COMMUNAL hate is the most divisive tool. The degree of violence is often proportional to the prevalence and accentuation of ‘hate’. This, in turn, leads to polarisation and a situation where ghettoisation and the accompanying phenomenon become the norm. We have witnessed the rise of this phenomenon at a rapid pace during the past few decades. The religious minorities, in particular, feel intimidated, leading them to a sense of helplessness and marginalisation. The hate has been fuelled by issues of cow slaughter, ‘love jihad’, and demonisation of Muslim rulers, among others.
A recent study by Mumbai-based Centre for Study of Society and Secularism, presented by Irfan Engineer, Neha Dabhade and Diya Padalkar, goes into details and the type of hate speeches. The study says the number of hate speeches declined from 2024 to 2025. They point out that though the total number of these speeches may have come down, as per the database they have used, there may be other sources of data that are not easily accessible.
That hate speech begins from the top is amply demonstrated by this meticulous report. It says, “The highest number of hate speeches was made by Nitesh Rane, Minister of Fisheries and Port Development in the Maharashtra Government (10), followed by Yogi Adityanath, Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh (6), Himanta Biswa Sarma, Chief Minister of Assam, and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who made five. Prime Minister Narendra Modi made three hate speeches.”
Even with hate speech originating at the top and aggressively permeating society, a series of recent incidents demonstrates that despite the prevalent abuse of religious minorities, many in society continue to uphold love and amity.
Though there is a prevalence of demonising religious minorities, there are many individuals who are still sticking to these cherished values. For them, the Ganga-Jamuni Tehzeeb and respect for all religious communities still matter as the core tenets of their life.
We had discussed an incident in the last article, but now we have a better understanding of it. In Kotdwar, Uttarakhand, Deepak Kumar, aka Mohammad Deepak, is a shining example. He manages a gymnasium. When he heard that some Bajrang Dal activists were harassing Vakil Ahmad, he intervened. Ahmad, a 70-year-old man, has been running the “Baba School Dress” shop for the past 30 years. The hooligans confronted him, saying how dare he, a Muslim, use the word ‘Baba’ for his shop, as this word was for Hindus. Their level of ignorance is such that they do not know that the word ‘baba’ has its origin in Persian, used both for Hindus and Muslim seers.
Deepak retaliated by saying that it was the owner’s choice as to what he named his shop. When the Bajrang Dal men asked him for his name, Deepak Kumar said “Mohammad Deepak”, in the deeper traditions of Indian syncretism. After reports of his good deeds spread far and wide, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi met him and congratulated him. Deepak Kumar is now planning an ‘Insaniyat Yatra’ (humanity march) to spread the message of peace.
The other major incident giving some hope is from Lucknow University. Within its campus is the Lal Baradari Mosque, where Muslim residents used to offer namaz. Since it is very old and dilapidated, it was locked and the residents offered namaz outside the mosque. When some Muslim students during the ongoing month of Ramadan went to offer namaz there, they were prevented by some right-wing students. Remarkably again, other students from the National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) and the All India Students’ Association (AISA) formed a human chain protecting the worshippers.
Yet another such incident took place in Jalalpur village under Bommalaramaram Mandal in Yadadri Bhuvanagiri district of Telangana on February 15, when unknown persons entered the Jama Masjid and damaged parts of the structure. Worshippers discovered the incident the next morning as they arrived for prayers. Members of the mosque committee saw the damaged part of the structure, destroyed washroom doors and the microphone system. Beer bottles were found inside the premises. Several copies of the Holy Qur’an were reportedly scattered in the compound. As the news of vandalism spread, many Hindu traders reached there and undertook to get the mosque repaired at their expense!
Another disturbing event was the blanket distribution function in Kareda village in Tonk district of Rajasthan: A former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) member of Parliament, Sukhbir Singh Jaunpuria, while distributing blankets, asked an elderly woman her name. It turned out that she was a Muslim, the BJP leader took away the blanket and said, “We don’t give this to those who abuse Modi.” Three other Muslim women also returned their blankets. This insulting act infuriated others. Later, workers from other parties not only condemned the BJP leader but also gave blankets to the Muslim women.
A Hindu woman who calls herself ‘Hindu Sherni’ (Hindu Lioness), Riddhima Sharma, visited the Gogavir Temple (also called Gogamedi) in Rajasthan. When she saw a priest there whose name was Hussain, she shouted and asked him how he dared to enter the temple to do ‘Jihad’. Other devotees present there objected to this, telling the woman that the temple had a tradition of having a Muslim priest!
What does this show? It seems that hate spreaders are dominant but get away due to the state’s patronage. The Indian ethos of love and harmony are still very much alive, though not as visible. In the prevalent atmosphere, where hate mongers have state patronage to the extent that the Central government recently funded a meeting of Sanatan Rashtra Shankhnaad, in Bharat Mandapam, which was given Rs 63 lakh. In this event, speeches against Muslims were made, where the theme was a demand for a Hindu Rashtra! All this shows the resilience of the Indian ethos, which still survives despite the hate campaigns!
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Ram Puniyani is an eminent author, activist and a former professor at IIT Mumbai. The views expressed here are the author’s personal and Clarion India does not necessarily share or subscribe to them.
