Right-wing Hindutva priest Yati Narsinghanand, famously known for his hate speeches against minority communities, has caused a furore yet again, this time in the ongoing Maha Kumbh Mela in Uttar Pradesh’s Prayagraj.
“This might be the last Maha Kumbh Mela if the population of jihadists increases and they make India an Islamic nation. Even a single temple will not be left,” Yati said in a video that emerged on social media.
“Not just temples, if the number of jihadists increases there will not be a single woman left in your house nor my house,” the Dasna head priest said.
This is not the first time Yati Narsinghanand has weaved an Islamophobic narrative. Last year, on December 20, Yati while attending the World’s Religion Parliament in Haridwar made a threatening statement. “If the police move away for 15 minutes, this person asking and lecturing for time will not survive,” cryptically referring to All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) leader Akbaruddin Owaisi’s controversial speech.
In 2012, Owaisi, while addressing a rally in Telangana’s Adilabad district, made an open challenge stating “If the police were to be removed for 15 minutes the Muslim community could show its strength.”
In October 2024, he made derogatory remarks against the Prophet of Islam stating that, “If you have to burn effigies on every Dussehra, then burn the effigies of Muhammad.”
Charged for Muzaffarnagar riots
On January 3 this year, a special MP-MLA court in Uttar Pradesh’s Muzaffarnagar took legal action against 19 political figures including Yati Narsinghanand and senior BJP leaders in connection with the 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots that killed 42 Muslims.
The charges against Yati Narsinghanand are substantial and include serious legal violations including violating prohibitory orders and inciting communal violence.
About Yati Narsinghanand
Born as Deepak Tyagi, the riot-accused Yati Narsinghanand reportedly studied in Russia and worked as an engineer in the UK, before returning to India and joining the Hindu temple as a priest in 2007.
The 58-year-old head Hindutva priest faces numerous criminal cases and communally charged statements under Indian law for hate speech.
Although he has been arrested in the past, the Uttar Pradesh police have often been accused of allowing Yati Narsinghanand to be scot-free despite his Islamophobic and misogynist comments.
Critics have pointed out the apparent double standards in handling such cases stating marginalized groups and independent journalists who report these hate crimes are stamped down immediately, and those spewing hate speech remain outside the law.
