindutva right wing groups have openly encouraged, even small time goons have gained confidence that the local police and will not take action agains them, and have started roaming markets threatening Muslim shopkeepers with dire consequences. A 58 second video, perhaps shot by one the saffron staff wearing members of the self-appointed Hindutva crew shows one such threat, delivered with a chilling ‘promise’ that the worst is yet to come and Muslims will have to ‘pay a bigger price later’.

“Can NSA or UAPA apply against these? Will it come in the class of breaking the social brotherhood,” asked the social media user who uploaded the clip.

क्या इनके खिलाफ NSA या UAPA लागू हो सकती है? क्या ये सामाजिक भाइचारे को तोड़ने की कक्षा में आएगा? pic.twitter.com/jmnGEyH3Ev

— Iqra Quraishi (@Iqraquraishi1) November 5, 2020

The baseball cap wearing gangleader is heard and seen warning the bearded Muslim shopkeeper not to stock or sell any fireworks with the images or names of Hindu gods, specifically Lakshmi and Ganesh, the main deities worshiped during Diwali. “We will send decoy customers to you till Diwali,” said the goon, “and if even one such Lakshmi bomb, Ganesh bomb, firecracker is found in your shop. We will take action that you will not like. Understood?”

“I promise, gentleman’s promise,” said the Muslim man extending his arm for a handshake that is rejected by the goon who identifies himself as ‘Bhaiyya’ something, he is mumbling his name, only to raise his voice again stating Coronavirus for rejecting his handshake. None of them are wearing masks, or maintaining social distance. 

Then another goon from the Hindutva gang, a bearded one this time, starts threatening the much older than him Muslim shopkeeper. His threats reveal the real, more sinister plan of the right-wing gangs out patrolling the area. “We will never shake your hand. If after one cartoon so many crowds can gather, we are also not impotent. If you are against CAA-NRC you are against us. We are asking everyone not to buy from Muslim shops, as they had shut down in protest against CAA-NRC. This is clear. When you are against the nation, we are against you,” says the bearded goon.

The Muslim shopkeeper tells him its not true, then requests the goon not to get angry and even apologises for everything. The Hindutva gang leader then tells his brother-goon, that they are focused for now on threatening the shopkeeper about dire consequences if Lakshmi or Ganesh branded fire crackers are sold, and “they (Muslims) will have to pay the price for the CAA-NRC issue later”.

From their dialect, accent and way of speaking Hindi, it appears that this threat visit was carried out somewhere in Uttar Pradesh, or in an area that lies on the Delhi-Uttar Pradesh border, or maybe an area on the outer suburbs of the National Capital Region. While identities, and affiliations of the right-wing goons is not clear, it is clear that they are confident that they will not be taken to task by the state police, or that they enjoy, or work for someone with political connections.

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The post You will have to pay for anti CAA-NRC protests: Open threat by right-wing extremists appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Fascist sections of society continue to spew venom against social activist Swami Agnivesh on social media platforms mere hours after his death. His work in the field of bonded labour and child rights had earned him many enemies over the years. However, the attempted-chaos of these hate-mongers pales in comparison to the mob-lynchings that Swamiji has had to face over the course of his life.

Some of these lynchings were as recent as August 17, 2018 when the saffron-clad activist was allegedly attacked by BJP workers when he was enroute to pay his respects to late Indian statesman Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

However, the attack on July 16, 2018 was far worse when Swamiji was allegedly brutally assaulted by a BJP mob in Jharkhand. Those close to the activist claimed that the day marked the start of his declining health.

That day Swamiji was to attend a seminar in Pakur, Jharkhand. A crowd of BJP workers outside his hotel protested his visit to the state alleging that he was hand-in-glove with Christian missionaries and worked against sanatan dharma.

The workers attacked him while chanting slogans of “Jai Shree Ram.” What followed was a horrendous incident of mob-lynching where Swamiji was punched, kicked, dragged and verbally abused by the crowd despite his pleadings.

Tigger warning: Visuals of physical assault

Surviving the attack, Swamiji said he had offered to have a dialogue with the angry mob but to no avail. The incident was widely condemned by politicians, civil society and activists alike as ‘an attack on democracy.’ The police detained 20 people on suspicion of a premeditated attack. However, the detained were soon allowed to go.

Later on, it transpired that the workers were provoked by a video wherein Swami Agnivesh ridicules the over-the-top comments made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. His sharp and direct dismissal of the role of medical science in Hindu mythology (as claimed by Modi) seemed to have offended them. Over the years, Swamiji was known for his no-nonsense and secular attitude towards all religions.

Angered by the horrendous incident, people took to the streets in protest in Mumbai, Delhi, Bhubaneswar, Bengaluru, Tumkur in Karnataka, Jaipur, Khammam in Telangana as well as in the foreign land of Canada.

The protesters saw the attack as a muzzling of the voice of reason. They insisted that the attack must be taken seriously especially since it followed the killings of Narendra Dahbolkar, Govind Pansare, MM Kalburgi and Gauri Lankesh by the Hindu extremists.

Despite this traumatic event, Swami Agnivesh continued to fight for the rights of marginalised. He breathed his last at Delhi’s Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences (ILBS) on September 11, 2020.

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The post The darkest day: Attack on Swami Agnivesh appeared first on SabrangIndia.