Condemning Rise in Anti-Minority Hate Speech by Indian Government Leaders
October 25th, 2022
Canadian human rights defenders are urging the government to demonstrate a strong stance against intensified genocidal hate speech in India’s capital. Recent inflammatory, dangerous remarks were publically delivered by elected and organizational leaders aligned with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in India.
Background
Recently, a prominent Indian MP engaged in hate speech against Muslim minority groups. Representing a district within the Indian Capital, Delhi, MP Parvesh Verma has openly called for a total economic and social boycott of Muslims in a particular community.
MP Verma belongs to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). This government acts as the political enabler for India's right-wing government's extremist, majoritarian goals.
Hate-Speech Rally
While addressing a public session organized by the Virat Hindu Sabha, MP Verma provoked attendees to raise their hands in agreement and take an oath for the complete social and economic boycott of Muslims.
The particular gathering was co-organized by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and other Hindu organizations. The VHP is an organization aligned with the BJP; it is also the ideological parent of the American branch, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad America (VHPA).
Several VHP and BJP leaders attended the event held ostensibly to protest the recent killing of a Hindu man. The murder was attributed to an act of personal enmity by Delhi’s police. However, the MP and more rally speakers exploited the murder by falsely attributing the act to the entire Muslim community, using it for incitement against Indian Muslims.
In MP Verma’s speech captured on video, he asks the crowd to "fix their heads and set them straight." A translation of his speech was reported by the Indian Express as:
“Wherever you see them, if you want to set them straight there is only one solution — total boycott. Do you agree? Raise your hands if you agree. Say with me: We will boycott them. We will not buy anything from their shops, we will not employ them. Just do this, this is the solution.”
Another speaker, Jagat Guru Yogeshwar Acharya, says:
“If such people point a finger at our temples, don’t cut his finger, cut off his hand. If needed, slit his throat too. What will happen? One or two persons will be hanged… Let us all pay attention to this… pick and kill them.”
An additional member of the BJP’s Legislative Assembly (MLA) from Uttar Pradesh state, Nand Kishor Gurjar, addressed the same crowd. He referred to a Muslim man who was lynched on suspicion of possessing beef as a pig. Gurjar provoked attendees by saying:
“In Delhi, riots broke out because of CAA [Citizenship Amendment Act]. That time, these jihadis started killing Hindus...You people were there – you let us in. We were accused of bringing 2.5 lakh people to Delhi. We only went to explain to them but the police registered a case against us for killing jihadis. We will kill jihadis, always will.”
In February 2020, peaceful protesters in India carried out a concerted pogrom against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), a discriminatory law that uses someone’s religion to determine their Indian citizenship. While the above statement may indicate involvement in the killings, Gurjar later denied that he was present in Delhi at the time. Muslims are also often referred to by BJP leaders and Hindutva extremists as jihadis to paint the entire community as one to be feared by Hindus.
Indian Leaders Inciting Minority Hate Speech
Since the election of India’s current government, the scale of Islamophobic hate speech has accelerated across the country. BJP leaders and politicians in many states often use their platforms to make headlines by circulating hateful rhetoric, even promoting mass violence against religious minorities, particularly Muslims. Recent incidents leading up to the Hindu festival of Ram Navami on 10 April 2022 were marked by troubling hate speech, including calls for mass violence and even genocide against Muslims.
Along with the lack of regulations on social media, which allow government leaders to post their discrimination online, all these instances have emboldened extremist groups to target and attack Dalits, Christians, and Muslims in India.
Human Rights Recommendations
Justice For All Canada urges Canada’s federal government to reject the occurrence of anti-minority threats and hateful rhetoric emanating from elected members of India’s BJP government. Especially as Canada moves towards early progress agreements and potential trade deals with India, it is the responsibility of democratic governments to stand against crimes against humanity and genocide. Justice For All Canada calls on Foreign Minister Melanie Joly to;
Canadian human rights defenders are urging the government to demonstrate a strong stance against intensified genocidal hate speech in India’s capital. Recent inflammatory, dangerous remarks were publically delivered by elected and organizational leaders aligned with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in India.
Background
Recently, a prominent Indian MP engaged in hate speech against Muslim minority groups. Representing a district within the Indian Capital, Delhi, MP Parvesh Verma has openly called for a total economic and social boycott of Muslims in a particular community.
MP Verma belongs to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). This government acts as the political enabler for India's right-wing government's extremist, majoritarian goals.
Hate-Speech Rally
While addressing a public session organized by the Virat Hindu Sabha, MP Verma provoked attendees to raise their hands in agreement and take an oath for the complete social and economic boycott of Muslims.
The particular gathering was co-organized by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and other Hindu organizations. The VHP is an organization aligned with the BJP; it is also the ideological parent of the American branch, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad America (VHPA).
Several VHP and BJP leaders attended the event held ostensibly to protest the recent killing of a Hindu man. The murder was attributed to an act of personal enmity by Delhi’s police. However, the MP and more rally speakers exploited the murder by falsely attributing the act to the entire Muslim community, using it for incitement against Indian Muslims.
In MP Verma’s speech captured on video, he asks the crowd to "fix their heads and set them straight." A translation of his speech was reported by the Indian Express as:
“Wherever you see them, if you want to set them straight there is only one solution — total boycott. Do you agree? Raise your hands if you agree. Say with me: We will boycott them. We will not buy anything from their shops, we will not employ them. Just do this, this is the solution.”
Another speaker, Jagat Guru Yogeshwar Acharya, says:
“If such people point a finger at our temples, don’t cut his finger, cut off his hand. If needed, slit his throat too. What will happen? One or two persons will be hanged… Let us all pay attention to this… pick and kill them.”
An additional member of the BJP’s Legislative Assembly (MLA) from Uttar Pradesh state, Nand Kishor Gurjar, addressed the same crowd. He referred to a Muslim man who was lynched on suspicion of possessing beef as a pig. Gurjar provoked attendees by saying:
“In Delhi, riots broke out because of CAA [Citizenship Amendment Act]. That time, these jihadis started killing Hindus...You people were there – you let us in. We were accused of bringing 2.5 lakh people to Delhi. We only went to explain to them but the police registered a case against us for killing jihadis. We will kill jihadis, always will.”
In February 2020, peaceful protesters in India carried out a concerted pogrom against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), a discriminatory law that uses someone’s religion to determine their Indian citizenship. While the above statement may indicate involvement in the killings, Gurjar later denied that he was present in Delhi at the time. Muslims are also often referred to by BJP leaders and Hindutva extremists as jihadis to paint the entire community as one to be feared by Hindus.
Indian Leaders Inciting Minority Hate Speech
Since the election of India’s current government, the scale of Islamophobic hate speech has accelerated across the country. BJP leaders and politicians in many states often use their platforms to make headlines by circulating hateful rhetoric, even promoting mass violence against religious minorities, particularly Muslims. Recent incidents leading up to the Hindu festival of Ram Navami on 10 April 2022 were marked by troubling hate speech, including calls for mass violence and even genocide against Muslims.
Along with the lack of regulations on social media, which allow government leaders to post their discrimination online, all these instances have emboldened extremist groups to target and attack Dalits, Christians, and Muslims in India.
Human Rights Recommendations
Justice For All Canada urges Canada’s federal government to reject the occurrence of anti-minority threats and hateful rhetoric emanating from elected members of India’s BJP government. Especially as Canada moves towards early progress agreements and potential trade deals with India, it is the responsibility of democratic governments to stand against crimes against humanity and genocide. Justice For All Canada calls on Foreign Minister Melanie Joly to;
- Release a public statement against open calls for violence against India’s Muslim community;
- Express deeper regarding why such incidents are not condemned by the office of the Indian Prime Minister;
- Impose targeted sanctions under the Justice for Victims of Corrupt Foreign Officials Act against Indian officials Parvesh Verma and Nand Kishor Gurjar.