Apart from ‘Sar Tan Se Juda’, slogans of ‘Allah-hu-Akhbar’, and ‘La ilaha illallah’ were also raised by the Islamists in the rally. This took place on 22nd September evening as the AIMIM decided to march to Mumbai demanding strict punishment against Hindu saint Ramgiri Maharaj for his remarks on Prophet Mohammed. Syed Moin led the rally from Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar to Mumbai and named it ‘Chalo Mumbai’.
Earlier it was said by the party that the rally would be ‘peaceful’ however, several videos appeared on social media in which the Islamists could be heard raising ‘Sar Tan Se Juda’ slogans.
औरंगाबाद की तरफ जा रहा Syed Moin के काफिले का रास्ते में हुआ जोरदार इस्तकबाल, चलो मुंबई गुस्ताख ए रसूल के खिलाफ 👊 pic.twitter.com/G5wqkBOOm2
— Junaid Aalam (@JunaidAalam84) September 22, 2024
AIMIM’s ‘Chalo Mumbai’ rally ahead of the State elections
It is crucial to note that the AIMIM in Maharashtra has organised a ‘Chalo Mumbai Tiranga’ rally ahead of the state assembly elections to protest against the rising communal tensions. On 22nd September, one rally was organised by state party vice president Syed Moin, and the next day, on 23rd September, another rally was organised by AIMIM leader Imtiaz Jaleel. Both rallies were headed from Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar to Mumbai, the capital city of Maharashtra.
Jaleel spoke during the gathering, stating that there is an urgent need to confront the alleged growing caste and religious divisions. “The walls of caste and religion are being built in Maharashtra. Attempts are being made to incite rioting. Muslims are being threatened on stage; are these not illegal acts? Shouldn’t action be taken? I am concerned about the absence of police action despite several FIRs filed against Rane for his incendiary statements,” Jaleel said.
AIMIM महाराष्ट्र अध्यक्ष @imtiaz_jaleel की सरपरस्ती में गुस्ताख़-ए-रसूलﷺ के खिलाफ निकला काफिला कुछ ही देर में मुंबई पहुँचने वाला है। #ChaloMumbai pic.twitter.com/auc6TQRWTI
— AIMIM (@aimim_national) September 23, 2024
Jaleel further stated, “We are going to remind the CM that this country will function as per the Constitution, as per law. We want a law that prohibits statements based on caste or religion, or derogatory remarks about religious figures. If such statements are made, there should be strict laws against them.”
He said that the rally would be peaceful but the Islamists who participated in the first rally happened to raise provocative slogans demanding death for anyone who would allegedly make derogatory comments against Prophet Mohammed and the other rally attempted to block the roads in Mumbai.
Monday, 23rd September
— Imtiaz Jaleel (@imtiaz_jaleel) September 22, 2024
A big day for Muslims in Maharashtra. A big day for me and my community. I entered politics in 2014 because we were being sidelined, ignored, and insulted.
Today, the BJP’s communal hatred allows anyone to insult our Prophet without consequence—and they…
As per the local reports, the Mumbai Police had made all the arrangements to make sure that Jaleel and the rally led by him were not allowed in the city. The Police installed check posts at all the borders of the city and said that the AIMIM leader and any Muslim organization would not be allowed to pass the Mulund check post. The Mumbai Police and Thane Police stand together today ensuring no Muslim organization or AIMIM group is allowed in the city destroying its peace.
The rally notably comes in the wake of BJP leader Nitesh Rane’s alleged contentious comments at a public event, in which he defended Mahant Ramgiri Maharaj’s remarks.
What comments of Ramgiri Maharaj enraged the Islamists
Saint Ramgiri Maharaj, during a sermon in Panchale village of Nashik’s Sinnar region on 16th August, allegedly passed derogatory comments on Prophet Mohammed, enraging the Muslim community. The Hindu saint during the sermon indicated that several Islamists have disrespected women in the past because of the religious doctrine they follow.
You kept quiet during Nupur Sharma times… don't be silent this time.
— Sameet Thakkar (Modi Ka Parivar) (@thakkar_sameet) August 17, 2024
Speak up !
Ramgiri Maharaj has just stated fact.#IsupportRamgiriMaharaj pic.twitter.com/LrvWDDxXLX
After this, several Islamists filed a police complaint against Ramgiri Maharaj in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Nashik, Mumbai, and Pune, alleging that the Hindu saint had deliberately made such comments. Apart from Islamists, several political leaders like NCP’s Jitendra Awhad, AIMIM’s Imtiaz Jaleel, Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi led by Prakash Ambedkar had also commented on the matter criticizing Ramgiri Maharaj.
However, State CM Eknath Shinde later made it clear that the state has a great tradition of saints and the state is operating only due to the good, positive blessings of the Saints. He also stated that no one should dare to even think of harming the saints in the state.
