Hindu priest threatens to bomb Muslim homes in India
Video circulating online shows Hindu ascetic telling Muslims to leave India for Muslim-majority country or face bombs in their homes
NEW DELHI, India (MNTV) — A Hindu priest in India’s northern Uttarakhand state has threatened to bomb the homes of Muslims and have members of the minority community beaten, triggering demands for authorities to investigate and prosecute him.
The threats were made in a video circulating widely on social media and reportedly linked to Kedarnath, a major Hindu pilgrimage site in Uttarakhand. MNTV could not independently establish the identity of the speaker or when and where the footage was recorded.
In the video, the saffron-clad ascetic tells Muslims to pack their belongings and leave India for a Muslim-majority country, before threatening violence against those who remain.
He says bombs would be planted in Muslim homes if they did not leave and declares that “Muslims will also get beaten wherever they are found.”
The remarks have triggered outrage on social media, where users described them as explicit threats of violence and expulsion directed at an entire religious community rather than merely inflammatory religious rhetoric.
Several people tagged Uttarakhand Police and demanded that authorities identify the man, authenticate the footage and open a criminal investigation.
One user said threatening people with bombs, assaults or expulsion because of their religion could not be justified as a theological or political disagreement in a constitutional democracy.
Others questioned whether authorities would respond differently if a Muslim religious figure had publicly issued comparable threats against Hindus, reflecting broader accusations of unequal policing of communal hate speech in India.
There was no confirmed statement from Uttarakhand Police addressing the video or announcing an investigation or arrest at the time of reporting.
The threats come amid persistent concerns over anti-Muslim hate speech in India, including inflammatory remarks delivered at religious gatherings and by Hindu hardliners calling for violence, economic boycotts or the exclusion of Muslims.
Uttarakhand has itself faced controversy over anti-Muslim campaigns in recent years, including demands by Hindu right-wing groups that Muslims leave some towns and calls to prevent Muslim traders from operating around Hindu pilgrimage sites.
India’s roughly 200 million Muslims constitute its largest religious minority. Rights groups have repeatedly raised concerns about growing anti-Muslim rhetoric and violence under the Hindu nationalist government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
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