Dinesh Patil, the National President of the Bharatiya Bajrang Dal and founder of the Akhil Aryavart Sangh – Antarashtriya Bajrang Dal, has emerged as one of the most belligerent and openly communal Hindutva figures in the country. Over the past few months, Patil has led a spree of public events filled with anti-Muslim invective, violent symbolism, and direct calls to action for the establishment of a Hindu Rashtra.

At a gathering in Hapur, Uttar Pradesh on January 6, 2025, Patil led attendees in taking an oath to impose a complete economic boycott of Muslims and to “liberate” Kashi and Mathura. He referred to Muslims using the derogatory term “kathmulla,” and set the tone for a series of events that followed.

Barely two weeks later, on January 21 in Prayagraj, Patil again demanded that the government “free” Kashi and Mathura or risk Hindus carrying out “kar seva,” a direct allusion to the Babri Masjid demolition. He also urged Hindus to unite for the cause of Hindu Rashtra, fueling supremacist calls at a Hindu conference hosted by his organisation.

At another event in Baghpat on January 7—just a day after the Hapur meeting—Patil again led an oath ceremony with attendees pledging to “liberate” Kashi and Mathura, rename the Taj Mahal as “Tejo Mahalaya,” and impose a total economic boycott of Muslims. The demand to reclaim the Taj Mahal echoed a longstanding and debunked Sangh conspiracy theory that the monument was originally a Hindu temple, a claim often revived to fuel anti-Muslim sentiment.

On January 23, at a religious event in Chinchoti, Palghar, Maharashtra, Patil’s tone turned even more aggressive as he threatened to dig up Aurangzeb’s grave and called for the demolition of mosques in Kashi and Mathura. Declaring that “our gods are inside Gyanvapi and Shahi Idgah Mosque,” he invoked imagery reminiscent of the Babri demolition, vowing similar action. 

The speech was filled with slurs and provocative language intended to provoke fear and deepen religious fault lines.