Image Courtesy:navbharattimes.indiatimes.com
The infamous hate spewing priest, Yati Narsinghanand Saraswati, has recently uploaded a video on his Facebook account threatening to destroy all mosques in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh.
He openly announced that if any ‘Jihadi’ (militant) comes close to or tries to extract even a brick used to build temples, the consequence would be grave, and that all mosques in Ghaziabad will be extirpated. In the video, one can see many followers and disciples screaming ‘Jai-Jai’ in chorus, validating the virulent idea Yati propagated.
Clad in his typical saffron attire with a garland around his neck, he praises the strength of the Hindu community and how they can never be defeated. While urging the fellow Hindus, Yati also said that jail is like a temple for him and his other fellow sadhus. The reason behind this could be that perhaps he knows what he said amounts to Hate Speech but said it anyway!
Further, he reiterated, “Agar kissi mandir ko hilane ki koshish jihaadiyo ne ki, toh uska itna tagra jawaab denge jiski koi had nahi.” (Translation: If any Islamic militant attempts to destroy our temples, we will respond in a manner that has no limits). The video has already received 20,000 views with comments like “eradicate Islam” “har har Mahadev” (a popular Hindu chant which translates to Lord Shiva everywhere).
After finishing his speech, Yati passed on the mic to one Pinky alias Sher (tiger) alias Bhupendra Tomar who had reportedly admitted to being part of the violence that took place on the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) campus in January 2020. In an interview given to The Print, he said, “JNU is a hub of communists and we won’t tolerate this. They abuse our religion and our country. Their attitude towards our religion is anti-national. In future, too, we will take the same action in other universities if someone tries to indulge in anti-national activities.”
Before starting his speech, Bhupendra appealed to all Hindu audience members to shout slogans in a manner that is audible to all ka***** (an expletive and slang word used to describe Muslim men) in the vicinity. This was followed by loud chants of “Jai Shri Ram” (long live lord Ram) and “harhar mahadev”. He said he will gouge the eyes of all Muslims who dare destroy any temple. He also appealed to all fellow Hindus to associate themselves with the temples and chant the Hanuman Chalisa. This will increase their strength by four times.
He went on to threaten that if a Muslim even raises his eye towards a temple, his eyes will be gouged. “We are in the state to finish them (the ones who try to destroy temples)”, he added. This event was organised in support of another priest Machchendra Puri, who, according to a Dainik Bhaskar report, was booked for assault after he and his supporters beat a man who was playing music during aarti.
In the almost 9-minute-long video, Machchendra Puri is seen standing next to Yati and Bhupendra where at some point Yati even states that if anybody tries to touch or target Puri, they will not tolerate it.
Such speeches and anti-minority remarks amounts to Hate Speech under various sections of the Indian Penal Code. But till now, the Ghaziabad Police has reportedly not taken any action despite being tagged in several posts to do the same.
This is a deliberate and malicious attempt to outrage and hurt the religious sentiments of a particular community, that goes beyond the limits of free speech permitted by the Constitution. CJP in the past, has approached different authorities like the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITy), National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) and the National Commission for Minorities (NCM) against Yati’s actions. Recently, the NHRC has also registered a case against Narsinghanand for his hate speech against Islam made in April this year, on the complaint filed by Haji Mohd. Sameer Boghani, president of the Madariya Sufi Foundation.
Boghani had told SabrangIndia that he was “concerned and worried” about how the venomous hate speech by self-proclaimed Hindutva Leader, Yati Narsinghanand Saraswati was being normalised. Words like ‘jihadi’ are being generalised normalised and used to refer to Muslims, he said.
Related:
NHRC registers case against Narsinghanand Saraswati
CJP approaches MEITy and Minority Affairs Ministry against Yati Narsinghanand
CJP approaches NCPCR and NCM against assault on minor for entering temple