It is the misfortune of India that the majority of the population here is facing difficulties in celebrating their Teej festivals. Any religious event organized by Hindus gets overshadowed by Muslim fundamentalists. Whenever Hindus take out Kavad Yatra, hold Mata Jagran, go for idol immersion or any other similar event, Muslim fundamentalists start pelting stones at them and at other places they stand blocking the way. When there is opposition to their action, these people start twisting their swords. Arson and petrol bombs have become a common thing, but people who burst petrol bombs definitely get hurt when they hear the sound of firecrackers somewhere.
The situation is such that even the smallest religious events of Hindus cannot be completed without the protection of police. Hindu Gods and Goddesses are insulted sometimes in the name of art and sometimes in the name of freedom of expression. I don’t know why the DJ playing at Hindu religious events makes those people who shout on the loudspeaker five times a day restless. Similarly, the colors of Holi also become communal due to a few fanatics of a particular class. It is not that these fundamentalists get angry only when Hindus take out any religious procession etc. on the streets, the limit is reached when even worshiping in their homes becomes a reason for fights for Hindus. These Muslim extremists do not hesitate to reach even the pandals of Garba or Durga Puja and spoil the atmosphere. Many times, these anarchist elements also get political protection from leaders and parties doing vote bank politics. Had this not been the case, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav would not have posted the alleged video on X on the murder of Ram Gopal Mishra, who was brutally killed in Bahraich, in which Ram Gopal Mishra is seen taking down the green flag from the house of a Muslim family and putting up a saffron flag. With the help of this video, Akhilesh is putting Ram Gopal Mishra in the dock, whereas the legal aspect of this is that if Ram Gopal Mishra had taken down the green flag and hoisted the saffron flag there, then the killers do not get the freedom to murder him. . Ram Gopal Mishra was not only killed, the killers showed brutality and even brutally tore out Ram Gopal’s nails.
Also read: Jan Gan Man: Attacks on Shobha Yatras, attacks on Kanwariyas, disruptions in puja, vandalism in temples… Why is Hindu faith repeatedly hurt?
Even if we do not go back too far, recently Islamic fundamentalists have targeted Durga Puja and Hindus in different parts of the country. At some places the pandal was pelted with stones by Muslim fundamentalists, at some places the idol immersion procession was attacked, and there was also a dispute over the routes of the procession. Stone pelting and violence has taken place from Uttar Pradesh to West Bengal and Assam. This violence started with the Hindu festival Navratri. On October 13, 2024, a Muslim mob attacked Hindu pandals in Shyamganj, Howrah. Muslim mob started destroying Durga Puja pandals. They set fire to idols and destroyed many pandals. This Muslim crowd also reached the ghat where the idols of the goddess were to be immersed. Here this crowd pelted stones.
If we talk about Uttar Pradesh in particular, the immersion procession of Maa Durga was attacked in Kaushambi district. In this attack, women devotees participating in the procession were also targeted. Swords were brandished and stones were thrown during the attack. Many devotees were injured in the incident. About a dozen people from the Muslim community, including women, have been accused of the attack that took place on October 12, 2024. The idol of Maa Durga was also damaged and an attempt was made to rape a woman. The police have registered a case and started investigation. Similarly, during Durga Puja in Balrampur, Islamic fundamentalists entered the pandal and misbehaved with women. The accused included Kaleem, Arbaaz, Imran and Mukhtar, who misbehaved with the female devotees and tore off the saffron flag installed in the pandal and threw it in the drain. The women lodged a complaint with the police, after which the accused were arrested.
The blindfold of the goddess was removed after the idol was installed in the Durga Puja pandal in Maskanwa Bazaar area of district Gonda on October 9, 2024. The installation of this statue has been going on for many years. A large number of Hindus were gathered here on this occasion. After the puja, some Hindu children started bursting crackers outside this pandal. Hearing the sound of firecrackers, Muslims living nearby got enraged. People from the Muslim family came out and started abusing the Hindus and became attackers. They first pelted stones at the Hindus and then attacked them with sticks. On the other hand, another serious incident came to light in Kushinagar, when Muslim fundamentalists pelted stones at the idol during Durga Puja. More than 10 people were injured in this incident. Police arrested the accused to bring the situation under control and increased security in the area. The Hindu community demanded strict action from the administration against the accused. Now the violence in Bahraich is a new example of this, where a person going for idol immersion was brutally killed. This information is about those incidents which have come to light in the media or whose information went viral on social media. Given the growing Islamic fundamentalism, it can be said that many incidents may have been buried in the noise.
Overall, due to the Jihadi thinking of the fundamentalists, it is becoming difficult for the last few years to carry out processions or immersion processions in a peaceful environment. Stone pelting on these religious pilgrimages sometimes takes the form of riots, as happened in Bahraich. Here, stones were pelted from the roofs of houses during the Durga Puja immersion yatra. One Satanti was murdered and violence broke out in the area thereafter. The question is, where was the police when all this was happening? Due to the inaction of the police, violence broke out again the next day before the last rites of the youth and the angry people vandalized many houses and burnt shops. It is true that the violence was brought under control after the arrival of senior officials, but the important question is whether the atmosphere of harmony can be restored and concrete action can be taken to teach a lesson to those elements which led to the continuation of violence. ?
The most sad thing is that after any such incident, some people start raising questions as to why the Yatra was taken out from a particular area. Is it appropriate to define any area as Hindu-Muslim area? In fact, the talks about Hindu-Muslim region are a divisive and mischievous agenda. Such agendas are generally run under vote bank politics. With this agenda in mind, it should be ensured that religious events of any community do not become prey to violent elements. The state government should set an example by taking strict action against those elements who target religious events so that incidents like Bahraich, Kaushambi and Gonda do not happen again. Such incidents not only spoil the atmosphere but also cause huge damage to government property.
However, Vishwa Hindu Parishad has expressed anger over the brutal murder of Ram Gopal Mishra during the immersion of Durga idol in Baharich. The council said that this trend is going on in the entire country. Sometimes the procession, sometimes the Garba pandal and sometimes Ganesh puja are being attacked. Every festival is going through tension, which the Hindu society will not accept.
