Police say not aware of slogan shouting
Waquar Hasan | Clarion India
NEW DELHI – A video clip of a mob shouting proactive and communal slogans against the opening of a restaurant in Gujarat’s Anand district has drawn massive outrage on social media.
In the video, a crowd can be seen shouting in front of restaurant Blueivy, hateful slogans like “If you want to stay in India, you will have to say Jai Shri Ram” and “Desh ke gaddaron ko juta maro salon ko (beat the traitors with shoes)”. They were also shouting “Bharat Mata Ki Jai” and “Vande Matram”.
The video was uploaded by a news outlet MuslimMirror.com on its Twitter handle on Tuesday.
It has created a lot of buzz given the toxic slogans. People on Twitter slammed the provocative slogans and the administration for allowing such a thing.
Talking about the incident, activists based in Ahmedabad told Clarion India that the video is related to a two-day-old incident when some Hindu groups staged protests against opening of the restaurant at that place claiming it was illegal. The restaurant is owned by people from both Muslim as well as Hindu communities.
Local police claimed the protesters were not from any organization. They were normal people who were protesting against the SDM for allowing the opening of the restaurant at that place.
VR Chouhan, SHO of Anand town police station, told Clarion India over the phone that since the matter related to the restaurant is sub-judice, the police are not doing anything in the matter. When he was drawn attention towards the provocative slogans shouted by the crowd, Chouhan said he was not aware of it. However, he said the police would look into the matter of hateful sloganeering.
Meanwhile, the hateful slogans against the opening of the restaurant have angered many people.
Author Salman Soz said that the protest shows the radicalization of the majority community in India.
These and other such protests show how radicalization is taking hold in India. Hindutva is fanning a sense of supremacy and segregation in the majority & alienation in the minorities. India will suffer immeasurably if this extremism isn’t curbed. https://t.co/vTCwCT8eiu
— Salman Anees Soz (@SalmanSoz) October 26, 2021
Activist Sharjeel Usmani said such attacks by hate machinery on Muslim businesses are well-organized. He asked the leaders to pay heed towards the radicalization of Hindu community.
The constant attacks on Muslim businesses are well organised, executed by hate machinery that is sustained and paid for by radicalised population of majority. Turning back from this reality is no solution. Hoping sensible leaders amonst them will pay heed before it’s too late! https://t.co/OPRvkW5vSj
— Sharjeel Usmani (@SharjeelUsmani) October 26, 2021
Congress party’s Supriya Shrinate called them “goons” and asked the Gujarat government if there was rule of law in Gujarat.
गुजरात में कोई क़ानून व्यवस्था है या नहीं?
कहाँ से आती है इन गुंडों को यह हिम्मत https://t.co/CblaXRIYIq
— Supriya Shrinate (@SupriyaShrinate) October 26, 2021
Journalist Uzair Rizvi said that these people are not fringe but educated people filled with hate against minorities.
They are not fringe, look at the crowd; they are among the educated, middle-class Indians filled with hate towards the minorities. https://t.co/2vHLejBbVd
— Uzair Rizvi (@RizviUzair) October 26, 2021
