On June 28th, a Hindu shop owner named Kanhaiya Lal was brutally murdered in the city of Udaipur in the Indian state of Rajasthan by two Muslim men over an alleged social media post, triggering tension between the two communities. It is believed that the shop owner may have been facing threats for ten days leading up to the murder and asked for protection from the police, which they did not provide.
Mohammed Zubair, a journalist and co-founder of India’s leading fact-checking website Alt News was arrested and charged by police for hurting religious sentiments.
On June 12, 2022, a youth belonging to a Muslim family in Maharashtra, India, was arrested for making posts on social media where he criticized the Prophet Muhammad, condemned the violence in his name, and called upon citizens of India to reject all religions. Earlier in the day, the 19-year-old engineering student was confronted by a Muslim mob that raided his home and assaulted him.
Under orders from Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, authorities in Uttar Pradesh, India, used bulldozers to destroy the homes of people accused of being involved in last week’s protests.
Muslims have protested across India over the remarks by one of the ruling party’s top members. As of the second week of June, two people have died related to the protests in Jharkhand, a state in eastern India, while hundreds were arrested.
In Uttar Pradesh, around 230 protesters were arrested. In West Bengal, 70 people were arrested and charged with rioting and disturbing public order.
Anti-Muslim songs filled with hateful lyrics and a suggestive message are rising in India. Fueled by the increasingly bold Hindutva organizations, these songs are becoming a centerpiece of nationalist rallies and meetings.
Earlier this year, a Hindu priest paraded near a mosque in Uttar Pradesh. He was calling for the assault of Muslim women while blasting anti-Muslim songs from a speaker.
A recent study conducted by the Indian national government demystified the narrative of a replacement theory peddled by Hindutva figureheads.
Like their American counterparts, extreme right-wing nationalists in India are convinced that Muslims are taking over their country. And that Indians are being slowly ousted from their rightful place, despite being the majority.
On June 5, 2022, BJP national spokesperson Nupur Sharma and BJP Delhi media head Naveen Kumar were suspended from the party’s membership due to offensive comments to many Muslims in India.
In May 2022, BJP MP Tejasvi Surya made some public appearances in Australia, including the Australia India Youth Dialogue (AIYD). He told an audience in Parramatta that the history of Islam is “writ large with bloodshed and violence.”
