Hindutva figures incite hate and violence against Muslims, Christians at UP right-wing event
Lucknow: In yet more instance of rising hate speech in Modi’s India, prominent Hindutva figures made inflammatory remarks targeting Muslims and Christians, including calls for violence, during a right-wing event in BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh state.
According to Kashmir Media Service, the event, titled the Virat Hindu Conference, was held in Shivgarh, Raebareli, where Hindutva personalities Riddhima Sharma and Khushboo Pandey made provocative speeches against Muslims and Christians.
Social media influencer Riddhima Sharma, known for her promotion of Hindutva, Sanatan Dharma, and political issues, referencing an alleged anti-Hindu incident in Bangladesh, said, “If they kill two of yours, you kill 100 people in retaliation.”
Sharma also stoked the flames of the “love jihad” conspiracy theory, urging, “If they make one Hindu girl run away, then you should make 100 of their girls run away,” a statement promoting communal hatred.
Khushboo Pandey, another figure known for her controversial speeches against minorities, revived the chilling “gobi farming” reference, a term linked to the 1989 Bhagalpur riots in Bihar, where at least 116 Muslim men were killed in Logain village, their bodies buried in fields with cauliflower (gobi) saplings planted to conceal the atrocity. Her remarks were widely seen as glorifying the massacre.
Additionally, another speaker at the event, Thakur Ram Singh, accused Christians of engaging in forced conversions and claimed that they were attempting to overtake Hindu groups across India. An unidentified attendee also warned residents to stay vigilant in colonies, alleging the threat of “jihadis” abducting Hindu women.
Multiple speakers at the event, citing unfounded “love jihad” narrative, issued threats of severe consequences against Muslim men, further inflaming communal tensions.
