Jihad is an Arabic word that literally means struggle or fight. Jihad as mentioned in Quran with various contexts is told by many Islamic scholars. But in the contemporary world, jihad means Islamic terrorism for all practical purposes. Jihad is a fight in the way of the Islamic god Allah. It is aimed against anyone who is non-Muslim. While many incidents of Islamic terrorism have a clear mention of jihad from the terrorist outfits responsible for those incidents, very few riots, rapes, and murders by Islamists carry a clearly visible superficial identity of jihad.
Also, there are many acts falling under the law and order situation category. Muslim mobs are involved in such acts but these are not identified as acts of terrorism though the motivation behind them all is the same – Islamic jihad. As the year 2022 comes to an end, here is a quick recall of the top jihadi moments of the year in India. It is notable that the article covers incidents of violence. Other forms of jihad like love jihad, land jihad, etc. are a topic of separate discussion.
Kishan Bharwad Murder Case
The year 2022 started with the declaration of the elections in the five states including Uttar Pradesh. The political atmosphere in the country was stirred up due to the intense campaigning in the first two and half months of the calendar year. Right in the middle of this period, a case appeared in Gujarat that set the tone for the next jihadi activities in the country. A Hindu youth named Kishan Bharwad was murdered by Islamists for alleged blasphemy.
A 27-year-old Hindu youth Kishan Bharwad was killed by Islamists on 25th January 2022, merely for being a Hindu. Kishan Bharwad hailed from Dhandhuka in Ahmedabad. He was killed in the morning when he was passing by the Modhwada locality on a two-wheeler. Like other killings by Islamists, the reason behind his murder was that the Muslims claimed he had hurt their religious sentiments and committed “blasphemy”.
Kishan Bharwad was a youngster who loved cows. He would help his family earn their livelihood as he worked in the photocopy shop and on the farm. Kishan was a simple boy leading a simple life. In January 2022, he shared a social media post. It was a short audiovisual file in which Jesus appeared as the ‘son of the God’, Prophet Muhammad appeared as ‘the messenger of the God’ whereas Lord Shrikrishna was shown to be ‘the God’. Within 30 minutes of sharing this video, Kishan Bharwad began to receive threat calls because he hailed his own faith and that did not sit well with Islamists. He was jailed for a brief period. Last, he was killed immediately after getting out of jail. He could not even see his newborn daughter. Kishan Bharwad’s murder was later found to be one of the planned executions of the Pakistan-backed jihadi network that was busted during the investigation of this case.
Karnataka Hijab Row and Harsha’s murder
In January and February of 2022, the hijab controversy sparked in the country, especially in Karnataka where Muslim girl students from a college went adamant to wear a hijab on educational campuses. Various student unions like ABVP retaliated this demand as there were already uniform dress codes prescribed in the institutes. Muslims across the state started protesting for the demand of allowing hijab. The matter reached the court. On 15th March 2022. the Karnataka High Court said in its verdict that wearing a hijab has not been proven as an essential religious practice in Islam and that educational institutions have the right to mandate a dress code inside their premises.
This court decision came almost a month after a Hindu activist Harsha was killed by Islamists in Shivamogga of Karnataka for opposing hijab on educational campuses. Harsha was a tailor by profession. He lived in Seegehatti in the Shivamogaa district of Karnataka. He was a member of Bajrang Dal. On Sunday 20th February 2022, Islamists murdered him because he demanded a uniform dress code in the educational institutes.
Gorakhnath Temple Attack
On April 3, Ahmad Murtaza Abbasi attacked Police personnel outside Gorakhnath Temple, Gorakhpur. The incident took place a day before CM Yogi Adityanath was scheduled to visit the temple. Abbasi severely injured two Police personnel with a sharp weapon. It is pertinent to note that Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is the head priest (Mahant) of Gorakhnath Temple and has his personal accommodation on the temple premises. At the time of the attack, CM Yogi was not at the temple.
Days after the Gorakhpur temple attack, where the accused Ahmad Murtaza Abbasi forcibly tried to enter the premises of the temple and attacked two cops with sharp weapons, one Maulana Ilyasi told the police that the accused was under the influence of black magic. Maulana Ilyasi is a teacher in the same Madarsa that Ahmad Murtaza Abbasi attended. Ahmad Murtaza Abbasi’s father had claimed that he was mentally unstable – a claim that the doctors refuted.
