It is a simple assertion of militant Hindu zealots who are trying to forcefully prevail upon the Muslims of India to accept that this country only belongs to the Hindus, and if Muslims have to live in this country they have to take a subservient status to the Hindus.
Syed Ali Mujtaba
Targeted violence against Muslims has become norm of the day in India with some excuse or the other. One among them is forcing the minority community members to chant “Jai Shri Ram” (JSR). In case of refusal to do so, the Muslims caught in the mob’s ‘vulture culture’ are subjected to physical assault, third-degree burns, and even homicide.
The Hindutva zealots who are leading this campaign against the Muslims are often found committing this crime in a group or in a mob formation. Their modus oprendi is to catch hold of any innocent and weak Muslim and then overpower him and force him to chant “JSR.” Its refusal leads to murderous assault and the police like in Bollywood movies surface when the crime is over and the criminals have fled the scene.
It is a simple assertion of militant Hindu zealots who are trying to forcefully prevail upon the Muslims of India to accept that this country only belongs to the Hindus, and if Muslims have to live in this country they have to accept a subservient status to the Hindus. Forcing the Muslims to chant ‘JSR’ is a new normal in India that can be bracketed with rape, and people have accepted this as a reality and are not bothered to check the hate ever-growing hate crimes.
In this new real India, it is noticed that the Hindu fanatics have changed the nomenclature of “JSR” from “Jai Sia Ram” to ‘Jai Sri Ram’. This has subtly happened during the Ayodhya movement, and now it has become a murderous cry to physically assault the Muslims of India.
There are 28 pieces of evidence of ‘JSR’ hate crimes from 2018 to 2022 against Muslims that have been reported in the media. It is seen in this compendium that between 2019 and 2020 there was a spurt in such kinds of hate crimes. This may be due to Narendra Modi’s landslide victory in Parliamentary elections in 2019. There was a lull in ‘JSR’ criminal activities during the lockdown period but after lying low for two years, this criminal activity has once again raised its ugly head in 2022.
The point to make here is that the evidence collected so far suggests that JSR hate crime is not a handiwork of the fringe Hindu elements, but assumes the form of an organised crime and something needs to be done about it. Indian Muslims have to wake up to address this harsh reality being forced on them by the mandarins in power and take pre-remedial measures within the constitutional framework else they may be subjected to face more such hate crimes against them in the name of ‘Jai Sri Ram’.
The first such incident was reported from Hyderabad Old City’s Charminar area on July 21, 2022, when a 17-year-old Muslim boy was mercilessly beaten when he refused to chant “Jai Shree Ram”. The incident took place when the boy, a resident of Hussaini Alam, was on his way back home at night and was caught in a Bonalu procession that was moving near the Charminar police limits.
Suddenly, a group of miscreants stopped him and applied Tilak on his forehead, and forced him to chant ‘JSR’. When he refused, the mob comprising as many as 40 men assaulted and mercilessly beat him up.
https://www.siasat.com/hyderabad-muslim-youth-beaten-for-not-chanting-jai-sri-ram-2374678/
However, this is not the first such instance. On March 2, 2022, Altamash Hussain, a class 9 student from Jharkhand, was beaten mercilessly for not chanting “Jai Shri Ram”. In a video, Altamash was heard saying that a group of Hindu men attempted to choke him and beat him up for not uttering JSR. He was lucky to escape as his friends arrived to rescue him in the nick of time.
https://sabrangindia.in/article/jharkhand-youths-attack-class-9-student-not-chanting-jai-shri-ram
In February 2020, when large-scale anti-Muslim riots broke out in North-East Delhi, the Hindu rioters killed nine Muslims; Hamza, Aamin, Bhure Ali, Mursalin, Aas Mohd, Musharraf, Akil Ahmed, and Hashim Ali and his elder brother Aamir Khan because they refused to chant “JSR.”
https://scroll.in/latest/966461/delhi-riots-9-killed-were-forced-to-chant-jai-shri-ram-assault-planned-on-whatsapp-say-police)
On 25 May 2019, 25-year-old Mohammad Barkat was beaten up by a group of men at Jacubpura in Gurugram, Haryana when he was returning to his shop after prayers from the mosque. A Hindu group accosted him and forced him to first remove his skullcap and then asked him to chant “JSR”. Barkat said in a video statement that his assailants threatened to feed him pork and later beat him when he refused to chant JSR.
https://scroll.in/latest/924826/gurugram-muslim-man-allegedly-thrashed-asked-to-
On 26 May 2019, a 23-year-old hijab-clad student of a medical college in north Bengal was threatened by a group of 10-12 men forcing her to chant ‘JSR’. She somehow saved her life by running away from the spot to tell her horror story in a video clip.
https://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/2019/may/27/hijab-clad-student-in-bengal-college-harassed-by-jai-shri-ram-chanting-men-1982489.html
On 2 June 2020, Mohammad Israel, an 18-year-old boy from Bathna Village, in East Champaran district of Bihar, was beaten up by a mob that asked him to chant “JSR”. When he refused, the mob tried to even slit his throat and left him dead. Somehow the boy survived the assault.
