Spouting hatred
YATI NARSINGHANAND, the head priest at a Ghaziabad temple arrested in January in connection with an inflammatory speech he made at a ‘Dharam Sansad’ in December, continues to stoke the fire of communal hatred. Out on bail for the December hate speech — and another case in January after he made ‘objectionable’ remarks against ‘women of a particular community’ — Narsinghanand spouted more vitriol at a religious conclave in Delhi on Sunday. In his speech at the event — Delhi Police later clarified they had not granted permission for it — Narsinghanand claimed that Hindus faced a serious threat of conversion from their religion and exhorted them to pick up arms. Speaking to a small gathering of around 500 people, he said that if a Muslim becomes the prime minister of India, ‘50% of you (Hindus) will change your faith in the next 20 years’.
Narsinghanand is just one among several individuals — from across the religious spectrum — who claim to represent the religion they belong to and regurgitate hateful rhetoric that can only be detrimental for peace and progress of the country. However, it seems that he and his ilk are treated with greater indulgence than some others by prosecutors and courts; for instance, Jawaharlal Nehru University student Umar Khalid, arrested in September 2020 in connection with the northeast Delhi riots conspiracy case, has not been granted bail. Yet, last month, hearing a plea against Union Minister Anurag Thakur for a speech made in early 2020, prior to the northeast Delhi riots, the Delhi High Court observed: ‘… if any speech is given during election time, then it’s a different time. If you’re giving a speech in ordinary times, then you’re instigating something.’ A video of the speech had gone viral, with Thakur leading chants of ‘desh ke gaddaron ko, goli maaro saalon ko’.
Late last month, business leader and biotechnology pioneer Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw spoke out against ‘communal exclusion’ in Karnataka, saying that the state’s global leadership in the information technology and biotechnology sectors was at stake. Her warning must be heeded — communal hate-mongering shreds the social fabric and creates serious law and order issues. Apart from terrible human consequences, this can lead to capital flowing away and economic progress slowing down. The government and the judiciary must take note.