Murtaza Abbasi’s interrogation revealed that he was attempting to develop a jihadi app called ‘Jarima’ at the behest of Islamic terror groups. In Arabic, the word ‘Jarima’ means ‘oppression.’ Abbasi used to exchange messages via the Pir2Pir app before creating this Arabic-language jihadi app, which is widely used by Islamic ultras. He was also planning to join the terrorist organization ISIS.
The Khargone Violence
On April 10, a Ram Navami procession that began in the Talab Chowk area of Khargone in Madhya Pradesh had to be abandoned midway after it came under a volley of stones. Several vehicles were set on fire. The cops resorted to firing tear gas shells to bring the situation under control. During the orgy of violence, a total of 24 people were injured (including 6 police personnel). Even the Superintendent of Police (Khargone) had sustained bullet injuries. Keeping in mind the volatile law and order situation, a curfew was imposed in the area.
On Sunday, July 31, the Madhya Pradesh police arrested the primary accused in the violence orchestrated by Islamists during the Ram Navami procession in Khargone. He was identified as 30-year-old Shamiullah Khan. After evading the law enforcement authorities for over 112 days, Shamiullah was nabbed from the border of the Khargone-Dhar district on the basis of specific intelligence inputs.
The Jahangirpuri Violence
On April 16, Islamists attacked Hanuman Jayanti Shobha Yatra in Jahangirpuri, Delhi. Several people were injured, including police personnel. More than 40 people have been arrested by the Police in the case, including prime accused Ansar Sheikh and Aslam Sheikh. The Delhi police had to go to West Bengal to arrest another key accused identified as Farid alias Nitu.
The Jahangirpuri area in Delhi is inhabited by many Bangladeshi Muslims including Rohingyas. On Friday, April 22, sources in the Delhi Police’s Crime Branch, investigating the attack on Hanuman Jayanti Shobha Yatra in Jahangirpuri, Delhi on April 16, revealed that the attack was pre-planned by the prime accused Mohammed Ansar Sheikh. As per a report in Live Hindustan, Ansar had allegedly organized a meeting seven days before Hanuman Jayanti to execute the attack on the Shobha Yatra that would be held on that day.
Death threats to Nupur Sharma
In the last week of May 2022, former BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma found herself at the centre of a raging storm after Islamists, egged on by the likes of AltNews co-founder Mohammed Zubair, issued multiple threats against her and her family for expressing her views on Prophet Muhammad and Islam.
Sharma was a part of a debate panel on Times Now, discussing the finding of Shivling in the Gyanvapi complex and the subsequent mockery of the Hindu Gods and Goddesses that followed in the wake of the discovery. Islamists have claimed that the Shivling discovered inside the wuzukhana of the Gyanvapi disputed structure was not a Shivling but a fountain. Across social media platforms, detractors have been repeating ad nauseam that the Shivling found inside the Gyanvapi premises is a fountain and not an idol of a Hindu God.
What did Nupur Sharma say?
In response to the contempt and scorn poured over Hindu Gods and Goddesses, which was evident even during the Times Now debate where some of the fellow panellists referred to the Shivling as a fountain, BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma asked them to refrain from insulting Hindu Gods and cited Islamic scriptures and Holy Quran for substantiating her remarks on Prophet Muhammad and Islam.
When Taslim Rehmani repeatedly used derogatory references to Lord Shiva on the Times Now debate, former BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma spoke about Prophet Muhammad and his marriage with Ayesha and other scriptural claims made in Islamic Hadiths, an edited video of which was later shared by Zubair to dog whistle Islamists against her, resulting in ‘Sar Tan Se Juda’ protests across the country.
Violence over Nupur Sharma’s remarks
The jihadists did not stop on issuing death threats to Nupur Sharma. It was followed by a series of multiple FIRs filed across the country against the former BJP spokesperson over her remarks. On 3rd June 2022, a mob of Islamists pelted stones and spread violence in Kanpur. For the upcoming whole week, various Islamists and Maulanas continued to declare bounty on Nupur Sharma.
On the next Friday, that is, on 10th June 2022, Muslim mobs hit the streets in massive numbers under the garb of protests against Nupur Sharma. This resulted in riots and arson in various cities of the country including Prayagraj, Jammu, Howrah, Hyderabad, Haridwar, and Ranchi. A Muslim youth named Saad Ansari was beaten by Muslims for supporting Nupur Sharma on his Instagram story.