Meanwhile, commenting on the communal chaos, Ramgiri Maharaj said to the media that he did not say anything to create a rift. “It was an hour-and-a-half sermon. A few parts of it were edited. I was talking about Bhishmacharya and Dharmaraj during the sermon. I was explaining what is Rajdharma and how should a king follow Rajdharma. I spoke giving an instance that injustice should not be tolerated. While raising this issue, the topic of Bangladesh came up,” he said.
Later, Ramgiri Maharaj in the sermon stated that Hindus should stand together against the oppression of Hindus, atrocities that they usually face at the hands of Islamists. “I said that we should be organized against this, we should remain strong. No one should hate or envy. Don’t bother anyone. But if someone is harassing you, don’t bear it. What we said is written in the scriptures,” he said adding that nothing else could be said on this issue. “We are peace-loving people and our intentions are never to hurt anyone but to show society the truth,” he added.
Ramgiri Maharaj explained the context in which he said whatever he said. He confirmed that he made the statement in the wake of ongoing atrocities faced by Hindus in Bangladesh at the hands of Islamists. However, the Islamist community in India happened to ignore the context completely and is now deliberately targeting the Hindu saint by spreading his edited video from the one-and-a-half-hour-long sermon.
What did Nitesh Rane say
Nitesh Rane, on 3rd September, was captured on video extending support to Ramgiri Maharaj. He said that he would allegedly enter mosques and attack those who criticize Ramgiri Maharaj. “If you dare harm our Ramgiri Maharaj, we will enter your masjid (mosque) and will hunt you down one by one (chun chun ke marenge). Keep this in mind,” Rane was quoted as saying.
Later 2 FIRs were filed against Rane, one at Shrirampur police station and the other one at Topkhana police station for making provocative statements against a particular community.
Earlier, in August this year, Rane, while he was in Ahilyanagar (Ahmednagar), had stated that whatever Ramgiri Maharaj has said is not new. He said that he could show 10 Muslim scholars who have said the same thing in the past, which is now being termed as a ‘derogatory statement’.
After this, AIMIM spokesperson Waris Pathan stated that Rane was spreading hatred in society. “This is inflammatory and hate speech. The BJP is trying to incite communal violence in Maharashtra before the state assembly elections,” Pathan was quoted as saying.
Previous incidents of ‘Sar Tan Se Juda’ slogans raised by Islamists across India
“Gustakh-e-Rasool ki Ek hi saza, sar tan se Juda, sar tan se Juda”, this murderous slogan has claimed many lives in the name of alleged ‘blasphemy’ not only in India where there are no ‘blasphemy laws’ but also in other parts of the world. In the given case, the AIMIM rally is not the first place where Islamists were heard raising slogans of ‘Sar Tan Se Juda’ against the Hindu saint. Slogans were raised in Mumbai, Pune, Madhya Pradesh, and even in the state of Uttar Pradesh.
On 25th August, Pune City Police booked over 300 people for illegally assembling, conducting a protest march without permission, and raising objectionable ‘Sar Tan Se Juda’ slogans in front of the Pune Collector’s office.
The Islamist mob carried out the protest march without obtaining necessary permission from the administration. According to Pune City Police officials, a case was lodged at Bund Garden Police Station. The accused were booked under sections 189(2), 190, 196, and 223 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), as well as sections 135 and 37(1) of the Maharashtra Police Act.
Several minors were seen raising the controversial death slogans against Ramgiri Maharaj in the Mumbra region of Mumbai. Taking cognizance of this, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) had written to Thane IPS Ashutosh Dumbare asking the administration to identify such children and produce them before the Child Welfare Committee. It also suggested organizing necessary counselling to be given to the children involved ensuring their psycho well-being and behaviour. The commission also stated that FIR be filed against all the perpetrators involved.
Islamists raise ‘#Sar_Tan_Se_Juda’ slogans across India against Ramgiri Maharaj.
— शून्य 🚩 (@DecentEvil_007) August 23, 2024
'Arey Maula, Maula Kya Chahiye, Gustaq -e Nabi ka sar chahiye' shouted Islamists in Mumbai.
Ramgiri Maharaj had said, "How can a 50 year old man marrying a 6 year old child be anyones ideal.'
1/2 pic.twitter.com/AE4ZSCBYvw
A massive protest rally was also taken out in Karnataka’s Kudachi. Other than Karnataka, protests were held in Rajasthan’s Bhilwara, Uttar Pradesh’s Amroha, Maharashtra’s Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, and in Gwalior district of Madhya Pradesh.
Aaj Kudachi, Karnataka main Gustakh ganga giri ke khilaf kadi si kadi karwai ho isliye Lakho ki tadad main loge ikhtha hoker Aitjaja kiya #OurProphetOurHonour #ArrestGangaGiriMaharaj pic.twitter.com/RTTBb5H8wh
— Mujaffar Makhan (@mujaffar_makhan) August 21, 2024
As reported earlier, on 22nd August, Madhya Pradesh police took strict action against Islamists who pelted stones and created a ruckus in Chhatarpur Kotwali police station on Wednesday afternoon while protesting against Ramgiri Maharaj. The police registered a case against 150 people involved in the ruckus after the orders were issued by CM Mohan Yadav. The FIR included 50 named and 100 other people who pelted stones at the police station injuring two officers. MP CM Mohan Yadav took cognizance of the matter and directed the authorities to take stringent action against the unruly Islamists. Subsequently, accused Haji Shahzad Ali’s house in Mastan Sahab Colony of Chhatarpur city was demolished with the help of a bulldozer.
