A photograph is making rounds on social media networks on the occasion of Ram Navami Shobhayatra from Katihar, Bihar. In the photograph, a group of Hindus can be seen making a human chain in front of Jama Masjid in the district. Several people are sharing the photograph with the claim that the human chain was made by Hindus to save Jama Masjid and Muslims from ‘Hindutva’.
The photograph has been shared widely by the left-liberal section of social media with that claim. State Vice President of NSUI said, “Hindu brothers holding each other hand for the security of the mosque in Bihar & Saving Masjid from Hindutva, these brothers worked like Raindrops in the hot sun. Bond of Brotherhood, Unity & peace never Breaks until Goons not born.”
Actor turned politician Urmila Matondkar quoted Irshad and said, “Bravo. India… Your Beauty.”
Actress Shruti Seth also quoted him and said, “My India”.
Actress Swara Bhaskar said, “Yes! More of this humanity, please!!”
District President SP Jhasi Syed Tariq Anwar also shared a misleading title with the image.
‘Why would a mosque need protection?’
Contrary to the claims made on social media, the organizers of Ram Navami Shobhayatra have denied forming a human chain to save the mosque. Speaking to Opindia, Pawan Kumar Poddar questioned, “Why would a mosque need protection? Who was going to attack the mosque? We never attack mosques or Muslims. We live peacefully in Katihar. The human chain was formed to save Hindus from any difficulty.”
He added, “Every year Bhavya Ram Navami Shobhayatra takes place in Katihar. Every year some people in Muslim dominating areas would stand and raise provocative slogans to cause disturbance in the Shobhayatra. We formed human chains at several locations to ensure every devotee attending Shobhayatra was safe while passing through these areas.”
He said the photograph was misrepresented on social media. It gave a wrong impression of Ram Bhakts. Poddar said, “Ram Bhakts never attack any Muslim or Mosque. We never cause any problem for the Muslims in Katihar. We never attempted to cause any trouble to them. Thus there was no need for a human chain to save the mosque. The only reason human chains were formed was to save the devotees from any mishap.”
Speaking to BBC Hindi, Ritesh Dubey, district chief of Vishwa Hindu Parishad, said, “We did not form a human chain to save the mosque. The devotees involved in our Shobhayatra should not face any kind of difficulty, so we make a procession by making a human chain.”
Ram Navami Shobhayatra in Katihar
On April 10, a seven-kilometre long Shobhayatra was organized by Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Bajrang Dal and other Hindu organizations. A large number of people, including women and children, took part in Shobhayatra. It started at 1:30 PM and ended at 7 PM. Two mosques were on the path of Shobhayatra that was Jama Masjid on MG Road and other on Bata Chowk. The viral photograph was clicked on MG Road.
