More than 300 Muslim homes and businesses have been bulldozed in India’s northern state of Haryana, as the right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government subjects Muslim citizens to collective punishment over religious violence. The violence erupted after a procession organized by a far-right Hindu group, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and its youth wing, the Bajrang Dal, reached Haryana’s Nuh district.
The two organizations, both affiliated with the ruling BJP, often make headlines for their violent rallies targeting India’s religious minorities, namely Muslims and Christians. The Hindu groups blamed Muslims, who form almost 77% of Nuh’s 280,000 residents, for starting the violence. They claimed their procession was pelted with stones and their vehicles torched, leading to clashes between the two communities.
Muslims say the trigger for the violence was actually a Facebook video released by Monu Manesar, a notorious Hindu vigilante accused of killing two Muslim men earlier this year for allegedly transporting cow meat. The arbitrary arrest of more than 150 Muslims for the violence, is another aspect of the BJP government’s crackdown in the region, resulting in hundreds of men fleeing their homes in fear.
Side Items
Montgomery Riverwalk Rumble: A story in three parts. The moral of this story: Don’t start beef unnecessarily, and you won’t have to worry about being stomped on unceremoniously. This video shows the prelude to the drama, as a Black security worker on the dock attempted to move a group of white boaters from their parked position. But following orders doesn’t seem to come naturally for these boaters, and a fight breaks out, wherein several of the white folks start beating on the security worker. What unfolds afterwards is narrated and well-documented justice
East Coast Storms: People in the Eastern US are at risk of severe thunderstorms today with heavy wind gusts, large hail, rain and maybe even a few tornadoes possible from Philadelphia all the way down to Atlanta. A potent storm system is moving east after wrecking the Ohio River Valley this weekend and increases the risk for severe weather Monday across a large area of the country east of the Mississippi River. The worst of it will likely be in the mid-Atlantic all the way up into southern Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Be safe out there folks