Hindu supremacists welcome extremist BJP leader, hail demolishing Muslim houses

Hindu supremacist supporters of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) welcomed Uttar Pradesh’s openly extremist Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath with bulldozers and chants of the Hindu religious chant  “Jai Shree Ram” as he arrived in Gujarat state to campaign for the upcoming elections.

Three bulldozers were parked at the entrance of his meeting venue, as an apparent reference to his government’s drive to illegally demolish properties of Muslims and other marginalized groups.

During the rally, Adityanath’s supporters raised anti-Muslim slogans and hailed his demolition policies, saying “Yogi should repeat it towards Mullas (Muslims).”

They also hailed the construction of the Ram Mandir (temple) on the site of the demolished Babri mosque, the revocation of Kashmir’s semi-autonomous status.

In recent years, bulldozers have become a weapon in the hands of Hindu supremacist governments across India to destroy the homes and livelihoods of the Muslim community.

Wedding of Muslim man and Hindu woman canceled after false accusation of “love jihad” 

Two families in Maharashtra’s state canceled a wedding ceremony after a Hindu supremacist news editor tweeted a picture of the invitation, baselessly claiming it to be “love jihad.”

Suresh Chavhanke, an open Hindu supremacist who is known for the anti-Muslim bent of his channel Sudarshan News, tweeted the ceremony’s invitation to his 594,000 followers and included the hashtags “#LoveJihad_ActOfTerrorism” and “#LoveJihad” – a reference to the false conspiracy theory that Muslim men lure Hindu women in a concerted effort to convert them to Islam.

The wedding was said to take place between a Muslim man and a Hindu woman. 

A manager at the venue where the ceremony was scheduled said that the families of the bride and groom were receiving calls all day and seemed disturbed. “It was because of the function invite that was leaked to the public,” he said.

In September 2020, Chavhanke had been admonished by the Supreme Court for airing a program called “UPSE Jihad,” in which Sudarshan News editors, in an attempt to demonize the Muslim community, alleged that Indian Muslims were entering civil services as part of an organized Islamic conspiracy.

Court slams police for demolishing homes of several Muslims in Assam

The Guwahati High Court has slammed police for demolishing the homes of several Muslims in Assam state.

The police, along with the administration of Nagaon district, had demolished the homes of Muslims in May this year on the allegations of Muslims setting a police station on fire.

Chief Justice RM Chhaya in his remarks said using excavators and bulldozers to demolish houses “in the guise of investigation” was not provided in any criminal law. He said, “it seems nobody in this country is safe.”

“Will you dig up my courtroom in the name of the investigation if you say something is under the court?” he asked.

In May this year, officials in Assam demolished the homes of five Muslims who they claimed had set the Batadraba Police Station on fire over a case of custodial death of a fish trader, Safikul Islam. The officials also demolished Islam’s home. 

Court awards life imprisonment to 30 convicts who burnt alive Muslim cop in 2011

A court in Rajasthan state on Friday sentenced  30 people to life imprisonment for burning a Muslim cop alive during anti-Muslim violence in the region in 2011.

The cop, Phool Mohammad, was injured and took refuge in his official vehicle. However, this vehicle was later burnt by the riotous mob, wherein Mohammad was burnt alive.

The convicts include former deputy superintendent of police Mahendra Singh.