Far-right Uttar Pradesh government bans Halal-certified products
The far-right BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh government has arbitrarily imposed a statewide ban on halal-certified products, which includes not just food products with the halal certified label, but drugs, medical devices, and cosmetic products.
“The manufacturing, storage, distribution, and sale of halal-certified food products are banned with immediate effect,” read an order issued by the UP Food, Safety and Drug Administration.
The campaign by Hindu supremacists to demonize the term “halal” has been characterized by Muslim leaders and activists as “misleading” and counterproductive to national interests.
Police kill Muslim man, injure another, over cow slaughter allegation
A 23-year-old Muslim man, Sajid Qureshi, was killed by police in far-right Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-ruled Uttar Pradesh state’s Rampur. Another Muslim man, Babloo, was injured in the police firing. The police justified the attack by claiming that the two men were planning to slaughter a cow.
Violent Hindu extremist mob attacks Muslim men at gas station in Uttar Pradesh
In Mainpuri, Uttar Pradesh, a violent mob, reportedly led by a BJP leader, attacked a group of Muslim men at a gas station. The mob attacked the men with sticks and weapons while chanting the Hindu supremacist warcry “Jai Sri Ram” and slogans like “Kill the Muslims, the butcherers.”
A video of the incident shows a group of men beating up the Muslims, who were lying on the ground and bleeding.
Hindu extremist Instagram page glorifies murder of Muslim family in Karnataka
A Hindu extremist Instagram page, @hindu_mantra_, glorified the murder of four members of a Muslim family in Karnataka’s Udupi district. The post celebrated the murderer, identified as 37-year-old Praveen Arun Chougale, who confessed to killing four Muslims, including three women and one minor boy.
The post claimed that Chougale had set a “world record” by taking just 15 minutes to kill four Muslims, accompanied by a photo of the accused adorned with a crown emoji.
Far-right BJP leaders deliver anti-Muslim hate speech across poll bound Rajasthan
BJP leaders continue to use hate speech to gain Hindu votes and demonize Muslims in election rallies across the state. Incidents include speeches given by BJP leader Balaknath Yogi in Tijara, Rajasthan; BJP leader Shatrughan Gautam in Ajmer; and Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma in Udaipur.
Meanwhile, Hindu militant groups have also continued to hold hate speech events, including an event organized in Jalore by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad.
