Attacks on Muslims continued well into the month of March in India, as violence against minorities went on unabated. March was already stained with more lynchings and the rise of cow vigilantes like Monu Manesar, Puneeth Karehalli and Radha Semwal Dhoni to name a few.
As Ramzan began in March, it also also welcomed Ram Navami and Hanuman Jayanthi, both Hindu festivals sprinkled with hate speech and objection over namaz offerings in different places. The violence, which took place last year as well, created an atmosphere of anarchy and unrest amongst the minority community in non-BJP ruled states such as Bihar and West Bengal.
This article is a part of Siasat.com’s hate-crime tracker which chronicles atrocities against Muslims in India. The tracker chronicles everything from verbal discrimination, assault and lynching/murder each month of the year, and a report will be published.
March 2: A Mazar (Muslim shrine) was demolished by right-wing worker Radha Semwal Dhoni and her colleagues claiming it was built on state land. The incident happened in Uttarakhand. A video has emerged where two men are seen breaking the shrine with hammers.
Radha Semwal Dhoni with Hindutva priest Narsinghanand Saraswati
March 9: A 47-year-old Muslim man was lynched by a Hindu mob who accused him and his nephew of carrying beef. The incident happened in Rasulpur of Chhapra district, Bihar on March 7.
In a press release, police said that three people have been arrested and the hunt is on for the remaining accused. According to Maktoob Media, the deceased Naseeb Qureshi and his nephew Firoz Qureshi were returning home when they were attacked by a mob of 10-15 people.
While Qureshi was brutally beaten with sticks and sharp weapons, his nephew managed to escape. However, when he approached the police to rescue his uncle, he received callous behaviour.
March 14: Fifteen people were detained by the police on Tuesday after alleged stone pelting was reported on a mosque, an Urdu medium school and a few Muslim houses during a Hindu bike rally to unveil the statue of Sangolli Rayanna in Haveri district, Karnataka. Reports suggest that a similar rally was carried out and a few members of the Muslim community were alleged to have pelted stones.
The mob allegedly also threatened the children going to the school and pelted stones at the nearby mosque, and the nearby Urdu school was also pelted with stones.
March 15: A case was registered in Maharashtra’s Ahmednagar against suspended BJP MLA from Telangana T Raja Singh after a video of his vitriolic speech targeting Muslims went viral on social media.
Suspended Telangana BJP MLA T Raja Singh
“Whoever speaks against Hindus, we will not spare them,” Singh said to a rousing saffron crowd comprising mostly youth in Rahta tehsil. “In our Hindu Rashtra you won’t even get a loudspeaker to do what you do five times a day,” he said in an apparent reference to Muslims offering prayers.
March 17: Two meat vendors were allegedly beaten up and robbed by seven men, including three Delhi Police personnel, in east Delhi’s Shahdara, a senior officer said. The incident took place in the Anand Vihar area when the two meat vendors were travelling in their car and hit a scooter. The accused, alleged to be ‘gau rakshaks’, urinated on the victims’ faces and threatened to kill them, the police said.
March 19: Members of a right-wing group, Hindu Jan Garjana Morcha, attacked a women’s public washroom, among other acts of violence in an attempt to remove the name ‘Aurangabad’ from its board.
According to reports, the incident took place during a march organised by the Sakal Hindu Ekatrikaran Samiti. The rally witnessed speeches by the editor-in-chief of Sudarshan News Suresh Chavhanke who used derogatory terms to address Muslims whilst slamming Aurangzeb.
“There is no body of Arungzeb in his grave, Marahatas have done with him what America did with Osama bin Laden,” claimed Chavhanke challenging history writers to dig up his grave.
March 25: Workers of the right-wing organisation Bajrang Dal allegedly assaulted a Muslim man who was with his Hindu female friend at a park in Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh. They accused him of promoting ‘Love Jihad’.
A video went viral on social media platforms wherein the Hindutva members can be seen questioning the young man while the girl pleads with them to let go.
March 27: After reports of a young Muslim man being arrested by the Vadgaon police in Maharashtra emerged, Hindutva groups took out a rally in Sawarde village demanding the accused’s family be exiled.
According to a local Marathi news Lokmat, the accused – Mohammed Momim – had put up a Whatsapp status on Mughal ruler Aurangzeb in reference to the recent name change of the city of Aurangabad.
Disturbing:-
A Muslim man in Kolhapur had kept a video as his WhatsApp status.
That video praised Aurangzeb.
The police arrested him and charged him for hurting religious sentiments.
Mohammed Momim was finally arrested by the police under Section 295 (Injuring or defiling place of worship with intent to insult the religion of any class) of the Indian Penal Code.
However, matters did not end here. Hindutva organisations took out a bike rally demanding the Sarpanch of the village declare Momim’s family as outcasts. They wanted the family to leave the village for good.
March 27: A group of right-wing organisation men objected to the offering of Taraweeh prayers by some Muslims in Lajpat Nagar of Moradabad district, Uttar Pradesh.
Rashtriya Bajrang Dal men, led by its state president Rohan Saxena, barged into the house of one Zakir Hussain who was praying along with his family. Saxena alleged this was creating an atmosphere of panic nearby. A notice was issued to one Zakir Hussain and nine others.
