Multiple hate speech events took place in Pune and Nandurbar districts of Maharashtra over the week as Hindutva and religious leaders urged Hindus to raise weapons against the Muslim communities.
In Baramati, Pune district, a Hindu Jagran Morcha event was organised where Kalicharan Maharaj delivered a speech to a group of Hindus to pick up a weapon for their ‘protection’.
Kalicharan Maharaj has several cases against him, the prominent being speaking against Muslims in December’s infamous ‘Dharam Sanasad’ event that happened in Chhattisgarh. He was arrested by the Raipur police for alleged derogatory remarks about Mahatma Gandhi.
On February 13, Kalicharan Maharaj in a statement mentioned The Kashmir Files movie.
“In that movie,” he continues, “A Hindu woman is raped by at least 150 men before she is cut into half. It is said that in Islam, one should always share. And this is what they did. 150 men jumped on the Hindu woman and brutally raped her before killing her. I appeal to people to watch the movie,” he said.
He also mentioned that the incident shown in The Kashmir Files is just one such incident. “Many Hindu women have endured the injustice meted on them by Muslims. We need to raise our weapons to counter them.”
He then goes on to say that when India and Pakistan became independent nations, many Hindus residing in Pakistan were killed, including Hindu ministers. Infact, Hindus are not safe in Muslim nations such as Iraq, Pakistan, Afghanistan etc.
In another district Nandurbar in Maharashtra, Kalicharan Maharaj continued giving anti-Muslim speeches.
At a programme organised by the far-right Hindutva organisation Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), Kalicharan Maharaj made many claims whose authenticity is yet to be proved.
He alleged that in many mosques and madrassas across the country, deadly weapons such as AK-47s, and swords were found during a police raid.
“Can we see such things in our temple?” he asks to which the crowd replied in unison, “No.”
He then claims that Muslim countries such as Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, as well as Indonesia, Taiwan, Cambodia and Australia, were all Hindu nations that were forcefully converted to Islam.
He again mentioned The Kashmir Files where he spoke about a scene in the movie that depicts how a woman was raped and then cut into half.
“Thirty years ago, around five lakh women were gang raped and murdered by Muslims. All must watch The Kashmir Files movie. Let us not repeat history,” he said.
In another hate speech, Sudarshan TV editor-in-chief Suresh Chauhanke was speaking at an event named Asaram Bapu Diwas that was held in Pune.
Chauhanke stressed the need to keep weapons and use them when required.
“Those who claim pens as their weapons cannot save Hindus. But those who have proper weapons are the only ones who can save us. I am not degrading journalism but we need to take care of ourselves from anti-Hindu elements,” he said.
Interestingly Asaram Bapu is currently serving life in prison after he was found guilty of raping a minor in his ashram in 2013. Suresh Chauhanke also is being questioned by the Supreme Court of India regarding his speech made at a religious assembly in the national capital in 2021.
