As some media outlets have reported, a new “jihad” has been unearthed.
Earlier this week, Uttar Pradesh police invoked the Gangsters Act and the Prevention of Anti-Social Activities Act against 10 gym owners in Mirzapur, accusing them of waging “gym jihad”.
They were arrested in January and February for allegedly persuading Hindu women to train at their facilities, establishing physical relationships with them, recording compromising photographs and videos, and then using the images to pressure their targets to convert to Islam.
Police claim that the accused had trapped more than 50 women between them. The authorities stated that there are “sufficient reasons” for action to be taken against Muslims under the strict Gangster Law, which allows authorities to confiscate property.
But what are these reasons? Have the police found evidence against the gym owners, such as objectionable photographs and videos? Do you have statements from the 50 women?
These questions can only be answered through impartial investigation. Establishing the facts takes some time. But that has not stopped Hindutva groups from adding another “jihad” to the growing list of strategies that Indian Muslims supposedly adopted in a “holy war” against Hindus.
The most prominent of these, of course, is the “love jihad,” the alleged campaign by which Muslim men allegedly lure unsuspecting Hindu women into romantic relationships simply to force them to convert to Islam. In 2020, the Union Home Ministry categorically told Parliament that indian law There is no provision that defines this term. Despite this, several Indian states have passed what are known as “anti-love jihad” laws.
Scroll has detailed how consensual relationships among adults they have been labeled “love jihad” by family members who oppose a daughter or sister in an interfaith union. It doesn’t take long for Hindutva groups to intervene. We have also reported on how Cases filed under anti-love jihad laws. He rarely appears in court.
And yet, like Raktbeej, a mythological demon king who spawned a new clone every time a drop of his blood touched the battlefield, these conspiracies are resurrected again and again.
These are some of the so-called jihads that Hindutva supporters have invented since 2014, aiming to stoke fears that Hindus (who make up almost 80% of India’s population) are under siege by the country’s Muslims (who make up 14.2% of the population).
*land jihad: The claim, as Scroll has reported, “that Muslims build shrines on public land and then refuse to vacate them, thus taking land from the public.”
*cow jihad: Muslims steal cattle and take them away in cars.
*organ jihad: A conspiracy by Muslims and Christians to donate organs to be transplanted into Hindus and presumably contaminate them.
*I thought about jihad: Muslim fruit sellers spit on their produce to spread disease.
*Fertilizer jihad: An allegation by Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma that Muslim farmers are harming the health of consumers by growing crops that use excessive amounts of fertilizers and pesticides.
*Flood jihad: Another claim from Assam, which states that Muslims deliberately break river embankments to cause floods.
*Cowboy Jihad: A conspiracy theory that Muslims had been starting jeans factories in a Delhi neighborhood so they could change the demographics of the area by driving out Sikhs and Hindus.
Like the notion of gym jihad, at the heart of many of these imagined jihads is the patriarchal anxiety that Hindu women are vulnerable and incapable of exercising free will.
Before the gym jihad, news channels had reported on “jihad mehendiIn October 2024, Zee News alleged that Muslim mehendi workers in pre-wedding festivities hide their identities, exchange numbers with Hindu women, marry them fraudulently and force them to convert to Islam.
Every year during the Hindu festival of Navratri, Muslim men are accused of orchestrating “jihad garba“, according to some television channels. His alleged modus operandi consists of entering places where participants practice traditional dance to meet Hindu women who could be potential targets of the “love jihad.”
More recently, allegations of sexual harassment at a Tata Consultancy Services facility in Nashik sparked suggestions that a “corporate jihad” had been unleashed – that Muslims were attacking their Hindu colleagues in the offices to force them to convert to Islam.
As “gym jihad” becomes a buzzword this week, many are wondering social networks where women can now find security. In a week when at least three alleged dowry-related deaths were informed, maybe it’s a good question.
Here’s a summary of the biggest news stories from the past week.
The largest democracy in the world. The X story of the satirical political campaign of the Cucaracha Janta Party was blocked in India “in response to a legal demand.” The social media campaign, which began on May 16 in response to comments made by Chief Justice Surya Kant, describes itself as a “political front of the youth, by the youth, for the youth.”
It was created by Abhijeet Dipke, a 30-year-old political communications strategist from Pune. Dipke was part of the Aam Aadmi Party’s social media team. The campaign had gained 21.9 million followers on Instagram as of Saturday morning, more than double the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party’s 9.2 million.
On Thursday, Dipke asked if the page had been withheld because the campaign had sought the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the cancellation of the National Eligibility and Entrance Test for medical college admissions following a paper leak. He described the blocking order as an “own goal” by the authorities.
Also read: Cockroach Janata Party founder says his Instagram account was hacked and his backup handle deleted
TMC candidate backs down. Trinamool Congress candidate in Falta, West Bengal withdrew from the survey there, two days before the vote. Jahangir Khan said he was doing so for the “development and public good” of his constituency, citing a special package announced by the Bharatiya Janata Party government.
The TMC said the withdrawal of candidature was Khan’s personal decision and not the party’s.
On May 4, the BJP defeated the TMC in the state elections, ending the 15-year rule of the Mamata Banerjee-led party. While the vote in Falta was held on April 29, the Electoral Commission on May 2 ordered a new vote in the electoral district, alleging that the democratic process had been subverted there. The new election was held on Thursday and the votes will be counted on Sunday.
Umar Khalid released on bail. Activist Umar Khalid was granted a three-day interim bail granted by the Delhi High Court in the 2020 Delhi riots conspiracy case. A division bench ordered Khalid’s release from June 1 to 3.
He had applied for a 15-day interim bail to attend the Chehlum ritual marking 40 days of his uncle’s death and to take care of his mother. Khalid had moved the High Court after a court session on Tuesday. refused his argument, maintaining that the reasons invoked in his argument were not reasonable.
The Supreme Court denied Khalid bail in January. However, on Monday another room of the Supreme Court criticized the January verdict, saying it ignored legal precedent.
Questions for PM Modi. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s refusal to answer a Norwegian journalist’s question during a joint press meet with his Norwegian counterpart sparked an online debate on the role of the media in democracy. Helle Lyng Svendsen, a reporter in Oslo, faced a barrage of criticism online after asking why Modi had refused to answer questions from the media.
On social media, Bharatiya Janata Party supporters claimed that Svendsen had acted inappropriately and some others were more temperate in their criticism. Some accused her of being a spy.
But Modi’s opponents saw this as just another example of the prime minister’s evasions. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said Modi “running away from some questions” had undermined the country’s image.
Also in Scroll last week
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