Raghuraj Singh, a UP Minister has recently advised Muslims to wear a 'tarpaulin hijab' on Holi, saying those who want to avoid colours should stay indoors. He warned against attempts to disrupt Holi celebrations in Uttar Pradesh. Singh dismissed concerns about Holi colours affecting certain people, stating, "If people have objections, they should wear a well-covered hijab made of tarpaulin. We cannot restrict colours to 20 or 25 metres." If this is not plain Muslim baiting and dogwhistling then I don't know what is. The complete silence of Yogi Adityanath on his colleague's divisive comments is ample proof that he tacitly approves his mantri's utterances. The BJP's minions are looking to engineer large scale riots by creating disturbances, dancing maniacally, reciting Hanuman Chalisa, forcing minorities to chant Jai Shri Ram near mosques during Holi festivities in a runup to the 2027 state elections. A similar situation arose recently in Mhow over celebration of India's win in the Champion's trophy. There is a method to this madness, the majoritarians want to paint the minorities as troublemakers by instigating them and then crying 'anti-nationals, go to Pakistan' when the latter take steps to defend themselves.
