The viral videos have sparked public outrage, with many social media users questioning the presence of Bajrang Dal leaders and activists alongside the police during the raids
NEW DELHI — The systematic marginalisation of Muslims in the country, especially in states governed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its allies, took a new ominous turn this week when authorities barred Muslims from gym training and membership in the well-being facilities in the Madhya Pradesh city of Bhopal.
At the weekend (31 May-1 June), a posse of policemen, accompanied by Bajrang Dal leaders, conducted raids on gyms in the Ayodhya Nagar locality of the city, inquiring specifically about Muslim trainers and members. In a widely circulated video, Sub-Inspector Dinesh Sharma is seen instructing gym owners to bar Muslims from working as trainers or enrolling as trainees, media reports reaching here said on Monday.
Ironically, SI Sharma got the backing of Alok Kumar, the BJP lawmaker from the city. Media reports quoted Kumar as informing the media that he has submitted a list of gyms in Bhopal, alleging ‘love jihad.’
Another video shared on social media shows Bajrang Dal leaders demanding the names of all trainees and trainers present at the gym. Later, Sub-Inspector Sharma is seen explicitly warning a gym owner not to allow any Muslims to give or receive training.
“Let me tell you clearly, no Muslim will come here, neither for training nor for getting trained,” he warned.
The viral videos have sparked public outrage with many social media users questioning the presence of Bajrang Dal leaders and activists alongside the police during the raids.
Lawmaker Sharma, media reports said, claims to have submitted a list of gyms where either the trainers or trainees are Muslims.
“We will give this list to the police in the coming times… Nobody will be permitted for love jihad now… Even land jihad is going on. This will not work. The law will do its work and take action on such matters…” he was quoted as saying. He also insisted that women should be appointed as the only female trainers.
The incident unfolded after Bajrang Dal members visited gyms in Ayodhya Nagar and demanded that no Muslims should be allowed to come to the gyms. Similar incidents have also been reported in other regions of Madhya Pradesh. In Indore, the demand to bar Muslims from gyms followed up after Mohsin Khan was accused of running an illegal shooting training centre and allegedly involved in rape and molestation, a report in The Observer Post said.
“Madhya Pradesh has Dr Mohan Yadav’s government, which will not allow ‘love jihad or ‘land jihad’ to happen anywhere,” Alok Sharma told the media.
“Some organisations are training the boys of a particular minority community in some cities in the country to woo the Hindu girls deceitfully in the guise of a Hindu boy and marry them, and later force them to change their religion. I am gathering data on it,” Sharma said at earlier protests, organised against the alleged exploitation of Hindu girls by Muslim boys.
While talking to the media after the gym raids, Sharma also asserted that Bhopal is not just the land of Nawabs, but also that of Ashoka and Chandragupta Maurya. He also demanded to rename the institutions, with Muslim names like Obaidia School, Rashidia School, Sultania Janana Hospital, and Hamidia Hospital, to Indian historical figures, claiming that these names are politically driven.
Congress MLA Bhopal-Central, Arif Masood, responded to Alok Sharma’s claims as ‘political theatrics’, asking him to act responsibly rather than trying to ‘increase his TRP’.
“Opening a gym or providing training is not a crime. If someone is trained, they will provide training. If there’s any suspicion, then investigate it. People choose their gyms and trainers, not MPs or MLAs,” Masood said.
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Photo: Dinesh Sharma, seated with Bajrang Dal activists at a private gym, is heard telling the gym owner: “Let me tell you clearly, no Muslim will come here (to the gym), neither for imparting training nor getting trained.” — Photo courtesy X
