NEW DELHI – In a country which claims to be a secular state, Hindu extremists are free to do what they like to suppress Muslims, a minority group, for their honour in India.
A recent incident in Indian’s state Rajasthan revealed that a man, Shambhu Lal Raigar, who had hacked a Muslim man to death and set him alight before sharing a video of the religious attack, was glorified during a Ram Navami procession in Jodhapur last week.
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The procession was held by Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), an affiliate of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), which is widely regarded as the parent organisation of the ruling party, BJP.
According to NDTV, 33-year-old Raigar, who is in jail, had a tableau to himself, alongside those of Lord Ram and Sita. A man who masqueraded as he sat imperiously on a throne, holding a pick-axe much like the one Raigar used to kill Mohammad Afrazul, and wearing the same red shirt and white trousers from the murder video filmed in Rajasamand. On the ground before him, another man played Raigar’s victim.
Normally, Ram Navami processions showcase tableau of Hindu gods and goddesses.
In the video, the attacker had first claimed that he had killed the Muslim man in order to save a woman from “love jihad” – the term used by extremists for a relationship between a Hindu woman and a Muslim man.
Later, the claims of Raiger turned out to be wrong. The investigation revealed that killed Afrazul was a friend of a man who had eloped with the young woman to whom Raiger loved.
The attacker has been glorified by Hindu community on social media after the video went viral and now the VHP has projected the depraved killer as a hero.
