It appears that ‘Hindu Mahapanchayat’ and ‘Dharma Sansad’ have become tools for advancing the RSS-BJP agenda of communal polarisation and hatred in the country. Unfortunately, right-wing gatherings and calls for attacks on minorities have become the rule rather than the exception. As they seem to enjoy impunity from state and law and order authorities, these gatherings are thriving.This is being carried out by right-wing organisations, which are frequently new and distinct groups but are frequently associated with the VHP-Bajrang-Dal and even the RSS. The speakers’ legal impunity has given right-wing organisations confidence to keep spreading hate ceaselessly.
In this backdrop, on December 1 a ‘Hindu Mahapanchayat’ was organised at Ram Leela Grounds in Uttarkashi town of Uttarakhand against the 55-year old Jama Masjid, despite an assurance given by the state BJP government to the Nainital High Court against the holding of such a gathering.
During the so-called mahapanchayat, the Hindutva groups announced plans for a district-wide protest against the Uttarkashi Jama Masjid that they claim was built “illegally”.
They also raised alarm about the state’s alleged demographic shift, urging Hindus to band together in the battle against “love jihad” and “land jihad.”
The gathering was convened on the call given by DevbhoomiVicharManch and supported by VHP, Bajrang Dal and other affiliated organisations of RSS. Addressing the gathering, T Raja Singh, BJP legislator from Hyderabad, known for his hate speeches, said he had come to Uttarakhand to “awaken Hindus in the state”.
Raja Singh urged Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami to draw inspiration from his Uttar Pradesh counterpart Yogi Adityanath in tackling “land jihad”. Singh suggested Dhami consider using bulldozers as a means to address the issue.
“Chief Minister Dhami should have a ‘chai pe charcha’ with Yogi Adityanath. The way Yogiji teaches a lesson to ‘land jihadis’ in Uttar Pradesh, Dhami must also bring bulldozers into action. We will not allow jihadis to engage in land jihad in Uttarakhand. Hindus across the country are looking up to the people of Uttarakhand to set an example,” Singh said, appealing to Hindus to unite against the issue.
Darshan Bharati, another hate monger from Uttarakhand, also addressed the meeting.
Since the district is home to numerous revered Hindu shrines and temples, attempts should be taken to make Uttarkashi a Hindu religious town, according to Suresh Chauhan, a Gangtori-based member of BJP. He also demanded that the district outright forbid the sale of meat, eggs, and non-vegetarian meals.
Chauhan stated that the Uttarkashi Jama Masjid would be razed if any illegality was discovered during a re-inquiry that was ordered by the chief minister. Additionally, he made a compelling case against “outsiders” entering Uttarkashi and interfering with local enterprises. He cautioned residents against renting out their homes to “outsiders” – without mentioning Muslims by name.
Anuj Walia, state head of the VHP, called for the involvement of Hindu activists from all over Uttarakhand in the district-wide protest against the mosque and another mahapanchayat at the Ramlila Maidan in Uttarkashi that are scheduled to take place in a month. “Our battle is only getting started. Walia declared, “We will respond in their language and drive these forces out of Uttarakhand.”
The Congress was also criticised by the speakers, who compared it to “jehadis” and called it the “bane” of the entire Hindu community, causing the Partition and the subsequent killings of Sikhs and Hindus.
Interestingly, initially permission for the mahapanchayat was not given by Uttarkashi SP Amit Srivastava saying that it would not be allowed to be held in a public space. However, Srivastava was transferred the same day. Consequently, the Uttarakhand government gave permission for the Hindu Mahapanchayat despite giving an undertaking in the Nainital High Court on November 27 that no permission had been granted.
Uttarkashi district administration gave permission with several conditions, which included not making any hate speech, not taking out any rally, not obstructing traffic, not inciting religious sentiments and maintaining peace. But all conditions were flouted with impunity by the mahapanchayat.
In response to the ongoing agitation by Hindutva groups calling for the demolition of the 55-year-old mosque, a division bench of Acting Chief Justice Manoj Kumar Tiwari and Justice Rakesh Thapliyal of the Nainital High Court issued orders to the state DGPand the Uttarakhand government to maintain peace and security. On November 22, 2024, a petition pertaining to the case was heard by the division bench.
The AlpsankhayakSeva Samiti had petitioned the High Court to intervene in the matter, claiming that the Hindu group SanyuktSanatan Dharam Raksha Sangh had threatened the Uttarkashi mosque and made hate speech against the Muslim minority. Furthermore, the petition asked the court to step in and stop the Hindu Right-wing groups in Uttarkashi from calling a Mahapanchayat on December 1.
