In a first, PM Modi promotes anti-Muslim conspiracy theories at election rally
For the first time, Prime Minister Narendra Modi directly promoted the anti-Muslim conspiracy theories of “love jihad” and “land jihad” at an election rally in Gujarat. These propaganda claims have routinely been used by Hindu extremists to justify mob violence, discrimination, and other hate crimes against Muslims.
The love jihad conspiracy, which has been repeatedly debunked, claims Muslim men have an agenda to seduce and convert Hindu women. The land jihad conspiracy claims that Muslims are hoarding land to gain control of India’s terrain.
Muslim egg seller brutally attacked by police in BJP-ruled Gujarat
In Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-ruled Gujarat’s Vadodara, A Muslim egg seller was brutally attacked and dragged away by police, allegedly because he kept his store open past nine o’clock at night. The victim suffered severe injuries and is in the hospital in a critical condition.
Modi, senior BJP leaders continue to spew anti-Muslim propaganda in rallies
At election rallies in Gujarat, Modi declared that Muslims must be stripped of benefits provided by the reservation system, the Indian equivalent of affirmative action for disenfranchised minorities. At rallies across Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, Hindu militant monk and state Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath made similar hate speeches, threatening to seize Muslims’ inheritance assets and calling for the takeover of a historic mosque.
Federal minister Amit Shah and other BJP leaders peddled similar anti-Muslim hate speeches across states. Despite multiple complaints against the anti-Muslim campaign launched by BJP leaders, the federal body regulating elections in India has taken no action.
Hindu supremacist leaders deliver hate speech against Christians in Rajasthan
In Alwar, Rajasthan, Hindu supremacist leaders promoted fear and hate against Christians over false allegations of them forcibly converting Hindus into Christianity.
Christians across states have been arrested under India’s draconian anti-conversion law, which criminalizes conversion away from Hinduism. The US-based human rights group International Christian Concern has named India among the top 10 countries persecuting Christians in its 2023 Persecutors of the Year Report.
