In India, hate-filled songs are a weapon to target Muslims
Associated PressNEW DELHI — The frenzied fury against Muslims began with provocative songs played by Hindu mobs that called for violence. On April 10, a Hindu festival marking the birth anniversary of Lord Ram turned violent in Madhya Pradesh state’s Khargone city after Hindu mobs brandishing swords and sticks marched past Muslim neighborhoods and mosques. Many such songs openly call for the killing of Muslims and those who do not endorse “Hindutva,” a Hindu nationalist movement that seeks to turn officially secular India into an avowedly Hindu nation. Mukhopadhyay said the songs have since become a “time-tested trope” of Hindu nationalists to “insult Muslims, disparage their religion and provoke them into responding.” “Most mob attacks against Muslims follow a similar pattern. Police charged him with “hurting the religious sentiments of people.” Similar songs that called for Hindus to kill those who do not chant “Jai Shri Ram!” or “Hail Lord Ram,” a slogan that has become a battle cry for Hindu nationalists, were also played in front of mosques in multiple Indian cities on the same day.
History of this topic
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‘Hindutva pop’: The singers producing anti-Muslim music in India
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