Maharashtra Minister and Nationalist Congress Party leader Chhagan Bhujbal on Thursday expressed anger over the alleged ‘anti-Hindu’ remarks of Aligarh Muslim University student leader Sharjeel Usmani in a speech at the second edition of the Elgaar Parishad on January 30 in Pune.
Speaking in Pune, Mr. Bhujbal, an influential OBC leader in the State, said, “While we too speak out against Manuvad [the allegedly patriarchal and casteist sentiments expressed in the Manusmriti ], we never hurt the feelings of anybody.”
However, the Republican Yuva Morcha (RYM), a city-based Ambedkarite outfit, said Mr. Usmani’s speech raised serious questions about the polarising nature of communalism in Indian society. Rahul Dambale, president, RYM, said Mr. Usmani, during his 27-minute speech, spoke about the decay in Hinduism as practised by certain individuals.
“Sharjeel was expressing his opinion about the moral decay in Hinduism and had qualified his speech with specific instances of murder and lynching by non-Muslims of members belonging to the minority community. He also urged people to beware of those who preach religious hatred,” he said.
Mr. Dambale said Mr. Usmani’s remarks at the event ought to be taken seriously. Even in so-called ‘progressive’ States like Maharashtra, there has been large-scale mobilisation on the grounds of religious and caste hatred, he said.
“There have been mob lynchings in cities like Pune and Nagpur. The Supreme Court, taking cognisance of this, has urged the Centre from time to time to make laws to prevent incidents of violence on religious grounds. In fact, there has been a constant flow of criticism on the bigotry pervading in radical Hindutva as practised by some,” he said.
Mr. Dambale said the grandfather of Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray was reformer Prabhodankar Thackeray, who had criticised bad elements in Hinduism.
“In fact, it is the criticism of BJP leaders Devendra Fadnavis and MLA Ram Kadam which is more poisonous than Mr. Usmani’s criticism. One shouldn’t forget that it was their party that was in power when the Bhima-Koregaon clashes erupted. The main perpetrators – Milind Ekbote and Sambhaji Bhide – are known for their affinity to the RSS and the BJP,” he said.
The Swargate police filed an FIR against Mr. Usmani on Tuesday based on a complaint by Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha leader Pradeep Gawade. A case has also been lodged against him in Mumbai with Mr. Fadnavis leading the charge.