Notice to Zakir Hussain & 9 others for reading Namaz at Hussain’s godown. Notice says they might disturb peace and asks why shouldn’t they execute bonds with Rs. 5 lakh surety. So reading namaz at private property disturbs peace,but those protesting against it are ensuring peace. pic.twitter.com/DsdzsvgKJ8
March 27: Leaders from the ruling BJP delivered an Islamophobic speech in full swing at the Digital Hindu Conclave held on March 18.
BJP leader Kapil Mishra, Kajal Shingala aka Kajal Hindusthani and far-right author Kshitij Patukale compared minorities, particularly those belonging to the Muslim community, to snakes. She called for violence, as the only way to attain Akhand Bharat besides raising the topic of ‘Love Jihad.’
Kajal Shingala said that there can never be brotherhood between Hindus and Muslims and called out those who support secularism and peace between the two communities as a “sinking ship”.
BJP leader Kapil Mishra spoke about ‘Love Jihad’. Taking the recent murder of Shraddha Walker, whose live-in partner Aftab Poonawala stored her chopped body in a refrigerator, he said, “There will come a day when we will see ads like keep fruits in the fridge, not ‘Shraddha’.”
March 28: Amid the ongoing Hindu festival of Chaitra Navratri, cow vigilantes and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders forcibly shut down meat shops in several localities.
Videos of BJP leader Ravindra Singh on rounds in the Muslim locality Mandawali Fazalpur in Vinod Nagar of West Delhi surfaced on social media. He demanded local meat traders shut down all nine days of the Hindu festival Navratri which commenced on March 22 (Pratipada Tithi) and ended on March 30 (Navami Tithi).
Chicken shops in the Muslim locality of Mandawali Fazalpur in Vinod Nagar West, Delhi, have been shut down by BJP leader Ravindra Singh in honour of Navratri. pic.twitter.com/OZcIj5cfRj
March 30: A mob of more than 500 persons allegedly attacked policemen in Maharashtra’s Aurangabad wherein a few young men belonging to the Hindu and Muslim communities clashed, police said.
The incident took place in Kiradpura which has a renowned Ram Temple. People belonging to both communities shouted slogans followed by stone pelting at each other.
#Maharashtra | A clash broke out between two groups in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar’s #Kiradpura area
Stones were pelted, some private & police vehicles were set on fire. Police used force to disperse the people and now the situation is peaceful. Police will take strict action… pic.twitter.com/vVoQK2chZk
March 30: Stones were hurled at a Ram Navami procession in the Fatehpura area of Gujarat’s Vadodara city. While some vehicles got damaged, no one was reported injured. The procession passed along its planned route under police protection.
Gujarat | Stone-pelting happened today in Vadodara during Rama Navami Shoba Yatra. As per the police, the situation is under control & peace is prevailing in the affected area. pic.twitter.com/5BGMpxivBy
March 30: The Tamil Nadu Police arrested seven persons including a juvenile for allegedly forcing a woman to remove her hijab at the Vellore Fort Complex in Tamil Nadu.
The woman had gone to the fort along with her friend when she was surrounded by the men who demanded her to remover the hijab. One of them shot the incident on a phone and uploaded it on social media platforms which went viral.
March 30: The Karnataka police lathi-charged Bajrang Dal and Hindu activists when their protest against the recital of the Quran at a historical Hindu religious fair turned violent in Beluru town.
The Hindu organisations had given a bandh call in Beluru town. The situation turned volatile when a Muslim young man raised the slogan “Quran Zindabad” amid the protest.
March 31: After Jalgaon and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Hindu and Muslim groups clashed in the minority-dominated Malvani area of the Malad west suburb during a Ram Navami procession after locals objected to loud DJ music played during the Hindu religious procession. Enraged, some of the participants allegedly indulged in pelting stones, sparking panic.
Location: Malad, Mumbai
People who were part of a Ram Navami rally stopped outside a mosque in Malwani and raised provocative slogans, causing tension in the area. Police resorted to lathicharge to bring the situation under control. pic.twitter.com/5I6GGgn0HE
Spain has experienced a record-breaking spring heatwave over the past couple of days. A plume of hot, dry air originated over northern Africa, where it has already produced record April temperatures, and spread northwards across Iberia. This resulted in a maximum temperature of 38.7C at Córdoba airport on Thursday, the highest April temperature recorded in Europe. Portugal also beat its April temperature record on Thursday. The heat is expected to subside slightly into the weekend.
In Australia, parts of New South Wales are braced for heavy rain over the weekend. A low pressure system is forecast to affect the region through Saturday and Sunday, with 30-60mm of rainfall expected quite widely, and well over 100mm possible for some coastal areas. The focus of the heaviest rain is likely to be to the south of Sydney. Strong winds are also expected near the coast, especially on Sunday.
In the US, an area of low pressure brought heavy rain and severe weather across parts of the central and southern plains on Wednesday. A cold front associated with this low pressure advanced from west to east across central Texas, forcing stationary warm, moist air upward, which induced several supercell thunderstorms. Large amounts of instability bolstered the longevity of strong updrafts within these storms, promoting the formation of large hailstones.
