Syed Khalique Ahmed
NEW DELHI—Several human rights activists have demanded immediate arrest of the Hindu religious leaders who gave a call for a genocide against Muslims during a three-day “Dharm Sansad” last week at Haridwar, a religious town in the hilly state of Uttarakhand. The demand was made at an online press conference on Friday.
Among the religious leaders who attended the religious summit and gave hate speeches against Muslims included controversial Swami Yati Narsinghanand, Annapurna Maa, Dharam Das Maharaj, and Anand Swarup Maharaj.
Their video speeches full of hatred are doing the rounds on youtube on social media.
Senior Supreme Court advocate and a well-known rights activist Prashant Bhushan noted that such an assault on the Muslims in India had never taken place.
Alleging the complicity of the government, Bhushan said that the extremists gave the call for genocide because they knew that action would not be taken against them.
“There can be no bigger call for genocide than the hate speeches delivered at Haridwar’s religious gathering,” he remarked, adding “it amounted to terrorism.”
However, he expressed his surprise over the total silence of civil society. “The civil society is not speaking. This is a matter of great concern,” he observed. He was also astonished by the mainstream media not raising the issue.
“The judiciary should have taken suo motu action in such a situation but it is silent also,” he pointed out.
Stating that he had written a letter to Chief Justice of India N V Ramana to initiate suo motu action, he said that the human rights group would have to bring pressure on the judiciary to ensure that the extremists did not have their way.
Expressing the need for the formation of communal harmony groups and holding common functions of Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, and Christian communities on peace and harmony, Bhushan suggested highlighting the contribution of Muslims in the freedom movement and in nation-building to defeat the designs of the fascist forces bent on defaming the Muslim community.
Stating that some people from Hindu right groups were peddling hate based on wrong assumptions, author and rights activist Ram Punyani pointed out that genocide against Muslims would not be difficult if the present government continued.
Stating how former union minister Jayant Sinha felicitated the accused persons involved in mob lynching of Muslims in Jharkhand, he suggested launching ideological warfare against hate-mongering.
Stating that the Haridwar call for the mass killing was the biggest ever hate appeal against Muslims, scientist-turned-activist Gauhar Raza said that “silence can turn India into Bosnia and Rwanda.”
“The same hatred in 1947 caused the biggest genocide in India after the Second World War,” he pointed out. He said that one of the religious leaders even said that he would have shot former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh six times had he been present in Parliament when Singh spoke that minorities have the first right over national resources. “They are speaking such a language because they know they enjoy impunity,” Raza stated.
Stating that “Dharm Sansad” and BJP were both from the RSS, he said that people had to decide if they were with Gandhi or the killers of Gandhi.
Pointing out that the killers of Gandhi had not died but were alive in different shapes, Raza said, “We need not remain silent. Enough is enough. As believers in Ahimsa, we will have to raise our voice against hatred and violence.”
Activist Anjali Bhardwaj asked why the police did not stop the hate speeches that continued for three days. The police registered cases under sedition against journalists and activists, and in this case, the police failed even to mention the name of the accused.
Former Planning Commissioner member and human rights activist Syeda Hameed said the people were required to get united to force the government to act against hate-peddlers as happened in the case of anti-farm laws. “We will not tolerate such divisive activities,” she declared.
Noted social and human rights activist Shabnam Hashmi, who worked for the rehabilitation of 2002 riots victims in Gujarat, noted that the difference between the 2002 Gujarat riots and the Haridwar call for genocide against Muslims was that while the Gujarat media raised the issue extensively, the national media was not highlighting the Haridwar appeal for the mass massacre of Muslims to make India “Muslim mukt”(free of Muslims).
“Had such a language been used by a Muslim or a Sikh, the entire country would have been in flames by now,” Shabnam stated.
Stating that the hate-peddling was being done to polarize voters in view of UP elections, she said that this was being done to achieve the agenda of the “Hindu nation” of the dreams of Golwalkar and Savarkar.
She alleged that the accused persons enjoyed the protection of the government.
However, she said that India was not restricted to 500 “gurus” who took part in “Dharam Sansad”.
“India is against such things. We have seen how Indians protested unitedly against CAA and anti-farm laws. Indians are united,” she said.
“All efforts are being made to realize the dreams of Hitler in India. But India is not Germany and politics of hate will not succeed here. There is unity in diversity in India,” She announced.
