On 14th October, members of Bajrang Dal in Karnataka’s Kalaburgi registered an FIR against SDPI member Mohammed Wajeed Ahmed for his AI generated post on Facebook accusing him of “hurting religious sentiments.”
The video shared by Ahmed features a man holding a saffron flag and licking a shoe. The post also features Savarkar, one of the leaders of the Hindutva organisation, the RSS, with a caption, “100 years of living by licking shoes” suggesting that the organisation collaborated with the British.
The FIR has been registered under section 299 for “sharing a hateful video on social media.” The Bajrang Dal members claim that the video hurts their “religious sentiments.”
Rejecting the allegations mentioned in the FIR, speaking to The Observer Post, Wajeed Ahmed said, “The sections under which I have been charged don’t seem relevant here. It’s funny that they claim their religious sentiments were hurt. The RSS has nothing to do with religion. It is not a religious organization.”
On being questioned why Ahmed thinks the organisation is not religious, he said, “They have a long history of mob lynching Muslims, Dalits, and other minorities. They terrorize and subjugate these communities in ways that show they do not even consider us human. Their actions clearly go against the Constitution and the very idea of secularism. If they were truly a religious organization, they would never engage in such violence and hatred.”
After his post, Wajeed received strong backlash from Hindutva groups, locals and users on social media. “I have received public support after they filed the FIR because people know and believe that the Sangh deserves to be hated and banned in the future,” Ahmed said.
Alleging that the organisation made no contribution in the freedom struggle, he said,“It is not even a registered organization. They played no role in India’s freedom struggle. In fact, they sided with the British and helped advance their divisive politics. They were bootlickers who did nothing good for the country.”
Commemorating 100 years of RSS, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 27th September, hailed the organisation in his X post and wrote,“The glorious 100-year journey of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh is an extraordinary example of sacrifice, selfless service, nation building, and discipline. I am feeling immensely proud to be a part of the RSS centenary celebration.”
The government also unveiled a ₹100 that features Bharat Mata seated on a lion with RSS members bowing before her with 100 years of RSS inscribed at the bottom.
Opposition parties, activists and political analysts reacted strongly to the open endorsement of the RSS and its glorification. They accused the ruling party of “glorifying the extremist organisation and promoting extremist Hindutva ideology by glorifying an organisation whose leaders fuelled hatred.”
Reacting to the PM’s tweet, Ahmed said, “The glorious 100-year journey of the RSS says the Prime Minister.But what’s truly “glorious” about an organisation that stayed away from India’s freedom struggle, whose founder took a ₹60 pension from the British, and which refused to hoist the national flag from 1947 to 2002?” PM Modi calls it an example of “sacrifice” and “selfless service.” Yet when we study history, we see whose interests they actually served, their selfless service was to the British, not the nation. Nation-building doesn’t come from serving colonizers, It comes from resisting them.”
Ahmed alleged that some time ago when he approached the police demanding registration of a complaint against the Bajrang Dal members who were harassing a Muslim man accusing him of “smuggling cattle,” the police didn’t respond positively. “When we reach out to police to file complaints about criminal intimidation, hate speech and other illegal activities of these outfits, the police fail to act swiftly,” he alleged.
Meanwhile, RDPR Minister from Kalaburgi, Priyank Kharge, son of AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge wrote to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah seeking a ban on RSS activities on government premises and calling for disciplinary action for government officials if they are linked with the organisation.
The police have launched an investigation as Wajeed prepares for a bail application.
“These hindutva groups try to intimidate by filing complaints and targeting us. I am not intimidated and I will continue to speak out against the rising hindutva nationalism because I believe in the constitution and in justice,” he asserted.