A person holds hailstones in their hand after a hailstorm in Hurst, Texas. Photograph: @Braynsford1/Reuters
Hailstones with diameters between 5-7cm – similar to that of a tennis ball – fell widely across central Texas, accompanied with gusts of up to 60mph recorded at the surface. The largest hailstone recorded during the event was found just east of Waco, Texas; it was larger than a grapefruit, with a diameter of 11.4cm, caused by a sustained updraft in excess of 100mph.
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Hailstones with a diameter in excess of 5cm were also recorded across much of the Florida peninsula. These were caused by two sea breezes, one either side of the peninsula, converging to create strong uplift, with an updraft ranging between 60-70mph.
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#Weather #tracker #Spains #spring #heatwave #breaks #April #records
( With inputs from : www.theguardian.com )
New Delhi: There are over 14 lakh severely malnourished children in the country as per the government’s Poshan Tracker, the Women and Child Development Ministry said on Wednesday.
Children who are severely malnourished have very low weight for their height, and are nine times more likely to die in case of diseases due to their weakened immune system.
Responding to a question in Rajya Sabha, Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani said under Poshan Tracker, the ICT application for monitoring service delivery under Mission Poshan 2.0, out of approximately 5.6 crore children measured in the month of February 2023, the percentage of severely malnourished children is 2.6 percent. The number comes to be 14,56,000.
The percentage of malnourished children was found to be 7.7 percent which comes to around 43 lakh, the ministry said.
A man in Bengaluru caught his wife cheating on him after he found his car’s GPS history following which he petitioned a local court to direct the police to file an FIR against her.
The man, a private company employee who worked night shifts, married the woman in 2014 and the couple has a six-year-old daughter.
The couple’s relationship was stable until he came across his car’s GPS history which showed that the vehicle was taken out when he was away one night.
The man had purchased the car in the year 2020 with a GPS-tracking system built in.
“A detailed study of the GPS showed the car had moved in the KIA direction by midnight and stopped outside a hotel. It was driven back home a little after 5 am. I visited the hotel and found that my wife and her boyfriend had booked a room using their voter IDs,” the man was quoted by TOI.
After the man confronted the duo, they reportedly threatened him with grave repercussions. The police have filed a case under IPC sections 417 (cheating), 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing handover of property), 506 (criminal intimidation), and 120B in response to the court’s order. (criminal conspiracy).
The woman has reportedly been served summons by the police.
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While hate crimes and attacks on Muslims and minorities today have become a regular occurance, the past year perhaps will be a landmark in India’s modern history for the numerous incidents that were reported all year round. From Islamophobic slurs to the demolition of Muslim homes by state governments, religious bigotry today is in fact exhorted by Hindutva groups.
More importantly, these everyday incidents have also shown us how the mainstream media’s coverage of religious hate crimes is looked at when it comes to Muslims especially. To make sure that there is documentation of the ongoing epoch of Indian society, Siasat.com has been publishing a monthly hate report over the past year.
A major event that reverberated across India was when a flurry of anti-Muslim attacks was reported during the Ram Navami processions across the country. It was something unseen in the country in recent times, given that Ram Navami had never been marked with such violence or incidents of aggression (in Hyderabad now suspended BJP MLA Raja Singh passed derogatory statements at a rally).
Given all that has happened, opposition leaders and activists alike have voiced their concerns over what is happening. Many feel that such attacks on minorities have now mainstreamed hate, and are also an attack on the country’s secular democratic roots post-independence.
To provide a better understanding of what happened over the past year, Siasat.com also compiled a list of the most blatant hate crimes committed in 2022 by right-wing groups and alike.
January
The first month of 2022 witnessed an Islamophobic, misogynist incident wherein a bunch of depraved men decided to ‘auction’ Muslim women online. The whole attack was done on the infamous Bulli Bai app where Muslim women including prominent journalists, activists, and lawyers found themselves being ‘auctioned’.
The app was created on the GitHub platform. Soon after its expose, the Narendra Modi-led central government faced backlash which prompted Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw to launch a probe. Four persons – 21-year-old Vishal Jha, 19-year-old Shweta Singh, 21-year-old Mayank Rawat, and key conspirator Neeraj Bishnoi were arrested.
In a separate incident, a group of people on Clubhouse hosted a chat under the topic ‘Muslim gals are more beautiful than Hindu gals’. The conversation soon went viral for its obscene, sexist remarks about Muslim women and their bodies.
One of the users was heard as saying, “See when people like me, RSS bhakts marry Mullis (a derogatory term for Muslim women), then they will ultimately be Hindus.” This was applauded by others, including women.
The two-minute shocking and odious chat even compared sexual intercourse with Muslim women with the demolition of the Babri Masjid.
In the same series of “discussion” on @Clubhouse, a Brahmin guy says that he has an ‘oedipus complex’ for his mother (a Muslim woman). Very sportingly, he is advised to murder his dad (Hindu man) so he can sleep with her “pink vagina”.
The Mumbai police arrested three people – Akash, Jeshnav Kakkar, and Yash Parashar.
