Lucknow: What began as a seemingly routine decoration in Kanpur on the eve of Eid Milad-un-Nabi has spiraled for over three weeks into one of the most volatile religious controversies in recent days. A single illuminated banner reading ‘I Love Muhammad’, put up in the Syed Nagar locality on September 4, has triggered crackdowns, FIRs, detentions, arrests, internet shutdowns, political sparring and a wave of protests stretching from Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand to Gujarat and Maharashtra.

The immediate flashpoint this weekend was Bareilly, where a post-Friday prayer protest called by Muslim cleric Maulana Tauqeer Raza Khan turned violent, prompting police action, detentions, arrests and an internet shutdown. The controversy has since assumed political, legal and communal dimensions, raising questions about religious expression, constitutional rights and law-and-order management.

The controversy’s most explosive fallout came in Bareilly on September 26. Shortly after Friday prayers, hundreds of people poured into the streets near Islamia locality, answering the call of influential cleric Maulana Tauqeer Raza Khan, the leader of the Ittehad-e-Millat Council (IMC). He urged Muslims to join the nationwide ‘I Love Muhammad’ campaign, which had originated in Kanpur weeks earlier.

Placards, chants and religious slogans defined the early moments as people started assembling at different points in Bareilly, including outside the Ala Hazrat Dargah and near the residence of IMC chief Maulana Tauqeer Raza Khan. Later, as the crowd moved toward Islamia Ground in the city, reportedly to submit a memorandum to the administration, the situation spiralled. According to police, stone-pelting and vandalism erupted. There were even reports of gunfire from unidentified persons, prompting a swift lathi-charge by security forces.

District authorities invoked provisions of Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), the new law replacing Section 144 of the CrPC, to justify dispersing the protest. The section empowers magistrates to prevent gatherings deemed a risk to public order.

By Saturday, internet services were suspended, arrests followed and a heavy police march and deployment everywhere in the town.

Maulana Tauqeer Raza claimed he was under house arrest on Friday. He released a video before his arrest on September 27, denouncing the police action as “heavy-handed” and “targeted at Muslims.” He warned that attempts to suppress religious sentiment would backfire. 

“The administration tried to intimidate us, but our faith cannot be silenced,” he said.

However, district magistrate Avinash Singh and senior superintendent of police Anurag Arya framed the unrest differently. 

“This was an unauthorised protest march that had been specifically warned against,” they told reporters. Authorities stated that organisers had been instructed to obtain written permission and that any breach could trigger law enforcement action.

The violence quickly acquired a political dimension. Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath condemned the disturbances as a “well-orchestrated attempt to disrupt social harmony” at a public event on September 27. 

Without naming Maulana Tauqeer Raza, he said, “Maulana had forgotten who is in power.” He further asserted that the government would act firmly against those who hold the system hostage through street unrest.

Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav criticised the government’s response soon after the crackdown. On microblogging platform X, the former chief minister wrote: “Government functions with harmony and goodwill, not lathicharge.”

According to Bareilly police, legal action has been initiated in connection with the unrest. “So far, 10 cases have been registered across various police stations in the district,” officials said on September 27. 

Eight individuals – including Maulana Tauqeer Raza, Sarfaraz, Manifuddin, Azeem Ahmad, Mohammad Sharif, Mohammad Aamir, Jihan, and Mohammad Sarfaraz – have been arrested and sent to judicial custody. Overall, 39 people have been detained in the ongoing crackdown.

Even before the Bareilly unrest, tensions had flared in Kanpur. On September 4, the eve of Eid Milad-un-Nabi, Muslims in the Syed Nagar locality erected a banner reading ‘I Love Muhammad’. Some local Hindus objected to it, claiming the banner was a “new tradition” not part of previous celebrations. Heated arguments ensued but police intervened and relocated the banner peacefully.

The next day, September 5, according to the police, during the Muslim procession, some youths allegedly tore down Hindu religious posters along the route and attempted to install the banner in Rawatput. Police reported that the procession concluded peacefully despite the tensions.

