On 30 June 2024, Bharat was shocked by a horrifying incident in Chopra (block in Dinajpur district of West Bengal), where a local TMC leader named Tajamul Islam, also known as JCB, brutally attacked a couple in full public view. As a large crowd watched nonchalantly, Islam was seen viciously pulling the woman by her hair and kicking her to the point of unconsciousness.

The shocking assault didn’t end there; he also beat the couple with a stick and flogged them pitilessly, leaving them injured and traumatized for life. The reason? The victims were accused of being in an illicit relationship, and the TMC leader brought it upon himself to give street-side justice to the couple, just like how justices are delivered in Islamic nations governed by the Sharia.

The acceptance of the crowd is deemed as an acceptance of a form of punishment that is prevalent in Islamic nations, where flogging and stone pelting are usual sights. Interestingly, Dinajpur district in West Bengal (WB) is a district where the majority of the population is Muslim, outnumbering the Hindus and comprising nearly about 50% of the total population (2011). The same district saw severe unrest during the Ram Navami celebrations when a Muslim mob attacked and pelted stones on the Hindu procession on 30 March 2024. Till now, the NIA has arrested 17 Islamists for conspiring and executing the assault on Hindus.

And this is not a once-in-a-blue-moon incident that Bharat has witnessed in a Muslim-dominated region. In Haryana’s Nuh, a religious Hindu procession was vehemently attacked with stones by Islamists, turning a peaceful Hindu Yatra into a scene of terror and dread. The demographics again reveal a high Muslim population of about 80% in that region.

These recurring incidents raise several pressing questions for the Bharatiya populace. Is peaceful coexistence with the Muslim community possible in Muslim-dominated regions, given the frequent outbreaks of violence? And would Bharat’s laws be effectively upheld in these regions? Given the growing Muslim population in Bharat, the answer to these questions meets the grim reality of the changing demographics.

An analysis of regions with a dense Islamist population paints a worrisome picture. The instances of violence are reported from Kashmir to Kerala. The erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir, which has been from time immemorial a Muslim-dominated region, has seen it all, from the Exodus of Kashmiri Hindus to the repeated attack on Hindu pilgrims in Amarnath. If it had not been for the implementation of Article 370 by the Modi regime, the region would have seen many violent upheavals. Today, Islamic terror-linked activities persist in Kashmir, but since 2018, it has seen a sharp decline (dropped by 77%).

Uttar Pradesh (UP), the land of Prabhu Sri Rama, also has its fair share of incidents of Islamist violence against Hindus. Though the population of the state is comprised mainly of Hindus, the Muslim-dominated regions have seen violence against ‘minority’ Hindus. Till 2017, the number of sectarian attacks in these areas on Hindus was colossal.

Point to any region with a dense Muslim population, and you’re likely to find a history marked by Hindu suffering and distress. Moradabad, currently with a Muslim majority of about 50%, has frequently been a hotspot for tension and conflict between Hindu and Muslim communities, with the unforgettable 1980 riots. This tension has simmered for decades, reflecting deeper underlying issues for the Hindu diaspora.

In Bijnor, where Muslims constitute 43% of the population, a significant history of Islamist violence is evident, including the infamous 1990 riots that left lasting scars on the Hindu community. Similarly, Muzaffarnagar and Saharanpur, each with Muslim populations exceeding 40%, have also been sites of intense communal strife. Muzaffarnagar experienced severe sectarian clashes in 2013, while Saharanpur saw similar outbreaks of violence in 2014. Rampur, a district named after Raja Ram Singh, experienced frequent communal tensions until 2016, often sparked by seemingly minor issues. Rampur’s estimated Muslim population was more than 50% in the last census in 2011.

The increase in the Muslim population is creating problems for Hindus in several places in UP. In Aligarh district’s Noorpur village, Hindus were forced to flee the town because of persecution from the Muslims, who are high in number in that region. There are countless stories of trials and tribulations of Hindus amidst the growing population of the ‘minority’ in UP.

Let’s look at all the other cities in different states of Bharat. We find that there is an uncanny resemblance in the Islamist violence inflicted on Hindus across Bharat. Places like Bhiwandi(Maharashtra), Aurangabad(Maharashtra), Kishanganj(Bihar), Bhadrak(Odisha), Nagaon(Assam), Dhubri(Assam), Shivamogga(Karnataka), Gulbarga(Karnataka), Haldwani(Uttarakhand), Malappuram(Kerala), Hyderabad(Telangana), Murshidabad(West Bengal), Malda(West Bengal) and Basirhat(West Bengal) have always been on the pedestal of Islamist atrocities. All these regions have high Muslim populations, and the growing ‘minority’ population is a matter of concern for the inner stability of Bharat.

To add to the woes, a recent working paper from the Economic Advisory Council titled “Share of Religious Minorities: A Cross-Country Analysis (1950-2015)” states that the Hindu population from the period of 1950-2015 has taken a dip by 8% whereas the Muslim population has soared by 44% in Bharat. The study examines the demographic trends in 167 countries. It reveals that four South Asian nations (Bharat, Myanmar, Nepal, and Maldives) have experienced a significant decline in the population share of their predominant religious group.

The most disturbing trend is seen in Bharat, which remains the only nation in Asia where the Muslim religious group has grown exponentially. By 2050, Bharat is expected to have 311 million Muslims, making it the country with the largest Muslim population in the World.

The pressing question is what the future holds for the land and followers of Hindu Dharma. Is Bharat experiencing a significant demographic transformation, as the EAC-PM (Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister) report suggested? And will violence against Hindus become a frequent occurrence in the coming days, potentially threatening the fabric of the nation’s diversity and social harmony?

Would the law of Bharat align with the principles of Islamic Sharia, where flogging, stoning, and beheading are a common sight? The question is for you to answer: the increase in assaults on Hindus should be a wake-up call. The incident of Dinajpur’s Chopra is an alarming event and might encourage similar situations in Bharat, making Taliban-styled justice a norm in Muslim-dominated regions.

(Featured Image Source: Twocircles.net)