Another horrendous hate crime was reported in Ranchi, wherein a Muslim man was allegedly thrashed, forced to lick his own spit, and chant ‘Jai Shri Ram’ by BJP workers. The victim had allegedly abused Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the party’s Jharkhand president.
In another incident, a Muslim man was attacked by right-wing Hindu organisations for travelling with a Hindu woman in Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh. They took him to the police station and upon investigation, it came to light that they were a married couple.
मुस्लिम लड़का और गैर मुस्लिम लड़की MP उज्जैन से ट्रेन में जा रहे थे, हिंदू संगठन वालों को खबर लगी तो वहाँ पहुँचकर लड़के को पीटते हुए थाने ले गए, जाँच के बाद पुलिस ने बताया कि लड़का और लड़की दोनों शादीशुदा हैं, दोनों में पारिवारिक संबंध भी है, जिसके बाद पुलिस ने उन्हें जाने दिया… pic.twitter.com/Q6u0md3pMC
Here is the detailed report on hate crimes committed in January.
February
February was a melting pot for Karnataka with Hijab row and the murder of 28-year-old Bajrang Dal activist Harsha taking centerstage.
On February 21, Harsha was stabbed to death at Shivamogga following which massive protests broke out. Shops were damaged and vehicles were torched, forcing police to enforce Section 144. “#JusticeForHarsha” trended on Twitter.
Bajrang Dal activist Harsha who was stabbed to death
Six people – Mohammed Kashif, Syed Nadeem, Ashifullah Khan, Rehan Khan, Nehal, and Abdul Afnan – were arrested in connection with the case.
The Hijab ban issue started in December 2021 when six female students were disallowed to enter the classroom wearing hijabs in Karnataka. Soon it snowballed to other states. Incidents from Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar were reported where young hijab-clad Muslim students were not allowed to enter educational institutions.
BJP MP Dharmapuri Arvind from Telangana, in a blatant Islamophobic speech, said that Indian Muslims rely on Sharia law to get married four times but also rely on the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for offences like stealing. He then advocated that as per the Sharia law, the hands of robbers should be cut off.
Here is the detailed report of hate crimes committed in February.
March
March was dominated by several anti-Muslim incidents (including the Karnataka state’s decision to ban the Hijab in religious institutions). Hijab-clad students also fought for their right to wear headscarf in educational institutions. It eventually reached the Karnataka high court, which ruled that it was not an essential religious practice.
The judgement on the hijab row was also marked by other incidents like in Dakshina Kannada district where Muslim shopkeepers were not allowed to do business during temple festivals.
Calls were also made for the boycott of Halal food in Karnataka. There were sudden demands for non-halal meat. #SayNoToHalal started to trend on Twitter. Incidents of Muslim meat shop owners being assaulted were reported, mostly in Karnataka. The state government remained a mute spectator.
Eighteen-year-old Hiba Sheik, who was at the forefront of the hijab row was booked by Karnataka police alongside six other Muslim students over allegations of harassment. She took to Twitter to express that such threats will not intimidate her.
On March 11, Hindutva filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri released The Kashmir Files, based on the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits during the 90s. Its biggest supporter was Prime Minister Narendra Modi who, while addressing a meeting of BJP MPs said, “Jo log hamesha freedom of expression ki jhande lekar ke ghoomte hain, woh poori jamaat bokhala gayi hai pichale paanch-chheh din se (Those who always carry the flag of freedom of expression, this entire group has been rattled these past 5-6 days).”
#WATCH | At BJP Parliamentary Party meet, PM speaks on role of film industry in presenting history. He also mentions ‘The Kashmir Files’; says “People who always raise flag of freedom of expression are restless. Instead of reviewing on facts, campaign being run to discredit it..” pic.twitter.com/mq8iqA6Ajk
Soon after, the film was released tax-free in many Indian states, including Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Goa, Tripura, Haryana, and Uttarakhand. Many incidents of Hindus declaring open threats to the Muslim community were reported in theatres across the country.
The month also saw a boycott of Muslim traders and halal food. Vendors, who had been doing business during various temple festivals for years were suddenly stopped and assaulted by right-wing workers, mostly in Karnataka.
Here is the detailed report of hate crimes committed inMarch
April
Karnataka was once again in the spotlight as calls to ban Muslim traders and businesspersons gained momentum in April. Right-wing organisations including Bajrang Dal, Sri Ram Sene, and Hindu Vedike Jagran rallied stating that no Hindu should do business, buy products or use transportation from Muslims. A 72-year-old Muslim woman was forced to shut down her shop in Karnataka. BJP minister J C Maduswamy justified it by stating the Hindu Religious Institutions and Charitable Endowments Department (HRICED), 2002.
Muslim push cart vendors targeted outside Hanuman Temple in Dharwad. Sri Ram Sene members vandalize & destroy watermelon & other fruits.Ram Sene says #Muslim vendors shouldn’t do business outside temples. Cops present at the location did nothing to stop the vandalism #Karnatakapic.twitter.com/gu0pCjt0lj
Right-wing leader Bajrang Muni, a mahant of Maharshi Shri Lakshman Das Udasin Ashram in Khairabad town, UP, created an uproar when he gave an open rape threat to Muslim women in the presence of police personnel.
