BJP’s T Raja Singh continues spewing venom
T Raja Singh is not new to controversy. Notorious for delivering vitriolic speeches especially against Muslims, the Bharatiya Janata Party MLA from Hyderabad’s Goshamahal has, in the past, called for violence against the community, dehumanised them, accused them of ‘Love Jihad’ and ‘Land Jihad’ and urged Hindus to boycott them socially and economically. And this is putting it mildly. In his speeches, he uses terms such as “Love Jihadi kutton,” “mulle,” “haraami” and “landya” to refer to Muslims. He also refers to old Hyderabad, which has a sizeable Muslim population, as “mini Pakistan”.
Records ahead of the Telangana Assembly elections in 2023, which he contested and won, show 87 criminal cases against Thakur Raja Singh, or Tiger Raja Singh as he refers to himself. Among the charges levied against him over the years, a majority were for promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion or for deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings by insulting beliefs. According to a Times of India report, the MLA had 104 FIRs against him until last year.
Despite all of this, Singh refuses to catch a break. Over the past few days, he has delivered a series of controversial and inflammatory remarks promoting communal hatred and inciting violence at the Ram Navami Shobha Yatra in Hyderabad and various other public events organised by far-Right groups in Maharashtra. From targeting minority communities and promoting cow vigilantism, to calling for destroying Aurangzeb’s tomb and renaming Shivaji University, Singh’s speeches yet again glorified violence and fuelled already simmering communal tensions in these regions.
When Words Power Violence
Let’s begin with his appearance at the Ram Navami Shobha Yatra in Hyderabad.
1. Hyderabad, Ram Navami 2025, April 6:
A large crowd gathered at Siddiamber Bazar Road before a tarpaulin-covered mosque. Singh stood there, feeding a sea of people his usual inflammatory rhetoric, calling those from a certain community, “haraamis” (sinners or bastards).
Chanting ‘Jai Sri Ram’ while beginning to speak, Singh urges crowds to say it loudly so their voices reach the “haramis” who live in the country and eat what the land produces, but are hesitant to say “Bharat Mata ki Jai” or “Vande Mataram”.
“Today we are here to take an oath. Soon, we all have to march towards Maharashtra to uproot the grave of Aurangzeb, who tortured and killed my Sambhaji, destroyed Kashi and Mathura, and forced Hindus to convert.” As he says this, the crowd cheers him on. “The chief minister and deputy chief minister of Maharashtra said that they would uproot Aurangzeb’s grave; I want to ask them, when? … Fix a date, because not only the Hindus of Maharashtra, but the Hindus of our Telangana and Hindus across India are suffering and want to erase the name and mark of Aurangzeb… We will respond to those resisting the demolition of Aurangzeb’s tomb with a gada (a mace or a heavy war club). This is the gada of Bajrang Bali (Hindu deity Hanuman). Anyone who receives a blow with this, does not come back to life…” His words are nothing short of an open call to violence.
At one point, he warns Muslims, referring to them as those walking around exemplifying the “Hum paanch hamare pachaas” scheme, that India is under the governance of “bhagwa-dhari raj” (saffron rule or pro-Hindu governance). “Hum paanch hamare pachaas,” translates to “We’re five, and we’ll procreate to make 50” and is a loaded phrase used by Right-wing leaders over the years in different iterations to deride the Muslim community for allowing polygamous unions and procreating at a higher rate than Hindus. Many political leaders have even used this phrase to warn Hindus that an exponential growth in the Muslim population could one day surpass the Hindu population.
He moves on to the Waqf (Amendment) Act, which was recently passed by the Parliament and received the President’s nod. Stepping up the ante, he says, “All those who pledged to wreak havoc in India if the Waqf amendment bill was not repealed… I want to tell them it is the era of Yogi and Modi. There is no place for terrorists in this era. All the terrorists will be sent to ‘bahhattar hoor’ (72 virgins) by Modi ji and Yogi ji,” he says. The reference to 72 virgins is often found in certain interpretations of Islamic eschatology, where these are mentioned as rewards awaiting martyrs in paradise.
He then takes potshots at All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi. He calls Owaisi “a bulldog” and asks him to “stop barking” because the Waqf amendments he was so opposed to are now legal. Referring to Owaisi and the Muslims of Old City Hyderabad as “bade aur chote bull dog” (bigger and smaller bull dogs, respectively), he says that it’s perhaps time to ask whether they would now change the colour of their skull caps considering the saffron party will soon rule over Telangana. “Tum dono bull dog-on ko hum pack karke kahaan bhejenge?” he asks, to which someone in the audience responds with Pakistan. “Jahaan se wapas nahi aa sakoge,” Singh answers. (Do you know where we’ll send you bull dogs? From where you’ll never be able to return).
Throughout the speech, he rhetorically asks, “Hindu Rashtra banana hai na?” (We’ll establish a Hindu heartland, won’t we?) The crowd unanimously says yes with vigour.
