When one talks about demographic changes in Bharat, one sees that it is always a replacement of a Hindu population with a non-Hindu population, usually a Muslim population. And many times, one notices that the new residents are illegal residents who have been settled in areas encroached upon illegally, with the help of local politicians or goondas. This pattern has been seen in the various States of Bharat like Jammu, West Bengal, Assam, Bengaluru in Karnataka and now the latest has been the case of a suburb of Mumbai in Maharashtra.
Mangal Prabhat Lodha, the Mumbai BJP President raised the issue of Hindu exodus underway at the Malad-Malvani region while speaking at the Vidhan Sabha on Thursday (4.3.2021). He called it the ‘Malvani Pattern’ and said the exodus of Hindus is similar to the pattern that was witnessed in areas such as Kashmir, Kairana, and Assam where Hindu minorities were threatened and intimidated to leave. “If you look at the Vidhan Sabha voters list in Malad-Malvani region, the number of Hindu voters have reduced by about 15,000 while the Muslim voters have risen by 12,000,” Mr. Lodha claimed in his speech in the Maharashtra Vidhan Sabha. He also stated that out of 106 families in Chedda Nagar in Malvani, less than 52 families remain while the others had shifted out of the locality in fear.
In January this year, reportedly police authorities tore down banners which were put up for the Ram Mandir fund collection drive because the minority sentiments would be hurt. Additionally at least three VHP leaders were arrested for putting up the posters and because they recorded the incident of the police personnel tearing up the banners, on their mobile phones. They were also reportedly beaten up at the police station. It was only after Mr. Lodha and some other workers of the RSS and VHP interfered that they were released. Speaking about the intimidation and threat received by Hindu residents in Malvani, Mr. Lodha raised questions on lack of police action against the culprits and questioned the action taken by the Home Minister of the State.
It is absolutely essential that such problems are nipped in the bud before the demographic changes become irreversible. As a matter of National safety too, it is imperative that the State authorities and the Centre work hand-in-hand to weed out illegal residents before they become a further threat to the Nation.
