In 2023, the state recorded one instance of hate speech every three days.
In March 2022, a Ram Navami rally passed peacefully through the Muslim-dominated area of Kiradpura in Aurangabad, now Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, where a Ram temple is located. Some Muslim shopkeepers and associations distributed sharbat to the hundreds of people walking by in the heat.
But a year later, when a Ram Navami rally took place in the same area, it flared into a communal riot. One person died and property was damaged.
What changed between the two events? What catalysed this escalation?
Days before the 2023 violence, a group called the Sakal Hindu Samaj organised a Hindu Jan Akrosh, a rally in support of the decision to rename the city to Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar. But it went well beyond its purported agenda.
The march, which started at Kranti Chowk, saw several hate speeches made, including one by BJP leader T Raja Singh, who said Hindus should stop “love jihadis” and, if the police did not support them, “voh aage kate hai na, unka pura kaat do”. Sudarshan News editor Suresh Chavhanke, meanwhile, demanded an “economic boycott” of Muslims.
Soon after, participants in the rally vandalised shop boards and posters that carried the word ‘Aurangabad’ – an act the police said was a result of communal speeches. Importantly, the rally had been organised despite not getting police permission.
This story was originally published in newslaundry.com. Read the full story here.
