Nasima Khatun
Last week, right-wing Hindu extremists and monks called for a complete and utter wipeout of the country’s Muslim population during a 3-day conference that took place in the northern city of Haridwar in India.
The crowded venue played host to hundreds of vocal leaders, some of whom have intimate ties with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s governing party. They spent a concerning portion of their time discussing the most efficient methods to eradicate Muslims from the country.
Videos and photographs taken at the event were shared to social media, immediately sparking global outrage due to the blatantly violent and racist nature, with some of the so-called ‘activists’ even using Hitler’s Nazi hail while taking an oath to embark on a killing spree.
“If 100 of us are ready to kill two million of them, then we will win and make India a Hindu nation,” said Pooja Shakun Pandey, a leader of Hindu Mahasabha, a Hindu nationalist movement. “Be ready to kill and go to jail.”
It was reported that another speaker named Sadhvi Annapurna from the same group also reemphasised the mass murder of Muslims, adding that an “Economic boycott won’t work” and instead “Hindu groups need to update themselves. Swords look good on stage only. This battle against Muslims will be won by those with better weapons.”
One of the most concerning, if not the most concerning aspects of this entire thing is the fact that despite all the evidence of a ‘Muslim genocide’ being promoted in parts of the country, government leaders, including the Prime Minister himself, have refused to condemn this vile display of hate speech. Not only that, but it seems as though these extremists will not be facing any consequences for their actions.
On Twitter, some Hindus have slammed those using the name of their religion to promote a massacre.
“Was born Hindu and am still one. Allow no one to call for the massacre of Muslims in my name. You don’t have permission to appropriate my voice to support genocide. India is a democracy with rule of law. Urge the Supreme Court to take suo moto cognisance of #HaridwarHateAssembl,” wrote Indian journalist, Pooja Desai.
Her tweet received over 6,000 likes.
The news comes after the number of attacks on Muslims in the country have been growing at an alarming rate.
In September 2021, a 12-year-old Muslim boy was murdered by the police during a clash while he was on his way back from getting an identity card that would prove his legitimacy to stay in the area. Local authorities were evicting Bengali Muslims from their homes to make room for Assamese Hindus, who brand themselves as the ‘indigenous community’ when the tragic event happened.
The death of a child should have evoked national outrage, but instead, it became nothing but another story and statistic.
Many are blaming the government and their overtly anti-Muslim rhetoric which has now put millions of Muslims in danger. Their lack of action against those who engage in these hate crimes have also left room for more hate to fester among the people. Many other notable outlets have also debated the idea of India heading towards an anti-Muslim genocide including Time Magazine and The Washington Post, who have both covered the topic in detail.
We must also add that recently, these attacks have also started spreading into other minority religions. The Indian-Christian community has seen a spike in hate crimes against them too in what is quickly becoming a land of bloodshed and fear.
We should all actively condemn the actions of these extremist Hindu groups and call for peace between all religious groups in India. Let’s just hope the government does something about it, but given their previous silence, we aren’t holding our breath.