Jitendra Narayan Singh Senger, also known as Jitendra Narayan Singh Tyagi and formerly known as Wasim Rizvi, is a prominent Hindutva figure known for his relentless attacks on Islam and his provocative stance on religious identity in India. A former chairman of the Shia Central Waqf Board of Uttar Pradesh, Tyagi converted to Hinduism on December 6, 2021, at the Dasna Devi temple in Ghaziabad, under the guidance of far-right Hindutva leader Yati Narsinghanand Giri. His conversion, which came just thirteen days before the infamous Haridwar Dharam Sansad, marked a drastic shift in his public identity, aligning him with the most militant voices of the Hindutva movement.

In December 2021, days after his conversion, Tyagi was one of the key figures at the Haridwar Dharam Sansad, an event that saw open calls for violence against Muslims. He was subsequently arrested for his role in delivering hate speeches. What was striking, however, was the near silence of the larger Hindutva ecosystem in defending him, aside from Narsinghanand’s vocal protest.

Tyagi’s anti-Muslim vilification long predates his conversion. In 2021, he filed a petition in the Supreme Court seeking the removal of 26 verses from the Quran, arguing that they promoted violence and were later additions to the text. His petition was widely condemned across Muslim communities, both Shia and Sunni, with calls for his arrest. 

His attacks on Islam escalated further with the publication of a book on Prophet Muhammad, which was widely criticized as blasphemous.

His legal troubles extend beyond hate speech. In November 2020, the CBI registered cases against him over allegations of corruption in the sale and transfer of Waqf properties in Uttar Pradesh. He has also faced accusations of sexual abuse. 

His journey from a controversial Muslim public figure to a supporter of Hindutva, and now a self-proclaimed Thakur with a new name, Thakur Jitendra Narayan Singh Sengar, shows how he keeps reinventing himself to stay relevant in India’s hard-right politics.

Even after securing interim bail from the Supreme Court in May 2022 on medical grounds, Tyagi was instructed not to make further hate speeches or statements on social or digital media—an order he has repeatedly disregarded.