Report Categorizes Anti-Muslim Hate Crimes As Communal Riots, Hate Speeches, Hindu Vigilantes, State Funding Of Hindu Religious Activities, Demolition Drives
By
Syed Ali Mujtaba, New Age Islam
2 March
2024
It is not
even two months in 2024; there are numbers of anti – Muslim hate crimes
reported from different parts of the country. The Centre for Study of Society
and Secularism Mumbai has come out with a report on the communal situation in
India, since January 2024. The centre has listed the hate crimes against
Muslims and categorized them as communal riots, hate speeches, Hindu
vigilantes, state funding of Hindu religious activities, demolition drives,
etc.
Communal
riots – Five communal riots have taken place in January 2024. They are directly
related to the Pran Pratisthan event held in Ayodhya on January 22. Out of the
five communal riots, two were reported in Mumbai, one in Nagpur, one in
Vadodara, and one in Shajapur in Madhya Pradesh. All these riots took place in
the BJP-ruled states.
The
communal riots in Mira Road, Mumbai had origin in local tension where scuffle
gave way to stone pelting resulting in Municipal Corporation stepping in to use
bulldozers. The Corporation bulldozers demolish about 15 structures in the
Muslim-dominated area on Mira Road. In the incident, more than nine persons
were injured.
The second
incident took place in Thane, near Mumbai. Here stones were pelted by
miscreants at a vehicle rally taken out on the occasion of Ram temple
consecration in Ayodhya. A clash broke
out between members of two communities and several people were injured in the
ensuing clashes.
The
communal riot in Nagpur took place in the Garib Nawaz Nagar locality where an
altercation between members of two communities took place to celebrate the
consecration event in Ayodhya. This led to a scuffle between two communities in
which 12 persons were injured.
In Bhoj,
Vadodara communal riot took place on January 22 after stones were allegedly
pelted on a procession, Shobha Yatra, to celebrate the idol consecration in the
Ram temple at Ayodhya.
In
Shajapur, Madhya Pradesh communal riot took place on January 8, when
participants of a religious procession were allegedly pelted with stones
leading to clashes where several persons were injured.
Hate
Speeches: According to the CSS report, there were seven instances of hate speeches
reported in January. These speeches broadly called for the demolition of
mosques made baseless allegations of love jihad, boycott of halal certification
meat, use of bulldozers against Muslims, and called for stricter action against
Muslims. The hate speeches were made by BJP leaders, MLA T Raja and MLA Nitesh
Rane in Solapur and Mumbai in Maharashtra, MLA Geeta Jain in Mumbai, and
Anantkumar Hegde, BJP Member of Parliament and BJP leader KS Eshwarappa from
Karnataka.
Government
funding Hindu Religious symbols: The government in the BJP-ruled states has
shown its largesse to spend public funds on the promotion of heritage
associated with Hindu gods and symbols. Some of the examples include the
curating of a wax museum in Ayodhya on the theme of Ramayana. In Chhattisgarh
‘Shri Ramlalla Darshan (Ayodhya Dham)’ scheme has been launched and in Puri,
the Odisha Parikrama project has got started through public money.
The
Municipal Corporation of Ayodhya allotted 2.5 acres for setting up the
“Ramayana Wax Museum” in a 7-crore project floated by the UP government. There
will be about 100 life-size wax statues of all the important characters from
Ramayana. The first phase will depict 30-35 scenes from Ram Katha, including
Sita’s Swayamvar, Vanvaas, and Lanka Dahan.
In
Chhattisgarh, the state government has announced that it will roll out the
‘Shri Ramlalla Darshan (Ayodhya Dham)’ scheme, under which 20,000 people from
the state will be taken to Ayodhya in UP every year, free of cost, for a visit
to the newly constructed Ram Temple.
In Odisha,
the government is set to inaugurate an ambitious “Shree Mandira Parikrama”
project of Rs 800 crore. This heritage corridor is planned around Puri’s
renowned Jagannath Temple which is aimed at improving infrastructure for
visiting devotees. The Parikrama project includes a 75-metre corridor
surrounding the Jagannath temple complex, which will provide pilgrims with a
“visual connection” with the temple. The Odisha government has planned to
mobilize around 10,000 people daily for a month to visit the Parikrama Project.
Public
Holiday- Ten BJP-ruled states- Maharashtra, Gujarat, Assam, Chhattisgarh,
Madhya Pradesh, Goa, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, and Tripura and
AAP-ruled Delhi, declared a complete holiday or half-day holiday on January 22
to celebrate the Pran Pratisthan ceremony in Ayodhya. This implied that
schools, colleges, and government offices amongst other state establishments
remained closed on that day. Some of these state governments also prohibited
the sale of non-vegetarian food items, meat, and alcohol on that day.
Hindu
Vigilante activity- There was a significant spurt in Hindu vigilante during
January 2024. In Uttar Pradesh’s
Shahjahanpur district, there was an alleged incident of removing a green flag
from a mosque and replacing it with a saffron flag on January 23. In a similar incident, eleven miscreants
hoisted saffron flags atop a mosque in the Tajganj area of Agra district during
a Shobha Yatra on January 22.
Demolition
of Muslim property: It is seen that Hindu leaders were at the forefront of
inciting local tensions into a big communal riot leading to bulldozers stepping
in to demolish Muslim homes using the pretext of illegal encroachments. Apart
from the Mira Road demolition in Mumbai, there was a report of demands for the
demolitions of Muslim properties in Panvel, where communal tension prevailed on
January 22.
On February
8, 2024, violent clashes erupted in Haldwani, Uttarakhand, following the court
order to demolish an unauthorized madrasa and a mosque situated in the
predominantly Muslim-inhabited area. The municipal authorities demolished the
Muslim religious structure claiming they were illegal construction. The
consequent clash between the residents and the police claimed five lives and
left over 100 injured.
Reclaiming
Muslim Sites- An alarming trend of reclaiming Muslim places of worship has been
seen after the Pran Pratisthan event. Soon after the event in Ayodhya, a
Varanasi district Court ordered allowing puja inside the Gyanvapi mosque in its
“Vyas Tehkhana.” Thereafter, the Shahi Idgah case flared up in Mathura. The
place is now peddled as Krishna's birthplace and is being reclaimed by the
Muslims in a bid to convert it into Krishna Janmasthan. In the same vein
mentioned may be made about Maharashtra, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde announced
to "liberate" Haji Malang Dargah in Mumbai and convert it into a
Hindu site.
In this
election year, more such incidents are waiting to happen. It is seen that the
BJP gains significantly from such religious polarization. What is apparent that
Muslims may have no respite from hate crimes in 2024.
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Syed Ali
Mujtaba is a journalist in Chennai.
New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic
Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism