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New Delhi: A confrontation inside the Jama Masjid in Naharlagun, Arunachal Pradesh, has ignited widespread discussion after a video circulated online showing members of the Arunachal Pradesh Indigenous Youth Association (APIYO) asking the mosque’s cleric to chant “Bharat Mata ki Jai.”
The video, recorded on November 27, shows APIYO leaders Tapor Meying and Taro Sonam Liyak entering the mosque and pressing the cleric to repeat the slogan. As the crowd inside grows anxious, the cleric replies with “India Zindabad,” but the APIYO members insist he must say the specific phrase they are demanding.
The exchange escalates when Liyak declares, “Not every Muslim is a terrorist but why is every terrorist a Muslim?” The cleric maintains his stance, saying “India Zindabad is enough. We will not say Bharat Mata ki Jai,” adding that he is comfortable with slogans like “Hindustan ki Jai” or “India ki Jai,” but not “Bharat Mata,” explaining that a person has “only one real mother.”
The incident comes amid APIYO’s ongoing month-long campaign alleging rising illegal immigration into Arunachal Pradesh. Earlier, the group had announced a bandh on November 25 to protest what it described as the unlawful construction of the Jama Masjid near the Naharlagun helipad, but the shutdown call was withdrawn following assurances from the Home Department.
During the mosque confrontation, APIYO members also questioned the cleric’s identity and immigration documents, alleging he might be a Bangladeshi national living in the state without the required Inner Line Permit (ILP), mandated under the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation Act of 1873.
The video has since set off intense local debates on nationalism, religious expression, immigration concerns, and the nature of APIYO’s activism. State authorities have not yet released an official statement on the episode.
