With the Lok Sabha elections 2024 knocking at the door, Hindu fundamentalists are not willing to tolerate even an insignificant criticism from a person notwithstanding his being a fanatic of Narendra Modi. This has happened precisely to film actor Akshay Kumar. Rashtriya Hindu Parishad Bharat of Agra has announced a Rs 10 lakh “reward” to anyone who slaps or spits on Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar for hurting sentiments with his portrayal of Lord Shiva’s messenger in the latest release Oh My God 2.
Accusing Kumar of hurting Hindu sentiments, the organization has called upon his cadres to burn the actor’s effigies and the film’s posters. It would also organise demonstration before theatres. Sadhvi Rithambara, the founder of the Durga Vahini, slammed the satirical comedy saying “It is the leniency of Hinduism that prompts Bollywood to commit such audacity again and again. They are afraid of commenting on any other religion except Hinduism.” The priests of Ujjain’s Mahakal Temple have also demanded the removal of some scenes shot in the temple’s premises, calling them “obscene”.
It is a coincidence that Agra based Hindu outfit announced its action programme on the day the ‘Sarva Jatiye Mahapanchayat’, announced its programme to resume the second phase of its Braj Mandal yatra from Nalhar in Nuh. Though Nuh has been a Muslim dominated area, the Hindu organisation is hell bent on taking out the yatra through the village.
Though Nuh is in Haryana, the echo of the communal clash is widely heard in the Muslim dominated areas of Uttar Pradesh. The Yatra is being used as a tool to terrorise and threaten the Muslims. Else there is no reason for Yatra taking the route of Nuh. The motive of the Hindu fringe could well be construed from the speeches made at the congregation. At the gathering, Haryana Gau Rakshak Dal’s Acharya Azad Shastri told the youth “not to be afraid of FIRs. We should immediately ensure getting licence of 100 rifles in Mewat”. The speakers also demanded from the administration to allow them to carry arms and give relaxation in securing arms licences for self-defence
If the Hindu leaders feel unsafe while passing through the Muslim dominated Nuh, then they ought to not have insisted in taking out the Yatra through this region. It obviously implies that the outfit intends to send a loud and clear message to the Muslims to keep away from the Congress and INDIA and rally behind BJP. Had it not been the mission, they would not have insisted for taking out the second rally on August 28 through the village.
It has been success of their July 31 mission that Hindu bigots have been targeting afresh the region. Geographically Mewat, a Muslim-majority area overlaps Haryana and Rajasthan but a communal clash here has a deep impact on the Muslims of Uttar Pradesh, who has suffered immense in western UP. Like the western districts of UP, after Modi came to power in 2014, hundreds of cow vigilante groups have become active in this area on the plea that the Muslims were slaughtering cows, it is a beef belt. They have been laying siege to the Mewat highways holding night vigils to catch Muslims that they said were smuggling cows for slaughter.
Ironically the constituents of the INDIA, Samajwadi Party, Rashtriya Lok Dal are yet to come out against this design of the RSS and BJP. Samajwadi Party President Akhilesh Yadav accused the BJP government for the violence in Nuh and alleged that the BJP government is spreading the fire of hatred in the country. “BJP is spoiling social harmony for its political agenda. It is spreading fire of hatred and dividing the society which is its model of rule. Besides, BJP is also the enemy of peace and development,” said Yadav.
Significantly he also came out with the observation; “There was a conspiracy to create riots in Bareilly in UP too. The BJP government instigates rioters and thereafter punishes the officials,” but he has not led the forces of resistance against this design of RSS and BJP. He said that the people should maintain their brotherhood by being alert from any political conspiracy and rumours.
If the reports are to be relied, the Muslims of Nuh have started migrating to the western region of Uttar Pradesh. This has led to fear of insecurity and terror amongst the Muslims of this region. After the successful conclusion of the Bharat Jodo Yatra, a perceptible shift in the stance and approach of the Muslims is being noticed across the country. The RSS and BJP are scared of this shift. Recent results of the some byelections have made this shift quite distinct.
In UP, the BJP has considerably lost its support base in rural areas. Even the urban Brahmins, Kayasthas and other upper castes have turned apathetic to Yogi rule and his governance. The people have come to nurse that the Rajput and section of OBCs are benefitting but at the same time the state is witnessing the consolidation of the upper caste mercenaries. People recall the bloody clashes between the Thakurs and other castes in past. The Yogi government targeting the Muslims and using bulldozers to demolish their houses on the plea of eradicating crime has not gone well with the people. Yogi through his act of bulldozing tried to send the message that Muslims are criminals.
The INDIA leaders of UP, it appears, are still suffering with amnesia. The SP chief Akhilesh Yadav has not made a serious move to bring all the smaller parties representing various castes under an umbrella. Enjoying the legacy of his father Mulayam Singh he continues to nurse the view that Jadavs are numerically the strongest vote bank. However the fact is Dalits, the Jatavs, constitute 12 per cent of the population. They expect a fair treatment from BJP as well as Akhilesh. In absence of proper recognition of their strength they prefer to stick to BSP of Mayawati.
Yogi has put the Muslims under worst form of psychological stress. The state police has gunned down 183 alleged criminals in encounters in the six years of Yogi Adityanath’s government and this included gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmad’s son Asad and his accomplice, who were killed in an exchange of fire in Jhansi. Most of the encountered criminals are either Muslims or Dalits. Around 1900 police encounters have taken place in the state since March 2017, when Adityanath took over as the chief minister.
Akhilesh in a normal manner should have made the fake encounter as a major political issue. But except for coming out with some stray statement he prefers to maintain passive silence. Incidentally demand for a thorough probe was most recently raised by Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati after Asad and his aide Ghulam were shot dead in Jhansi. Both were wanted for the daylight murder of Umesh Pal, a key witness in the killing of then BSP legislator Raju Pal in 2005, and his two security guards in Prayagraj in February this year.
The political observers maintain that RSS and BJP have worked out the most dangerous strategy to terrorise the Muslims. They are already feeling alienated from Akhilesh for his ill treatment to the Muslim leader Azam Khan, a prominent face and old friend of his father. The Muslims are inclined towards the Congress but are not sure of ability of the party to put a tough fight against BJP.
Cutting across the party line, astonishingly even some BJP leaders, feel that proper utilisation of the political skill of Priyanka Gandhi would change the existing political scenario. These leaders even come out with the revelation that haunted by this lingering fear the BJP has filed 41 FIRs against her in Madhya Pradesh in one single day, that is too within two hours, from 8 pm to 10 pm.
Nevertheless the future of INDIA and its performance in UP depends how Akhilesh manages the intra contradictions and brings closer the various groups and parties. He must have to look at the truth that Muslims are scared of Yogi Raj and may not ultimately muster courage to come out and vote for the INDIA. They are scared even if the BJP will lose the Lok Sabha election, the Yogi Raj would be there to repress them. (IPA Service)
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