TThe procession had begun peacefully. crawling in the streets of Jahangirpuri district of Delhi on Saturday, devotees gather to celebrate the Hindu holiday of Hanuman Jayanti. But peace did not last Long. As evening falls in, an unauthorized procession began to gather. this time, men Wearing in Saffron is the signature color of Hindu nationalism filled the streets with swords and pistols and began chanting provocative societal slogans.
Ignoring previous agreements between Hindu and Muslim populations for parade for avoid They passed through a local mosque and rushed towards it.
A crowd of Hindus smashed beer bottles inside the mosque up There are saffron flags chanted Jay Shri Ram [Hail Lord Ram]An eyewitness said Tabriz Khan, 39 years old. “concierge of The mosque began to resist them, leading for a quarrel. Only after they started desecrating the mosque, the Muslims got angry and the clashes started and the stones broke out thrown. “
It was a verified account by Muslim and Hindu witnesses. Rinku Sharma, Hindu Associate in The procession said that the clashes began “when we entered the mosque.” area”.
“Most of The people living in This is amazing area Muhammad Fadl, 35, said, “This was not a religious gathering, it was attack on us [Muslims]. “
Six police officers were injured in violence and more from 20 people Arrested, the majority of who are muslims But among the arrests was the leader of local branch of Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), a notorious right-wing organisation. “There was no agitation, apparently attack Societal tensions are planned,” added Khan.
Delhi Police Commissioner Rakesh Astana said: people From “both communities” was being investigated. Actions will be taken against Anyone found guilty regardless of their class, their creed, community parents.
The events in Jahangirpuri was far from isolated. Over the weekend, approximately 140 people They got caught in Connection with accidents of Sectarian violence and riots between Hindus and Muslims in the states of Uttarakhand, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka during the festivities of Hanuman Jayanti.
It was similar story in previous weeks. parties of hindu festival of Ram Navami in Seven scattered states like Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Jharkhand and West Bengal have been marred by sectarian violence in the Gulf, mostly against Muslims, who They fast Ramadan. Clashes left one Person deadyielded in dozens of owned by Muslims homes And shops user set Cheered or demolished, provocative chants outside Many mosques and attempts install Saffron flags inside Muslim places of Worship.
surgery in Sectarian violence has caused concern among many in India who Fear of becoming a country more Polarized more than ever along Hindu-Islamic lines. For many, the blame was directed at the ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata party, led by prime Minister Narendra Modi. Bharatiya Janata Party accused of Overseeing a religious contentious agenda, encouraging hostility toward India’s 200 million Muslims, and banishing them to secondCitizens category. Meanwhile, Hindu vigilante groups such as the VHP were allowed to operate freely and increasingly began to take the law into their own hands.
in the southern state of Telangana, a BJP legislator, Te Raja Singh, was among those who booked for Provocative slogans during the parade.
“There is a strong case for that made We are going through the hardest phase for Muslims in “Independent India,” said Asim Ali, political researcher at the center. for Policy Research Center, writing in The Telegraph, an Indian newspaper. “Being in crosshairs of dominant party of country is bad place To be for a communityThe Hindu nationalist attitude toward Muslims appears to be increasing more Conflicts with the time.”
wave of violence in recent weeks, added Ali, was evidence that “this anti-Muslim mobilization…has it also gained momentum of queen”.
In Muzaffarpur district of Bihar, Muslims claimed that the saffron flag was raised on to the entrance of mosque during one of processions. Video footage showed the crowd chanting and waving swords and hockey sticks while raising the flag.
but it was in Kharjoon neighborhood of Madhya Pradesh, that some of worst fights took place. The violence started when Ram Navami was introduced of About 5,000 worshipers passed by a mosque. He claimed that the confrontation broke out out Between Hindus and Muslims After the flaming Hindu nationalist slogans and threats, Hindu hardliners began chanting stones thrown in revenge. Local Muslims say homes About 10 of them were vandalized set on fire.
“I was in for me home with for me family Preparing to break Ramadan fast When a large crowd started attacking the house, Farooq Khan, 23, said, “They were shouting [kill the Muslims]. “
Khan said he had to beg for the sword-wielding mob that entered his house house And began to plunder, to let him and him family escape from. About 24 people, including a police officer in violence.
Muslims in Accused out of the police of Refuse to file cases against Hindus are involved in Violence and arrests of the majority of Muslims instead. there was also Anger after the local administration destroyed at least 16 homes and 29 homes shops Affiliation with the accused Muslims of throwing stones in the procession.
Nawab Khan Muslim who house It was also set He said he was beaten by the police when he tried to file a report at the station, showing the injuries on for him back He said it was caused by the officers. “Our property has been burned, and we have been attacked from who They are accused of This and punished,” He said.
Soap Chalandra Singh denied targeting Muslims primarily and said the police were taking appropriate measures against All communities involved.
Clashes also smash out Initially of April in Karoli, Rajasthan, when a Hindu procession was passing through a Muslim area and about 70 shopsMost of them were Muslims set on fire. Indeed, violence has reached this month one of Best Universities of India, Jawaharlal Nehru University in Delhi, after right-wing Hindu activists protested the cooking of Non-vegetarian food in A student download.
Over the weekend, leaders of 13 opposition parties condemned Modi for Silence over surgery in sectarian violence. “We are shocked by the silence of The prime Minister who she has failed to talk against words and deeds of these who Spreading fanaticism and those who said with their words and actions, they incite and provoke our society in Declaration.
Modi’s minority affairs ministerMukhtar Abbas Naqvi blamed events of The past a few weeks on marginal elements, who …attempted to discredit India’s inclusive culture and commitment.”
Activists and academics have pointed to increasingly violent rhetoric against Muslims infiltrate the mainstream of India, agitating up Sectarian tensions reached dangerous levels. In December 2021, religious gathering of Hindu sacred figures held in Haridwar, Uttarakhand, where the speakers called for Genocide against Muslims. Last week, the police arrested Bajrang Muni Das, an accused Hindu priest of The threat of gang rape against Muslim women During a speech two weeks ago, in Presence of officers.
Attacks also Come after passing by of State legislation charged of user discriminatory Towards Muslims, including the prohibition of headscarves in schools in Karnataka is ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party.
writing in Indian Express over Weekend, Commander of Congress opposition partySonia Gandhi said: “The end of the world of Hate, bigotry, bigotry and lies are sweeping our country today…we are people It cannot stand idly by as peace and pluralism are sacrificed at the altar of fake nationalism.
