BJP lawmaker urges Hindus to keep “stick, two swords and gun in homes”
Far-right Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) lawmaker Usha Thakur called on Hindus to keep “a big stick, two swords and a gun” in their homes, implying that Hindus need to be “protected” from Muslims and other minorities. Meanwhile, in BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh’s Sitapur, Hindu extremists organized swordsmanship training classes for children and teens, claiming the goal was to help them “protect Hindu women from jihadis.”
The growing push by Hindu supremacists to arm their communities is a cause of concern for the minority Muslim community, who are being threatened with mass slaughter by Hindu extremist groups.
Hindu extremists protest against Muslims offering Friday prayers in Varanasi
In BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh’s Varanasi, Hindu extremists protested outside a college against Muslims offering Friday prayers. During the protest, they chanted the Hindu supremacist warcry “Jai Sri Ram,”and demanded the demolition of a Muslim shrine and mosque in the area.
Amid the increasing criminalization of Muslim symbols and practices by the BJP government, Muslims across India have faced criminal charges for offering prayers in public and private spaces.
Hindu extremists attack and vandalize church, police arrests pastors instead
In Odisha’s Jajpur, Hindu extremists attacked and vandalized a church. Instead of taking action against the extremists for vandalism, police officials arrested the pastors who were targeted in the attack.
Attacks on Christians have become common under several Indian states’ draconian anti-conversion laws, which criminalize conversion away from Hinduism.
Court grants bail to 16 Muslims 11 months after Maharashtra anti-Muslim violence
The Bombay High Court has granted bail to 16 young Muslim men who had been in custody for nearly 11 months following several incidents of anti-Muslim mob violence on Mira Road, a suburb in Maharashtra’s Mumbai, in the aftermath of the consecration of India’s Ram Temple.
In January this year, Hindu extremists celebrating the consecration of the Ram Temple on the site of the demolished Babri mosque in Uttar Pradesh’s Ayodhya, entered Muslim-majority areas, raised provocative slogans, harassed women, and attempted to place saffron flags on mosques.
Lawyers, families, and social workers have criticized the police for what they say were one-sided acts of violence targeting the Muslim community. Advocate Shahood Anwar, who led the defense team, emphasized that the court found no concrete evidence linking the accused to acts of violence.
