Vikas Chaturvedi, the president of Rashtriya Hindu Sher Sena, is a notorious figure in the far-right Hindu nationalist movement. His speeches and actions consistently incite violence and promote extreme anti-Muslim views. 

On November 24, 2024, in Sitapur, Uttar Pradesh, Chaturvedi spread the divisive and baseless “love jihad” conspiracy, a recurring theme in Hindutva rhetoric. He also pushed for weapons training for women, framing it as necessary for their protection from so-called “jihadis.” 

Chaturvedi’s provocative and violent language was further evident at the Tiranga Rally on August 15, 2024, where he attacked communal harmony and openly promoted violence against Muslims. He famously declared, “Till when will our women be given to those Mullas?” before claiming Islamic countries should be turned into Hindu ethno-states by forcibly converting Muslim women to Hinduism. 

In another disturbing event, on August 19, 2024, Chaturvedi distributed daggers to women during Raksha Bandhan, under the guise of teaching them how to defend themselves. 

In the months that followed, Chaturvedi’s speeches only grew more extreme. On October 5, 2024, he oversaw multiple swordsmanship training classes for children and teenagers, claiming these were necessary to “protect Hindu women from jihadis.” He promoted violence to target Muslims. 

On December 4, 2024, in Sitapur, during a protest against alleged atrocities on Bangladeshi Hindus, Chaturvedi claimed that “all our women need to learn how to use swords” and suggested that if Hindu women in Bangladesh had been trained, they could have decapitated “jihadi” men. 

Chaturvedi’s inflammatory speeches continued well into 2025. On January 4, 2025, marking the fifth anniversary of Rashtriya Hindu Sher Sena, he again peddled the “love jihad” conspiracy, threatening death to anyone who dared to even look at Hindu men or women. He declared, “Any jihadi who dares to look at our women will be beheaded.”