https://maktoobmedia.com/2020/06/04/yet-again-muslim-youth-attacked-and-forced-to-chant-jai-shri-ram/
In Jharkhand on June 17, 2019, a 24-year-old man, Tabrez Ansari, was brutally thrashed by a Hindu mob for refusing to chant “Jai Shri Ram”. Tabrez succumbed to his injuries four days later and police registered an FIR against his assailants only.
https://maktoobmedia.com/2020/06/04/yet-again-muslim-youth-attacked-and-forced-to-chant-jai-shri-ram/
In Assam on June 21, 2019, a group of men belonging to Sri Ram Sena beat up a few Muslim men when they refused to chant ‘JSR’. The incident came to light when a video of the victims surfaced on social media.
https://www.thequint.com/news/india/muslim-men-attacked-in-assam-barpeta-forced-to-say-jai-shri-ram
On 22 June 2019, Maulana Momin, a Muslim cleric was hit by a car when he refused to chant ‘JSR’. The assailants first stopped the maulana for some conversation, and later asked him to chant JSR. When he ignored the assailant’s demand, the criminals sitting in the car, hit the Maulana from behind and he tossed up in the air and lost his consciousness when he fell to the ground. The victim was taken to the hospital where he recorded his statement on camera to the police.
https://mumbaimirror.indiatimes.com/mumbai/crime/cabbie-beaten-up-in-diva-forced-to-chant-jai-shri-ram/articleshow/69968844.cms?
On 23 June 2019, Faizal Usman Khan, a 25-year-old cab driver from Mumbai, was assaulted by three men at Mumbra police station limits. The trio, after knowing the identity of Faizal, dragged him out of his car and forced him to chant ‘JSR’. When he refused, he was beaten till he lost his consciousness.
https://mumbaimirror.indiatimes.com/mumbai/crime/cabbie-beaten-up-in-diva-forced-to-chant-jai-shri-ram/articleshow/69968844.cms?
On 29 June 2019, Taj Mohammad, a 16-year-old boy, was beaten by a Hindu mob in Kanpur for refusing to chant JSR. The incident occurred when Taj, a resident of Barra, was returning home after offering namaz in Kidwai Nagar mosque in Kanpur. The attackers first removed his cap and then asked him to chant JSR.
https://indianexpress.com/article/india/kanpur-boy-beaten-for-refusing-to-chant-jai-shri-ram-5806971/
On 3 July 2019, an auto driver, Atib was assaulted by three Hindu men who asked him to chant JSR. When he refused the assailants took Atif to the nearby Sulabh toilet and beat him up.
https://newscentral24x7.com/uttar-pradesh-muslim-auto-driver-beaten-kanpur-refusing-chant-jai-shri-ram/
On July 5, 2019, Mohammed Javed Naseem was intercepted by 10 people who questioned his identity and then asked him to chant ‘Jai Shri Ram’. When he refused, the goons hit him and inflicted gravies injuries. The victim claimed that people in the area only watched him getting beaten and none came to his help.
https://twitter.com/doamuslims/status/1147219700318912514
On July 5, 2019, three Muslim youth, Aamir Wasim, Altaf Ali, and Ali Ahmed, were attacked by a Hindu mob at the Doranda police station limits in Ranchi, Jharkhand. The mob forced them to chant JSR, and when they refused they beat them badly. The three youths sustained serious injuries and were admitted to the hospital to tell their horror story in a video clip.
https://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/2019/jul/06/mob-attacks-ranchi-youths-after-asking-their-names-forced-to-chant-jai-shri-ram-2000075.html
On 8 July 2019, Sabir Khan of Asansol in West Bengal was physically assaulted for refusing to chant “Jai Shri Ram”. The assailants were in numbers and fled the scene after committing the hate crime. https://archive.org/details/manbeatenforcedtochantjaishriraminasansolwestbengal
On 11 July 2019, Abdul Waris, Muqaddis, Haroon, and Ali, a group of four Madrassa students, were brutally beaten while playing at the GIC ground in Unnao. The students from Darul Uloom Faiz-E-Aam were forced to chant JSR, and when they refused they were beaten with sticks. The victims sustained injuries on their heads and arms. Later, the police identified the assailants as members of the Bajrang Dal. (16)
https://www.thequint.com/news/india/madrasa-students-allegedly-forced-to-chant-jai-shri-ram-in-unnao-up
On 15 July 2019, Rajab Alam, an eleven years old Madrasa student of Sargar Dekhi village in Murshidabad District, West Bengal was brutally assaulted by a group of Hindus who forced him to chant JSR. The boy sustained serious injuries and was admitted to a hospital.
https://www.siasat.com/madrasa-student-beaten-not-saying-jai-shree-ram-1548300/
On 15 July 2019, Imlakur ur Rehman, a teacher in a madrasa at Budhana in Muzzafarnagar district UP, was assaulted by 12 Hindu men who forced him to chant JSR. When he refused, his beard was pulled and he was beaten black and blue.
