Modi praises Hindu supremacist paramilitary group RSS on Its 100th anniversary
Prime Minister Narendra Modi praised the violent Hindu supremacist paramilitary group Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) as it celebrated its centenary year. In a post on X, he shared a link to RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat’s annual address, describing it as a “must-listen.”
Founded in 1925, the RSS is regarded as the ideological backbone of the ruling Hindu supremacist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Modi previously served as an RSS remember before joining the BJP.
The RSS was initially declared an unlawful organization in 1948 following the assassination of Indian independence leader Mahatma Gandhi by Nathuram Godse, an RSS member. Militants from the RSS were also part of a mob of over 150,000 Hindu extremists who violently demolished the Babri Masjid.
Elderly Muslim man attacked and harassed by Hindu extremist mob
An elderly Muslim man, Haji Zameer Shiekh, was attacked by a group of Hindu extremists in Maharashtra’s Akola over his apparent Muslim identity. Passersby also joined in and publicly beat and harassed Haji.
“I was passing by…Some people called me a ‘Dadhi-Topi wala Maulana’ (a bearded Maulana with his religious headdress) and asked others to attack me,” Haji said while showing marks of wounds on his body and deep scars on his arms.
Police arrested 10 Hindu extremists for the assault but they were soon released on bail after supporters marched towards the police station while raising anti-Muslim slogans.
Hindu extremists celebrate journalist Gauri Lankesh’s killers after bail
Members of Hindu extremist groups publicly felicitated Parshuram Waghmore, the man who allegedly shot and killed journalist Gauri Lankesh, following his release on bail.
Waghmore and his co-accused, Manohar Yadve, were honored in Karnataka’s Vijayapura after being freed from prison. The bail was granted to key figures in the high-profile murder case, including Amol Kale, the alleged mastermind behind the assassination, and Ganesh Miskin, the getaway driver.
Lankesh, a vocal critic of Hindu supremacy, was murdered outside her house in Bengaluru on September 5, 2017.
BJP leader leads Hindu militant groups in vandalizing fruit distribution by Muslim lawmaker
In BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh’s Domariaganj, BJP leader Lawkush Ojha led Hindu militant groups in disrupting and vandalizing a fruit distribution event by a Muslim lawmaker, Saiyada Khatoon, outside a temple. They asserted that a “beef-chicken eater” should not be allowed to distribute fruits there, and claimed it as a conspiracy to “corrupt” Hinduism.
Police detain Christians over allegations by Hindu militants
In Jharkhand’s Ramkanda Garhwa, Hindu militants from the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bajrang Dal raided a prayer meeting in a Christian school, alleging that they were forcibly converting Hindus to Christianity. The police then took four Christians into custody over these allegations.
Christians across states have been arrested under India’s draconian anti-conversion law, which criminalizes conversion away from Hinduism.
Hindu extremists enact provocative anti-Muslim plays at religious celebrations
In BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh’s Prayagraj, during celebrations of a Hindu festival, Hindu extremist organizers staged an highly provocative play depicting Muslims as “terrorists” attempting to abduct the sister of an Indian Army soldier. The Muslim men are shown assaulting the army personnel, and the characters deliver inflammatory ant-Muslim dialogues from films.
In Maharashtra’s Kolhapur, a Hindu extremist was observed deliberately aiming a cannon towards a mosque during a Hindu religious procession.
