Introduction
On February 8, 2022, a young Muslim girl named as Muskan Khan, became a symbol of heroism and courage as she stood her ground in the face of terror-inducing right-wing thugs from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). She adamantly repeated the slogan “Allahhu Akbar” (Allah is Great) in response to the chanting of Jai Shri Ram (Hail Lord Ram) as she continued to walk gallantly to her class. Muskan Khan is a second-year student of B.Com. at the PES College in the city of Mandya in the Indian state of Karnataka. Her fortitude amidst of being surrounded by saffron terrorists made her a top-trend at Twitter, where hashtags like #Sherni (Lioness) and #AllahuAkbar continues to dominate.
In the aftermath of the unfortunate incident, the state authorities have ordered to shut down all schools and colleges for three days in order to diffuse the situation. However, it is pivotal to explore whether the incident was spontaneous or is there any specific pattern of behaviour prevailing in contemporary India driven by intolerance, hatred, and violence. Previously, in December 2021, a group of Hijab wearing Muslim girls were barred to enter their classroom. Al Jazeera noted that “When 18-year-old A H Almas and two friends walked into class on a December morning, the teacher immediately shouted at them: “Get out.””[1] The latter incident clearly reveals a certain level of hatred. Barring students from entering the classroom and making such derogatory comments are not justifiable in the name of “social harmony.”
