Virendra Pandey is a Hindu nationalist and the founder of the Shoorvir Programme, a platform that openly promotes the economic exclusion of Muslims. Under the pretense of a “social service job placement” initiative, Shoorvir functions as a network designed to ensure that Hindu clients only hire Hindu service providers. 

The platform has received backing from members of the ruling establishment, including Union Minister Giriraj Singh, and has become a key player in the growing push for an economic boycott of Muslims in India. 

In June 2024, at the Vaishvik Hindu Rashtra Mahotsav in Goa, organized by the Hindu Janjagriti Samiti, Pandey delivered a speech warning Hindus against allowing Muslim workers into their homes. He claimed that Muslim electricians and repairmen use their jobs to gather information about Hindu households— including how many women live there and when men leave for work— and alleged that this is how “80-90 percent of jihad” begins. He told the audience that even if they could not fight Muslims physically, they should at least boycott them economically. 

Shoorvir’s website and social media pages have actively pushed these calls for an economic boycott, spreading conspiracy theories like “mandi jihad” and “market jihad,” which falsely claim that Muslims are waging an organized effort to dominate trade and business. In a post on X, Shoorvir accused local leaders and police of enabling a so-called “Islamic conspiracy” to drive Hindu traders out of business.

Pandey’s speeches and Shoorvir’s propaganda are part of a larger Hindu nationalist effort to isolate and weaken Muslims economically. While marketed as a “self-reliance” movement, Shoorvir is a tool of exclusion, deepening communal divisions and normalizing hate under the cover of economic strategy.

Despite the openly communal nature of Shoorvir’s operations, it continues to benefit from legal loopholes and backing from political figures.