Hindutva leaders of Rashtriya Seva Sangathan recently held a protest against a mosque in the Berinag area of Pithoragarh, Uttarakhand. In the presence of police, the leaders incited a crowd with Islamophobic propaganda to raze a local mosque and commit violence against the Muslim community.
“We should eradicate this mosque from here, it’s our first duty, because we are Hindus! We need to come up for this cause!” a right-wing activist said.
Calling out the local public for violence, offenders said that they (Hindus) should not think much about the consequences and join together to destroy the mosque.
“If they can declare Allah-Hu-Akbar, we can also shout Jai Shree Ram! We will remove this mosque from its roots!, said a Hindutva leader.
He appealed to the crowd to connect and take up weapons to safeguard Hindutva, while the mob responded with chants of “Jai Shree Ram”.
Later, the leaders provoked local Hindus to serve the purpose of the program and demolish the mosque within 2 minutes. They alleged that the mosque was illegal while police called out the landlord to clarify the issue.
As per reports, the mosque is built inside a house and belongs to a Muslim, Nazim. The court has summoned him for further clarifications with official documentations within 15 days.
A Politics Of Anti-Muslim Hate
Before this, the Seva Sangathan also protested on October 6, demanding the same. Protestors asked for demolition of the abandoned house which has been converted into a mosque to offer Namaz by Muslim residents.
During these previous rallies, hate-mongers used similar anti-Muslim theories. They said that the public is highly disturbed by Azan and Namaz rituals and therefore they demand its demolition.
While staging a protest in front of the SDM office, RSS showcased blistering propaganda and baseless allegations to intensify their demonstration.
“We have demanded the removal of the illegal mosque. If it continues to run, we will have to resort to a nationwide agitation against it,” said the founder member of the organization Rashtriya Sewa Sangathan.
In response, Pithoragrah DM ordered an inquiry while a case was registered against RSS under BNS 196/2 for inflaming animosity and poisoning the atmosphere.
Locals informed that the house owner lives in Haldwani and around 100 Muslim families have been offering Namaz on the edifice for the past 25 years, meanwhile, other segments of the building are being utilized as an educational unit for Madarsa children. The mosque construction does not look like a Muslim religious place from the outside, thus the mob falsely portray it as an illegal construction.
After a series of Hindutva protests the situation of the region is sensitive at present while natives are afraid of the repercussions of the communal waves.
