Kairana Hindu exodus: Hukum Singh’s fake claims show BJP’s desperation

Uttar Pradesh‘s upcoming election season has brought renewed focus to Kairana, a small town in Shamli district, after Bharatiya Janata Party‘s (BJP) leader Hukum Singh made striking claims about communal displacement. Singh alleged that Hindu families had fled the town due to persecution by the Muslim majority. He compiled a list of 346 families said to have departed over recent months. The claim quickly gained traction within political circles and among BJP supporters nationwide.

The allegation arrived at a critical moment. The BJP seeks to gain power in Uttar Pradesh, the state that had catalysed its rise to national prominence. The party eyes fresh support among Dalit and lower-caste voters. Against this backdrop, Singh’s account of a Hindu exodus from Kairana offers a powerful narrative.

Investigation reveals economic migration

News agencies investigating the claim discovered a different picture. Most families who left Kairana did so for economic reasons. Some had departed decades earlier, while others left around 2011 in search of employment. This pattern mirrored broader internal migration trends. Across India, people moved from small towns to metropolitan areas and tier-one cities for better opportunities. The migration from Kairana reflected this wider phenomenon rather than communal tension.

As journalists examined Singh’s list more closely, the claim’s foundation weakened. The evidence pointed consistently toward economic necessity, not religious conflict. Singh’s narrative began to unravel under scrutiny.

Singh revises his Kairana Hindu exodus account

As media reporting accumulated, Singh changed his position on Kairana. He retreated from the Hindu exodus narrative and introduced a revised explanation. Not all migrations resulted from Hindu-Muslim tension, he now suggested. Instead, law and order problems bore primary responsibility. The shift acknowledged the weakness in his original assertion while redirecting blame.

Singh’s revision came late. His initial claim had already circulated widely. The Kairana narrative had taken root in political discourse across Uttar Pradesh.

Kairana Hindu exodus story amplified

The story gained momentum beyond Singh’s statements. Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) networks and BJP supporters engaged extensively online and offline.

The account received amplification from sympathetic media outlets, including prominent television channels. These outlets presented the claim without rigorous investigation, unlike other news organisations. Senior party figures, including Amit Shah, lent credibility to the narrative. Political gatherings amplified it further.

Strategy in broader context

The Kairana allegation served larger political purposes. Singh’s Hindu exodus claim is connected to longstanding ideological concerns within Hindutva circles. It invoked fears about Hindu majority communities facing minority Muslim populations under the Samajwadi Party‘s rule. Such narratives historically mobilised upper-caste voters toward the BJP and RSS.

Yet the party faced a challenge. Upper-caste support alone would not guarantee dominance in Uttar Pradesh. The state’s large Dalit and backward-caste populations remained crucial to electoral victory. Traditional Dalit parties, like the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), present alternative options for these communities. The BJP requires a messaging that would appeal beyond its core constituencies.

The Hindu exodus narrative served this purpose. It aimed to persuade Dalit and lower-caste Hindus that their security depended on supporting the BJP. By framing Hindu identity as threatened, the party sought to transcend caste divisions. Fear, the strategy suggested, would prove more effective than traditional appeals.

Timing and electoral calculations

Singh’s Kairana Hindu exodus claim emerged amid intense electoral competition. Mayawati’s BSP appeared as a serious contender for power in Lucknow. The 2017 Uttar Pradesh elections would shape national politics heading toward 2019. Success or failure in India’s most populous state mattered significantly for all major parties.

Within this context, the Hindu exodus narrative became a tactical tool. The story offers a way to reshape electoral alignments. Whether factually sound mattered less than political impact. The Kairana claim attempts to drive a wedge between Muslim and Dalit voters. It seeks to prevent the coalition-building that might challenge the BJP’s prospects.

Polarisation pattern

The Kairana narrative fits into a series of events. Earlier communal incidents had included riots in Agra, violence in Mathura, and the Mahapanchayat at Dadri. Each event received extensive political and media attention. Each contributed to communal polarisation in Uttar Pradesh.

A story with a weak evidentiary foundation gained significant political purchase. Even after revision and investigation, it continues to influence political discourse. The machinery of political communication—party networks, sympathetic media, senior leadership—gave the narrative force independent of its truth-value.

Kairana Hindu exodus narrative persists despite factual challenges. It serves purposes beyond accuracy. For the parties promoting it, that sufficed. For voters seeking genuine information, the episode demonstrated the gap between political claims and ground reality.