The second wave of farmer protests has started in the country. Thousands of farmers led by around 200 farmer unions are marching towards Delhi from states including Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and others. While they want the central government to fulfil their demands, including bringing law on MSP and others, some people have joined the protests for vested interests. One such person is Manoj Singh Duhan, an aide of pro-Khalistani preacher Amritpal Singh.
In a recent video, Duhan urged members of the Jat community to announce that if the government refuses to agree to the demands of the farmers, they should leave Hinduism and join Sikhism. Duhan said the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Government of India runs on a “Hindutva” agenda, and if such an announcement is made, it will be catastrophic for the government’s existence. He further targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi for going to Ayodhya for Ram Mandir Pran Pratishtha.
Duhan has a history of running anti-Hindu propaganda on social media. He uses ongoing protests, etc., to target Hindus and their rituals. Furthermore, he regularly runs campaigns asking people to join Sikhism. There are several posts on his social media accounts where he has asked to call a number if anyone wants to join Sikhism.
Though his X account has been withheld in India, screenshots of his posts are making rounds on social media. In one of the posts, he was seen with Amritpal Singh with the caption “Memories”. In another post, he mocked Bhagwan Hanuman.
Duhan was one of the protesters who hoisted alien flags on Red Fort on 26th January 2021. He proudly shares a photograph of himself doing so on his social media account.
In another post, he targeted Hindu temples and wrote, “If you donate in a temple, it will increase the bank balance of the Pujari, but if you donate in a Gurdwara, it will fill the stomach of the poor.” Duhan conveniently ignored the fact that Hindu temples are one of the most significant religious contributors in terms of taxes. Thousands of temples, like Gurdwaras, run community kitchens to feed the devotees. The only difference is Hindus do not go out and “demand respect” just because temples are giving free food. There is a saying, “Daan aise karo ki bayein haath ko pata na chale ki daayein haath ne daan kiya hai,” which means that when you donate something or feed someone, there is no need to tell everyone about it.
In another post, he again targeted Hindus and said, “Those who are sitting at Saryu bank are looters who only eat, and those who are sitting on the bank of a holy pond in Amritsar are Singh who only feeds. There is no competition.”
On Instagram, he shared photos with Daljeet Kalsi, an aide of Deep Sidhu, who had talked about the creation of Khalistan on Clubhouse. Kalsi played a key role in establishing Amritpal Singh as Waris Punjab De chief.
Manoj Singh Duhan used to be a Hindu Jat but converted to Sikhism.