Muslim community was surprised when five days after the dispute, on September 10, Kanpur police registered cases under relevant BNSS sections against eight identified Muslims and 10 to 15 unidentified individuals.

The accused maintain that the banner reflected their religious sentiment and was lawful. One of the accused, Mohammad Siraj told The Wire, “Police are harassing us. Why are they not showing videos, photos, or CCTV footage of us tearing any Hindu banners? Nothing unlawful happened, and many of the named accused were not even present there in procession.”

He said, “Last year, we displayed the same message on a cloth banner, and no one raised objections. This year, we used a light board, and suddenly people started protesting. I don’t understand why.” 

Some accused allege that police action has been biased, targeting their community while ignoring attempts by others to disrupt peace and mar our festival.

Shabnoor Alam, a local prayer leader named in the FIR, told The Wire, “Police asked me to help convince the Muslim crowd to move the light board. I spoke to them, and they agreed. That was my only role. I cannot understand why my name is in the FIR. 

“This FIR is completely baseless and fake no Hindu religious posters torn,” he said.

Alam also claimed that they had official permission for the decoration on the Prophet’s birth anniversary. “Every person has the right to follow their religion. The constitution allows this. Yet, despite this, the police have filed an FIR against us,” he said.

Lawyer Mohit Bajpayee, a local activist associated with Hindu organisations, also objected to the banner’s placement. In a statement to The Wire, he said, “I have no objection to the text, ‘I Love Muhammad.’ All religions have equal rights under the constitution. 

“However, the banner was put up at a location where our Ram Navami banner, flag, and gate are usually displayed. Every person has the right to follow their religion, but new traditions should not be started at new locations. The chief minister has made this clear.”

Kanpur police said they registered the case only after reviewing CCTV footage, which officials claim confirmed deliberate acts intended to disturb communal harmony. Additional deputy commissioner of police Kapil Deo Singh told The Wire, “The investigation is ongoing. No arrests have been made yet.”

Within days, the controversy spread across India, drawing civil rights attention. The Association for Protection of Civil Rights (APCR) documented nationwide FIRs and arrests related to the ‘I Love Muhammad’ campaign. By September 23, APCR recorded at least 21 FIRs naming 1,324 people and resulting in 38 arrests.

Most cases were in Uttar Pradesh, including Kaiser­ganj (355 accused people), Shahjahanpur (200), Baghpat (150), Kanpur (24), Kaushambi (3), Unnao (8), Maharajganj (64), Pilibhit (9), and Varanasi (1). Other states included Godhra, Gujarat (88), Kashipur, Uttarakhand (401), and Byculla, Maharashtra (1). These figures, shared by the Association for Protection of Civil Rights on social media and confirmed by its office bearer, did not include cases filed in Bareilly between September 26-27 and 27.

The Wire did not verify these figures independently.

APCR Secretary Nadeem Khan said the NGO would move the Supreme Court to quash the FIRs. “We have a PAN India network and copies of all FIRs. Our aim is to protect constitutional rights and religious freedom,” he told The Wire.

The Kanpur controversy reverberated in Lucknow on September 20. A group of Muslim women, led by Sumaiya Rana, daughter of Urdu poet Munawwar Rana, staged a protest at Gate No. 4 of the Vidhan Bhavan. They held placards reading ‘I Love Muhammad’ and demanded the withdrawal of FIRs. Police attempted to disperse the crowd, leading to several detentions. 

Sumaiya Rana said, “Our demonstration was sparked by FIRs filed in Kanpur. Police intervention turned a peaceful protest into a confrontation.”

Another activist, Eram Rizvi, protested twice in the state capital over the same issue. In one of the protests, she had planned a march from the historical Chhota Imambada in Hussainabad locality to iconic Ghantaghar, but the police thwarted her attempt and did not allow her to move outside her locality Napier colony.

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