AISA Statement on Violence on Ram Navami

Yet again this year, communal violence has defined the religious festival of Ram Navami. In an attempt to provoke and intimidate, large processions of right-wing men are taken with saffron flags and brandishing swords, who raise communal slogans, with loud music propagating communal hatred. The procession, upon reaching Muslim-dominated areas or a mosque turn violent. Visuals of these right-wing men climbing mosques with saffron flags, procession turning violent with stone pelting and burning down mosques and other properties in the area, have become common around the festival. Despite witnessing wide-spread violence last year on both Ram Navami and Hanuman Jayanthi, the state administration continues to remain silent and complicit and have utterly failed to curb such violence this year, and to protect the state’s minorities.

This year on March 30th, wide spread violence was witnessed across various states, including Delhi, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Bihar, and Hyderabad, which are recounted as below:

The Akhil Bhartiya Hindu Yuva Morcha (ABHYM), including Bajrang Dal and Hindu Sena, took out processions in Delhi’s Jahangirpuri, which witnessed communal violence in April last year.
In West Bengal, violent scenes erupted in Howrah where people set fire to public property, and a young man lost his life in communal violence in Dalkhola.
In Maharashtra, violence was witnessed in Aurangabad, Jalgaon and Mumbai’s Malad. In Aurangabad, a mob of 500 men turned violent by hurling stones and petrol-filled bombs, thus injuring 12 people and 10 policemen. In Malad, a man waving saffron flag was seen on video, alongside a policeman.
In Uttar Pradesh’s Mathura, a video of men waving saffron flags atop Jama Masjid went viral, whereas stones were pelted in Shahi Masjid in Lucknow, alongside genocidal music.
In Gujarat’s Vadodara, stone pelting occurred alongside anti-Muslim sloganeering by right-wing goons during the procession.
In Bihar’s Nalanda, the 110-year-old Azizia madrasa and library was specifically targeted and destroyed by fire, which houses 4,500-odd books and had a rare collection. The madrasa established by renowned philanthropist and educationist Bibi Soghra in memory of her husband Moulavi Abdul Aziz, who joined the First War of Indian Independence, 1857, served as a model madrasa, imparting modern education to 500 Muslim children. Despite having no police permission for the procession to go through Hazratganj of Munger, BJP MLA Pranav Kumar led a mob with saffron flags and anti-Muslim slogans, such as “Jai Shri Ram bolo, Miyan ko kato”, (Say Jai Shri Ram and cut the Muslim men).
In Hyderabad, a ‘shobha yatra’ was led by T Raja Singh, who is known to preach communal hatred and provoke violence, along with a portrait of Gandhi’s assassin Nathuram Godse and his co-accused VD Savarkar.
In JNU, ABVP was seen raising slogans such as “Ayodhya toh jhanki hai, Kashi-Mathura baki hai” (Calling for the demolition of mosques in Mathura and Banaras) and “JNU me rehna hoga toh Jai Shri Ram kehna hoga”, (If you want to stay in JNU, you have to say Jai Shri Ram)

It isn’t a mere coincidence that religious festivals are being turned into a carnival of communal violence, with threats, intimidation and violence being meted out against the Muslim community. Last year, communal violence occurred in Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Delhi, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra during Hanuman Jayanthi. Communal violence erupted during Ganesh Chaturthi in Vadodara and Mandvi in Gujarat. During Diwali, the Panigate area in Vadodara saw communal violence. This year’s Holi was no exception to violence, as right-wing men forcibly put colour on Muslim women and harassed them, with videos women from other countries being harassed also surfacing.

Such instances of political hate during religious festivals shows the increasing intolerance and demonization of the Muslim community in India. These are classic signs of genocide, that organisations world over has recognised, especially in Nazi Germany and have raised concerns, especially in regard to India. We must protect the secular fabric of our nation and defeat the communal aggression on warfooting.