Bajrang Muni
On April 10, videos emerged of Hindutva supporters passing through mosques during a religious procession, who used provocative language. Incidents of arson, vandalism, and destruction of mosques in various Indian states such as Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Goa, West Bengal, Telangana, and Bihar were reported.
In Telangana, the Hyderabad police took cognizance and filed two cases at Shahinayathgunj and Afzalgunj police stations with regard to the Ram Navami procession, wherein BJP Goshamahal MLA T Raja Singh sang an offensive song.
Rajasthan’s Karauli district witnessed high-scale riots after a bike rally organised on the occasion of the Hindu New Year, reported stone pelting.
A Muslim victim of Rajasthan’s Karauli violence
The incident occurred when a Shoba Yatra (bike rally) was going through a Muslim-dominated area and people raised anti-Islam slogans. Things went out of control when young Hindu men climbed atop a mosque and waved saffron flags as well as dancing on the roof of the structure.
Madhya Pradesh’s Khargone district reported stone pelting incidents after provocative songs were played by a Hindutva rally. It soon engulfed into a full-fledged riot forcing police to use lathi charges and tear gas. However, Muslims bore the brunt when the state government, accusing them of inciting riots, ordered the demolition of their houses.
A similar situation was witnessed in Delhi’s Jahangirpuri area where clashes and stone pelting between Hindus and Muslims erupted during a Hanuman Jayanti procession. It soon escalated to arson and damage to public property and Section 144 was imposed to bring law and order under control.
The local administration ordered razing down of Muslim houses and shops, stunning the entire nation. The drive was ordered by Delhi’s BJP chief Adesh Gupta who wrote to the mayor asking him to identify and demolish houses of “rioters”.
As the demolition was going on, Aaj Tak anchor Anjana Om Kashyap climbed onto a bulldozer and said, “You are now watching live images from the crane that is going to demolish an illegal construction.” Her reporting was condemned by many fellow journalists on Twitter.
Amnesty International India. also demanded that Indian authorities stop “apparent unlawful demolitions” of largely Muslim-owned properties in riot-hit cities. Terming it a “violation of human rights laws”, their statement said, “Such punitive demolition of family homes of suspects could also amount to collective punishment, violation of International human rights laws.”
However, India also got to witness incidents of kindness and brotherhood in cities where Muslims and Hindus were seen helping each other.
Here is the detailed report of hate crimes committed in April
May
In May, senior politician and leader of Kerala Janapaksham (Secular) party P C George made a bizarre claim that Muslims were deliberately mixing infertility drugs in others’ drinks so that they can increase its population.
Bihar’s BJP MLA Haribhushan Thakur Bachaul in a hate speech also said Muslims should be burnt, just like Ravana (a Hindu mythological demon).
This video is from Indian state of Bihar
BJP legislator Haribhushan Thakur delivered a genocidal speech where he called on Hindus to unleash large scale v!olence against Musl!ms. pic.twitter.com/8S1Aj8kkbY
Hate towards Muslims in the country reached different heights level when a video emerged showing the husband of a former BJP MLA councillor from Madhya Pradesh repeatedly slapping a senior citizen and asking if the latter’s name was Muhammad.
Similarly, a college professor was sent on compulsory leave after a video showing him performing ‘namaz’ in the college lawns went viral and Hindutva leaders demanded immediate action against him. Even the act of praying was
Nupur Sharma, the now suspended BJP spokesperson, during a primetime news channel debate, passed derogatory comments on Prophet Muhammad. Alt News co-founder and editor Mohammad Zubair called out Navika Kumar and Times Group Editor Vineet Jain to allow hate to be spilled on prime-time news television shows.
Here is the detailed report of hate crimes committed in May
June
Suspended BJP leaders Nupur Sharma and Naveen Jindal who publicly insulted Prophet Muhammad faced the ire of the Muslim community internationally, especially after the Arab world expressed distress over the matter. As damage control, the BJP-run Indian government released a statement calling Sharma and Jindal as ‘fringe elements’ and assured the country is secular at heart.
Many cities saw violence leading to state governments, mostly BJP-run, ordering the demolition of Muslim households. As per the governments, they were accused to be key conspirators of the riots. On June 10, the Uttar Pradesh police arrested over 300 Muslims after violence broke out after Friday prayers.
The UP police also arrested Welfare Party of India activist Javed Mohammad accusing him as the key conspirator for violence. To make matter worse, Javed’s house was bulldozed without prior notice on June 13.
Activist Javed Mohammad (center) with his daughter Afreen Fatima
Alt News co-founder and editor Mohammad Zubair was booked by the UP police for using the word “hatemonger” while addressing Hindutva leaders – Narasinghanand, Mahant Bajrang Muni and Anand Swaroop – in a tweet. On June 27, Delhi police arrested Zubair alleging he had tweeted a questionable image with the purpose of deliberately hurting religious sentiments. Additionally, a journalist from Sudarshan TV lodged another complaint against him over Zubair’s fact-checking.
An Aligarh college professor was sent on a one-month compulsory leave after a video showing him offering Namaz on the college lawns went viral. The incident was reported at Sri Varshney College.
