By Harsh Mander
India’s Muslim minority under Prime Minister Narendra Modi has faced sustained and grave attacks on their livelihoods. Activists of Hindutva formations attack and bar Muslim small businesses and workers with allegations of many outlandish jihad conspiracy theories like thook (spit) jihad and beauty parlour jihad. Both Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) state government officials and party members openly or tacitly support the abridgement or extinguishing of Muslim livelihoods on the pretext of these bizarre conspiracy theories.
But the attacks do not end here. There are many state laws, policies and announcements from BJP governments that constitute a direct inimical impact on the livelihood opportunities of Muslims and their security and dignity at work. The “cow protection” laws are better known. I will list some others here.
Laws to Prevent “Thook Jihad”
None less than a chief minister – Pushkar Singh Dhami of Uttarakhand – issued detailed guidelines to his police and health departments to prevent instances of people spitting in food.
One of these is a hefty fine of up to Rs 1 lakh for this offence. Also, CCTV cameras are made mandatory in eatery kitchens and all hotel staff need to undergo a police verification. He termed the offences that the law seeks to prevent and punish as “thook jihad”.
The Uttar Pradesh chief minister announced his resolve to bring in a tough statute to curb contamination of food and beverages with human waste, spit, inedible items or other filthy material. It would make it mandatory for food centres to display the names of their owners, for cooks and waiters to wear masks and gloves and, like in Uttarakhand, for CCTVs to be installed in hotels and restaurants.
Adityanath also instructed officials that those who indulge in such jihad should be charged under non-bailable sections of the law, and punished with imprisonment and fine. He dog-whistled about other suspected jihads as well.
This story was originally published in thewire.in. Read the full story here.