Hindutva supremacist Yati Narsinghanand on Sunday delivered another hate speech at a “dharam sansad” or a religious conclave in Himachal Pradesh’s Una district, violating his bail conditions.
Narsinghanand was arrested in December after he had had called for genocide of Muslims. He had received bail in this case on February 7, on the condition that he could not be a part of any gathering “which aims towards creating difference between communities”, according to The Indian Express.
However, on Sunday, Narsinghanand asked Hindus to have more children to make sure India does not become an Islamic country, PTI reported.
In 2015, Scroll.in had reported that with current trends, it will take 220 years for India’s Muslim population to equal Hindu numbers. Between 1951 and 2011, Hindu population increased from 30.04 crore to 96.6 crore, according to Pew Research Centre. In the same duration, the Muslim population increased from 3.5 crore to 17.2 crore.
At Sunday’s gathering, Narsinghanand also claimed that India will have a Muslim prime minister in 2029, according to a video shared on social media. “Once this happens, within 20 years, 50% of the Hindus will be forced to convert, 40% Hindus will be killed, the rest will go abroad or be forced to live in refugee camps,” he alleged. “No one will be left here.”
Satyadevanand Saraswati, who is in charge of Hindutva group Akhil Bhartiya Sant Parishad’s Himachal Pradesh unit, also backed the priest’s comments, PTI reported.
He claimed that Muslims are increasing their population by having more children in a planned manner. “That is why our organisation has asked Hindus to give birth to more children to avoid India becoming an Islamic nation,” Saraswati added.
The Himachal Pradesh Police had issued a notice to Narshinghanand, asking him to not use instigating language against any religion or caste at the religious conclave in Una, PTI reported. The station house officer of the Amb police station in Una district had warned him that appropriate legal action would be taken if their instructions were not followed.
At Sunday’s event, other Hindutva leaders also delivered provocative speeches and called for the targeted killing of Muslims, NDTV reported. Saraswati, one of the organisers of the gathering, told the news channel that there was no need for them to get permission from the administration.
“We don’t believe in the law,” he said. “We are not afraid of anyone...here we are telling the truth, not giving any hate speech.”
But this is not the first time that Narsinghanad has violated his bail terms.
On April 3, Narsinghanand had asked Hindus to take up arms at an event in Delhi’s Burari area.
“For once if a Muslim becomes the prime minister of India, 50% of you [Hindus] will have to convert,” Narsinghanand could be heard saying in one of the videos posted on social media. “In 20 years, 40% Hindus will be killed...If you want to secure your future, then be a man...And who is a man? One who holds weapons is a man.”
The police had lodged a first information report against the priest after the event.
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