Hindutva leader filmed denying food to Muslims in India
Video from northern India renews scrutiny of anti-Muslim rhetoric and growing concerns over vigilante groups linked to Hindu nationalism
NEW DELHI, India (MNTV) — A video showing a Hindu nationalist leader in northern India publicly denying food to Muslims during a distribution drive has triggered outrage and renewed concerns over rising anti-Muslim hostility linked to hardline Hindutva groups.
The footage, widely circulated on social media, shows Hindu extremist leader Bhupendra Tomar taking a plate of food from a man standing in a queue during a food distribution event in Ghaziabad, a city in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh near the capital New Delhi.
In the video, Tomar — commonly known as Pinky Chaudhary — is heard declaring that Muslims should not receive food from the event and that only Hindus were welcome.
The incident has intensified debate over the growing visibility of Hindu supremacist vigilante groups accused of targeting Muslims through hate speech, intimidation campaigns and exclusionary mobilization.
Tomar is the head of the Hindu Raksha Dal, a hardliner Hindutva organization that has repeatedly drawn criticism over inflammatory anti-Muslim rhetoric and vigilante actions.
He previously emerged as a prominent figure in a 2021 hate speech controversy linked to a gathering in New Delhi where several speakers allegedly called for violence against Muslims.
Rights advocates say the latest video reflects a broader normalization of openly discriminatory rhetoric against Muslims in parts of India, particularly in states governed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Over recent years, Tomar and members of the Hindu Raksha Dal have been accused in multiple incidents involving communal intimidation and anti-Muslim campaigns in Uttar Pradesh.
Earlier this year, members of the group drew criticism after slogans reading “Road Not for Muslims” appeared on a highway in Uttar Pradesh. Tomar reportedly defended the act while making claims that only Hindus contribute to taxes in India, a statement widely criticized as false and discriminatory.
He has also previously urged Hindus to prevent Muslims from buying homes in Hindu-majority neighborhoods, echoing broader exclusionary campaigns increasingly reported in parts of India involving housing segregation and economic boycotts targeting Muslims.
In another major incident in 2024, Tomar was accused of leading a mob attack on a Muslim settlement in Ghaziabad during communal unrest. Reports from that period alleged that homes were burned, residents assaulted and anti-Muslim slogans shouted during the violence.
Civil liberties groups and minority rights advocates have repeatedly accused authorities of failing to take strong action against vigilante groups promoting anti-Muslim hostility, arguing that weak legal enforcement has contributed to a growing sense of impunity.
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