By M Ghazali Khan
Police in Bareilly, in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, brutally cracked down on a protest rally organised against the arrests of Muslims in Kanpur.
The arrests in Kanpur followed complaints by Hindutva activists, who filed an FIR accusing Muslims of “incitement” by displaying banners reading “I Love Muhammadﷺ” during celebrations of the Prophet’s ﷺ birthday on 9 September.
This unprecedented action against a simple expression of love for the Prophet of Islamﷺ sparked peaceful demonstrations in various parts of India, which in turn led to hundreds more arrests in Uttar Pradesh, as well as in Uttarakhand, Gujarat, and Maharashtra. In Uttarakhand, authorities not only carried out arrests but also bulldozed properties belonging to Muslims.
Uttar Pradesh is ruled by the Hindutva (Hindu supremacist) Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), led by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath—one of the most openly anti-Muslim politicians in India.
On Friday, responding to the call of Maulana Tauqeer Raza—a prominent Barelvi scholar and head of the Ittehad-e-Millat Council (IMC)—hundreds of Muslims gathered outside a mosque to participate in a peaceful “I Love Muhammadﷺ” rally.
Reports from Bareilly indicate that the city remained largely calm, with no apparent need for a police flag march. Nevertheless, police carried out what they described as a “flag march” and later claimed stone-throwing protestors had targeted them. Using this as justification, they launched a lathi (bamboo stick) charge, injuring and arresting several participants.
A local court on Saturday referred to the widely respected scholar and seven of his colleagues as “mischievous elements” and sent them to judicial custody.
“The main conspirator of the Bareilly unrest, Maulana Tauqeer Raza, along with seven mischievous elements, have been arrested, produced in court, and sent to 14-day judicial custody,” District Magistrate Avinash Singh announced in a press conference on Saturday.
Issuing a chilling warning to protestors, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath declared: “They thought they could disturb the law-and-order situation at will, but we made it clear there will be no blockade or curfew. The lesson we have taught will force future generations to think twice before inciting violence. There is no longer any scope for riots or curfews in the state,” ETV Network’s Urdu website reported.
He further warned: “Anyone attempting such acts in the future will be forced to think for seven generations.” He added, “Before 2017 [when I became Chief Minister], such incidents were common in Uttar Pradesh. But after 2017, the story of Uttar Pradesh’s development began here.”
There is deep anger among Muslim youths at the growing anti-Muslim atmosphere in the country, with several of them expressing disgust at Muslim leaders’ silence over these assaults by the government and its law enforcement agencies, thousands of them posting “I Love Muhammadﷺ” stickers on social media.
M Ghazali Khan, independent journalist
[Map of India by CIA]
