Hindu extremists assault Muslim students for going to beach with female friends
In the latest case of mob violence against Muslims, a group of Hindu extremists assaulted three Muslim boys for going on a beach trip with non-Muslim female friends in Karnataka state.
Witnesses report that the Muslim teens had met up with the girls at the beach when a group of Hindu extremists approached and began interrogating the boys, demanding to know their names and addresses. Upon realizing the boys were Muslim, the mob assaulted them in front of their friends, leaving them with minor injuries.
Four Hindu extremists, including a minor, were arrested.
Similar incidents of “moral policing” have become common throughout India under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu supremacist government, during which Hindu extremist mobs attack Muslim men for associating with Hindu women, often under claims that these men are attempting to lure Hindu women into converting to Islam. In the past, Muslim men have been attacked for interacting with Hindu classmates, coworkers, and friends.
22 Supreme Court lawyers criticize Uttarakhand govt’s inaction on hate speeches
In an open letter to the governor of Uttarakhand state, a group of 22 Supreme Court lawyers criticized the state’s Hindu supremacist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government for failing to take action against the alarmingly high number of Hindu extremist hate speech events taking place across the state.
The lawyers pointed out that in April 2023 alone, three Hindu extremist events were held during which speakers called for anti-Muslim boycotts and encouraged violence and harassment against Muslims.
“The frequency of these events indicates there is a campaign underway to spread fear and hatred in the state,” the signatories stated in the letter. “From public information it appears the administration, by failing to take serious action, is also violating the orders of the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India.”
The lawyers also stated that in 2018, the Supreme Court directed all state governments to “proactively act against hate speech and mob violence” and “make efforts to eradicate hostile environment against any community or caste which is targeted in such incidents.”
“The consistent pattern of events in the last few weeks, coupled with those which occurred in 2021 and 2022, appears to indicate that, through inaction, the police are allowing criminal incitement and violent actions to take place and hence are in contempt of court,” the letter added.
In 2021, a major hate speech event in Uttarakhand’s Haridwar city culminated in several Hindu militant leaders calling for a genocide against Muslims.
RSS worker posts hate speech about Muslim women, sparking tension
Tensions have been raised in Karnataka state’s Raichur city after a man working for the Hindu paramilitary group Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh made an offensive post about Muslim women on social media.
The Hindu extremist man, Raju Tambak, had posted that Muslim women were “machines for producing children.”
Muslims responded by protesting in front of a local police station until Tambak was arrested. However, tensions remain, and police have increased security in the area.
