India Needs a Law Akin To SC/ST Act To Truly Protect Muslims – By Dr NC Asthana

…. From a sociological and historico-cultural perspective, ‘Jai Shri Ram’ is a relatively recent phenomenon…. ‘Jai Shri Ram’ as a battle cry came to be heard in Ramanand Sagar’s popular TV serial ‘Ramayan’. It spread during the agitation for the Ram Temple at Ayodhya. From a greeting, the invocation of Ram acquired a more aggressive and assertive character in ‘Jai Shri Ram’, akin to a battle cry….

Forcing someone to chant ‘Jai Shri Ram’ under threat of serious injury is obviously an atrocity. It amounts to an acknowledgement of ‘defeat’ by the victim. It means he has been ‘defeated’ by men of other religion and that they are asserting their dominance over him and his religion by making him chant something, which he would otherwise be averse to.

This must be distinguished from ‘hate speeches’. Hate speeches or insulting references to other religions have the potential of provoking violence later but the offence is committed without involving any victim. There is no assertion of dominance in them.

https://www.thequint.com/voices/opinion/india-needs-a-law-akin-to-scst-act-to-truly-protect-muslims