Jabalpur: In Madhya Pradesh’s Jabalpur, a group of far-right supporters asked Hindu shopkeepers to paste a photo of Lord Varaha (a Hindu god in the form of a wild boar) to identify their religion.
Members of Vishwa Hindu Mahasangh, a Hindutva organisation, said this is a way to boycott Muslim shopkeepers who have put up their stalls in the ongoing Khermai Mela, a religious celebration of Goddess Khermai (a form of Goddess Durga or Mahakaali)
“Hamaara yeh maanna hai ki Hindu ka tyohaar, Hindu se vyaapaar. Hamein dekha hai ki unki bhi dukaane hai jo Hindu dharam ko nahi maanthe. Isse love jihad phel saktha hai. Isiliye hamein yeh poster diya hai jisse patha chalega ki dukaandaar Hindu hai ya koi aur dharam ka,” said a member.
“Our belief is that Hindu festivals should mean business with Hindus. We have seen that people who do not follow Hinduism also have shops here. This could lead to the spread of ‘love jihad’. That is why we have distributed these posters, so people can identify whether a shopkeeper is Hindu or belongs to another religion.”
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