Slogans are not directly calling for the economic boycott of Muslims but indirectly asking people not to buy anything from non-Hindu communities
Waquar Hasan | Clarion India
NEW DELHI – Ahead of the Hindu festival of Diwali, Hindutva supporters have launched a social media campaign urging people to buy commodities only from Hindus. The campaign is aimed at enforcing economic boycotts of Muslims and other non-Hindus communities.
A communal term “Apna Tyohar, Apna Vyapar (Our festival, our business) was coined to give legitimacy to the campaign. Some billboards and posters which were put up in Madhya Pradesh towns also surfaced on social media. The billboards which have printed the communal slogan “Apna Tyohar, Apna Vyapar” asked Hindus to purchase commodities from those who could also celebrate their business from the profit they get.
These slogans are not directly calling for the economic boycott of Muslims but indirectly asking people not to buy anything from Muslims and other non-Hindu communities.
A board with the same slogans was also put up in the name of Kavit Narendra Yadav, president of Nagar Parishad from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Madhya Pradesh’s Shamgarh town. The board was fixed at Shiv Hanuman Mandir in the town.
On social media, people aligned with the Hindutva ideology are posting digitally made posters saying “our festival, our business”.
Deepak Baniwal, who describes himself as the head of the BJP’s IT cell in Madhya Pradesh’s Kannod town, said Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) is running a campaign related to this “our festival, our business”. He asked people to purchase firecrackers, lamps, rangoli and other stuff from the Snatani brothers. He also announced to hold a meeting near the town’s Hanuman temple in this regard.
A Facebook user Suresh Meda said “All Snatani brothers are humbly requested to do business with those who light up lamps and not those who set ablaze the country.
Navneet Sharma, who describes himself as the leader of the Bajrang Dal in Uttar Pradesh’s Moradabad, asked Hindus to buy commodities, even if costly, from a select group and not from the wrong place.
Several users on Facebook also changed their profile photos with the posters saying “apna tyohar, apna vyapar”.
Ajeet Bharti, a social media influencer who spreads pro-Hindutva propaganda and Islamophobia, asked his followers to purchase things costly but take them from Hindus.
“If you are a Hindu, then buy from a Hindu only. From festivals like Deepawali, Kali Puja, Dhanteras, Chhath etc. to items used in daily life, whether for worship, decoration or food, buy only from a Hindu. If you have to increase the price by two steps or pay two paise more, then do so,” he said on X.
He went on to wildly claim that those who are purchasing things from non-Hindus are financing their own murder. Bharti even claimed that non-Hindu vendors sell vegetables and fruits mixed with urine.
“It is better to buy goods by paying a few bucks more than financing your own murder. Remember, the non-Hindu sends a part of the profit earned from you to finance religious terrorism. Apart from this, spitting, urinating and defecating on fruits, vegetables, worship material etc. are common events in their lives. The choice is yours,” he claimed.
n Nainital, Uttarakhand, a fHindutva leader Raju Rawat spearheaded a campaign to distribute signboards for identification to Hindu vegetable vendors and reportedly urged the public to identify stalls based on their religious affiliation. He encouraged people to purchase only from those displaying the boards, claiming it was necessary for “purity.”
This is the latest campaign aimed at enforcing the economic boycott of Muslims in India. From time to time, Hindutva groups have been giving calls asking people not to do business with Muslims.