Note that this was not Singh’s only public address on Ram Navami in Hyderabad. During the day, while addressing a crowd and urging them to refrain from pushing one another in the rally, he had said: “Ek dhakka pehle laga tha, tel lagaya tha Dabur ka, naam mitaya tha Babar ka. Ab dusra dhakka laga ne ke liye taiyaar hona hai. Toh agar yahaan dhakke lagayenge toh wahaan kya dhakke lagayenge?” (One blow then had erased the name of Babar. We now have to be ready for the second blow. If you push around here now, what will you do then?) The veiled reference here is to the demolition of the Babri Masjid by Kar Sevaks in 1992.
In March, before Ram Navami, Singh also attended several events in Maharashtra organised by Hindutva outfits. As usual, his remarks were nothing short of calls to violence.
2. Bhosari, Pune, ‘Gau Hatya Mukt Hindustan’ event, March 16:
At an event dedicated to making India free of cow slaughter organised by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal, T Raja Singh delivered a speech that not only glorified violence against Muslims but also actively advocated for cow vigilantism as a quick and effective justice system.
At the event, he praised Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath’s approach towards cow slaughterers, claiming that in UP no one dares to harm a cow because nobody goes the state way—filing FIRs and going for arrests—resorting instead to “encounters”. Singh argues that these methods, if deployed in Maharashtra, could help instill fear and stop cow slaughter there like in UP.
Calling on the state government to implement stringent laws against cow slaughterers, he gives the example of Chhatrapati Shivaji, who at the age of 12, according to him, “chopped off a butcher’s hand to save gau mata“. Like Shivaji, his followers, he adds, “gardan kaatne ke liye taiyyar hai“ (are ready to chop off heads to save the cow). He continues that the government should either imprison butchers or allow cow vigilantes to act freely. “If they (cow vigilantes or gau rakshaks) are unleashed, not only will there be no cow slaughter, but not a single ‘landya’ (a derogatory term for Muslims) will dare to look at any ‘Gau Mata’.”
Singh gave a personal anecdote that, at best, could be seen as flexing his own toxic masculinity, and, at worst, an open call for lynching. He says that explanations regarding the significance of cows and the need to protect them went above his head but when he was told that cows have to be protected from butchers at any cost, he immediately grasped that “kasai ko thokna hai” (butchers have be beaten up). He gave the example of how a few days before Bakr-Eid, he formed a group that went and stood by the highways where they flagged down a truck, which had cows. “Mera kaam that maarna toh humne pehle driver aur cleaner ko maar ke sula diya,“ he says with pride. (My job was to hit, so we first beat up the truck driver and the assistant and flattened them.) We then took the truck to a cow shelter, rescued the cows and then set the truck on fire. “Toh maza ane laga, jalao, maro, thoko… Aur phir aise hi karte gaye… Lekin jaane anjane mein hazaaron gau mataon ki raksha ho gayi” (I began enjoying it all–burning things down, hitting, beating people up… We kept at it… And unknowingly, thousands of cows were saved).
The brute force that Singh, a member of Telangana’s legislative assembly, speaks about and seeks to inspire among those gathered there is worrisome not just because it is outrightly hateful but also because normalises taking law into one’s own hands and unflinchingly using force without any regard for state machinery.
On the same day, the BJP leader also made incendiary remarks at another event in Pune, organised by the Bajrang Dal and VHP.
3. Pimpri Chinchwad, Pune, March 16:
While it wasn’t clear what exactly the event was about, Singh instructed one of the volunteers at the gathering to tear up a poster of Aurangzeb. He then said, “Just as this poster of Aurangzeb has been torn apart, the supporters of Aurangzeb will also be torn apart. We will not stop now; we will make history.”
He added that Hindus unanimously wanted to demolish Aurangzeb’s tomb in Maharashtra and get rid of anything related to the historic figure. Urging people to demolish the Mughal emperor’s grave, he says: “Maharashtra ki pavitra dharti se, jo vyakti Aurangzeb ki kabr par bulldozer chalayega… bharat ka koi bhi Hindu us vyakti ko nahi bhool payega.” (Whoever runs a bulldozer over Aurangzeb’s tomb in Maharashtra will be remembered forever by Hindus.) He then continues, “So, use the bulldozer and make history, and anyone who comes in your way, run those ‘haraamis’ over with it.”
“Just as we demolished the Babri Masjid, we will now destroy Aurangzeb’s tomb. We are waiting for the right time and place—just inform us. We are ready to get our own heads chopped and chop the heads of terrorists. We are neither afraid of dying nor of killing our enemies.”
He claimed that after watching the movie Chhaava, Hindus across India have joined hands in demanding the removal of Aurangzeb’s tomb in Maharashtra. He then expressed support for the call by VHP and Bajrang Dal leaders to “initiate kar-seva on the grave.” This is another reference to the Babri Masjid demolition. He further states, “I don’t care if the BJP expels me for this. It is time to stop politics surrounding Aurangzeb’s grave and turn it into action by bulldozing it.”
