Spike in anti-Muslim rallies since BJP retook India’s Maharashtra

The route was no coincidence.

On March 30, nearly 5,000 people poured into the streets of north Mumbai to participate in a procession celebrating the Hindu festival of Ram Navami, which marks the birth of the god, Ram.For about three hours, the procession passed through Muslim neighbourhoods, blaring incendiary songs of Hindu supremacy, waving saffron flags and provocatively chanting “Jai Shri Ram” (Hail Lord Ram, the Hindu right wing’s war cry).

Young and old danced to the high-decibel speakers mounted on a truck, playing “Bharat ka bachcha bachcha, Jai Shri Ram bolega” (Every child in India will be compelled to say Hail Lord Ram).An elderly Muslim security guard, watching the procession pass through Malad, said he had not seen such a display of supremacy in years. He was among the many Muslims Al Jazeera spoke to who did not want to reveal their identities for fear of a backlash.

“You don’t have to belittle or disrespect other religions while celebrating your festival,” he said. “It is particularly humiliating to witness it during the month of Ramadan. The music gets louder and people get aggressive, especially while passing by a mosque or through a Muslim area. It is provocative.”

And that is exactly what happened a couple of hours later. The procession slowed down and the volume of the speakers was increased as it reached a mosque where Muslims were offering their evening prayers.

The situation got tense when some Muslims complained about their prayers being disrupted. A row broke out between the two communities and stones were pelted.The police say they arrested nearly two dozen people for allegedly throwing stones. The official version of the incident says a Muslim man threw a stone at the participants in the Ram Navami rally after his request to lower the volume was rejected.

But the residents of Malad say they were at the receiving end of aggression by the Hindu marchers.Concerted attempt through amorphous group
The procession was organised by two far-right Hindu groups – Bajrang Dal and Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP). But the nature of the procession was in the same vein as several rallies held in the past six months across the state of Maharashtra, home to nearly 13 million Muslims or 11.5 percent of its population.Observers say the Ram Navami procession in state capital Mumbai was part of a concerted attempt to ignite religious tensions in the western Indian state that had remained relatively peaceful at a time when attacks on Muslims in other parts of India were rising.

According to conservative estimates, more than 50 such rallies have taken place across the state under the banner of Sakal Hindu Samaj, an amorphous organisation that nobody had heard of until a year ago.

The group is made up of far-right Hindu groups including Bajrang Dal, VHP, Sanatan Sanstha, and Hindu Janajagruti Samiti among others. Leaders and functionaries of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have also attended several of these rallies.

VHP member Shriraj Nair, who is a main organiser of these Mumbai rallies, said the groups came together for a “common goal to awaken the Hindus”.“Activities like ‘love jihad’ are on the rise,” he said, referring to an unproven conspiracy theory of Muslim men wooing Hindu women for marriage in order to convert them. It is mentioned in every rally.

“Sleeper cells are being created. Maharashtra is in danger due to illicit activities. The Sakal Hindu Samaj is here to raise awareness among Hindus,” Nair added.

“Activities like ‘love jihad’ are on the rise,” he said, referring to an unproven conspiracy theory of Muslim men wooing Hindu women for marriage in order to convert them. It is mentioned in every rally.

“Sleeper cells are being created. Maharashtra is in danger due to illicit activities. The Sakal Hindu Samaj is here to raise awareness among Hindus,” Nair added.

Speakers at such rallies have called for economic boycotts and even the extermination of Muslims, with suspended BJP legislator from Telangana state, T Raja Singh, as a prominent speaker.

On March 10, at a rally in western Maharashtra’s Shrirampur town, Singh said, “Jo bhi landya love jihad karega, arey beta tum aadhe kate ho, poore kaat denge” (If any circumcised [Muslim] indulges in love jihad, o son, you are half-cut, we will cut you completely).“Landya” is an anti-Muslim slur which he has repeatedly used in his speeches. Two police cases have been filed against him in Maharashtra, but that has not stopped him from making hate speeches.

‘State is impotent’
On March 24, Suresh Chavhanke, editor-in-chief of Sudarshan News, who is well-known for broadcasting anti-Muslim stories on his channel, addressed the crowd in Nashik, where he discussed a “10-point offer to Muslim women, which details why it is better to marry Hindus over Muslims”.

On February 9, Hindu far-right leader, Kalicharan Maharaj, referred to another conspiracy theory during a speech in western Maharashtra’s Baramati town. He falsely claimed that Muslims believed people of other religions were eligible to be killed according to the Quran because they regarded non-Muslims as “kaafir” (infidel).

“Wives of kaafirs are stolen property and one woman being raped by 50 men is not a big deal,” he said.

Such falsehoods are being reported in Maharashtra every two or three days, forcing Kerala state’s resident Shaheen Abdullah to file a petition in the Supreme Court seeking a ban on such rallies.

The petition further asked the top court to inquire into measures taken by the Maharashtra police to prevent hate speech against Muslims.

“Your right to hold a procession is different from what is said or done in the procession,” said Justice B V Nagarathna during a hearing on March 29 after the Sakal Hindu Samaj group’s lawyer argued that the petition was trying to curb their “religious practice”.