On December 7, a Kashmiri Muslim stall owner was attacked by a horde of Hindu extremist hoodlums during the Geeta Jayanti fair in Kurukshetra, Haryana. Shouting offensive derogatory slogans, the communal forces vandalized his shop and brutally beat the man. The video of harassment also went viral across social media platforms, inciting fierce reactions.
“They are Bangladeshiz!” a man shouted while throwing out the commodities, meanwhile another Hindutva leader thrashed the Muslim vendor.
“Why do these Mullas bring their stall here?” another man shouted from behind in the clip.
Anti-Muslim Rally For Economic Boycott
These attackers from a far-right wing organization were leading an Islamophobic procession with saffron flags and inflammatory hate-speeches, and were calling out for economic boycott of Muslim businessmen to maintain alleged “sanctity” of the occasion. While assaulting the merchant who came to the fair with his other Kashmiri friends like usual, the hate-mongers also labelled him as “Bangladeshi”, “outsider”, and “infiltrator”, till the locals intervened and saved him from brutal bouts.
During the demonstration, hindutva men accused that Muslim men come on the pretext of doing business, but they steal sisters and daughters, therefore they should be prohibited during the bustling days of ongoing festive celebrations when thousands of people join in to cherish different carnivals on a daily basis.
Geeta Jayanti is known as an annual fair held during the months of November and December, and Kurushetra is considered as the land of Mahabharata by the Hindu community.
Thus, the mushrooming upsurge of communal forces endangering lives and works of minorities to maintain alleged “religious veracity” of a place or event is not a new thing here. From the state of Uttarakhand to Mahakumbh Mela, similar conspiracy theories have been used against Muslims to ban their entry and devastate them financially.
