Union Textile Minister Giriraj Singh flagged off his 'Hindu Swabhiman Yatra' on Friday in Bhagalpur while embarking on a campaign to impress the "threat to the very existence of Hindus" in India.
Before this, Singh, before flagging off the Yatra, went to the Budhanath temple, where he made oblations, and then spoke to hundreds of people at the district school ground, foregrounding his organizational legacy.
In a speech, he invoked the legacy of Babasaheb Bhim Rao Ambedkar, who framed the Constitution for India, saying that when the Partition of India and Pakistan took place in 1947, Ambedkar had advised all Muslims to go to Pakistan and all Hindus to India.
He, however, held India's first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, guilty for rejecting this idea and branding it as a "blunder."
This choice made at Partition has continued to give rise to problems that plague the Hindu society in the nation, and his Yatra is set to bring attention and garner support to solve those problems," Singh said.
The Hindu Swabhiman Yatra, led by Singh, is set to restore a sense of Hindu pride and will rally people around issues of faith and historical grievances, especially for the nation that formed after Partition.
He mentioned recent clashes in Bahraich and Sitamarhi.
"While Hindus did not provoke violence during Muharram processions, stones were thrown at Durga Puja and Ram Navami processions by others. Such incidents are instances of how Hindus are threatened in India," said Singh.
Singh explained his concern with reference to events like those in Bangladesh, where attacks on Hindus were recorded and put up on the social sites.
He referred to the sharp decline of the Hindu population in Pakistan, to a mere 0.5 per cent, as a warning sign to Hindus in India.
My yatra is going to raise awareness on these dangers and mobilise popular opinion against emerging threats to Hindu identity in the region, says Singh.
Campaigning in an open-roof SUV, Giriraj Singh seems to be garnering significant support from crowds on his journey so far. Today he will head towards the Naugachhia subdivision in Bhagalpur district and enter Katihar on Saturday morning, followed by stops in Purnea on October 20, Araria on October 21, and concluding in Kishanganj on October 22.
These are the regions of Seemanchal in India bordering Bangladesh and Nepal; Muslim populations are highly significant in these regions, and Singh's route choice reflects his focus on this area for his yatra.
