Hate Speech, Call To Arms At Nuh Mahapanchayat

Event held in Palwal as permission denied in Nuh but right-wing outfits refuse to refrain from hate speeches despite warnings by court, administration

- Leena Dhankhar

Hundreds of Bajrang Dal and Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) members joined a mahapanchayat in Palwal on Sunday and said they will go on a religious procession in a village in the Nuh district later this month, less than a fortnight after their previous attempt led to communal clashes in the area before it spread to more districts in Haryana.

The event, attended by thousands from the right-wing Hindu groups in three states - Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan-had many attendees making hate speeches that targeted the Muslim community directly and indirectly, including by the use of Islamophobic pejorative.

Among the demands made in angry speeches were for "lessons to be taught", Hindu families to be armed, and the district of Nuh, where Muslims are in majority, to be dissolved and merged with others. Many of the attendees carried arms, and the turnout, estimated at 5,000, was close to ten times the permission that was granted for the event.