A Muslim man was beaten and forced to chant “Jai Shree Ram” by a Hindu mob around Muthyalamma temple In Andhra Pradesh’s Bhimavaram. The mob accused him of attacking the temple and then several men equipped with batons surrounded, threatened and assaulted him.
Out of fear and pressure, the Muslim man started shouting ‘Jai Shree Ram’ repeatedly and without a break to save himself.
“Are you Jaishriram? He is the king of India. Tell your name! Are you a Hindu or not?” someone from the mob shouted from behind while he was only trying to escape and keep safe from aggressive bouts of violence.
In the viral video on X an elderly woman can also be spotted standing with the attackers and thrashing the Muslim person with a wooden baton.
“Why don’t you just tell your name? How can a person like him be named after the king of India?” the mob mumbled, discussing his appearance between hateful suspicions for religious verification.
In between, some people from the crowd informed that he had been living around the temple premises for more than 2 years. The crowd traumatized him again by demanding that he say his name. It’s significant to note that police were already deployed on site when the incident took place which raises serious questions on the lack of administrative liability.
The mob kept arguing over his religious identity without reason. Meanwhile, the Muslim man, standing fearfully and tearfully against a wall, continued chanting the slogan to protect himself from mob lynching or any other harm.
An Attack On Human Rights
Many Hindu men walking around the nearby areas opposed and slandered the Muslim man.
After a while, the Hindutva mob organized a rally on the street, chanting slogans of ‘Jai Shree Ram.’ They paraded and brutally attacked the Muslim man.
Political analysts and peacemakers recognize such incidents as an attack on the fundamental right of equality which ensures security against name or religion-based discrimination across India. Between the upsurge of right-wing organizations, the culture of hate and division has escalated everywhere. Communal pressures on religious minorities to shout “Jai Shree Ram” are a part of such attempts to dismantle human rights and crush the dignity and freedom of a citizen.
