Protesters burned copies of an Indian magazine on Friday in protest of an article that linked a string of deadly attacks on Muslims to a Hindu nationalist leader close to India’s main opposition party.
The Caravan, a monthly that covers politics and culture, published the article in its February edition based on interviews with Swami Aseemanand from the jail where he is awaiting trial for militant attacks around India that killed more than 100 people between 2006 and 2008.
In the interviews, Aseemanand said Mohan Bhagwat, who leads Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), India’s largest Hindu nationalist organisation, which has close ties to the Bharatiya Janata Party, sanctioned the attacks.
Most BJP leaders have been members of the RSS – considered the ideological incubator for Hindu nationalism.
The RSS has denied the allegations against Bhagwat and said the interviews were fake. Since the magazine’s publication, Aseemanand has denied making the comments.
A senior editor at the magazine said over 100 protesters gathered outside its offices and staffers were facing disruptions.
Hindu hardliners accused the magazine of working with the Congress party government. “We’re protesting because the magazine is hand-in-hand with Congress,” said Vishnu Gupta, president of a group called Hindu Sena.