edition
Ar Es
Al Mayadeen English
  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Feature
  • Videos
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Feature
Videos
Infographs
In Pictures
  1. Home
  2. News
  3. Politics
  4. Anti-Muslim politician with criminal record could be India's next PM
Politics

Anti-Muslim politician with criminal record could be India's next PM

  • By Al Mayadeen Net
  • Source: Agencies
  • 8 Feb 2022 10:30
  • 1 Shares

Ahead of India's state polls, Hindu supremacist politician Yogi Adityanath seeks to be re-elected as chief minister of the country's most populous state, backed by his anti-Muslim rhetoric.

  • Yogi Adityanath
    Yogi Adityanath with India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi

A monk known for his controversial anti-Muslim rhetoric leads the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) into Thursday elections in India's most populous state -- Uttar Pradesh -- where a strong win could put him in pole position to succeed Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Yogi Adityanath, 49, has stirred controversy since his surprise appointment in 2017 as Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, a state in northern India home to over 200 million people.

The Indian office has done nothing to temper his views, and as he seeks a second term, he is calling on Hindu voters to back the BJP while going vicious over Muslims who make up one-fifth of the state's population.

Read more: Indian Muslim students wearing Hijab banned from college classrooms

"Muslim-bashing"

A hardline protege of Modi, Adityanath has soared in popularity beyond Uttar Pradesh, for his fiery speeches against Muslims.

Journalist and political commentator Sunita Aron indicated that Adityanath "is brazenly open about his Hindu politics and ideology... He has projected himself as a Hindu leader and that's what brings him crowds and votes."

"When he does Muslim-bashing, he grabs eyeballs and audiences," she told AFP.

Last month, Adityanath tweeted, "They are worshippers of Jinnah," referring to Mohammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of India's arch-rival neighbor Pakistan.

"Pakistan is dear to them, we sacrifice our life for Maa Bharati (Mother India)."

Read more: Protests over classroom Hijab Ban erupts In India

History of anti-Muslim acts

While studying mathematics at university, Adityanath became an activist in the student wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, a right-wing Hindu organization.

After graduating, he became a priest of Gorakhnath Temple, known for its strong Hindu supremacist tradition, and at the same time went into politics, elected to Parliament for the first time in 1998 aged just 26.

Along the way, he founded a "vigilante" youth army named Hindu Yuva Vahini.

Volunteers of the group regularly rough up Muslims accused of slaughtering cows or "love jihad" -- a term used by nationalist extremists to accuse Muslim men of seducing Hindu women in order to force them to convert, while in fact, it constitutes a plan whereby Hindu extremists are determined to push an Islamophobic conspiracy theory across India – regardless of how many couples get hurt or killed in the process.

As extremism against Muslims rages on in #India, the government is dismissing repetitive threats to cleanse India's minorities.
More dangerously, experts warn of signs of a potential genocide that could happen soon against #Muslims who constitute 15% of India's population. pic.twitter.com/zoqmybWmoh

— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) January 19, 2022

Criminal records

Adityanath himself has several criminal cases pending against him in various courts.

In 2007, he spent 11 days in jail for trying to foment communal tension. In one speech he vowed, "If they (Muslims) kill one Hindu man, then we will kill 100 Muslim men."

But his notoriety did nothing to impede his twin-track progress: in 2014, he was appointed head priest of his temple.

After taking the reins as Chief Minister three years later, Adityanath announced curbs on slaughterhouses and on the use of loudspeakers for the Muslim call to prayer, fuelling an atmosphere of fear and intimidation.

Indian media reports say more than 100 alleged criminals -- most of them Muslims or low-caste Dalits -- have been extra-judicially killed by Uttar Pradesh police under his administration, a charge Adityanath denies.

His political style aligns firmly with his party, which has been accused of fuelling religious intolerance for electoral gain, calling into question India's long-cherished secular and democratic credentials.

  • Islam
  • India
  • Right-Wing
  • hindu
  • Pakistan
  • Muslims
  • Narendra Modi
  • Muslim

Trending Now

All
Singapore bans hit Kashmir film over portrayal of Muslims.

Singapore bans hit Kashmir film over portrayal of Muslims

Most Read

Buzzfeed CEO Jonah Peretti (Getty Images)

Buzzfeed to use AI to write its articles after firing 180 employees

  • US & Canada
  • 27 Jan
Twitter headquarters is shown in San Francisco on Nov. 4, 2022 (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)

FBI created dashboard to mislabel Twitter users as Russian bots

  • US & Canada
  • 27 Jan
The Russian-manufactured Marker 2 tank-striker (Military Review)

Russia reveals Marker 2 combat robots

  • Europe
  • 26 Jan
Russian troops entering Donetsk in March 2022 (Anadolu Agency)

Russian troops enter Vuhledar, block Ukrainian arms supply path

  • Europe
  • 26 Jan

Read this

All
'Israel's' attack on Bukamal targeted food, medicine convoy (Footage)
MENA

Israeli attack on Al-Bukamal targeted food, medicine convoy (Footage)

  • 30 Jan
Police officers assist an injured officer, after a suicide blast in a mosque in Peshawar, Pakistan January 30, 2023 (Reuters).
Asia

Pakistan mosque blast death toll on the rise, rescue efforts ongoing

  • 30 Jan
Chief of Russian Radiation, Chemical and Biological Protection Force Igor Kirillov (TASS)
Europe

20,000 docs obtained by Russia expose US biowarfare program in Ukraine

  • 30 Jan
Tehran asks Iraq to expedite trial of perpetrators of Soleimani murder
MENA

Gen. Soleimani assassination to the front: Iran urges trial expedition

  • 30 Jan
Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS