Viral Video: Recent violence against Hindus and minorities in Bangladesh has generated negative reaction within India, when distorted videos began appearing on social media depicting Hindu organizations in Delhi demolishing slums and huts while chasing people who look like Bangladeshi nationals. This happened as part of the negative fallout from the crisis going on in Bangladesh.
Viral Video Shows Massive Demolition in Delhi
The said video shared by user Sachin Gupta on X depicted a sea of people, in an extremely vociferous way, bring down many shanties/slum huts in Delhi, while chanting slogans such as “Jai Shri Ram.” The demolition seems to be under a pretext that these dwellers are illegal immigrants from Bangladesh, which is a reaction to the alleged atrocities against Hindus in that country. This video has sparked great concern and fiery debate online.
Ultimatum and Retaliation
This aggression comes weeks after a similar act of vandalism in Ghaziabad. On August 10, there were reports of vandalism targeting huts in the Kavinagar area. A video of the same incident, which is also doing rounds on social media, shows the aftermath of the destruction. The vandalism in Ghaziabad was reportedly prompted by an ultimatum issued by Bhupendra alias Pinky Chaudhary, the National President of Hindu Raksha Dal. On 7 August, he threatened retaliatory action against Bangladeshis in India if the violence against Hindus in Bangladesh did not stop within 24 hours.
These all foreground rising tensions and potentials for growing conflicts out of internecine crises. The violence carried out on slum dwellers in India, with motivations based on threats emanating from abroad, underpins the thin ice that communal relations exist on and the complicated interplay of actions at home and issues abroad.
