On March 30, the Ram Navami procession (Shobhayatra) was taken out in Una of district Gir Somnath, Gujarat. Following the procession, an event was organised where Hindu activist Kajal Hindusthani was one of the speakers. The local Muslims deemed her speech controversial and took the whole city hostage. There were reports of stone pelting, and the city burnt for two days. Following the incidents of violence, the so-called fact-checker Mohammed Zubair and other Islamists have started targeting Kajal Hindustani.
Notably, reports of violence have come to the fore from Gujarat and other states nationwide. Islamists have started propaganda to blame Hindus for the violence. Amid such attempts, Kajal Hindusthani has become one of their prime targets.
Here is the chronology of events that occurred since violence erupted during the procession detailing how Hindutva Watch and Zubair are making Kajal their scapegoat.
March 30 – Ram Navami Shobhayatra and Dharmsabha
On March 30, Hindus celebrated the birth anniversary of Bhagwan Ram (Ram Navami). As scheduled, a large procession to honour Bhagwan Ram was taken out in Una, district Gir Somnath. Kajal Hindusthani was one of the speakers in the Dharmsabha organised after the procession.
Reports suggest there were around 30,000 Ram devotees in the Shobha Yatra. The Dharmasabha took place at Raavanvadi near Trikon Bagh. During her speech, Kajal raised several issues, including Love Jihad and Land Jihad.
March 31 – Islamists blocked roads and raised ‘sar tan se juda’ slogans
On March 31, thousands of Islamists came to the roads and protested against Kajal Hindusthani’s speech during Dharmsabha. They called it ‘controversial’. Notably, it was Friday when the protests took place. There are videos on social media where Muslims can be seen raising ‘sar tan se juda‘ slogans. They raised ‘gustakh-e-Nabi ki ek saza, sar tan se juda’ slogans before a police station.
Again, Sar tan se juda slogan raised by jihadi radicals in Una, Gujarat
— Krishna Rathod (@KrishnrathodGuj) April 1, 2023
Muslim goons raised slogans in front of the police post, @sanghaviharsh now in what language will you answer them? You used to say that you will forget to look at the stone !#HindusUnderAttack pic.twitter.com/uPwCHJ5era
April 1 – Gir Somnath SP attempted to mediate, Islamists pelted stones in the evening
On April 1, keeping the communal tension in mind, Una Police called religious leaders from both communities and tried to pacify the situation. However, both sides started arguing during the meeting. The Muslim leaders left the meeting as the situation got tense. The shopkeepers started shutting down their shops, and the whole city started to shut down.
Later Superintendent of Police (SP) called five-five leaders from both communities and brought them to a compromise. However, the city was under stress amid heavy police presence. Despite the efforts of senior police officials, stone pelting took place in the evening. Miscreants pelted stones in Kumbhwada, Koliwada and Chandrakiran areas. They also threw soda bottles. The police had to intervene to control the situation.
April 2 – 70 rioters arrested, cache of weapons recovered
Following the violence on March 31 and April 1, police started investing in the matter. Around 70 miscreants involved in the riots were arrested by the police. People were allowed to do their daily chores, but the police strictly watched the events. SRP teams have been deployed in the city.
Weapons found in Una of #GirSomnath during police combing#Gujarat #TV9News pic.twitter.com/1vPWeSrqPc
— Tv9 Gujarati (@tv9gujarati) April 2, 2023
During the investigation, police recovered a large cache of weapons. It is believed that there might be a pre-planned controversy to create a riot-like situation in the city. As per reports, the police recovered swords, axes, knives, razors, iron rods, batons and glass bottles. The police confiscated the weapons.
Kajal Hindusthani came forward to answer the allegations
As there were slogans raised to behead Kajal Hindusthani, people were expecting a strong reply from her. On April 2, Kajal Hindusthani came forward and answered the allegations in an interview with India TV on the show ‘Sawaal to bant-ta hai’. During the interview, she said if Hindu breathing in the country, it is deemed hate speech.
She said, “Muslim women are not getting equal rights and respect in the country. Women have more rights than men in the country, but women are not getting equal rights among Muslims. She said, “I have not said anything against any community, religion or God. What I said was true, and I am not responsible if someone gets offended.”
