Dharmendra Pandey, a popular singer of devotional songs in the Siddharth Nagar district of Uttar Pradesh, has been allegedly using his platform to sow the seeds of communal discord. This came to light when a video of his speech in Itwa, where he urged people to take up arms to build a Hindu Rashtra, went viral on social media.
In the video, Pandey addresses people gathered at a Jagran (traditional event where devotional songs are performed), and asks, “Did you bang plates during Corona? Did you light diyas? When Modi ji asked you to hoist the tricolour, did you or didn’t you?” He then goes on to suggest that the Prime Minister might one day call upon them to build a Hindu Rashtra. He tells the audience, “The Prime Minister is testing you to see if tomorrow the country needs my Sanatani brothers to bear arms,” and asks, “So who is ready?”
Pandey then goes on to suggest people should keep arms ready. “People of Itwa, have you ever had coconut water? That thing that they use to cut off the top of the coconut (a machete), you should keep them at home,” suggest Pandey. He goes on to say, “Women are requested to sharpen their chimtas (tongs). It is possible that Modi ji will come any time and say that I am declaring India a Hindu Rashtra.”
At this point, the crowd starts cheering loudly and Pandey continues, “I want to declare India a Hindu Rashtra. If you find anyone rioting, engaging in terrorism or stone pelting, you should carry your weapon. Is everybody ready?”
This is an open call to bear arms and therefore qualifies as hate speech. What is also shocking is the impunity with which Pandey attributes the potential call to build a Hindu Rashtra to the Prime Minister.
Though the exact date of the event is yet to be ascertained, media reports say that Uttar Pradesh’s education minister Satish Dwivedi was also present at the event. According to Latestly, the Siddhartha Nagar police, reportedly “feigned complete ignorance” about the event, though it released a statement saying, “We are examining the video and action will be taken accordingly.”
Also read:
Hindu Rashtra is the ‘antidote’ to anti-India propaganda, will be realised by 2025: HJS
Hate Speech: Is administering an ‘oath’ to make India a ‘Hindu-rashtra’ legal?