Shivam Shukla

Though the fragmented bones and other foreign particles have been removed from Shivam’s skull through surgery, doctors are unsure that he will gain consciousness anytime soon, or at all. He is currently under post-surgery observation, and is in critical condition.

The youngest of three children, Shivam is the only son of his father, who is a farmer. Shivam is pursuing a diploma in Computer Science and was excited for his sister’s wedding, which was scheduled for April 17. At this moment, as doctors treating him, his family and all who have heard of his case are uncertain of his chances of attending his sister’s wedding or of completing his diploma. 

Shivam is being punished for celebrating a festival in a country in which his community enjoys numerical superiority. Hindus are being attacked repeatedly, vigorously, and violently by Islamic forces and pro-Islamic institutions for celebrating their festivals in India.

Stone the devil, says Islamic tradition

They first tried less violent ways to stop Hindu celebrations. They sought bans on firecrackers during Diwali, manipulated the timings of Durga Puja, and shamed Hindus for celebrating Holi by the deft use of pop-culture icons.

When nothing worked, and the Hindus continued their festivities with revived fervor, Muslims resorted, inspired by Islamic traditions regarding “stoning the devil” and Qur’anic teachings calling for the slaying of kaafirs, to terrorizing Hindus by launching massive murderous attacks. Before every Hindu occasion, Muslims gather enormous quantities of stones, bricks, and bottles on their roofs. Some even build makeshift slings with belts and ropes to launch projectiles. When Hindu processions go past these rooftops, hundreds of stones and brickbats are shot in their direction, injuring the devotees. Videos from the riots show that women, children, and grandmothers all participate in the merriment of stone-throwing.

The trend of throwing stones at Hindu religious processions started a couple of years ago and has been repeating every year with greater vigor, resulting in increased casualties. Making progress from last year’s records, mobs of Muslims engaged heavy stone-pelting on Ram Navami processions in seven Indian states this year.

The attacks in Gujarat’s Himmatnagar and Khambhat that resulted in one death were haunting, as they were reminiscent of the 2002 Godhra carnage, which Muslim mobs also perpetrated. Muslim mobs vandalized shops and vehicles in both locations, prompting police to fire tear gas shells to control the unrest. A massive contingent of police was deployed in the sensitive areas after Muslims hounded peaceful processions arranged by Hindu groups and injured 10 participants in Howrah, West Bengal. Communal tensions also escalated in Hendlaso-Kujra, a village in Jharkhand, after Muslims attacked the Ram Navami processions, setting fire to 10 vehicles and a pick-up van. Several Hindus sustained severe injuries, and one man was reported dead in the brawl. Not one but a series of attacks were reported in Rajasthan; attacks were reported in Karnataka as well. 

Breaking from the practice of handling these Islamic miscreants with kid gloves – as most state governments do – the administration in Madhya Pradesh carried out a heavy crackdown. Finding that most of the houses from which stones were thrown at processions from the rooftops were built illegally, the administration took bulldozers to these houses and razed them. 

Of course, this presented the Islam-aligned media and celebrities with the coveted opportunity to play victim. Devious white-collar jihadis leaped to exploit the situation to their own advantage; some defended the attackers, stating that the Hindus had been passing through “Muslim areas.” They belong to the same group that demands that Muslim crowds be allowed to hold prayers on public roads, as well as in public parks and gardens. They also shared well-timed photos of skullcap-wearing men on social media and tried to deceive the world into believing that Muslims in India are living a nightmare under a majoritarian government. All this was a canny trick to downplay the Islamic violence that has led to one Hindu child fighting for his life on a ventilator.