The slogan ‘batoge toh katoge’ propounded by BJP leaders reflects the dominant environment of hatred and anti-minority vitriol that has become commonplace in Indian elections over the last decade, the IHL report said
Waquar Hasan | Clarion India
NEW DELHI – Pointing at the speeches of several Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders, a Washington-based hate crime watchdog has said that the ongoing poll campaign in Maharashtra has been marred by hate speeches and polarisation targeting Muslims.
In a brief report released on Monday, two days ahead of the polling in the state, India Hate Lab (IHL) said: “The Maharashtra state elections, set to take place on November 20, 2024, have been marked by rampant anti-Muslim hate speeches during the ongoing campaign. One of the most controversial elements of the rhetoric has been the popularisation of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s slogan, “batoge toh katoge,” which translates to “if divided, you will be slaughtered.”
IHL, which is a project of the Centre for the Study of Organised Hate, studies hate speech, disinformation and conspiracy. In January, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology blocked its website in India under the Information Technology Act.
Earlier, the IHL released a report on hate speeches in India pointing out that the BJP-ruled states have witnessed the highest number of such speeches in the country.
In the latest report on the assembly elections, the IHL said that the slogan “batoge toh katoge” propounded by the BJP leaders “reflects the dominant environment of hatred and anti-minority vitriol that has become commonplace in Indian elections over the last decade”.
“A sign of the slogan’s popularity can be gauged from the fact that Yogi Adityanath was subsequently invited as a star campaigner by the BJP in the Maharashtra state, signalling its endorsement of the slogan. In a rally on November 6, Yogi doubled down on his hateful remarks and claimed: “I am speaking of ‘Rashtra Dharma,’ as there are people in India who wave Pakistani flags during our festivals. These people shed tears for Pakistan and Palestine instead of feeling pride in being Indian.”
The Watchdog observed that Yogi’s statement clearly aimed to falsely equate Muslims in India with having sympathies for Pakistan, thus branding them as ‘anti-national.’ “This rhetoric of hate and bigotry is reinforced by a narrative depicting the Indian National Congress as sympathetic to Muslims and offering state support to alleged Rohingya and Bangladeshi ‘infiltrators,” it pointed out.
It also criticised the infiltration rhetoric used by BJP leaders in the Jharkhand election campaign singling out the speeches of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“BJP leaders in Jharkhand, which is also approaching elections, have echoed similar claims. The purpose of this manufactured fear of ‘infiltration’ is to heighten religious anxieties, creating polarisation and potentially boosting electoral support for the BJP,” noted the report.
It noted that Modi’s speech reflects an emerging electoral strategy by the BJP wherein they first try to perpetuate a crisis around resource scarcity and subsequently make unsubstantiated claims about resources being diverted to minority communities such as Muslims.
The report quoted Modi’s speech in which he said “While they (the Congress) are questioning us on providing free ration to the poor, one of the ministers of Congress has announced to give free cylinders to Hindus, Muslims and infiltrators too. They are openly announcing to give free cylinders to Rohingyas and Bangladeshis. It’s a prime example of how they are playing a game with the country and the future of your children to get votes.”
On the other hand, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said “The ulema have asked Congress for reservations for minorities, and they have accepted it through Nana Patole. Are you in favour of taking reservations from SC/ST, OBC, Dalits, and Adivasis, only to give them to Muslims? You need to pay attention to this. Are you in favour of this? The Waqf is taking away land from temples and even entire villages in Karnataka. The Congress opposes this law, but that means tomorrow the Waqf can declare your assets as theirs.”
The report also cited hate speeches made by MNS leader Raj Thackrey to assert that anti-Muslim rhetoric goes beyond the BJP leaders. In a speech, Thackrey threatened to remove loudspeakers from all mosques and accused Muslims of carrying Pakistani flags.
“Thackrey’s speech highlights the degree to which political parties in India are resorting to anti-Muslim speech as a means to pander to the majority Hindu community to make electoral gains. The inability of the opposition parties to muster any form of ideological or material opposition to this hate in Maharashtra creates a greater incentive for such speeches to continue unabated. The rise in electoral hate speeches is also symptomatic of the political marginalisation of Muslims in India, who have to continually witness the normalisation of hateful sentiments in the country,” noted the report.
IHL called for the institutional structure to combat the growing prevalence of hate speech in the country and accountability through increased scrutiny and judicial oversight and intervention by robust civil society and media.
The group also emphasised the need for capacity building and strengthening civil society responses to hate speech and creating a network of counter-hate speech actors employing strategic response mechanisms.