On September 1st, a Muslim man identified as Imran was arrested by the police for burning a copy of the Quran in the Bulandshahr district of Uttar Pradesh and supporting Ramgiri Maharaj. The man posted his video of burning the Quran on social media. As per the reports, the members of the Muslim community rushed to the police station after watching the video and demanded the arrest of the accused. The police filed an FIR in the case and arrested Imran.
Imran, in the video, indicated that Islam was never a peaceful religion and that the people following it were committing a mistake. “Quran suggests to murder Kafirs, it promotes teen talaq and halal practices which lead to disrespecting women. Is this justice? Many today are raping minors, abusing them. How can people snatch the childhood of minors? There’s no equality in Islam,” the accused said.
He further added that whatever Swami Ramgiri Maharaj said was all correct. “I agree I don’t know complete Islam but I have the guts to call out wrongdoings which these Maulanas and Muftis can’t do. I am just burning away this book. What these people have done to Bangladeshi Hindus is also wrong. Further, these Muslims are yelling slogans of ‘Sar Tan Se Juda’ against Swami Ramgiri Maharaj who spoke for Bangladeshi Hindus. These Muslims eliminated the context in which Swami Ramgiri Maharaj spoke and accused him of blasphemy. I am against all this, committing this act and accepting Sanatan Dharma.”
The video of the incident was posted by Super Live News and the statements quoted above have been published by Super Live News quoting accused Imran from the viral video.
Conclusion: Constitution needs to be respected
The state of Maharashtra has seen a rise in Islamist rhetoric since the Lok Sabha elections. Maharashtra is the state that has most number of constituencies after Uttar Pradesh and these two states were supposed to push BJP to victory in the Lok Sabha 2024 elections. However, BJP faltered in both these states.
In Maharashtra, the Shiv Sena led by CM Eknath Shinde secured 7 seats, and BJP won 9 seats, whereas parties in opposition like the NCP (Sharad Pawar), Indian National Congress, and Shiv Sena (UBT), who garnered wild support from the Muslim community and Communists, secured 8, 13 and 9 seats respectively.
Since then, an alleged pattern by Islamists has been observed in the state in which they target the Hindus over unintentional remarks and spread hatred in the society blaming Hindus for allegedly spreading the hate. For instance, after the fall of the Sheikh Hasina govt in Bangladesh, several Hindus there were attacked. Following this, the Hindu organizations in Maharashtra organized a rally expressing solidarity with the Hindus in Bangladesh.
However, several Islamists attacked these rallies and pelted stones at the participants who demanded the Centre ensure the safety of Hindu temples and people in Bangladesh. A mob of around 300-400 Muslims attacked Hindus in Nashik and Jalgaon who participated in the rallies and stones were also pelted at the Hindu shops. Several roads were shut in the region heightening communal tensions. A detailed report on this case can be read here.
A mob of 300-400 IsIamists tried to attack Hindu families in Nashik, Maharashtra this afternoon.
— Mr Sinha (@MrSinha_) August 16, 2024
Luckily MH Police had Intel about it, they reached there on time, saved the Hindu families and treated the IsIamists well…
They're trying this even when they're just 20-25%,… pic.twitter.com/8bCO9pY2Gc
It is believed that to counter the same and to distract the authorities, and communities from these attacks, the Islamists had made the video of Ramgiri Maharaj a weapon to lead counter-protests alleging that deliberate derogatory comments had been passed by Ramgiri Maharaj against the Muslim community.
Surprisingly, these counter-attacks garnered support from several political leaders like NCP’s Jitendra Awhad, AIMIM’s Imtiaz Jaleel, and also Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi’s Prakash Ambedkar. It seems that these leaders are allegedly attempting to encash the incident to obtain minority support ahead of the upcoming state assembly elections.
Ramgiri Maharaj explained the context in which he said whatever he said. He confirmed that he made the statement in the wake of ongoing atrocities faced by Hindus in Bangladesh at the hands of Islamists. However, the Islamist community in India happened to ignore the context completely.
As stated earlier, Maharashtrian voters have to look into these delicate matters in the manner they deserve to be looked upon. Changing or omitting the context of particular words, propagating wild community beliefs via social media, purposefully attacking any individual, and then politicians playing politics on such matters are anything but indications of a failed individual and state conscience. It’s high time that targeting Hindus over such issues based on one community’s individual law stops. We all live in India, which is controlled by the Constitution, which further protects ‘freedom of speech’, ‘freedom of religion’, and ‘expression’, all of which must be respected by every community within. Period.
