In a recent development that has laid bare the deeply anti-Muslim sentiments in India’s northern Haryana state, Hindu fascist and cow vigilante Mohit Yadav, also known as Monu Manesar, has been arrested. [1]
Manesar had been on the run from authorities following last month’s anti-Muslim riots in Nuh and other districts throughout the state. He stands accused of playing a pivotal role in inciting deadly anti-Muslim violence in the region.
The arrest of the 28-year-old stems from allegations of uploading “objectionable and inflammatory” content under a fictitious online persona on social media platforms. [1]
Nuh, the epicentre of August’s violence, is a district located approximately 100 kilometres south of New Delhi, notable for being Haryana’s sole Muslim-majority region. The tensions escalated on 31 July, when far-right Hindu groups organised a religious procession that traversed the district.
A call to Hindu fascism
Two days before the provocative march, Monu Manesar, who leads the local cow protection unit associated with the Bajrang Dal — the youth wing of the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) — took to Facebook.
In a video message, he fervently announced his intention to attend the procession and urged fellow Hindus to join him in a show of solidarity.
The video, however, did not sit well with the residents of Nuh, who were already nursing grievances of past anti-Muslim riots and pogroms.
Murders of Junaid Khan and Nasir Hussain
Notably, Manesar was also among the 21 individuals named in a First Information Report (FIR) related to the lynching of two Muslim men earlier this year. [2]
The charred remains of Junaid Khan, aged 35, and Nasir Hussain, aged 27 — cousins from the neighbouring state of Rajasthan — were discovered in a car located in Haryana’s Bhiwani district on 16 February. [2]
Protection of cows at all costs?
The status of the cow within Hinduism has long been a source of tension.
For a segment of primarily privileged and upper caste Hindus, the cow is revered, leading to the imposition of bans on its sale and consumption in many Indian states.
This has given rise to numerous violent acts where self-appointed so-called cow vigilantes have targeted and lynched dozens of Muslims over allegations of cow slaughter in the past decade.
Analysis
ANALYSIS
The modern catastrophe of ethno-nationalist 'India' is the British empire’s gift that keeps on giving.
Just like the historically diverse local traditions that lived in relative peace with Muslims were collapsed into the newly-invented 'Hinduism' construct based on classic divide-and-conquer myths, the opposition to Islam and Muslims requires continual lies and myth-making to sustain itself.
This is because the ideas of Islam inherently spread like wildfire anywhere they are given an attentive ear on a level playing field. This is what unites the motley plotters that are responsible for spreading all kinds of flavours of anti-Muslim mythology around the world, from the War on Terror neocons, to Zionists, to the Chinese Communist Party.
Allah states in Surat Fussilat,
وَقَالَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا لَا تَسْمَعُوا لِهَٰذَا الْقُرْآنِ وَالْغَوْا فِيهِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَغْلِبُونَ
And those who disbelieve say, 'Do not listen to this Qur'ān and speak noisily during (the recitation of) it, that perhaps you will be victorious.'
Fortunately, it only takes diligence in accurately spreading the truth for lies to vanish and eventually oppressors to be brought to justice, by the permission of Allah. But we all have a duty to refute lies and spread truth in today’s age.
Premeditated violence falsely blamed on Muslims
Recent reports suggest that Manesar may be handed over to the Rajasthan Police in connection with the February lynchings. However, the circumstances surrounding the march in Nuh remain contested.
While far-right Hindu groups claim that their procession was attacked by Muslim residents, the latter staunchly refute these allegations and insist that the violence was premeditated.
The consequences of this violence were devastating, resulting in at least six casualties, including two members of the extreme Bajrang Dal group and two police officers.
Moreover, the violence swiftly spilled over into Gurgaon, a city on the outskirts of New Delhi, where a mosque was set ablaze, and its imam tragically lost his life at the hands of a Hindu mob.
In response to the escalating unrest, Haryana’s right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government ordered the demolition of over 1,000 properties, predominantly owned by Muslims in Nuh.
At the time, this controversial move prompted an Indian court to question whether it constituted an “exercise of ethnic cleansing”. [1]
Also read
- Has the Hindutva malady fatally infected the UK?
- 69 Hindus acquitted of Muslim murders during Gujarat genocide
- Gujarat 2002 – revisiting India’s state-sponsored Muslim massacre
- Anti-Muslim violence in India conjures dark memories of Gujarat pogroms
- Indian facade of “communal tensions” unveiled as systematic anti-Muslim violence
Source: Islam21c
Notes