It is absurd that Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, who ruled over 300 years ago, remains a subject of political controversy in India, particularly in Maharashtra. The movie Chhaava depicted him as a tyrant whose gruesome execution of Sambhaji Maharaj particularly triggered many from Maharashtra. Leaders like Singh have weaponised these emotions to further fuel animosity.
Note that this speech was made a day before clashes erupted in Nagpur after VHP and Bajrang Dal held demonstrations over the demolition of Aurangzeb’s tomb. Vehicles were torched and properties vandalised in the violence, in which over 30 people were injured and one died.
4. Kolhapur, March 17:
At a protest organised by the Hindu Janajagruti Samiti where Right-wing activists were advocating renaming Shivaji University to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj University, T Raja Singh took to the stage and again delivered provocative speeches filled with threats of violence. He began by stating how unfortunate it was for the Kolhapur region to be inhabited by illegitimate descendants of Afzal Khan and Aurangzeb. Afzal Khan was a general in the Adil Shah dynasty of Bijapur, who allegedly tried to stab Shivaji Maharaj at a truce meeting but was killed by the Maratha ruler.
He said, “Jis Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj ne uss harami Aurangzeb ko sabak sikhaya, aaj bohot durbhagya ka vishay hai ki iss Kolhapur kshetra mein kuch aise log paida ho gaye hain… jo samajhte hai ki hamare baap Afzal Khan, Aurangzeb hai… unki jo najayaz aulade hain… Ye logon ko ‘Chhatrapati’ subject se takleef ho gayi hai…” (Unfortunately, the Kolhapur region is inhabited by the illegitimate descendants of Afzal Khan and Aurangzeb, who have an issue with the legacy of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and the ‘Chhatrapati’ title.)
T Raja Full Speech : शिवाजी विद्यापीठाच्या नावात बदल करा,टी राजांचं कोल्हापुरात स्फेटक भाषण
#Kolhapur #ShivajiUniversity #traja
Posted by ABP Majha on Monday 17 March 2025
Urging Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to rename Shivaji University to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj University in order to avoid any shortcuts in cementing the legacy of the ruler, he also pointed out how Aurangabad was quickly renamed Sambhaji Nagar ahead of the elections. “Phir iss vidyapith ke nam ko badalne mein kisko dikkat aa raha hai? Agar woh mard ka baccha hai toh samne aa jaye… toh Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj ke maule unko aisa sabak sikhayenge ki unki saat pushte bhi yaad rakhengi ki humne naam ka virodh kiya toh hamara kya hua…” (Who is against renaming the university? If you are man enough, then come forward. The followers of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj will teach them a lesson that even their descendants will never be able to forget.)
Praising Eknath Shinde for his stand on destroying Aurangzeb’s tomb, he said, “Just let us know the time and date and we will come with lakhs of people and bulldozers.” He further emphasized that the time to obliterate Aurangzeb’s grave and erase his name has come.
During the event, he also demonized Muslims, accusing them of seizing or encroaching on land belonging to farmers or ancient temples and pooling in lakhs of acres of land under the Waqf: “Kisano ki jagah kabza ki gai, 1,500 saalon purane mandiro ki jagah kabza ki gai. Aaj anek Hinduon ke ghar pe notice bhej kar kaha jaa raha hai yeh Waqf board ki land hai.. Iss tarah se torture karke 9.60 lakh acre zameen inhone Waqf board ke naam rakhi hai…”
He further alleged that the Waqf Board, which owned 30,000 acres of land in 1947, now controls over 960,000 acres but has no papers to show for itself. “Kendra puch raha hai, itni sari zameen tumhare paas kaha se aai uska paper toh bata do… Nahi nahi hum paper nahi batayenge kyunki hamare paas hai nahi…“(The Centre wants to see papers/legal documents to understand how so much land was transferred as Waqf but these people say, ‘No, we can’t show papers because we don’t have any.) “Toh kya tumhare baap ki jagah thi?” Singh quips. (Was it your father’s land to give away?)
A Free Rein?
Note that despite these speeches, there was only one case against T Raja Singh. This was by the Hyderabad city police for allegedly violating the conditions for the April 6 Ram Navami Shobha Yatra. The police said that the event’s organisers violated multiple conditions—using DJs, allowing more vehicles than permitted, and causing public nuisance by obstructing traffic. There was no mention of any objection to the spiteful nature of Singh’s words.
What’s striking, however, is the pattern of impunity. Despite delivering numerous venomous, hate-filled speeches and being named in several FIRs over the years, political leaders like T Raja Singh and Yati Narsinghanand roam free, spewing communal hate without consequence. All this while student activist Umar Khalid remains in jail—without bail or trial—since his arrest on September 13, 2020. He was accused of delivering a speech at an anti-CAA protest that authorities have said fuelled the February 2020 Delhi riots.
Singh’s words and his repeated hate speeches beg the question: why is the justice system lenient towards repeat offenders who have a documented history of inciting hatred and misinformation? And why is it so unyielding for others?
Whose voices are being protected and whose silenced?
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