Hindutva priest Swamy Jitendranand Saraswati gave a derogative speech relating to Muslim women and children saying, “Raise loud slogans in such a way that it tears apart the womb of an anti-national woman bearing an anti-national baby.”
[English Caption]
Hindutva extremist Swamy Jitendranand Saraswati delivered hate speech.
He said “Raise loud slogans such a way that it tears apart the womb of an Anti-national woman bearing an anti-national baby” pic.twitter.com/UuPEaqsq0I
‘Economic jihad’ calls also continued as Muslim shopkeepers, auto drivers, etc were continuously targeted by right-wing organisations. In Kanpur, an elderly man selling garments at a nearby roadside was told to leave the premises by Yuva Morcha President of the Hindu Coordination Committee, Tushar Shukla.
कानपुर: कपड़ा बेच रहे मुस्लिम बुजुर्ग को दुकान हटाने को कहता दिख रहा ये शख्स हिन्दू समन्वय समिति का युवा मोर्चा अध्यक्ष “तुषार शुक्ला” है… महोदय @kanpurnagarpol मामले को संज्ञान में लेकर जाँच के बाद आवयश्क कार्रवाई करें… pic.twitter.com/jpLDl1BvHh
In Mangaluru and Belthangady, Hindus were asked to seek services from only Hindu auto and taxi drivers.
In Bengaluru’s famous Lalbagh Botanical Garden, a Muslim popcorn vendor was assaulted and accused of spitting into the oil used for making popcorn.
Here is the detailed report of hate crimes committed in June.
July
Hate crimes against Muslims showed no signs of slowing down as July bore witness to a series of incidents. Aside from the resurgence of the debate on the hijab ban, communally charged murders also took place.
The boycott of Muslim goods, vendors, and traders continued in July with many Hindu outfits asking not to encourage their (Muslims) business.
During NEET examinations conducted in July, Muslim women claimed they were made to remove their burkha and hijab when they reached the examination centre in Maharashtra’s Washim district.
Seventeen-year-old Mohammad Ashfaq was allegedly accused of posting inflammatory comments against Kodagu goddesses and women. Ashfaq received death threats on social media and calls for his arrest.
Clockwise from top: Praveen Nettaru, Mohammad Mashood, Mohammed Fazil
On July 19, a teenager named Mahood Mashood was killed after he was attacked with glass bottles by Bajrang Dal workers in an altercation in Sullia taluk, Karnataka. On July 27, BJP Yuva Morcha worker Praveen Nettaru was hacked to death by unidentified people on a bike in Bellare, Dakshina Kannada. Two days later, 28-year-old Fazil was also hacked to death in Mangaluru in front of a garment shop. This had created suspicion about the killings being murder for vengeance and were communally linked, and tension persisted.
The three back-to-back murders created communal tension resulting in chief minister Basavaraj Bommai visiting Nettaru’s family. He was criticized heavily by the Muslim community for ignoring the bereaved families of Fazil and Mashood.
Following the murder of Fazil, Hindutva leader Rishikumar Swami of the Kali Mutt in Karnataka’s Chikkamagalur made a speech saying, “If that was (murder of Fazil in Mangalore) done by our people, then I’m happy. Nine heads will be pending. There must be 10 heads against 1 head,” reiterated the seer who had called for the beheading of ten Muslims, to avenge the death of one Hindu.
Here is the detailed report of hate crimes committed in July.
August
As India celebrated her 76th year of Independence, the Muslims of India felt otherwise. In a surprise announcement that shook the nation, 11 convicts of the Bilkis Bano rape case and murder of Gujarat 2002 riots, were released. The state government backed the decision by stating the convicts were released on ‘good behaviour’ and had already spent 15 years in prison. Moreover, they said it was part of the BJP-led Gujarat government’s remission policy.
Many were aghast and taken aback when a video of the 11 convicts in front of the jail being welcomed with garlands and sweets surfaced. They were also facilitated by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, a right-wing Hindutva organisation.
After the convicts’ release, many politicians condemned the decision and wide-scale nationwide protests were reported.
Protests at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi (Photo: Twitter/Amarjeet Kumar Singh)
A mob thrashed a 35-year-old man to death at Chakhabi in Bihar’s Samastipur district for allegedly trying to steal cattle. Similarly, a 50-year-old was beaten to death on suspicion of cattle smuggling in the Narmadapuram district of Madhya Pradesh.
In Hyderabad, Masjid Khwaja Mahmood in Shamsabad was demolished by the local municipal corporation in the presence of a heavy police force, following which local Muslim leaders along with common people protested. In a similar incident, Madrasa Jamiul-Huda in Assam was demolished following the arrest of a madrasa operator on alleged terror charges.
On August 20, Uttar Pradesh’s Ghaziabad district reported the kidnap and rape of two minor Muslim girls, aged five and nine, by a 25-year-old Hindu man. He took the children on a bicycle on the pretext of buying ice cream and raped them. The elder sibling died while the younger one survived.
