Does the Law Fear Yati Narsinghanand or Does Someone Have his Back?

Narsinghanand may be inciting hate, violence, and riots, but the charges never add up to terrorism.

Despite being out on bail, Narsinghanand did not think twice about giving a hate speech yet again.

(Photo: The Quint)

Video Producer: Mayank Chawla

Video Editor: Abhishek Sharma

Yeh Jo India Hai Na…here, people are either scared of Yati Narsinghanand, or they are silent fans of his hate speeches. On 3 April, at the 'Hindu Mahapanchayat' in North West Delhi's Burari area, he had said, "40 percent Hindus will be killed if India gets a Muslim PM. 50% of Hindus will be converted to Islam in 20 years. To fight this, be a man...mard bano! Arm yourself, pick up weapons." This is 100% blatant hate speech. In your face.

Why do I say, kar lo jo karna hai? Because less than two months ago, Narsinghanand was in jail for exactly the same offence – hate speech. In December 2021, at a Dharam Sansad, a hate Seminar at Haridwar, along with other extreme Hindutva leaders, Narsinghanand said that "swords won't be enough to kill Muslims. We need better weapons to get ahead of them."

Following this open incitement to kill Muslims, he was arrested in January 2022, but was granted bail just weeks later.

WHY DOESN'T NARSINGHANAND FEAR THE LAW?

But despite being out on bail, Narsinghanand did not think twice about giving a hate speech yet again. Why? Why doesn't this repeat offender fear the law of the land? Is the law, the police, the government, afraid of him? Or has someone whispered in his ear, "Keep up the hate, we have your back"?

Agar arrest ho bhi gaye, bail bhi jhatt se ho jayegi. And so, Narsinghanand, despite several viral videos of his hate speeches available to the police to act on, gets just a few days in custody, because he is not charged with sedition, he is not charged under the UAPA.

He may be inciting hate and violence and riots, but the charges never add up to terrorism. And so, Narsinghanand gets bail easily, while Umar Khalid stays jailed for over 550 days, even though there is not a single video of the hate speech given by him. That the law of the land can be abused in this manner is truly tragic.

And get this. Narsinghanand's hate speech in Burari was at an event that took place without the Delhi Police's permission. The Delhi Police has said so, on record.

So, we have to ask – HOW then did the Delhi Police let this 'Hate ki Mahapanchayat' happen? Why were the organisers not stopped? Their plans, the location, the date, none of it was a secret, it had been publicly announced. The Delhi Police knew that the organiser, Preet Singh, was among those who had organised hate speeches at Jantar Mantar in September 2021.

Why weren't these repeat offenders taken into preventive custody? Despite the presence of dozens of police personnel, why were people like Narsinghanand and Suresh Chauhanke allowed to make hate speeches yet again? I guess we'll never get these answers.

JOURNALISTS TARGETTED AT 'HINDU MAHAPANCHAYAT'

And then, journalists who were there doing their jobs were also targetted. Arbab Ali, covering the event for Article-14.com, said a mob assaulted him and the Hindustan Gazette's Meer Faisal, snatching their phones and camera, deleting their footage, and calling them jihadis.

Newslaundry reporters Shivangi Saxena and Ronak Bhat were also targeted. In a tweet, Shivangi says that the event organiser Preet Singh mentioned her on the stage. That could well have directed the mob towards her.

Another freelance journalist Mohammed Meherban was also assaulted, and he suffered head injuries. The Quint’s Meghnad Bose too was manhandled by the mob. Yes, the police stepped in and helped the journalists get away from the mob. An FIR has also been filed against Narsinghanand and Chavhanke for spreading disharmony and enmity between the two communities. But yet again, it's too little and too late. The damage is done, and the hate has been broadcast yet again.

From Allahabad to Raipur, Haridwar, and Delhi, from across India's cinema halls to the schools and colleges in Karnataka, on WhatsApp, and across social media platforms – the hate is allowed to spread, with the keepers of the law doing little or nothing to stop it.

This brings me back to my opening thought – Yeh Jo India Hai Na, yahan koyi to hai, jo ya to Yati Narsinghanand aur unki hate brigade se darta hai. They are either scared of these haters or are silent supporters of these hate speeches.