Communalism
For over a month, butchers from the Muslim Qureshi community have been leading a unique protest across Maharashtra. In the face of violent attacks from self-proclaimed “gau rakshaks” or “cow protectors” in the last decade, members of the community have decided to indefinitely stop dealing in buffalo or other bovine meat.
The decision, born of desperation, comes despite the fact that it directly impacts their livelihood and marks what is possibly the first time that such a coordinated and massive resistance to the violence is being seen from within the community.
The amendment, which received presidential approval after the Bharatiya Janata Party came to power in both the state and Union governments, banned the slaughter of animals belonging to the cow progeny in the state. This amendment prohibited the slaughter of bulls, bullocks, oxen, and cows for meat. Shortly after this change in the law, violence by Hindutva men claiming to be cow protectors also increased dramatically.
Families now file FIRs to stop these relationships, often with sanction from police and state authorities.
The scourge of so-called honour killings that swept states such as Haryana, Punjab, and Tamil Nadu over inter-caste marriages through the 2000s has taken on a new, intolerant avatar—Hindu-Muslim marriages. Except now, it isn’t killing but the weaponisation of laws. Across India, inter-religious, inter-caste, and queer-identifying couples have faced rape, POCSO, kidnapping, and even theft charges as a means to stop their relationships—often with sanction from police and state authorities.
“Criminal law is used to criminalise adolescent sexuality,” said lawyer and researcher Neetika Vishwanath.
Research, news reports, and court records reveal a clear pattern: when couples cross caste or religion boundaries to find love or elope, their own families often file criminal complaints. Consensual partners become kidnappers and rapists. And laws meant to protect women are being subverted to target them.
by Sabah Gurmat
04/06/2025
How hate and communalism have returned to haunt coastal Karnataka https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDzc2TOk9W8 | Let Me Explain
newslaundry In just a month, the city has witnessed a lynching, two murders, and multiple stabbings. Ashraf. Suhas Shetty. And now, Abdul Rahiman. Each of these incidents have further deepened divides.
Social media is being used to amplify the unrest. Exaggerated claims and outright fabrications are spreading fast, fuelling anger and suspicion. Mainstream media isn’t far behind. Much of the coverage has been provocative and one-sided.
Hindutva activists claim Muslim cop aided Suhas Shetty killers, police launch probe https://www.thenewsminute.com/karnataka/hindutva-activists-claim-muslim-cop-aided-suhas-shetty-killers-police-launch-probe A Muslim police constable in Mangaluru has filed a complaint at the very police station where he works, alleging that he is a victim of misinformation and communal hatred. The complaint comes amid a spike in communal tensions in the polarised coastal city after two back-to-back murders. ..A migrant worker named Ashraf was lynched by a mob on April 27. Three days later, on May 1, a rowdy-sheeter named Suhas Shetty was stabbed to death.
https://organiser.org/2025/05/06/290517/bharat/karnataka-suhas-shetty-murder-case-takes-explosive-turn-allegations-surface-against-islamist-local-police-officer/
: A fact-finding mission to Murshidabad in Bengal – the scene of recent clashes that led to the death of three people – has found that the violence there was not just a communal clash or a law and order issue, but a “deeply organised, politically driven situation, where religious polarisation, state inaction, and police repression have combined to disturb years of peaceful coexistence.”
On April 18 and 19, a 17-member fact-finding team comprising Feminists in Resistance (FIR), Association for Protection of Democratic Rights (APDR), Nari Chetna, Committee for the Release of Political Prisoners (CRPP), and Gono Songram Moncho (Murshidabad) visited several areas around the Shamsherganj block in Murshidabad.
The team, in a press release containing the highlights of the report which is yet to be released in full, recorded what it gleaned after it spoke with victims, eyewitnesses, residents of nearby areas, and representatives from the police and administration.
29/04/2025
Right-wing social media users claim these eateries were falsely using “Hindu names”, but a state minister has said their licenses were revoked for failing to meet hygiene standards. Meanwhile, online harassment and targeting continues. https://thewire.in/communalism/gujarat-muslim-owned-dhabas-gsrtc-license
What ensued was a campaign where several rightwing social-media users, and news outlets including Times Now and Zee News Madhya Pradesh-Chhattisgarh, carried reports of Muslims falsely “using Hindu names” to run their hotels, and the cancellation of their licenses owing to the same.
Meanwhile, Gujarat’s minister of transport, Harsh Sanghvi, issued a clarification on X claiming that these hotels’ licences were cancelled owing to hygiene and safety standards.
“GSRTC has permanently stopped buses at 27 hotels due to dirt and unhygienic conditions!
This step has been taken for the convenience and hygiene of our passengers. We have instructed our department to monitor all other bus stops and hotels so that they follow the rules and provide the best services to the passengers,” Sanghvi tweeted.
by Sabah Gurmat
17/02/2025
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