Crackdown in UP, Hate Speech Case in Delhi, and Rising Fear Among Bihar Muslims Reflect Growing Strains Ahead of Indian Polls

Mounting communal tensions are rippling across India as arrests, demolitions, and hate speech controversies intensify ahead of key state elections, raising alarm among rights groups over deepening polarization.

In Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, police have launched large-scale operations in Muslim localities, detaining dozens of residents and demolishing several buildings linked to cleric Maulana Tauqeer Raza Khan following his “I Love Muhammad” march. According to Clarion India, families reported that homes and businesses were bulldozed without prior notice, as authorities justified the actions as part of a “law and order” response. Community leaders, however, condemned the demolitions as collective punishment and politically motivated.

Meanwhile, in New Delhi, the Supreme Court of India has agreed to examine whether a video released by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) constitutes hate speech. As reported by the Times of India, the video allegedly vilifies Muslims and warns of a demographic “takeover” if the BJP loses power — claims that opposition leaders say fuel communal hatred.

Meanwhile, in Bihar’s Seemanchal region, tensions are rising sharply as Shershahbadi Muslims face growing stigmatization and accusations of being “Bangladeshi infiltrators.” According to Al Jazeera, BJP leaders have repeatedly used this narrative to rally support before the November state elections, despite a lack of credible evidence. The campaign has triggered fear, distrust, and increasing social segregation within Muslim-majority areas.

The Shershahbadi community, whose members speak a Bangla-influenced dialect with Hindi and Urdu elements, has lived in the region for generations but is now targeted for its linguistic and cultural identity. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call for a nationwide “demography mission” has amplified such rhetoric, echoing earlier efforts in Assam tied to the National Register of Citizens (NRC) that excluded millions of Muslims from citizenship.

The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists in Bihar led to the deletion of thousands of names, with Muslim-majority districts like Kishanganj seeing one of the highest removal rates at 9.7 percent, raising fears of voter suppression. In Seemanchal, Hindu families have reportedly begun avoiding Muslim-run schools and hospitals, underscoring widening communal segregation.

Critics and rights groups argue that the BJP’s escalating rhetoric and administrative actions are designed to polarize voters and consolidate its political base ahead of elections — a tactic that has deepened anxiety and uncertainty among Bihar’s Shershahbadi Muslims, who now fear both social exclusion and disenfranchisement.