"Ab ki baar, Hindu sarkar": VHP conducts a rally through Muslim neighbourhoods in Delhi
On 12 April, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad organised the “Ram Shobha Yatra,” a rally in Delhi which passed through multiple Muslim-dominated localities.
Shahid Tantray for The Caravan
On the evening of 12 April, a procession of around three hundred people participated in the “Ram Shobha Yatra,” a rally in Delhi organised by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad—an affiliate of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh—along with a few other religious organisations, to celebrate Ram Navami, a festival marking the birth of the Hindu deity Ram. The procession passed through multiple Muslim-dominated localities of the capital city. Most of its participants were men—of all ages—sporting orange turbans, several of them armed with swords. Raj Kumar, a member of the VHP, told me that the rally did not have a political agenda, and did not seek to threaten the Muslim residents. But Kumar also said, “
Yeh rally
Hinduon ki rally
hai. Ab ki baar, Hindu
sarkar”—This is a rally of Hindus. This time, a Hindu government.
The rally started at the Ram Leela Maidan—where the VHP’s Delhi unit, called the Indraprastha Vishwa Hindu Parishad, and the other religious organisations had held an event earlier that day—and passed through the Muslim neighbourhoods of Sadar Bazar and Daryaganj before coming to an end at Karol Bagh. Vaghish Issar, the working president of the Indraprastha VHP, told me that the Ram Shobha Yatra has been an annual affair for 15 years. He said the rally usually passed through Chandni Chowk, but due to construction work in the area this year, they crossed Daryaganj instead. [ . . . ]
https://caravanmagazine.in/politics/vhp-rally-muslim-neighbourhoods-delhi