Kanhaiya Lal Murder Case
When Islamists could not harm Nupur Sharma, they targeted public properties and spread riots in various cities in the country on consecutive Fridays in June 2022. When the union governments and state governments firmly dealt with these riots, the jihadists started targeting Hindus who supported Nupur Sharma on social media.
The first such case was noted in Udaipur city of Rajasthan where Kanhaiya Lal, a Hindu tailor, was beheaded on 28th June 2022 by two jihadi Islamist attackers who diguised as customers to enter his shop and attacked him with a sharp weapon. Not only this, the attackers also released a video in which they said that their knife will one day reach the neck of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and he will also be killed in the same fashion. Kanhaiya Lal was killed because he had put a WhatsApp story that supported Nupur Sharma.
Umesh Kolhe Murder Case
On 22nd June 2022, Umesh Kolhe – a chemist in Amravati of Maharashtra – was beheaded for supporting Nupur Sharma in a WhatsApp post that he shared in a group. Shocking facts were revealed as Dr. Yusuf Khan who once used to be a good friend of Umesh Kolhe conspired, funded, and executed the whole plot of his killing.
The news of Umesh Kolhe’s murder was first suppressed by the liberal media and the actual reason behind the brutal attack was hidden by police when there was a Maha Vikas Aghadi government in Maharashtra, as police had said that it was a case of robbery gone wrong. It was only after Eknath Shinde became the chief minister of the state on 30th June 2022 that the original reason behind the incident was revealed as NIA took over the investigation.
Praveen Nettaru Murder Case
On July 26, Bharatiya Janata Party Yuva Morcha worker Praveen Nettaru was hacked to death by Islamist assailants. Nettaru, who ran a poultry business, was returning home when the attack happened. The killers came on a bike in Bellari, Dakshina Kannada of Karnataka, in the late evening and attacked Nettaru with sharp weapons. The assailants escaped after the attack. Nettaru was rushed to the hospital, but he could not be saved.
Three different theories citing various reasons for the murder came to light. One of them is that he was killed because he posted on social media supporting Kanhaiya Lal, who was beheaded by Jihadis recently for supporting Nupur Sharma and criticizing the Congress government.
Coimbatore Bomb Blast
On October 22, a 25-year-old man died in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, after an LPG cylinder in a car burst in the communally sensitive Kottaimedu district. The deceased in the Coimbatore blast was identified as Jamesha Mubin, a resident of Kottaipudur, near GM Nagar in Ukkadam. There was an explosion at about 4 am in a Maruti car just opposite the Kottai Eswaran temple in the Ukkadam area of Coimbatore. Two gas cylinders, marbles, and nails were found.
Notably, the NIA registered the case after Home Ministry’s Counter Terrorism and Counter Radicalization (CTCR) issued an order directing the agency to initiate an investigation into the case. The NIA team searched the Mubin’s premises and seized 109 articles, including potassium nitrate, black powder, matchbox, cracker fuse length of about 2 meters, Nitro Glycerin, red phosphorous, PETN powder, Aluminium powder, OXY 99 Breathe pure Oxygen cylinder, Sulphur powder, Sterile Surgical blade, and other bomb-making materials, as well as notebooks with information on Islamic ideology and Jihad.
Mangaluru Bomb Blast
On 19th November 2022, a blast took place in an autorickshaw running on the streets of Mangaluru in Karnataka. The explosion in the vehicle in the coastal city of Karnataka took place under a mysterious situation. However, within 24 hours of the blast, the Director General of Police (DGP) Karnataka tweeted to confirm that this blast was an act of terror and a series of revelations appeared in the subsequent investigations.
One of the most important chapters of these findings is that the accused culprit in this case – Mohammed Shariq – had links with Islamist terror outfits and that he was posing to be a Hindu before executing the attack, so that, in case he dies in the attack, his identity is mistaken to be a Hindu thereby rendering the attack an act of the so-called Hindu Terror. This modus operandi shares remarkable similarities with the one deployed at the time of the 26/11 Mumbai attacks.
Years end one after the other, but the Islamic jihad persists
Jihad is an Islamic duty of a believer Muslim and he is supposed to fight against the enemies of Islam – a term that essentially covers everyone and everything that is non-Muslim – till the end of the universe. A jihadi believes that he will be judged on the basis of his contribution to the jihad and will get proportionate rewards in the life that actually starts after death. It, therefore, becomes necessary to take an account of the damage that has been caused to society, nation, and humanity due to this concept of jihad. Major instances in 2022 connecting their inspirational links to the Quranic concept of jihad are thus compiled as above.
