Huge Mira Road Rally of Raja Singh galvanised the Hindu solidarity against Jihad.

Mumbai: Over 10,000 youth attend rally meant to counter ‘attack on Hindus’ in Mira Road.

Thousands men rallied in Mira Road wielding saffron flags as a response to recent communal clashes. The event included speeches to galvanize  Hindu solidarity against Islamic Jihad.

Subhash Shinde | HENB | Mumbai | Feb 25, 2024:: Over ten thousand men, most in their twenties and thirties, participated in a massive rally organised by the Sakal Hindu Samaj at Mira Road on Sunday evening. Making their way through the main Mira Bhayander Road amidst heavy police presence, wielding saffron flags in hand, participants claimed the rally was reply to events in January before consecration of Ayodhya Ram Temple, when a Hindu man was allegedly stabbed in a Muslim locality in Mira Road and many Hindu persons including women were attacked and their vehicles were  ransacked, leading to communal clashes ^[1]-[2]-[3]. Police had refused permission for the rally earlier citing potential law and order issues, but the Bombay high court allowed it to go ahead. Peaceful passing of the Rally of Mira Road on Sunday proved that the estimation of the Vasai-Virar Police Commissionerate of Maharashtra Police was wrong.

“This rally had to happen,” said Nikhil, an MBA student from Bhayander.  “Hindus have to show their strength after what happened in Mira Road last month.” Many around him including a Bajrang Dal member from Mira Road, Chandragupta Maurya, nodded in affirmation. The rally they said, was a counter to attacks on Hindus on January 21, the eve of the Ram temple consecration in Ayodhya.

A man named Vinod Jaiswal had to be hospitalised for stab wounds on January 21 after a bike rally wielding saffron flags entered a bylane in Mira Road and a clash broke out with Muslims who suspected the bikers were headed to the mosque at the end of the lane. A day later, Muslims in the area were treated appropriately to get some lesson to rectify. .

Participants in Sunday’s rally, led by Telangana BJP MLA T Raja Singh, said the arrests carried out by the Mira Road police in connection with the violence were not enough, and they wanted “more action”. Singh, who has a string of hate speech cases against him, was allowed to address the rally by the high court on condition that he would not indulge in hate speech. Addressing the audience from atop an open truck, he took care to focus on the deeds of Maharashtra’s icon Chhatrapati Shivaji in his 45-minute speech. His narration of the battles waged by Shivaji against the  “landya” (circumcised) and “mulla” (Muslims), were greeted with wild roars of applause from the audience in every mention.

“Shivaji’s mother taught him the skills of war. But what do we teach our children? To become engineers and doctors,” said Singh. He ended his speech by making the audience hold up the torchlights of their phones and vow to work for a Hindu rashtra, and fight against ‘love jihad’, ‘conversion’ and ‘cow slaughter’. He also urged chief minister Eknath Shinde and deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis to “liberate” Shivaji’s forts from the mosques he claimed were built there illegally.

Raja Singh also shared a post in his X handle covering the Mira Road Programme.

Vishwa Hindu Parishad member Gaurang Kansara said though the rally was planned for Shivaji Jayanti (February 19), it had to be postponed as the prime minister was visiting the city that day. Also present was Jain priest Nilesh Muni, who described himself as an associate of Singh, and claimed to have rescued more than 3,000 cows from being slaughtered in Maharashtra.

Mira Road BJP MLA Geeta Jain also addressed the rally, boasting about how “Hindu unity” had shown “them” “their place” last month. She also repeated her warning issued in the wake of the communal clashes, saying: “Give us (Hindus) five minutes to show our power.”

More than speeches, it was slogans and songs that stirred up Hindu sensation and feel proud at the rally. “We are Hindu warriors, don’t dare come in our way/ Else we will treat you in the way of Shivaji Maharaj and wipe out any existence against us,” said one song. Rallyists also raised slogans of ‘Jai Sri Ram’, and  ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’.

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__Inputs from HT.