Hindutva group launches ‘jihadi-free Delhi’ campaign
Vishwa Hindu Parishad accused of enforcing economic apartheid by certifying “Hindu-only” shops as India’s Islamophobia deepens
NEW DELHI, India (MNTV) — A militant Hindu supremacist organization has sparked outrage in India’s capital after launching a campaign calling for a “jihadi-free Delhi” during the Hindu festival of Chhath Puja, which is celebrated mainly in northern India to honor the Sun God and ancestral gratitude.
The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) — an affiliate of India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and a key driver of the Hindutva ideology that seeks to transform India into a Hindu-majoritarian state — began distributing “Sanatan Pratishtha” stickers at markets and temples across Delhi.
The campaign, introduced on October 23, claims to offer worshippers “pure and certified” prayer materials but, according to observers, functions as a tool to exclude Muslim traders from local commerce.
According to The Wire, the VHP said it would verify “Hindu-owned” stalls before issuing the stickers, checking registration documents and conducting physical inspections.
The group’s Delhi leader, Surendra Gupta, described the initiative as “ensuring purity,” while rights advocates labelled it an organized system of religious vetting designed to boycott Muslim vendors.
Prominent public intellectuals condemned the move. Delhi University historian Shamsul Islam said such campaigns are meant “to distract from real issues like housing, electricity, and jobs” faced by migrant workers in the city.
Columnist Sara Ather described the move as “an open apartheid call that exposes India’s descent into graded citizenship.” Delhi University professor Apoorvanand said, “How can the authorities permit such criminality? This open apartheid call must be outlawed.”
The drive follows a long trail of Hindutva-led economic boycotts. In 2022, BJP lawmaker Parvesh Verma publicly urged a “complete boycott” of Muslims in Delhi. Similar actions in Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, and Maharashtra have targeted Muslim-owned shops, bakeries, and barbers, often after communal violence.
Legal experts say these actions violate Supreme Court directives requiring police to register hate-speech cases suo motu — without formal complaints. Yet, despite multiple calls for violence and exclusion, prosecutions have been rare.
Analysts say the impunity enjoyed by groups like the VHP reflects a political climate where anti-Muslim rhetoric has become mainstream under the BJP’s decade-long rule.
For many Indians, the phrase “Sanatan Pratishtha” — presented as a symbol of religious purity — now embodies the opposite: a campaign of economic segregation and cultural cleansing, revealing how Hindu nationalism increasingly defines who can trade, worship, and belong in modern India.
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