Not even Hindus safe from Hindutva mobs: Hindu youth cornered, forced to chant Jai Shri Ram
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Nowadays, Hindutva mobs going berserk in public have become the norm in Uttar Pradesh, as though law and order had ceased to exist in the land, often surrounding Muslims, intimidating them and coercing them into chanting "Jai Shri Ram" with apparent impunity. Now, an incident reported from Fatehpur suggests that even Hindus are not immune to the Hindutva menace.
The incident, reportedly recorded in Fatehpur district and circulated widely on social media this week, shows a group of men confronting a youngster who was playing cricket, The Siasat Daily reported.
According to reports accompanying the video, the youth belong to the Thakur community. As the men encircled him, they demanded that he chant “Jai Shri Ram”, insisting that, as a Hindu, he was duty-bound to do so.
The youngster initially appeared reluctant to comply, but as the atmosphere turned increasingly menacing and the group intensified the pressure, he eventually repeated the slogan, though his compliance did little to satisfy the men surrounding him.
In the footage, one individual can be heard warning the youth that he would be required to chant “Jai Shri Ram” throughout his life and threatening physical violence should he refuse in the future. The video also purportedly shows members of the group compelling him to utter derogatory remarks against Muslims. One of the men visible in the footage appears to be wearing a BJP scarf.
In recent years, several incidents have surfaced in which individuals, most often from minority communities, were allegedly targeted and pressured into chanting religious slogans.
In Kanpur, a 16-year-old Dalit boy was reportedly assaulted by fellow students who objected to an Instagram post featuring images of B.R. Ambedkar and allegedly forced him to chant “Jai Shri Ram”.
In another widely reported case from Dumariyaganj, an elderly Muslim man was filmed being pressured to chant the slogan during a prasad distribution programme held at a BJP office. Elsewhere, near the Taj Mahal parking area in Agra, an elderly Muslim cab driver was allegedly threatened after refusing to repeat the chant.