Spike in anti-Muslim rallies since BJP retook India’s Maharashtra

Reposted from Al Jazeera

On March 30, nearly 5,000 people poured into the streets of north Mumbai to participate in a procession celebrating the Hindu festival of Ram Navami, which marks the birth of the god, Ram.India: Muslims see wave of attacks, hate speech on Hindu festival/

For about three hours, the procession passed through Muslim neighbourhoods, blaring incendiary songs of Hindu supremacy, waving saffron flags and provocatively chanting “Jai Shri Ram” (Hail Lord Ram, the Hindu right wing’s war cry).

Young and old danced to the high-decibel speakers mounted on a truck, playing “Bharat ka bachcha bachcha, Jai Shri Ram bolega” (Every child in India will be compelled to say Hail Lord Ram).

An elderly Muslim security guard, watching the procession pass through Malad, said he had not seen such a display of supremacy in years. He was among the many Muslims Al Jazeera spoke to who did not want to reveal their identities for fear of a backlash.

“You don’t have to belittle or disrespect other religions while celebrating your festival,” he said. “It is particularly humiliating to witness it during the month of Ramadan. The music gets louder and people get aggressive, especially while passing by a mosque or through a Muslim area. It is provocative.”

And that is exactly what happened a couple of hours later. The procession slowed down and the volume of the speakers was increased as it reached a mosque where Muslims were offering their evening prayers.

The situation got tense when some Muslims complained about their prayers being disrupted. A row broke out between the two communities and stones were pelted.

The police say they arrested nearly two dozen people for allegedly throwing stones. The official version of the incident says a Muslim man threw a stone at the participants in the Ram Navami rally after his request to lower the volume was rejected.

But the residents of Malad say they were at the receiving end of aggression by the Hindu marchers.

According to conservative estimates, more than 50 such rallies have taken place across the state under the banner of Sakal Hindu Samaj, an amorphous organisation that nobody had heard of until a year ago.

The group is made up of far-right Hindu groups including Bajrang Dal, VHP, Sanatan Sanstha, and Hindu Janajagruti Samiti among others. Leaders and functionaries of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have also attended several of these rallies.

VHP member Shriraj Nair, who is a main organiser of these Mumbai rallies, said the groups came together for a “common goal to awaken the Hindus”.