Ujjain: The all-woman outfit of the right-wing organisations Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Durga Vahini conducted a massive rally in Madhya Pradesh’s Ujjain where female workers echoed communal and Islamophobic slogans by the female activists in front of a mosque.
In a video filmed and spread among the Hindutva outfits, women were seen walking on the streets chanting aggressive slogans while wielding weapons including swords and sticks.
Upon reaching the mosque, the saffron-clad women chanted dog whistles including “Mein Durga banungi, Kaali banuungi per burkha wali nahi banungi (I will become godess Durga, godess Kaali but not a burqa-wearing woman).”
The Durga Vahini conducted their four-day annual meeting in Ujjain. More than 35000 women participants attended the event, according to the claims made by the organisers.
Hindutva leader Ritambhara was the chief speaker of the programmes where she made inflammatory speeches against the minority community, calling for an economic boycott. She also spoke about alleged ‘love jihad’ based on the Hindutva narrative.
Love jihad is a conspiracy theory that accuses Muslim men of intentionally and strategically alluring and entrapping non-Muslim women with the intent to “convert them” to Islam and marry them as part of an “Islamisation project”.
The leader said that Muslims should not be allowed to operate businesses near temples and its rights belong solely to Hindus.
Religious hate crimes continue to rise in India
The rising trend of crimes against minorities in India continued in 2024. In the months before and after the Lok Sabha General Elections. The country witnessed a surge in hate speeches, including inflammatory remarks by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who referred to Muslims as “infiltrators,” and Telangana BJP MLA T Raja Singh, who openly called for the demolition of mosques.
According to a report by the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, following the election results, at least 28 attacks on Muslims were recorded between June and August.
2024 has been the year of state assembly elections in multiple areas of the nation other than the Lok Sabha elections, in which Islamophobic propaganda was pushed through various mediums including electoral advertisements. The rise in productions like these amounts to the normalisation of sectarian hate, which incites violence and isolation against minorities.
Follow on Twitter | Posted by Parameswaran Valeri | 
