Ahead of Eid, Hindutva forces out to communalize atmosphere in UP; priest insists on Jagran in Muslim area

In BJP ruled Uttar Pradesh where Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath recently boasted that “no communal clashes occurred during the Ram Navami celebration” several incidents of communal instigation have been reported in the last two days.

While in Agra, a saffron clad Hindu tried to enter Taj Mahal without permission, in Meerut a Hindu priest announced to do Jagran “without permission” in Muslim dominated area in on the night of May 2. A day after, Eid will be celebrated on May 3.

In a video that has gone viral, the priest can be seen arguing with a police officer. The priest told the police that Hindus do not need permission from police for Jagran in Muslim dominated area.

Muslims in the area have been living in fear since then. A resident of Meerut told NH that fear has overshadowed the celebration.

In another incident which created buzz in national media, a saffron clad monk belonging to Ayodhya tried to enter Taj Mahal. He was not granted permission, following which Hindu activists staged a protest outside the ASI office.

The Ayodhya seer claimed that he was denied entry to Taj Mahal because he wore saffron and carried a ‘Brahmdand’.

But an Archaeological Survey of India official said the seer was refused entry not because he wore saffron robes but because he carried an object which security personnel wanted him to deposit in a locker.

In a third incident, activists belonging to the newly formed Hindu Yoddha Pariwar, defying the government's order installed loudspeakers on temples in Shahjahanpur.

As per the local residents, after the government’s diktat, Hindus and Muslims both have decided to remove the loudspeakers from their religious places, but the Hindu Yoddha Parivar activists installed new loudspeakers.

Though the chief of the organisation has been arrested by the police, residents of the area claimed that the atmosphere is tense.

Speaking to NH, a journalist from Western Uttar Pradesh said that Hindu organisations got emboldened after the second victory of Yogi Adityanath.

“Hatred for Muslims is on the rise…they may not necessarily want riots but they want to show Muslims their place in the society,” said the journalist.

UP watchers believe that Hindutva organisations are deliberately provoking Muslims ahead of Eid which falls on May 3 in order to keep the communal pot boiling. Notably in all the cases, either police have taken no action against the perpetrators or have taken mild action.