The chants of “Jai Shri Ram” were heard by the people who sneaked a look into the streets from their homes fearful for their lives. The ones chanting the slogans were dozens in number, wearing hoodies and masks to hide their faces. Different types of hand tools were wielded by these people and one even had a weapon who flaunted it proudly. Cars were damaged, shops were raided and anyone who lived in the area found outside his home was severely beaten.
The distressing tale did not take place in the streets of India but in Leicester, England. The news outlets were quick to put the entire blame on a cricket match while some labelled it as a disorder. It seems everyone was condemned except the extremist Hindutva ideology that encouraged these incidents. A 19 year old Muslim was beaten and pursued on 22-May-2022 three months before the cricket match which goes on to show that it was neither a simple match nor communal clash but deep rooted hatred of Muslims that prompted more than 40 cases of similar mob lynching in India by extremist Hindus against Muslims that resulted in dozens of deaths.
In recent years, Hindu lynch mobs in India have turned the notorious chant into a murder cry, invoking it on the streets of Leicester was not only symbolic but conveyed an open message to the peaceful Muslims who lived in the city that the fascist ideology of the extremist Hindutva have finally set foot in the region. The Mobocracy that has prevailed in India after Islamophobic Modi came to power where knife-weilding vigilantes rule the streets and murder anyone on mere suspicion is common knowledge to Muslims around the world and Muslims living in United Kingdom rightly fear the rise such worldview taking root near their communities.
In a country where Three of Britain’s four wealthiest are Hindus from India and trade between two countries worth billions of dollars, it was not a surprise that the media was eerily silent on the Leicester issue but as soon as Muslims organized themselves and protested peacefully on the streets, it caught the attention of mainstream media where Muslims were portrayed as violent instigators causing rift between two communities. Consequently, Muslims not only must set their differences aside and unite on a common goal of peacefully raising their voice against the fascist ideology but do it intellectually and logically without taking the law into their own hands as one incorrect action will turn the tides against the Muslim community putting them on the backfoot while proponents of Hindutva will have a field day with this advantage.
