On 26th July, a video of a rally organised by the Muslim Youth League, which is part of the Indian Union Muslim League, surfaced on social media, where its members were heard raising anti-India slogans. The video was from Kanhangad in Kasargod district.
The rally was organised in the backdrop of the clash between the Kuki and Meitei ethnic groups in Manipur’s. IUML is part of the newly formed ‘I.N.D.I.A.’ alliance of the opposition parties.
Several Bharatiya Janata Party leaders criticised the video. BJP IT Cell chief Amit Malviya said, “Youth wing of the Indian Union Muslim League, an ally of the Congress, held a rally in Kerala’s Kasargode, and raised vile anti-Hindu slogans, threatening to hang them (Hindus) in front of Temples and burn them alive… They wouldn’t have dared to go this far had the Pinarayi Govt not been supporting them. Are Hindus and Christians now safe in Kerala? Not so long ago, at another rally, a 7-year-old boy, perched on his father’s shoulder, had raised slogans, asking Hindus and Christians to keep rice, flowers and camphor ready for their last rites. Kerala is now the new pit of rabid radicalisation…”
Youth wing of the Indian Union Muslim League, an ally of the Congress, held a rally in Kerala’s Kasargode, and raised vile anti-Hindu slogans, threatening to hang them (Hindus) in front of Temples and burn them alive…
— Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) July 26, 2023
They wouldn’t have dared to go this far had the Pinarayi… pic.twitter.com/lFV5caJ18C
Malviya pointed out that a few months back, a video from Kerala surfaced about a young child raising anti-Hindu slogans. In May 2022, a video went viral on social media of a Popular Front of India (PFI) rally. The Kerala High Court noted the matter which instructed the police to take strict action. The child’s father and several other PFI members were arrested.
In the video, a young child was seen raising anti-Hindu slogans. He said, “Be ready for your death rituals if you won’t live in our land quietly. Be ready with rice flakes to fill your mouth if you won’t live quietly (For Hindus ). Be ready to burn amber in your home if you won’t live quietly ( For Christians). Because we are coming, we are your death. We won’t go to Pakistan or Bangladesh, you have to live here as we say, or else we know how to make you live quietly; we will kill you even if we are attacked. We take pride in being a martyr; we salute them. If you don’t live quietly, we know how to ask for ‘Azadi’. Be prepared for your death.”
Kerala BJP also condemned the incident and demanded that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi be held accountable for the party’s actions that he had deemed “secular”. They wrote, “We strongly condemn the shocking footage from the Kanhangad protest. The chants of “We will hang you in temples” and “We will burn you alive” by the Muslim League, aimed at Hindus, are utterly reprehensible and cannot be justified. Rahul Gandhi must be held accountable for the actions of the party he calls ‘secular’. This instance is a worrying indicator of the Congress and its allies targeting Hindu society.”
We strongly condemn the shocking footage from the Kanhangad protest. The chants of "We will hang you in temples" and "We will burn you alive" by the Muslim League, aimed at Hindus, are utterly reprehensible and cannot be justified. @RahulGandhi must be held accountable for the… pic.twitter.com/KIZPakreyo
— BJP KERALAM (@BJP4Keralam) July 26, 2023
Slogans raised during the rally
In the under 30-second video that has gone viral on social media, slogans like ‘Ambalathil Ketti Thooki’ (We will hang you in the temple) and ‘Pachakkittu Kathikkum’ (We will burn you alive) were raised. The complete slogan was “Without reciting the Ramayana, Will be hanged in Temple, will be burnt unto death”. The slogan meant without allowing to recite Ramayana, Hindus will be hanged in front of Sanctum Santorum. They will be burnt there unto death. Other slogans included ‘Youth League Zindabad’ and ‘Muslim League Zindabad’.
Party leaders confirmed that anti-Hindu slogans were raised
Speaking to Republic, IUML State Secretary PK Firoz confirmed that the person raising the slogans was a party member. He added that an internal inquiry had been initiated into the matter as the party “does not approve such slogans”. He claimed that pre-decided slogans were already given to the participants, and the slogans mentioned in the video were not part of it.
No action by Kerala police so far
Notably, no case has been registered by the Kerala police in the matter. So far, no investigation has taken place, and no persons involved in provocative sloganeering have been arrested.
Not to forget, rioters raised similar slogans during the Malabar Hindu Genocide in 1921. Variyam Kunnath Ahmed Haji, the leader of the rebels, said that the Islamic kingdom of “Al-Daula” was established and centered in the Malappuram district in Malabar. Later, when the Gurkha army came, Variyam Kunnath, who ran away, was captured and killed by the army.
Furthermore, CPIM leaders are also known for giving anti-Hindu speeches. Recently, during a school event, Ernakulam district Assembly speaker and communist leader AN Shamseer called Lord Ganesha a myth.
Rahul Gandhi called IUML ‘secular’
On 1st June, when Rahul Gandhi was in the United States, he made a bizarre assertion that the Muslim League, a Muslim political party in India which played a vital role in the partition of India on religious lines, was “completely secular”. The interviewer asked him, “You talked about secularism and democracy while opposing the Hindu party BJP, however, the Congress in Kerala has been in alliance with the Muslim party, the Muslim League in Kerala, the state from which you were an MP”. To this, Rahul Gandhi said, “Muslim League is a completely secular party, there is nothing non-secular about the Muslim League. I think the person has not studied the Muslim League”.
Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), which claims to be born after Indian Independence in 1948, is actually an off-shoot of Pakistan founder and Islamist Mohammad Ali Jinnah’s All India Muslim League (AIML). The All India Muslim League was succeeded by the Muslim League in Pakistan and the Indian Union Muslim League in India. On its website, the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) claims that its motto is secularism and communal harmony but has often openly indulged in carrying out those objectives which are contrary to its own motto. More details about IUML can be read here. Our complete coverage of IUML can be checked here.