Yeh Jo India Hai Na, Muslim Exodus in Uttarakhand Exposes India’s ‘Hate Toolkit’

"Hinduon ko jagana hoga, Jihadiyon ko bhagana hoga” (Hindus need to be awakened, Jihadis need to be chased away). “Jihadiyon ko jo dega sharan, unki behn betiyon ka hoga haran” (Anyone who protects Jihadis, their sisters and daughters will be kidnapped) – such posters and slogans were recently made and used by members of the Yamuna Ghati Hindu Jagriti Sangathan in Purola, Uttarakhand.

These posters are openly labelling Muslims as ‘Jihadis’ or terrorists. They also warn Muslims to leave Uttarakhand or face consequences. And sadly, unable to fight back, or trust the local police to protect them, several Muslims have left. They have left the homes where they were born, and brought up, where they had a livelihood and a life.

Yeh Jo India Hai Na, here, just when we think communal hate can’t get any worse, new ways are found to humiliate our fellow citizens. And it seems clear that there is a 'Hate Ki Toolkit’ being used repeatedly to target India’s Muslims. The events in Uttarakhand, leading to the exodus of Muslim families from Purola, expose this familiar pattern.

Hate Machinery in India Against Muslims

First, the use of the false alarm of 'Love Jihad' yet again – the trigger for this fresh round of hate was an alleged attempt by two men to kidnap a 14-year-old Hindu girl in Purola on 26 May. It was quickly forgotten that one of the accused was a Hindu.

Instead, haters declared it an incident of ‘Love Jihad’, of the Muslim accused targeting the Hindu girl to convert her. An investigating officer even rubbished this 'love jihad’ claim, saying the girl did not know the two accused. But he was not heard as the hate got louder.

Next, came the targeting of Muslim businesses, hitting a community where it hurts. A series of 'protest rallies’ were held in Purola, in which hundreds took part, including members of local Hindutva right-wing groups, local Vyapar Mandals or trader groups, and residents. During every protest, Muslim-owned shops were vandalised.

Rallies against Muslim traders, workers, and shop owners were also held in nearby towns and villages. Posters threatening Muslim shop owners and businessmen to leave Uttarakhand were put up. And it has worked. When you make it impossible for someone to conduct business or find employment in a place, you are making sure that the person leaves, isn’t it?

Rise of Local Communal Agents 

The next element of the ‘Hate Ki Toolkit’ is the use of smaller local radical Hindutva groups to 'front’ the issue. While the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is the political beneficiary of the communal polarisation that follows such incidents, it seems the BJP prefers to watch, while these radical local proxies do the groundwork.

In Purola too, a group called the 'Yamuna Ghati Hindu Jagriti Sangathan' took the lead in local-level protests. Then, larger groups got involved – the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), the Bajrang Dal, and the Hindu Yuva Vahini on a bigger scale issuing their own ultimatum to the Muslim community to leave Uttarakhand, again citing the bogus excuse of ‘Love Jihad’.

And also using phrases like 'Beti, Choti, and Roti’ to claim that Muslims are targeting Hindu women, Hindu culture, and the jobs of Hindus as well. And so, a chorus of hate was manufactured, demanding government action, or else threatening larger protests.

And, ALL of this entire bogus 'raai ka pahad' (making a mountain out of a molehill) has been based on an incident, of two men, one Muslim and one Hindu, allegedly trying to kidnap a girl. A crime, that like any other, needed police action but none of that has followed. But that’s how the 'Hate Ki Toolkit' works and sadly, it has proved effective in a growing number of Indian states.

Use of ‘Outsider’ Rhetoric

The next element of the Toolkit, is the ‘outsider’ rhetoric, which has been heard in Uttarakhand for a while. It’s the call of keeping the so-called ‘Devbhoomi’ of Uttarakhand, with its many Hindu pilgrimage sites, free of Muslims. And this call too has several mouthpieces. One such is Swami Prabodhanand Giri, who frequently resorts to hate speech. Here he is with one of his popular slogans – “Jihadi Bhagao, Devbhoomi Bachao”.

BUT Yeh Jo India Hai Na, yahan every citizen be it Hindu, Muslim, anyone has the right to live in any part of the country, run a business, look for work, fall in love without any fear. That is the law of the land. That is what the Constitution of India guarantees. And that’s what we must believe in and reject hate.