At the ‘Hindu Mahapanchayat’ organised by Yati Narsinghanand Saraswati, the 62-year-old head priest of the Dasna Devi temple in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, his right-hand man Anil Yadav, also known as ‘Chote Narsinghanand’, openly called for the “annihilation” of the Muslim community, suggesting that to bring an end to Islam, a ‘sanghar’ (translating to annihilation) needs to be carried out (at 3:41-minute mark).
In a video released three days earlier on June 18, Narsinghanand alleged that two ‘Madanis’ (prominent Muslim clerics) of Deoband and a Samajwadi Party MP were openly preaching ‘jihad’ and ‘ghazwa-e-hind’ — a term invoked by far-Right groups to suggest an Islamic conspiracy to radicalise the nation.
At the Mahapanchayat held at the temple premises, he called on Hindus to “stand up for themselves” against what he described as an imminent threat from Muslims. He stated that the purpose of the Mahapanchayat was to decide the community’s course of action to protect their families and children.
When Alt News asked the assistant commissioner of police of Wave City, Priyashri Pal, if any complaints had been registered against any of the speakers at the Mahapanchayat, she said that no complaints had been filed so far (as of June 30), however, cases of objectionable speech have previously been registered against both Narsinghanand and Yadav.
From the outset of his June 21 speech, Yadav reaffirmed his unconditional support for the head priest and the beliefs he espouses. “I am merely guruji’s shadow. His beliefs are my beliefs,” he said. He goes on to claim that Hindus are being killed, and to fight it, the only solution is to procreate more so as to build more strength in the Hindu community.
To support his claims, Yadav cited the “example” of the Surya Pratap Chauhan stabbing case. A 17-year-old boy, Surya Pratap, was allegedly stabbed to death by his neighbour Asad and his aides, on May 28 in Ghaziabad’s Khoda. Five days later, on June 3, Asad was killed in a police encounter.
Yadav alleged that Asad’s supporters are now seeking revenge, also claiming that “they are more in numbers”. He continued, “We have no organised strength to confront them; we are alone. Our people are only making reels…My brother will also die, he has kept a Muslim,” claiming that his brother’s marriage to a Muslim woman will result in his brother’s demise. To support his statement, he mentioned alleged cases where Hindu men married to or in romantic relationships with Muslim women had been attacked by the woman’s family members, such as the case of Ankit Saxena.
Concluding his speech, Yadav asserted that ‘sanghar’ must be executed. “You should be doing it, and if you don’t, they are already doing it. Whoever does it first will win this battle,” he said, along with reading a poem calling for the death of “traitors”.
After videos of his speech began circulating on social media and garnered criticism, Narsinghanand released a video on June 25, declaring his support for Yadav and his claims. In the video, the head priest stated that China and Israel are the only ones who have found a “befitting response” to ‘jihadis’/Islam, and praises Israel’s attack on Palestine while adding, “we can’t do that, we don’t have as much courage.
History of Hate Speeches
Notably, there have been several hate speech cases registered against Narsinghanand over the years. He was arrested on January 13, 2022, after delivering a speech at an event in Haridwar, calling for violence against Muslims. Yadav, by contrast, is a relatively lesser-known figure and does not feature among the more prominent Hindutva leaders. He briefly appeared in some news reports following Narsinghanand’s arrest, telling the BBC in 2022 that these criminal cases were “like our jewels. That’s no problem.”
In another case of unabated hate speech, in 2024, Yadav was named alongside Narsinghanand for making inflammatory remarks on Prophet Muhammad and was arrested by the Uttar Pradesh police. Yadav had threatened to burn effigies of Prophet Muhammad and Hazrat Ali in response to protests against Narsinghanand’s remarks.
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Alt News’ detailed account of Yati Narsinghanand’s hate speeches through the years can be found here.
This content originally appeared on Alt News and was authored by Oishani Bhattacharya.