Mumbai: With her compelling speeches centered around Hindutva and anti-Muslim rhetoric, Kajal Shingala seems to be the latest Hindutva icon in Gujarat.
Shingala alias Kajal Hindustani has been active in the Jamnagar region for the past three to four years, even appearing on television debates on communalism, say locals. Her skills as an orator and ability to attract crowds have made her a sought-after speaker at rallies and events organised by far-right Hindutva groups such as the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bajrang Dal.
These speeches, however, have also landed Shingala in trouble. A week after delivering an allegedly incendiary speech on 30 March, on the occasion of Ram Navami, in Gujarat’s Una town, Shingala was arrested Sunday. The purported speech, delivered at an event organised by Shree Ramkrushna Janmotsava Samiti, is said to have triggered communal clashes in Una.
She has been remanded to judicial custody for 14 days.
According to Hitendrasinh Rajput, VHP spokesperson, Shingala started attending VHP programmes over the past year. “I don’t know her much, but she was a crowd puller at local levels and used to be contacted and would attend our events,” he said to ThePrint.
Shingala is also quite active on social media with over 95,000 Twitter followers — Prime Minister Narendra Modi being one among them.
Her profile describes her as “Entrepreneur । Research Analyst। Debater । Social Activist । ProIndiaRight । Nationalist । Proud HINDUstani”.
In her speeches, Shingala has consistently promoted an anti-Muslim rhetoric, frequently raising the issue of so-called “love-jihad” — a term used to describe the alleged efforts of Muslims to convert Hindu women through marriage — and even used the term “land jihad“.
During the Ram Navami speech, Shingala had reportedly appealed to Muslim women to marry Hindu men, allegedly listing out the “benefits” of such an action. At this occasion, a local BJP MLA K.C. Rathod is said to have shared the dais with her.
ThePrint reached Rathod via phone call, but when asked about his presence at the event, he did not respond and disconnected the call.
Gujarat Congress, meanwhile, is of the view that Shingala need not be given much importance since she is already under arrest. “She is active in the Saurashtra region and is just trying to become the next Hindutva icon like Sadhvi Pragya (BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur) and others,” said Parthivrajsinh Kathavadia, congress Gujarat spokesperson.
“There is an attempt to polarise the population, but this won’t destroy the secular fabric of the region,” he added.
The Ram Navami speech
Shingala, under 14-day judicial custody, is currently lodged in Junagadh jail.
Based on a complaint made by Kantibhai Ramjibhai, an assistant sub-inspector posted at the Una police station, Shingala was booked under sections 295A (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs), 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc, and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony) and 505 (statements conducing to public mischief) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
Following the Ram Navami incident, Shingala had defended her speech during a television interview. “I am speaking the truth. This is happening across the Muslim community. My Muslim sisters are not getting equal rights. I am just trying to awaken the Muslim women,” she said.
Shingala, in her 30s, has spoken about ‘love jihad’ on several occasions, demanding a law against it.
In a speech delivered in Navi Mumbai a month ago at a Hindu Jan Akrosh event, she spoke about how Hindus are in danger and she has come to awaken them. “Love Jihad and land jihad are connected to terrorism, all those topiwalas in Waqf board are terrorists,” she said in her speech, a video of which is available on YouTube.
(Edited by Zinnia Ray)
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