Calls for an economic boycott of Muslims were made on Sunday during a rally organised by Hindutva organisations near Mumbai, The Indian Express reported.
The ‘Hindu Jan Aakrosh Morcha’ was organised by the Sakal Hindu Samaj, a collective of several Hindutva outfits in Maharashtra. It was held at Mira Road.
Besides calling for an economic boycott of Muslims, some participants at the rally also spoke against “love jihad” and “land jihad”.
“There are three major aspects of Islamic aggression. First is love jihad, second land jihad and finally, there is the problem of conversion…” Kajal Hindustani, one of the speakers at the rally, alleged, according to the newspaper. “For these three there is a Ram-led solution, a solution for which you will not be stopped by the political leaders, the Supreme Court or even the media and that solution is their economic boycott.”
“Love jihad” is a conspiracy theory peddled by Hindu supremacist groups that claim that there is a plot by Muslim men to seduce Hindu women in order to convert them to Islam. Similarly, “land jihad” proponents accuse Muslims of waging a campaign to encroach on public land and property owned by Hindus.
Also Read: How ‘love jihad’ rallies are spreading hate against Muslims in Maharashtra
The rally was attended by leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party, including MLA Nitesh Rane and members of outfits such as the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal. It was flagged off by Mira Bhayandar’s Independent MLA Geeta Jain.
Sunday’s rally was among the many similar ones that have been held across Maharashtra since November. In nearly all of them, speakers have called for violence against Muslims or floated conspiracy theories about the community.
In February, the Supreme Court had told the Maharashtra government to give permission for one of the rallies by the group on the condition that no hate speech will be made there.
On Sunday, Rane told The Indian Express that he supports the call for the economic boycott of Muslims.
“All that money is used by them against the Hindu community,” Rane claimed. “If that money is used for the prosperity of the community, no one would have an issue. But they use money in the name of terrorism, love jihad and a lot of other things against Hindus.”
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