As the annual Kanwar Yatra approaches, a video of Muzaffarnagar-based seer Swami Yashveer Maharaj has gone viral, drawing sharp criticism for making Islamophobic remarks and inciting communal tension.
In the video, the seer refers to members of the Muslim community as “jihadis” and accuses them of running eateries and shops with Hindu religious names to allegedly disrespect Hindu sentiments.
Swami Yashveer claims that Muslim shop owners along the Yatra route deliberately contaminate food to desecrate Hindu beliefs. “They mix spittle, urine, cow meat, or substances to render men impotent and women infertile,” he says in the video. He adds that around 5,000 “Hindu Veers” will be deployed during the Yatra to ensure that Muslims are not allowed to operate shops, and demands that all shopkeepers display their religion publicly.
The remarks come amid longstanding tensions in Muzaffarnagar, where nearly half the population is Muslim and over 240 km of the Kanwar Yatra route passes through. The issue gained prominence last year when the Muzaffarnagar police issued a controversial order requiring shopkeepers to display their names and religious identity. While the police claimed it was to prevent communal flare-ups, civil society groups, activists, and opposition leaders strongly criticized the directive as discriminatory and unconstitutional.
The Supreme Court eventually intervened, issuing a stay on the order and clarifying that shops could indicate only whether they serve vegetarian or non-vegetarian food. Despite the court’s stance, Swami Yashveer has claimed credit for influencing the original directive and expects similar support from authorities this year. He says, “Last year the government supported us, and we expect the same again. The public is more aware now and will act to stop such acts on the ground.”
Critics warn that such inflammatory rhetoric risks further polarizing the region and inciting violence during a sensitive religious event. Calls are growing for legal and administrative action against hate speech and the enforcement of secular norms in public spaces. — With Agencies Inputs
This story was originally published in muslimmirror.com.