Bhanwarlal or Mohammad, Should I Be Killed Because of My Name?

Will BJP question the extreme violence unleashed on MP’s Bhanwarlal Jain on the suspicion of him being a Muslim?

Police arrested Dinesh Kushwah on Saturday, 21 May, in connection with the incident in which a man with disabilities, identified as 65-year-old Bhanwarlal Jain, was allegedly beaten up over suspicions of being a Muslim.

Photo: The Quint

Video Producer: Mayank Chawla

Video Editor: Abhishek Sharma

Yeh Jo India Hai Na… Here, if your name is Bhanwarlal or Mohammed, should you be slapped, beaten or killed, just because of your religion?

In Madhya Pradesh’s Neemuch, the police arrested Dinesh Kushwah on Saturday, 21 May, in connection with the incident in which a man with disabilities, identified as 65-year-old Bhanwarlal Jain, was allegedly beaten up over suspicions of being a Muslim.

Jain later succumbed to his injuries.

The incident came to light after a video surfaced where a man could be seen asking Jain, "Tera naam Mohammed hai?... Aadhaar card dikha." (Is your name Mohammed? Show me your Aadhaar card).

Accused Has Links With BJP

The accused Dinesh Kushwah is said to have links with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the state. Kushwah is said to be the husband of a local BJP leader.

Talking to The Quint, BJP's Neemuch district president Pawan Patidar said:

"Dinesh Kushwah was not an office-bearer of the party. He was a normal party worker. I do not have much information about the incident as of now. We are trying to gather more details."

'Bhanwarlal Did Not Identify Himself': MP Home Minister

Each time that BJP party worker Dinesh Kushwah slapped Bhawarlal Jain, he slapped India’s secularism.

MP Home Minister Narottam Mishra says he didn’t identify himself, but, who is Dinesh Kushwah to ask a 65-yr-old man if he is Mohammed? To demand his Aadhaar card? To slap him? Again and again? Even the police can’t do this.

But today, because of the silence of top BJP leaders – Gau Rakshaks, radical Hindutva groups, BJP workers like Kushwah – they ignore the law, question, humiliate, beat up, and lynch anyone they like.

It’s already late, but can moderates within the BJP question this extreme violence?

Yeh Jo India Hai Na… we cannot be a country where you can be killed just because your name may be Mohammed.