Muslim woman in India harassed on train for refusing to chant ‘Vande Mataram’
New Delhi: Yet another disturbing incident of religious harassment has come to light in India, where a Muslim woman travelling on a train was pressured by fellow passengers to chant the slogan “Vande Mataram” or leave the country, underscoring the growing climate of coercive nationalism under the BJP-led regime.
According to Kashmir Media Service, an undated video that has gone viral on social media shows a burqa-clad Muslim woman being repeatedly harassed and provoked by a group of passengers who insist she chant the slogan. When she refused, some of them were heard telling her to leave India. The woman firmly resisted the pressure, stating that no one has the right to force her to raise slogans against her will or question her patriotism.
The video has once again sparked outrage and concern over the safety and dignity of minorities in public spaces, as well as the shrinking space for personal freedom and religious choice in India. Rights activists say such incidents reflect emboldened behaviour by Hindutva elements, particularly in states ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party or its allies, where Muslims are increasingly targeted on trains, buses and streets.
Observers note that such acts often go unchecked due to official apathy, encouraging perpetrators to intimidate, humiliate and, in some cases, physically assault those who refuse to comply. Videos of similar incidents have surfaced repeatedly in recent years, pointing to a disturbing pattern.
Since Narendra Modi assumed office as prime minister in 2014, several cases have been reported in which Muslims were pressured in educational institutions and public settings to sing or chant “Vande Mataram,” a slogan many Muslim scholars say conflicts with Islamic beliefs. In one instance, a primary school teacher in Bihar was reportedly beaten for refusing to sing the song on religious grounds.
More recently, directives mandating the singing of “Vande Mataram” in schools in areas such as Jammu’s Doda district have drawn strong criticism from Muslim leaders, who describe them as an assault on religious freedom. In 2017, Muslim municipal councillors in Meerut also complained of being coerced to chant the slogan, amid threats that “those who wish to live in India must say Vande Mataram.”
Human rights defenders say the latest incident highlights the deepening marginalization of Muslims in India and warn that forced displays of nationalism are being used as tools of intimidation and exclusion, eroding the country’s constitutional guarantees of equality, dignity and freedom of conscience.
