Thousands of Muslims gathered on the call of the founder of Ittehad-e-Millat Council Tauqeer Raza Khan for a 'Dharam Sansad' on Friday, 7 January, in Uttar Pradesh's Bareilly, to offer “mass sacrifice” in protest against the hate speech delivered in the Haridwar ‘Dharam Sansad’.
While addressing the crowd, Khan can be heard saying, "Aaj main sar pe kafan bandh ke aaya hoon (I’ve come here today with a shroud over my head.)”
He adds, “We have not come here to fight. We have not come here to show our strength. Instead, we have come here to sacrifice our lives for this country. If indeed, your thirst can be fulfilled by our blood... we're ready to get sacrificed.”
This comes after a three-day 'hate conclave' was organised by the controversial Hindutva leader Yati Narsinghanand from 17 to 19 December in Uttarakhand's pilgrimage city of Haridwar, where multiple calls to kill minorities and attack their religious spaces were made.
Videos of the speeches made by the ‘seers’ have since gone viral. Though two First Information Reports (FIRs) have been registered in the case, Narsinghanand and other 'seers' have repeatedly expressed that they stand by what was said.
Meanwhile, a five-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been constituted to probe the hate speech.
On Friday, Tauqeer Raza Khan, referring to the speeches made in Haridwar said, “Now you decide who is wrong? The one who is ready to give his life for the country or those who disregard women and give call for the killing of 200 million people of their own India and then call themselves ‘desh premi’ (country lovers). How can they be called country lovers?”
Khan further said, "I want to tell my Hindu brothers, every day our Quran is disrespected, we wait in patience. You campaign to embarrass our women, don't you feel ashamed? We keep patience because we want peace. But now our patience has been broken, do not provoke us."
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