इस युवक का नाम कपिल कश्यप है, इसने घर के बाहर खेलती दो मासूम बच्ची सानिया और शिफा का अपहरण किया, गाज़ियाबाद पुलिस ने गिरफ्तारी के बाद जब इससे पूछताछ कि तो शिफा को जीवित बरामद कर लिया गया वहीं सानिया की लाश खेतों मे मिली, मासूम बच्ची के इस हत्यारे को सख्त से सख्त सज़ा मिलनी चाहिए। pic.twitter.com/YTZwkNyUgh
On August 29, a Muslim family in Uttarakhand was allegedly attacked by a mob of 10-14 persons over a dispute with their Hindu neighbours. Though FIR was registered, no arrests were made.
Speaking to The Wire, Parvez Ahmad said, “My younger brother has a gym, which was attacked by a mob of people wearing saffron clothes. While some had their faces covered, we could recognise some members of the mob from their clothes.”
Here is the detailed report of hate crimes committed in August.
September
September welcomed Lord Ganesha, a Hindu god known as the ‘the remover of obstacles’. From throwing a chappal towards a mosque to playing songs with provocative words such as, “Khoon Se Iss Dharthi Ko Ham Nehlayenge, Hum Tujhko Teri Awkat Batayenge (We will bathe this earth with blood, will show you your social standing.)” and damaging vehicles, the festival was marred with unfortunate incidents.
On September 1, the food delivery app Swiggy received a request from a Hyderabadi customer asking them not to send a ‘Muslim delivery executive‘. The screenshot went viral giving rise to outrage.
In a separate incident, editor-in-chief of Sudarshan TV, Suresh Chavhanke who is known for his extreme right-wing views, told at an event that Muslim girls should marry Hindu boys in order to avoid divorce.
In Bihar’s Siwan district, an eight-year-old boy named Rizwan Qureshi was arrested by the UP police allegedly for inciting communal violence. Rizwan’s brother Azhar told Maktoob Media, “My younger brother was kept in a private ward and my family was initially not allowed to meet him. When my mother saw him, he was handcuffed and scared. He was so terrified that he was unable to recognise his own mother. The child was just crying to go back home.”
Yati Narsinghanand Saraswati, chief of Dasna Devitemple, said at an event organised by the Hindu Mahasabha, that all madrassas should be blown up in the country.
Hindutva supremacist seer Yati Narsinghanand in Aligarh on Sunday said that “all the Madrassas should be blown up with gunpowder & the way China does, all the students of Mardrassas should be sent to camps where the virus called Quran can be removed from their brains.” pic.twitter.com/3iYGdtSwKw
Karnataka was back in the news after a call was made to ban the Karnataka Waqf Board by Hindutva leader and Sri Rama Sene founder Pramod Muthalik. He demanded that after visiting slain BJP worker Praveen Nettaru’s house.
In a heartbreaking incident, a jailer forcefully shaved off the beard of a Muslim inmate calling him a ‘Pakistani’. The incident happened in Madhya Pradesh’s Rajgarh district. It soon gained significance with many Muslim local leaders appealing for the suspension of the police official.
International news channel Al Jazeera came out with a special report on how Muslim domestic workers are changing their names to Hindu for employment. According to them, many people, especially Hindus and Jain communities, are afraid to employ a Muslim.
Here is the detailed report of hate crimes committed in September.
October
As the Dussera-Diwali festival season began in October, many states such as Telangana, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, and Karnataka reported incidents of clashes between the two communities. Garba grounds became another place where right-wing outfits targeted Muslims. Many right-wing organisations declared that no non-Hindu community people should be allowed to participate as they feared the emergence of ‘love jihad’.
in Karnataka’s Udupi district, a massive rally of 10,000 workers was carried out by the right-wing organisation Hindu Jagarana Vedike. Calls for a “Hindu Rashtra” were made and some workers were spotted carrying swords even as the state police walked alongside them. Udupi’s BJP MLA Raghupathi Bhat was also spotted at the rally.
In the Kawardha district of Chattisgarh, clashes broke out on the occasion of Milad-un-Nabi (the birth anniversary of the Prophet Muhammad) over the hoisting of green crescent flags.
Gujarat police publicly assaulted a few Muslim men who were allegedly accused of pelting stones at a Garba event. The men were tied to a pole and beaten in full public view. The police constantly asked the alleged accused to apologise.
Location: Kheda, Gujarat
Muslims flogged publicly!
In BJP ruled Gujarat, nine Muslim men who were allegedly arrested for throwing stones at a Garba event were tied to a pole and publicly flogged with a cane by the Police while the crowd chanted “Hail Mother India” slogans. pic.twitter.com/nDNPJ5heUW
On October 5, miscreants hoisted a saffron flag and carved Hindu religious inscriptions at an ancient mosque at Byathole village, Kandi Mandal, in Telangana’s Sangareddy district. The village elders including the sarpanch and other leaders of the ruling party hoisted a saffron flag on the mosque and inscribed the ‘Om’ symbol.
A saffron flag atop a mosque in Telangana’s Sangareddy district
In Kolkata’s Mominpur area, on the occasion of Milad-un-Nabi, clashes between two communities were reported after Muslim religious flags were allegedly vandalised. Around 40 people were detained.
Here is the detailed report of hate crimes committed in October.
