Ujjain: Tension erupted in Mahidpur town of Madhya Pradesh’s Ujjain district after a “Love Jihad” themed tableau was displayed during a Ganesh Sawari procession. The tableau featured effigies wearing skull caps, beards, and burqas, which members of the minority community said insulted their faith. Officials asked them to file a formal complaint and assured that their concerns would be reviewed.
The procession was moving peacefully until it reached near the Moti Masjid. According to Superintendent of Police Pradeep Sharma, some masked youths threw stones from a distance of around 500 meters, targeting the police contingent accompanying the procession.
Police dispersed the crowd using limited force and restored order. To prevent further clashes, security was tightened with additional forces deployed across sensitive locations. A flag march was also carried out to reassure residents.
Authorities confirmed that the situation is now calm. Sharma stated that those involved in the stone pelting have been identified and action is being taken, including the registration of an FIR.
Analysts say Indian Muslims have had to encounter manufactured hate and vitriolic propaganda against their existence and even their religion since pre-independence days in their own country by their own fellow citizens. A meta-narrative was created by peddling false narratives about their origins, hygiene, dietary habits, personal laws and even their alleged non-practice of the national policy on family planning. However, since the last decade, these narratives have been polished and designed by professionals paid to create acerbic terms and slurs against the Muslim community. Accusations have been suffixed with the word jihad and Muslims have been falsely accused for conducting different kinds of jihad like love jihad, vote jihad, land jihad, corona jihad etc.
The Ujjain incident corroborates the above assertion.
