A leader of India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the state of Telangana was charged with alleged hate speech against Muslims on 15 November.
T Raja Singh is accused of making the comments during a public meeting in his constituency of Goshamahal on 13 November in which he said, ‘You all need to ensure that more Hindus cast their votes by telling everyone that our enemy indulges in slaughtering cows, committing Love-Jihad and forced religious conversions. This is a fight of our Dharam [faith], we have to ensure that adharmis [those of a different faith] lose this battle.’
Singh also described himself as ‘a servant of Hindus… who will give a befitting reply to the jihadis.’
On 15 November, a sub-inspector of Mangalhat police station in Telangana filed a complaint against Singh, after which the case was registered under Section 125 of the RP Act (Representation of the People Act, 1951, which addresses ‘promoting enmity between classes in connection with elections’.
This is the eighth time Singh has been charged with hate speech, and there have also been an estimated 100 other criminal cases registered against him. In August 2023, he was suspended from the BJP due to the charges, but was reinstated in October, just ahead of legislative assembly elections which are due to be held in Telangana on 30 November.
There have also been similar incidents of hate speech in Rajasthan state, which is due to hold legislative assembly elections on 25 November, and Chhattisgarh state, where elections were held in two phases on 7 and 17 November.
On 14 November, Assam Chief Minister and BJP leader Himanta Biswa Sarma addressed a gathering in Chhattisgarh in which he called for the creation of a ‘new India’ based solely on the rule and teachings of Hindu deities and philosophers and the rejection of the legacy of leaders of the Islamic Mughal Empire such as Aurangzeb and Babur.
On 16 November, BJP leader Shatrughan Gautam told a gathering in Rajasthan that: ‘Every eye that is raised against Sanatan [an alternative name for Hinduism based on the Sanskrit term for ‘eternal religion’] will be destroyed, every hand that is raised against Sanatan will be cut. This is the land of Hindu saints.’
CSW’s Founder President Mervyn Thomas said: ‘CSW is highly concerned at a number of BJP officials who have used election campaigns in Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Telangana to propagate hate speech towards India’s Muslim community. In recent years such comments have resulted in the socio-economic boycott of Muslims in India, and in extreme cases have provoked vigilantism and sectarian violence. As such they are deeply irresponsible and could have grave implications for Muslims and other religious minority communities in the country. We urge the Indian authorities to ensure that justice is served in T Raja Singh’s case and in that of any other official who is responsible for similarly dangerous rhetoric.’
Note to Editors:
- ‘Love jihad’ is a conspiracy theory promoted by right-wing Hindu nationalists that alleges that Muslim men target Hindu girls for marriage and conversion to Islam. According to India’s national investigation agency, there is no evidence for love jihad, however the propagation of the conspiracy theory has prompted violence and vigilantism towards the Muslim community in recent years.