November
Election fever gripped Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh with the Modi-Shah-led BJP wrestling with Kejriwal’s Aam Admi Party (AAP) and Congress. While a major chunk of the media reported on the assembly elections and the Delhi Municipal Corporation (MCD) elections which the BJP had held the fort for 15 years before losing to AAP, hate crimes went unnoticed.
A 20-year-old Muslim man was lynched to death in broad daylight in Bihar’s Muzaffarpur. The deceased, whose name the police were reluctant to divulge, was in a relationship with a Hindu girl and had gone to meet her when the girl’s family caught him and assaulted him with bricks and stones.
The Jamia mosque in Srirangapatna town of Mandya district Karnataka came under scanner as Bajrang Dal workers submitted a PIL (Public Interest Litigation) to the Karnataka High Court demanding permission for Hindu devotees to take bath in the kalyani (traditional water body) located on the premises of the mosque.
Jamia Masjid at Srirangapatna in Karnataka
A pediatric doctor working at Silchar Medical College and Hospital allegedly hurled insults at a Muslim couple, whose child was admitted with pneumonia symptoms. A video shows the father of the child accusing the doctor of how could he use words such as ‘topiwala‘ and ‘burkhawali‘.
Karnataka Congress MLA Tanveer Sait was threatened by Bajrang Dal worker Raghu Sakaleshpura over the latter’s announcement of installing the tallest statue of Tipu Sultan in historical towns Mysuru or Srirangapatna.
Raghu, in a video, had said, “I am issuing a warning to Tanveer Sait over his statement of installing the statue of Tipu Sultan. We will not allow the installation of even a one-foot-tall statue of Tipu Sultan. If that happens, it will be your anthima yatra (final yatra).”
A distraught Muslim student of the Manipal Institute of Technology (MIT) questioned his professor when the latter addressed him as Ajmal Kasab, the terrorist behind the 26/1 1 Mumbai attacks.
“These jokes are not acceptable. No! You can’t joke about my religion..that too in such a terrible manner,” the student stressed. The video, which was recorded by a classmate, went viral on Twitter. The professor was soon suspended by MIT. However, Karnataka state education minister B C Nagesh remarked that the incident was blown out of proportion.
Here is the detailed report of hate crimes committed in November.
December
A government school principal was arrested for letting his students sing a popular poem called Lab Pe Aati Hai Dua. A middle-aged man was beaten up black and blue for giving a helping hand to a Hindu woman. A young man was beaten because he ‘dared’ to have a coffee with a Hindu friend, December witnessed it all.
A first-year Muslim student accused her history teacher of using Islamophobic slurs during the class. According to her, while teaching a lesson on Gautam Buddha, the teacher mentioned Muslims are ruthless and they have no remorse.
The Jamia Masjid in Srirangapatna in the Mandya district of Karnataka witnessed a huge crowd of Hanuman devotees who tried to forcefully enter the mosque, turning out to be a hurricane task for the police force.
Further, a young Hindu devotee climbed atop a Muslim household where he replaced the green flag with the saffron one amidst chants of “Jai Shri Ram“.
The Kalaburagi railway station, formerly known as Gulbarga railway station, was repainted to white from green after pressure from the right-wing Hindu organisation Hindu Jagaran Vedike. According to them, the dome shape with green walls gave an impression of a ‘mosque.’
Bajrang Dal members interfered with Friday’s namaz in Gurugram’s Sector 69. In a video posted by Live Hindustan, Amit Hindu, a member of the Bajrang Dal, is heard saying, “It doesn’t matter if they have the authorization to pray at six spots or not. If prayers continue in the upcoming weeks, we will step up the protests.” This issue has been a recurring one in the city for several months in the past.
In Uttar Pradesh’s Nutan Hardo village of Kushinagar district, 44 Muslim families received eviction notices from the local administration claiming their houses were built on “encroached lands”. A report from India Tomorrow states that these families have been living there for generations.
Madhya Pradesh BJP MLA Pragya Thakur called on the community to keep sharp objects such as knives in their homes to protect themselves from ‘enemies’.
#WATCH | “Keep your daughters safe and protected. Keep weapons at home. Sharpen the knife used to cut vegetables. If our vegetables are cut well, heads and mouths of our enemies will also be cut well,” says BJP MP Pragya Thakur in Shivamogga, Karnataka pic.twitter.com/LRURt8wPKq
“Love jihad, they have a tradition of jihad, if nothing they do love jihad. Even if they love they do jihad in that. We (Hindus) too love, love the god, a sanyasi loves his god,” Thakur said.
Shah Rukh Khan-Deepika Padukone starrer movie Pathaan also made headlines in 2022 with the release of its first sone called “Besharam Rang” where the saffron coloured clothes worn by the actors were condemned by right-wing organisations and BJP politicians such as Madhya Pradesh home minister Narottam Singh and MP Sadhvi Pragya Thakur.
The worst hit came when the Central Government decided to scrap the Maulana Azad Fellowship (MANU) fellowship, mainly for minority students, explaining that the scheme overlaps with various other fellowship schemes for higher education.
The decision was described as discriminatory, unjust and an attack on an individual’s proper access to higher education.
Here is the detailed report of hate crimes committed in December.
It is right to say that by the end of the year, religious intolerance has solidified its presence in the country.
