Saurabh Mukherjee
A fresh controversy has erupted in Uttar Pradesh after posters and placards carrying the message “I love Muhammad” surfaced in several districts, with the administration framing the slogan as a “new ritual” and a provocation aimed at stoking communal tensions.
Police crackdowns have followed in multiple states, with dozens of FIRs filed, hundreds booked and scores arrested across Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Maharashtra.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath weighed in on Friday, without taking names, accusing “certain individuals” of being unable to tolerate peace and welfare and allowing their “arrogance” to rise during Hindu festivals.
His remarks followed tensions in Bareilly, where police stopped people from assembling with “I Love Muhammad” placards. When some protested, clashes broke out, with allegations of stone-pelting, slogan-shouting and even firing.
Addressing an event in Shravasti, where he inaugurated and laid foundation stones for projects worth Rs 510 crore and announced a state holiday on October 7 to mark Maharishi Valmiki’s birth anniversary, Adityanath issued a stern warning.
“We will give respect to all, we will give security to all, but if anyone indulges in rioting or arson in the name of faith, they must be ready to face the consequences. Those who attack common citizens, harass daughters, attack traders or police, we will neither spare them nor allow them to escape. Those who dare to set shops and establishments on fire will face such strong action that it will become an example not only for them but for their generations,” he said.
The chief minister said that worship is a “personal, internal” matter and not a cause for street demonstrations, insisting that the use of loudspeakers at religious places remains banned in the state.
“Disorder will never be accepted,” he declared.
“To curb some people’s arrogance, we have to take firm action. Taliban-style rule and Dar-ul-Islam rule will not be available even in hell,” Adityanath said, referring to such miscreants as “Chand-Mund” — demons from Hindu mythology.
“Just as Goddess Bhagwati crushed Chand-Mund, similar action would be taken against those who disturb society — a message that will set an example for generations,” he added.
Observers have argued that the three-word declaration is no different from expressions of faith such as “I love Maryada Purushottam Ram!”, “I love Lord Jesus!” or “I love Guru Nanak!”, and that treating it as a trigger for communal unrest undermines India’s pluralist ethos.
They point out that while religiosity is largely personal, it requires moderation and regulation in public life—whether in the case of Friday prayers spilling over onto thoroughfares, or large processions during Muharram, Ram Navami, Dussehra and Guru Nanak Jayanti.
Critics have also noted that the phrase should have been written as “I love Muhammad (PBUH),” as mandated in Islamic tradition.
The controversy, however, has been framed by authorities as a communal flashpoint, rather than an administrative failure to manage public gatherings.
Commentators warn that criminalising peaceful declarations of faith is unconstitutional, erodes public trust in democratic institutions, and risks inflaming tensions.
The RSS chief himself recently remarked that India’s claim to being a Vishwaguru rests on respecting plurality and diversity. Voices within the Muslim community have also called for restraint, urging people to treat the slogan as a celebration of Prophet Muhammad’s (PBUH) message of compassion and camaraderie, and to avoid provocation or violence.
“That would be a self-goal,” one commentator reportedly said, warning that elements looking to marginalise the community further were waiting to use draconian laws against them.
The debate has also drawn on cultural voices, with the Urdu poet Afzal Manglori’s couplet invoked as a reminder of India’s shared spiritual inheritance:
“Bharat pe merey Rehmat-e-Parwardigar hai/ Kripa Prabhu Ram ki, Kanha ka pyar hai!(The blessing of Allah is surely on Bharat/ So is the love of Prabhu Rama and Lord Krishna on Bharat!)"
Police crackdowns have followed in multiple states, with dozens of FIRs filed, hundreds booked and scores arrested across Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Maharashtra.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath weighed in on Friday, without taking names, accusing “certain individuals” of being unable to tolerate peace and welfare and allowing their “arrogance” to rise during Hindu festivals.
His remarks followed tensions in Bareilly, where police stopped people from assembling with “I Love Muhammad” placards. When some protested, clashes broke out, with allegations of stone-pelting, slogan-shouting and even firing.
Addressing an event in Shravasti, where he inaugurated and laid foundation stones for projects worth Rs 510 crore and announced a state holiday on October 7 to mark Maharishi Valmiki’s birth anniversary, Adityanath issued a stern warning.
“We will give respect to all, we will give security to all, but if anyone indulges in rioting or arson in the name of faith, they must be ready to face the consequences. Those who attack common citizens, harass daughters, attack traders or police, we will neither spare them nor allow them to escape. Those who dare to set shops and establishments on fire will face such strong action that it will become an example not only for them but for their generations,” he said.
The chief minister said that worship is a “personal, internal” matter and not a cause for street demonstrations, insisting that the use of loudspeakers at religious places remains banned in the state.
“Disorder will never be accepted,” he declared.
“To curb some people’s arrogance, we have to take firm action. Taliban-style rule and Dar-ul-Islam rule will not be available even in hell,” Adityanath said, referring to such miscreants as “Chand-Mund” — demons from Hindu mythology.
“Just as Goddess Bhagwati crushed Chand-Mund, similar action would be taken against those who disturb society — a message that will set an example for generations,” he added.
Observers have argued that the three-word declaration is no different from expressions of faith such as “I love Maryada Purushottam Ram!”, “I love Lord Jesus!” or “I love Guru Nanak!”, and that treating it as a trigger for communal unrest undermines India’s pluralist ethos.
They point out that while religiosity is largely personal, it requires moderation and regulation in public life—whether in the case of Friday prayers spilling over onto thoroughfares, or large processions during Muharram, Ram Navami, Dussehra and Guru Nanak Jayanti.
Critics have also noted that the phrase should have been written as “I love Muhammad (PBUH),” as mandated in Islamic tradition.
The controversy, however, has been framed by authorities as a communal flashpoint, rather than an administrative failure to manage public gatherings.
Commentators warn that criminalising peaceful declarations of faith is unconstitutional, erodes public trust in democratic institutions, and risks inflaming tensions.
The RSS chief himself recently remarked that India’s claim to being a Vishwaguru rests on respecting plurality and diversity. Voices within the Muslim community have also called for restraint, urging people to treat the slogan as a celebration of Prophet Muhammad’s (PBUH) message of compassion and camaraderie, and to avoid provocation or violence.
“That would be a self-goal,” one commentator reportedly said, warning that elements looking to marginalise the community further were waiting to use draconian laws against them.
The debate has also drawn on cultural voices, with the Urdu poet Afzal Manglori’s couplet invoked as a reminder of India’s shared spiritual inheritance:
“Bharat pe merey Rehmat-e-Parwardigar hai/ Kripa Prabhu Ram ki, Kanha ka pyar hai!(The blessing of Allah is surely on Bharat/ So is the love of Prabhu Rama and Lord Krishna on Bharat!)"
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