A group of Bajrang Dal members harassed Muslim mehndi (henna) artists and targeted Hindu women seeking their services for the Karva Chauth festival. The incident occurred in Delhi’s Karol Bagh on Saturday, October 19.
The radical group declared that they would not permit any Hindu women to have their Mehndi done by “burkhewalis“, invoking the conspiracy theory of “love jihad” to rationalize their actions.
A video of the incident has emerged on social media showing the individuals fueled by extreme ideology aggressively confronting the artist wearing hijab, verbally abusing them and insisting that they refrain from applying mehndi on Hindu women. This incident is part of a troubling trend where Hindutva outfit members target Muslim artists during Hindu festivals, citing concerns of “love jihad”.
Love jihad is a conspiracy theory promoted by right-wing outfit leaders purporting that Muslim men target Hindu women by entering into ‘romantic’ relationships, with the alleged primary motive being “conversion” to Islam.
In 2023, the VHP and Bajrang Dal held ‘Muslim-free’ ‘mehndi’ camps in Uttar Pradesh in order to ensure that only Hindu mehndi artists apply henna to Hindu girls during the Karva Chauth festivities stating that Muslim mehndi artists are a threat to the Hindu community and often lure Hindu girls towards converting to Islam through these interactions.
The Bajrang Dal, a radical Hindu group has been accused of being involved in organized violence against Muslims involving mob lynching and violent attacks.
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