When there is racism, where is the need for a ticket to hell?
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The “I Love Muhammad” controversy, which has been smouldering in northern India for nearly a month, is a prime example of turning anything into a weapon to spread communal hatred. To celebrate the birthday of Prophet Muhammad, a few youths in the Rawatpur area near Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, set up a tent “in an unauthorised location” under a banner reading “I Love Muhammad”, prompting some to file complaints with the police. When the police filed an FIR against the illegal erection of the tent on an unpermitted site, the FIR also noted that the banner raised by the youths was a new practice and could lead to inter-religious tensions. This triggered Muslim protests across various parts of North India. Protest rallies were held in Lucknow, Unnao, and Bahraich in Uttar Pradesh, Kashipur in Uttarakhand, and Mumbai. Leaders like Asaduddin Owaisi and Imran Pratapgarhi, along with various Muslim organisations, strongly protested the actions of the UP police. Last Friday in Bareilly, a rally called by Ittehad-e-Millat Council leader Tauqeer Raza was stopped by the police for not seeking prior permission, which led to stone-pelting and baton charge. Tauqeer Raza was subsequently arrested by the police.
What this controversy revealed was the transformation of a single isolated incident into a tool for inciting communal hatred, rather than handling it as a law-and-order issue. Followers of different religions often have various ways of expressing their love and respect for their revered figures. Such expressions, conducted without disturbing other communities, are traditionally celebrated together by all sections of society, reflecting India’s secular experience. This coexistence in religious festivals and customs is also part of the beauty of the nation’s pluralism. Yet, it is the destructive forces that yearn for a monolithic India, even through conflict, that have turned even an innocuous slogan like “I Love Muhammad” into a weapon for communal hostility instead of coexistence. If the government, which is obligated to protect the country from such people, instead turns into their ally, then what will remain? It is this very concern that evidently emerges from the threat-laden statement made on Sunday by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in the wake of the Bareilly incident. Adityanath warned that religious symbols should not be dragged into the streets and that those who wage war against India would be given a ticket to hell. The fact of the matter is that there is no group in India that has misused religious symbols as much as the BJP, led by leaders like him. Having swallowed all that, the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister has now come out with a statement that pours oil on the fire.
Since the rise of Sangh Parivar rule in the country, it has ceased to be new in BJP-ruled states to swoop on Muslims and Dalits in false accusations and beat them to death. In those places, it is not only the Sangh Parivar groups but also their rulers who seem to derive special pleasure from pushing the lives of Muslims and Dalits into insecurity. This sadistic mentality is visible if one observes the false salvos various BJP Chief Ministers fire at minority communities. In Sangh-era India, it has become a “wonder” that those who commit atrocities against other communities receive everything from police help to government support. A new feature of this is that those in power themselves are directly taking the lead in campaigns of hatred. The government holds the weapon of authority. The police, the army, and the investigative agencies are at its command. With that, it can investigate accusations, prove crimes, and enforce punishment. In such a situation, is there any greater violence or injustice than responsible rulers themselves stepping forward to level false accusations against those they dislike and portraying them as terrorists in society?
Baseless and fabricated allegations against Muslims are being made continuously, even about matters they could never have imagined. Examples include linking everything from their smiles to their exam successes with jihad. Among these is the absurdity regarding plans to take over India. No Muslim organisation in India is known to have ever advocated such an idea. On the contrary, various organisations and groups are engaged in efforts to structure and reform their practices in accordance with the country’s laws and regulations. Meanwhile, it is alarming that some officials are taking the lead in exploiting such rumours to foment communal hatred against Muslims. If those in power encourage activities that create suspicion and conflict among communities, instead of fostering unity and harmony that would lead the nation toward development and progress, then no one would need to wait for a “ticket” to push the country into an eternal hell.
