Rising Communal Tensions and Allegations of Targeted Disenfranchisement Across India

Communal tensions and concerns over political exclusion have intensified across India, particularly in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, amid a series of incidents affecting Muslim communities.

In Varanasi (Kashi), Uttar Pradesh, protests erupted after Hindu groups objected to mosques using loudspeakers for the azaan (call to prayer), claiming noise parity with amplified Hanuman Chalisa recitations. The demonstrations, which drew sharp local reactions, prompted Muslim leaders to call for restraint and equal treatment, according to Clarion India.

Meanwhile, in Bihar, the Congress party has accused the Election Commission of selectively removing the names of nearly 23 lakh Dalit and Muslim women from the voter rolls during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process. The Commission described the move as part of the first “purification” of rolls in 22 years, as reported by The Economic Times, but opposition parties have alleged that the exercise disproportionately affected minority voters, Deccan Herald reported.

In Meerut, five people were arrested for displaying posters reading “I Love Prophet Muhammad,” an act that authorities deemed provocative, according to Muslim Mirror. The arrests sparked condemnation from US-based Muslim advocacy groups, which urged the government to release Maulana Tauqeer Raza Khan, who was detained in connection with the same campaign, Muslim Mirror reported.

Separately, in Bareilly, the Bareilly Development Authority demolished parts of Dr. Nafeess Raza’s residence following protests tied to the “I Love Muhammad” campaign. The move drew criticism from community leaders as another instance of “bulldozer politics,” Times of India reported, noting that officials also issued electricity-theft notices worth over ₹1 crore against Raza’s aides.

These incidents — from the suppression of religious expression to voter roll controversies and punitive demolitions — underscore rising concerns over communal polarization and the shrinking civic space for India’s minority communities. They also highlight an intensifying campaign driven by a Hindutva agenda under the nationalist Modi Government to repress the Muslim identity and expression in India, which hosts the third largest Muslim population (roughly 200 million), after Indonesia and Pakistan.