Prem Krishnanshi who is a Lucknow based singer has sung a song, with the lyrics, “Hindu Ka hai Hindustan, Da#@! jao Pakistan. Hindu ka hai Hindustan, mu@#! jaao Pakistan. (Hindustan belongs to Hindus, pimps and Muslims [referred to with a communal slur] go to Pakistan.” This video had over 70 lakh views on YouTube.
While this is just a mere example, there are noticeably more such ‘Hate’ videos. Moreover, there are also hate imagery in these songs along with the hate speech. Some of these imagery includes the demolition of Babri Masjid, being brutally beaten, swords, sticks, threatening stills of people being lynched.
Sandeep Acharya:
One of such singers is Sandeep Acharya who is from Ayodhya and is a member of the Hindu Yuva Vahini, a group considered close to UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and that has thousands of members across UP. Sandeep Acharya makes Rs 40,000-45,000 for every stage performance and Rs 45,000 each from his monetized videos, he told The Quint.
He further said that he believes Muslims are in really Hindus, but have just lost their way. He does not have even one Muslim friend.
Acharya has performed for the Bajrang Dal, the Hindu Yuva Vahini, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, amongst other Hindu groups, and he travels across Uttar Pradesh to perform.
“The Hinduvaadi songs you are seeing sung by as many as 150, 200 and 500 singers, all of them have copied me. Five to seven years ago I started this trend.”, Acharya told the Quint reporter. He has a official YouTube channel.
Prem Krishnavanshi:
Prem Krishnavanshi is another such singer who worked at a private company in Lucknow till mid-2019 as computer science engineer. He left all his previous work to focus on his Hinduvaadi music. He makes Rs 25-30,000 for every performance and has over 45k subscribers on YouTube. He makes 6-8 songs every month and performs at religious gatherings. He has official YouTube channel.
“First, I used to sing Bhojpuri songs and a lot of my songs got published, but after that, I felt drawn to Hindutva. So this is how I started singing Hinduvaadi music… to awaken our religion, our Sanatan Dharam, which is why I began singing,” says Prem Krishnavanshi, who hails from Lucknow in UP.
Pawan Verma:
Another such singer in the list is Pawan Verma. “Breaking the Babri Masjid down was correct. It was not a masjid at all. It was nothing,” says Pawan Verma while defending his song, which celebrates the ‘sacrifice’ made by karsevaks during the Babri Masjid demolition of 1992.
The inspiration for his music comes from issues that have been rallying points for Hindu fundamentalism for decades, like the Ram Janmabhoomi issue.
Swami Anand Swaroop:
Not only such singers but a Hindu leader and the president of Varanasi-based outfit Shankaracharya Parishad, Swami Anand Swaroop has also been accused of spreading Hate Speech. In fact the Meerut Police also launched an investigation on him who reportedly called for an economic and social boycott of Muslims, at a gathering in the Chaudhary Charan Singh University Sunday.
Swami Swaroop said, “One who reads the Quran becomes a beast, they are no longer human. For those who wish to remain connected to India, they must give up the Quran and namaz. If we start boycotting Muslims socially and economically, they will embrace Hinduism.”
He further added, “We want an army of one crore Hindu youth. We don’t need swayamsevak, we need a swayam-sena now. Pick up swords, guns or whatever you have, war has been declared and it will go on till we have a Hindu rashtra.”
This kind of Hate Speech and these hateful songs are squarely in breach of Sections 153A, 295A, 505(2) under the Indian Penal Code.
Such kattar hindu thoughts and hate speech deals with insulting religion, religious beliefs and plays with the sentiments of the people with an intent to outrage.