She added Love Jihad, Land Jihad, and conversions have been happening in the country because of organisations like the Popular Front of India (PFI). She deemed PFI a poisonous organisation that pushes Muslim youth towards extremism, terrorism and separatism.
She said, “I speak against their conspiracies, including Love Jihad and Land Jihad. I do not think I said anything wrong or indulged in giving hate speech.” She added, “When I talk about the benefits of women in the Muslim community and vouch for the Uniform Civil Code, people get offended.”
Notably, Love Jihad is a term used for the incidents when a Muslim or a Christian hides his or her true identity and lures a Hindu man or woman into an affair to get married to convert. Recently, there has been a spike in the cases of Love Jihad.
Similarly, when a Muslim or Christian person hides his or her identity to take control of land, it is called Land Jihad. In many such cases, illegal mosques and dargahs have been built on such lands.
April 3 – complaint against Kajal Hindusthani
During Dharmsabha, Kajal said if Muslim women marry Hindu men, it would benefit them. After her speech, Muslim leaders filed a complaint against her and demanded action. An FIR was registered against Kajal under Section 295A, 153A and 505 of the Indian Penal Code. Amid the controversy, Islamists are gaslighting their followers against Kajal Hindusthani.
April 4 – Ecosystem activated against Kajal, Hindutva Watch and Zubair frontrunners in gaslighting Muslims
As always, Islamists accused Hindus of violence. The conspiracy to blame Hindus and target Hindu leaders started on social media. For some time, low-profile Islamists kept trying to instigate Muslims against Kajal. However, later the infamous players jumped into the game. The controversial Twitter handle Hindutva Watch shared a video of Kakal Hindusthani and wrote, “At Hindu Jagruti Samelan, Kajal Shingla aka Kajal Hindusthani, a repeat offender, delivered hate speech targeting Muslims and called on Hindus to wake up and pick arms to defend themselves.”
Location: New Delhi
— HindutvaWatch (@HindutvaWatchIn) April 3, 2023
At Hindu Jagruti Samelan, Kajal Shingla aka Kajal Hindusthani, a repeat offender, delivered hate speech targeting Muslims and called on Hindus to wake up and pick arms to defend themselves. pic.twitter.com/o8P2aTcvwe
Notably, in the video and as Hindutva Watch wrote, Kajal only talked about self-defence. She never asked Hindus to attack someone. However, her statements were twisted and used for propaganda. The propagandist fact-checker and co-founder of Alt News, Mohammed Zubair, took charge of the conspiracy against Kajal. He shared Hindutva Watch’s video and tagged Delhi Police, saying, “Kajal Singla (Kajal Hindustani) says, “Utho Hinduon shastra apne aap uthao, apni raksha apne aap karo”. Isn’t this provocation to pick up arms? Delhi Police.
Kajal Singla (Kajal Hindustani) says, “Utho Hinduon shastra apne aap uthao, apni raksha apne aap karo”.
— Mohammed Zubair (@zoo_bear) April 3, 2023
Isn’t this provocation to pick up arms? @DelhiPolice 👋 https://t.co/EETZzknITe
Here, Zubair deemed the call of self-defence as a provocation. This is the same person who dog-whistled Islamists against former BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma on social media leading to ‘sar tan se juda‘ threats against her. Not to forget, Zubair’s dog-whistling led to the murder of several Hindus, including Udaipur resident Kanhaiya Lal and Amravati resident Umesh Kohle, as they supported Nupur Sharma on social media. He employed the same modus operandi to target Hindu activist Kajal Hindusthani and paint a target behind her, triggering violence and riots in several parts of the country.
In the Nupur Sharma case, Zubair had shared an incomplete video of the former BJP spokesperson, alleging that she had blasphemed against Prophet Muhammad. The dog-whistling incited Islamists across the country who went on a rampage, resulting in vandalism, rioting, and arson in many parts of the country. In this case, Zubair twisted a call for self-defence as a “provocation to pick up arms”, painting a target behind Kajal Hindusthani and sending Islamists after her.
Since April 2, Kajal has not posted anything on social media. OpIndia tried to contact her but could not. If you remember, the same format was followed in the case of Nupur Sharma. Only time will tell if Kajal also has to live in hiding amid death threats from Jihadists or if the system will take any steps to safeguard her life and bring to account professional dog whistlers galvanising a bloodthirsty mob by twisting statements.