https://thewire.in/rights/muslim-cleric-assaulted-jai-sri-ram-uttar-pradesh
On 17 July 2019, Asif Majeed Qureshi, a resident of Deshmukhwadi, in Jalgaon Maharastra was beaten up by a Hindu mob while he was purchasing vegetables in the market. He was heard saying in the video that his assailants forced him to chant JSR. (19)
https://archive.org/details/manattackedforrefusingtochantjaishriraminjalgaonmaharashtra
On 19 July 2019, Imran Ismail Patel was beaten up by a group of people that forced him to chant JSR. This happened in Aurangabad, Maharashtra. Patel, a hotel employee, in his complaint, said that a gang of around ten people stopped him near Hudco Corner in Begumpura Aurangabad when he was returning home on his bike. https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/maharashtra-man-allegedly-forced-to-chant-jai-shri-ram-beaten-up-police-2072365
On July 28, 2019, 15-year-old Khalid Ansari was set on fire by four people in the Chandauli district of Uttar Pradesh. This was done when the boy refused to chant JSR. His hands and legs were tied and kerosene was poured on him and a matchstick was used to lit the fire. He was admitted to the hospital with 60 percent burn injuries and he recorded his statement in a video clip. (21)
https://www.nationalheraldindia.com/india/teenager-refuses-to-say-jai-shri-ram-set-ablaze
On 1 August 2019, Hafiz Sohel Bhagat, Hafiz Samir Bhagat, and Hafiz Salman Gheeteli, were brutally assaulted in Godhra, Gujarat when they refused to chant JSR. The three Muslim men were on their motorcycles passing through Bawani Mandi, a Hindu locality; when they were stopped by a Hindu mob. They asked the trio to chant JSR but when they refused, they were assaulted on their head with a bicycle chain or some other blunt objects.
https://www.ndtv.com/cities/gujarat-godhra-3-boys-attacked-in-gujarats-godhra-over-shri-ram-slogan-2079510
On 4 August 2019, Shahrukh Chohan was forced to chant JSR in Himatnagar, Zilla Sabarkantha, Gujarat. When he refused, he was brutally beaten by three men with sticks and rods. They told Shahrukh to chant JSR or ‘Go to Pakistan’.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B1TrOMolQ4N/
On November 22, 2019, Mohammed Artaza was forced to chant JSR by three youths in Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh. On opposing their demand, Murtaza was assaulted with stones and badly beaten up. The police reported the incident but no arrests were made.
https://archive.org/details/deobanduttarpradeshindiajaishriram
On December 20, 2019, a 66-year-old Muslim cleric, Maulana Asad Raza Hussaini, who ran an orphanage in Muzaffarnagar, UP was stripped, beaten, and abused for refusing to chant JSR. The children of his orphanage were also beaten up and forced to kneel down for not chanting JSR.
https://www.telegraphindia.com/india/uttar-pradesh-police-accused-of-stripping-cleric/cid/1731127
On 5 February 2018, a 45-year-old Muslim man in Rajasthan’s Sirohi city was forced to chant JSR. When he refused, he was repeatedly slapped and thrashed. A video clip has emerged where the assailant, Vinay Kumar Meena, an 18-year-old boy, was seen slapping the Muslim man over 20 times. He was abusing him and coercing him to say “JSR.” (26)
https://scroll.in/latest/867890/video-18-year-old-abuses-slaps-muslim-man-in-rajasthan-tries-to-force-him-to-say-jai-shri-ram
On 2 April 2018, two blind beggars, Abul Bashar, 67, and his wife Bedana Bibi, 61, were forced to chant JSR after they entered a Hindu-dominated locality at Andal in the Burdwan district of West Bengal. The blind couple was assaulted by a group of Hindu men in the Chitadanga area. In a video, Bashar was heard saying that he was forced to chant ‘JSR’ because he was a Muslim.
https://indianexpress.com/article/india/ram-navami-violence-near-clash-zone-blind-muslim-couple-made-to-chant-jai-shri-ram-west-bengal-mamata-banerjee-5119937/
On June 10, 2018, Maulana Azharul Islam and Maulana Imran, the two cleric brothers were brutally beaten up by a Hindu mob at Nagri Police station limits in Ranchi. The incident reportedly took place when the victims were returning after prayers from a mosque in Agru village when some 20 bike-borne men stopped them and asked them to chant JSR. When they refused, the assailants brutally assaulted them with cycle chains. (28)
https://www.deccanchronicle.com/nation/current-affairs/140618/muslim-cleric-thrashed-forced-to-chant-jai-shri-ram-in-jharkhan.html
All the above incidents are a short list of JSR hate crimes. This list is prepared from the reportage on the web-based platforms. The dates need large-scale documentation of religious identity-based crimes against Muslims in India. It’s high time Muslims in India found a solution, in legal terms, to this maddening development that’s threatening their lives all over the country.
na samjhoge to miT jāoge ai Musalmano- Tumhārī dāstāñ tak bhī na hogī dāstānoñ meñ.
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Syed Ali Mujtaba is a journalist based in Chennai.Th views expressed here author’s personal. He can be contacted at syedalimujtaba2007@gmail.com
