A video of Hindu right-wing groups, including Hindu Yuva Vahini, and Sudarshan News Editor-in-Chief Suresh Chavhanke, that emerged on social media on Wednesday, 22 December showed them take an oath to "fight, die and if required, kill" in order to turn India into a Hindu rashtra (nation).
Chavhanke administered the oath during an event organised by the Hindu Yuva Vahini on 19 December in the national capital, Scroll.in reported.
The visual captured a saffron-clad crowd, raising their hands above their shoulders in a salute and concurring with the hate speech.
“We take an oath and make a resolution that till our last breath, we will fight, die for and if need be, kill, to make this country a Hindu rashtra and keep this country a Hindu rashtra,” those present in the room declared.
'Where Is Sedition, UAPA Now?'
The video inflaming the attendees to carry out violence against religious minorities has sparked outrage from several quarters of civil society, with members of the Youth Congress taking to Twitter to ask if the communal speech falls under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
Meanwhile, writer and activist Meena Kandasamy voiced her condemnation of the happening and wrote:
Haridwar's Hate Speech Conclave
The event in Delhi comes at the heels of a three-day hate speech conclave in Uttarakhand's pilgrimage city of Haridwar.
Videos of several speeches, provoking the attendees to kill minorities and attack their religious spaces, made during the event surface online subsequently.
While the administration still waits to decide what action to take against the Hindutva hatemongers, the gathering had speakers like Annapurna Maa, Dharamdas Maharaj from Bihar, Anand Swaroop Maharaj, Sagar Sindhuraj Maharaj, Swami Premanand Maharaj, and BJP leader Ashwini Upadhyay.
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