New Delhi: Tensions ran high in Bareilly on Friday (September 26) as the Uttar Pradesh police lathi-charged Muslim protesters to control the angry crowd they had formed. Several policemen were injured and vehicles were vandalised in the clashes. In many videos, the police can be seen assaulting men near the Islamia ground.

The protesters had assembled to submit a memorandum to the local authorities amid the ongoing ‘I Love Muhammad’ campaign, following a call by Barelvi cleric and Ittehad-e-Millat Council chief Tauqeer Raza Khan.

Similar protests erupted in other parts of the country this week, and in some cases, clashes broke out between protesters and the police.

The trigger? The Uttar Pradesh police’s action against Muslim men in Kanpur for allegedly putting up ‘I Love Muhammad’ posters during a religious event marking the birth anniversary of Prophet Muhammad on September 4. Several people were booked after right-wing Hindu groups objected to the posters as a ‘new tradition’.

The Kanpur police, however, clarified that their action was not against the message itself but because the posters were apparently put up in an area traditionally used by another community for putting up banners, which were allegedly torn by some miscreants.

As news of the removal of ‘I Love Muhammad’ posters in Kanpur spread, many Muslims in various parts of the country joined the campaign, putting up posters, stickers or social media status updates declaring “I Love Muhammad”.

As the protests gained steam, there was a swift crackdown. By September 24, at least 21 FIRs had been filed against protesters across four states, implicating over 1,300 individuals and leading to the arrest of 38 people, according to the Association for Protection of Civil Rights (APCR). In Bareilly, eight people, including cleric Khan, were arrested on Saturday.

Unrest was also reported outside Uttar Pradesh. In Kashipur, Uttarakhand, normally considered a quiet town, there was unrest on September 21 when clashes occurred during an ‘I Love Muhammad’ procession led by one Nadeem Akhtar and others through the Alikhan area.

According to a fact-finding report by the APCR: “While police claim the procession [in Kashipur] was unauthorised and involved 400-500 people who assaulted officers and damaged government vehicles, community members assert it was a peaceful religious march that turned violent only after police harassed minors at the site. The incident resulted in the arrest of seven individuals, including Nadeem Akhtar, with FIRs filed against approximately 500 people.”

It further noted: “In the aftermath, authorities launched a coordinated crackdown exclusively targeting the Muslim-majority ward through bulldozer demolitions against 20-25 shops, door-to-door ration card verification, house-tax notices, and detention of children as young as 10-12 in juvenile facilities. Community members described this systematic administrative action as the ‘Haldwani model’ of collective punishment, creating an atmosphere of fear where residents are now afraid to speak to the media or pursue legal recourse.”

In response to the ‘I Love Muhammad’ campaign, some Hindu groups launched ‘I Love Mahakal’ and ‘I Love Mahadev’ campaigns. In Gujarat, clashes were reported in Gandhinagar between the two groups, while in Lucknow controversial posters saying ‘I Love Bulldozer’ surfaced at an intersection.

Reacting to the protests, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath said: “The rioters will recall their past seven generations. Some people’s bad habits don’t go away easily, therefore their dents need to be painted … In Bareilly, the maulana had forgotten who’s running the government … We will teach such a lesson that his next generation will forget rioting.”

Even as Adityanath has warned of a life-changing lesson to anyone provoking communal violence, right-wing groups, his close aides and former MLAs, and influencers have spent the past week threatening Muslims.

“The ‘I love Muhammad’ and ‘I love Mahadev’ campaigns are not a matter of clashes … Here, there are 100 crore Hindus. If 25 crore mullas and maulvis try to clash with them, they shall be crushed,” said Raghvendra Singh, the former MLA of Domariyaganj.

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav condemned the police crackdown and called it a sign of the state government’s weakness. “The government should be run with harmony and not with lathis,” he said.

All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen chief Asaduddin Owaisi slammed the crackdown, saying: “What is anti-national here? What sort of violence does this promote? If the word is ‘Love’, then why is anyone having a problem? … I think we have to play the ‘Aye Mohabbat Zindabad’ song [from the film Mughal-e-Azam] for these people”.

Even as the Uttar Pradesh police deny any religious bias, questions have been raised by Muslim activists and leaders over contrasting responses during festivals of different communities.

Earlier this year, photos of mosques covered with tarpaulin during Holi sparked controversy. The debate intensified after a police officer in Sambhal told Muslims to ‘stay at home if they don’t want to be smeared with colours’. Retired senior police officials had slammed those remarks.

Another controversy erupted when police in some districts threatened to cancel the passports and driving licences of Muslims seen praying on roads.

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