The notorious anti-Muslim activist is due to attend several events in London, Birmingham, Nottingham and Coventry between September 20-24.
Rithambara is infamous for several public-speeches urging the waging of war against Muslims, and is widely acknowledged to be the single most powerful voice behind the whipping up of anti-Muslim sentiments across the nation in the run-up to the demolition of Babri Masjid in 1993.
Rithambara was present during the demolition of the masjid, cheering on the crowd whilst standing atop the terrace of the mosque. Three days after the demolition, she was arrested on grounds of inciting communal tension but was subsequently released.
The Liberhan Commission that probed the Babri Masjid demolition held Sadhvi Ritambhara individually culpable for leading the country “to the brink of communal discord” for her role in the demolition of the mosque.
And in April 1995, Rithambara was again arrested in Indore for inciting communal passions, after she referred to Mother Teresa as a “magician,” during a speech denouncing Christian missionaries who she alleged were converting Hindus. Rithambara’s address is said to have sparked off a riot and led to several incidents of arson, leading to the arrest of 169 people.
Shakeel Afsar, a Kashmiri activist from Birmingham, pledged to protest outside any venue in the city that Rithambara will address.
He said: “The time has come to stand in the face of extremism… Kashmiris know so well how the BJP use the anti-Muslim narrative to hurt our people for no reason other than the fact that we are Muslim. We must stand firm against these people, we must lobby Members of Parliament, we must write to our Home Secretary to ban this lady.
“And we must also ensure that if you live in any of the locations where she has been hosted to speak, we must be protesting outside those locations as well to make sure that no city in the United Kingdom would allow hate preachers from the BJP to stand and speak and push their extremist agenda.”
This story was originally published in 5pillarsuk.com . Read the full story here
