Gujarat, October 27, 2021 (PPI-OT):Prejudices embedded in the government of the ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in India have emboldened the hard-line Hindutva groups to such extent that they openly threaten, harass, and attack religious minorities with impunity. Such was the case when a few Muslims businessmen tried to open a restaurant in Gujarat’s Anand town in collaboration with their two Hindu friends, they were stopped by a group of extremist Hindus who opposed the inauguration, forcing them to postpone the ceremony.
The group was led by Gujarat’s BJP leader Pinkal Patia and Gau Raksha Dal’s district head Prakash Rajput, who raised slogans against Muslims and propagated that Muslims are indulging in land jihad and opening a restaurant in Hindu-majority area. They also distributed pamphlets in Gujarati language to further their propaganda. They organised hanuman chalisa and shuddikaran [purification] of the place by pouring ‘Ganga jal’ there.
However, the man behind the entire episode proved out to be Dr Shailesh Shah, who lives beside the newly built restaurant. According to Indian media, he had approached Anand-Vallabha Vidhyanagar-Karamsad Urban Development Authority (AVKUDA) alleging that some parts of the land, where the restaurant is built, are illegally occupied by the owners. However, no action was taken by the AVKUDA on his plea. After that, he filed a plea in the Gujarat High Court.
After the restaurant was built, Dr Shah gave a communal twist to the matter. He got support from hard-line Hindu organisations. They propagated that Muslims are indulging in land jihad and opening a restaurant in Hindu-majority area. Following opposition from these groups, the restaurant owners postponed the inauguration ceremony. Meanwhile, Islamic organisation Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind has given a memorandum to local Superintend of Police seeking action against Shailesh Shah, Pinkal Patia and others in connection with the provocative sloganeering against Muslims.
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