In a hearing before the High Court’s division bench on November29, senior counsels Kartikey Hari Gupta, Imran Ali Khan, Pallavi Bahuguna, Rafat Munir Ali, and IrumZeba, representing the petitioners, raised serious concerns regarding hate speeches directed at Muslims.
The state government, through its counsel, informed the court that permission for holding any such Mahapanchayat would not be issued.
The petitioners’ senior attorneys further contended that the mosque on Uttarkashi’s Bhatwari Road was built in 1969 on land that had been privately acquired. Furthermore, it was said that “in 1986, the Assistant Waqf Commissioner of Uttar Pradesh carried out an investigation and verified that there was a mosque on Khasra No. 2223, constructed by members of the Muslim community with charitable funds, used by the Muslims ever since, and formally registered as Waqf property in 1987.”
They also alleged that members of SanyuktSanatan Dharam Raksha Sangh and their associates had engaged in “extreme hate speech” against Muslims and the mosque which, they argued, were in complete violation of the directions issued by the Supreme Court in the case of Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay vs. Union of India &Others.
They asserted that in September 2024, leaders of Hindu outfits who identify as members of the SanyuktSanatan Dharam Raksha Sangh and Vishwa Hindu Parishad, including Jitendra Singh Chauhan, Swami Darshan Bharti, Sonu Singh Negi, Lakhpat Singh Bhandari, and Anuj Walia, started threatening to demolish the mosque. They claimed that these leaders had also disseminated misleading information on the legitimacy of the mosque.
On October 24, there was violence in Uttarkashi when Hindutva groups attempted to march on the mosque and clashed violently with the police, who attempted to stop them by setting up barricades. In the lathi-charge, a number of demonstrators and police officers were hurt, and police detained eight Hindutva leaders and filed violent crime reports against 200 unnamed individuals.
Even after the Uttarkashi district administration determined that the mosque was lawful following a thorough investigation, Hindutva organizations persisted in promoting their sectarian agenda. However, in an attempt to ease the “hurt” sentiments of his fellow political travellers, Chief Minister Dhami visited Uttarkashi on November 6 in response to the October 24 incident and pressure from Hindutva groups in the lead-up to the Kedarnath bye-elections on November 20. He declared that the administration would re-examinethe documents pertaining to the land on which the Uttarkashi mosque was constructed.
During his visit, the Chief Minister repeated that his government had “liberated” 5,000 acres of encroached land and that “land jehad,” “love jihad,” and “thook (spit) jehad” would not be condoned in “Devbhoomi,” Uttarakhand. He said the government would review the Uttarkashi mosque’s land documents again to check for any violation.
On October 24, a group of Hindutva organisations met with the CM and voiced their displeasure with the police lathi-charge, under the leadership of Satinder Rana, local BJP president. The state administration moved quickly to “placate” them, and since they had no one to blame, they moved a Muslim officer, Raza Abbas, SDM, to the state headquarters in Dehradun. Additionally, DSP Prashant Kumar was also immediately posted to the Dehradun police headquarters.
On November 28, before the proposed Mahapanchayat, Uttarkashi SP Amit Srivastava, who acted tough against any law breaker and was on the target of Hindutva groups, was also transferred and replaced by Sarita Dobhal.
Muslims in Uttarkashi told The Indian Express that they have no issue with such a mahapanchayat being held as long as there is no hate speech or incitement of violence. These residents, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the community would continue the legal fight for their rights and for the mosque, which they insist was built legally.
The Mahapanchayat is not a one-off event. A pattern is emerging in Uttarakhand which has very ominous portents. On September 10, a hate speech was made in the Dehradun Press Club, claiming that a dharma sansad will be organised in December 2024. A dharma sansad was organised in Haridwar in December 2021, in which a series of genocidal speeches demanded the mass killings and mass rape of Indian Muslims.
According to the open letter sent to Union Home Minister Amit Shah by the Constitutional Conduct Group(CCG) of retired civil servants, since August 12, 2024, hate speeches and violent attacks have occurred in Chauras (near Kirti Nagar), Dehradun, Srinagar, Berinag, Uttarkashi, Karnaprayag, Nandnagar (Chamoli), Tharali (Chamoli), Tilwada, Gauchar (Chamoli), Sonprayag, Haldwani and several other locations in the state.Properties have been damaged and, reportedly, minority families have been forced to flee from their homes, and boards have been put up, banning businesses by Muslim and non-Hindu vendors. A small handful of individuals and organisations – including those involved in the 2021 dharma sansad – are responsible for a majority of these incidents.
The CCG warned that if this ongoing campaign is not stopped, and if the proposed dharma sansad is permitted; this sensitive border state may spiral into a vicious cycle of organised violence with serious implications not just for internal peace and public order but for national security.