“They make nude photos of our sisters and daughters and we cannot even murder them? Those who try to stop this panchayat, we will kill them...
“They make nude photos of our sisters and daughters and we cannot even murder them? Those who try to stop this panchayat, we will kill them, whoever has drunk his mother’s milk can stop us. Muslim brothers? What brothers? These bastards are butchers…they say Section 144 [prohibitory orders forbidding a gathering of more than five] is in place, arre impose whatever orders you want, who is ready to face cases? Raise your hands…every Hindu has the ability to enter your home.”
Suraj Pal Amu may sound like your average, bigoted Hindutva troll, the kind who skulks behind a computer screen and rages against Muslims and worships Narendra Modi, the kind that social-media giants like Twitter and Facebook are reluctant to block or act against for fear of offending India’s ruling party.
But Amu, 53 – a man with a flowing beard and a penchant for hate speech and buttoned up Jodhpuri suits with epaulettes – does not hide himself or his prejudices, and he rarely mentions Modi. He delivered the speech I have quoted from earlier this month before an approving crowd of thousands in rural Haryana, a state ruled by his own Bharatiya Janata Party.
That Amu could make this speech without fear of the police...
