02, Jul 2022 | CJP Team

CJP has filed a complaint with the National Commission for Minorities (NCM) against hardline outfit Hindu Sena for distributing swords at an event organised by the outfits’s National president Vishnu Gupta and its Delhi president Deepak Malik.

The event was held at Vishwagiri temple in Rajouri Garden, Delhi on June 19, 2022, in support of suspended and sacked Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders Nupur Sharma and Naveen Jindal. According to the complaint, the said event began with the recitation of Hanuman Chalisa and reportedly ended with swords being distributed. While Malik reportedly denied any such claims of swords being distributed, Gupta didn’t.

CJP is dedicated to finding and bringing to light instances of Hate Speech, so that the bigots propagating these venomous ideas can be unmasked and brought to justice. To learn more about our campaign against hate speech, please become a member. To support our initiatives, please donate now!

The complaint showcased that Malik reportedly told The New Indian Express, “We did not distribute swords. People brought swords from their homes as symbols of support for Nupur Sharma and Naveen Jindal.” He claimed that Sena colleagues had brought only three-four swords from a gurudwara and gifted them to people just for clicking photographs. But Gupta openly said, “We distributed the swords for the protection of our Hindu women. This was only for the purpose of self-defence.” He further claimed that Hindu Sena had distributed around 10,000 swords in Delhi NCR, as reported by TNIE. As per the same report, the event was allegedly organised without police permission because it was an indoor and personal programme, as per Malik.

The complaint then brings to light Hindu Sena’s track record:

On June 11, the right-wing group claimed that Delhi Police had detained 12 of its volunteers during a march organised in support of former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson Nupur Sharma. Vishnu Gupta told The Quint, “If Ms Nupur Sharma has said something wrong, they should take legal action and not terrorise the society with stone pelting. The Indian Government must investigate such rioters under NSA and also investigate international fundings to such rioters.”

In February 2022, Hindu Sena’s National president, Vishnu Gupta even wrote to Union Education Minister, Dharmendra Pradhan demanding to ban all kinds of Hijab, Burqa or Islamic symbol from educational institutions. As reported by News Nine, he was reportedly quoted saying, “Hijab is a security threat. Anyone can disguise himself/ herself by wearing a hijab or a burqa, no one knows if they’re hiding something. Tomorrow, if a Muslim girl is applying for a job, she will wear the Hijab there too which will hurt her chances of getting the job as she wouldn’t be obeying the dress code of that place. People are trying to Islamify the educational system and institutions. This must be stopped.”

In September 2021, the Delhi Police had arrested five members of the Hindu Sena for allegedly vandalising the official residence of All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief and Hyderabad Member of Parliament Asaduddin Owaisi in New Delhi.

In January 2021, a protest was organised by Hindu Sena against farmers at Singhu border who gave them an ultimatum to clear the area. As per Alt News report, Vishnu Gupta had issued a press release stating, “Today, local Hindu Sena activists along with local area residents went to Singhu border amid farmers and raised slogans against Khalistan supporters and appealed to the farmers to clear the road. Hindu Sena warned pro-Khalistan protesters that they resolve their problems in 24 hours after talking to the government and empty the Singhu border and the road.”

In February 2020, the members of Hindu Sena held a protest on Valentine’s Day in Coimbatore as they reportedly ripped the cards and set them on fire outside the Coimbatore district collector’s office.

Giving out more information on the growing strength of Hindu Sena and his influence on people, the complaint draws a similarity between the event organised by Hindu Sena and that organised by of Antarashtriya Hindu Parishad (AHP) led by Hindutva leader Pravin Togadia in Assam in April 2022 where swords were openly distributed and anti-Muslim oath was taken. Another such event had been organised by AHP in Gujarat where they made Anti-Muslim Speech and reportedly distributed approximately 5,100 swords and trishuls.

A copy of the complaint maybe read here:

Related:

CJP Impact: YouTube responds to CJP’s complaint, takes down hate filled content!

CJP Impact: Twitter suspends 21 accounts threatening Muslim women with sexual violence

CJP Impact: NCM acts on CJP’s complaint against Hate Offender Pravin Togadia