Kamal Gautam is the Himachal Pradesh state General Secretary of the Hindu extremist organization – Hindu Jagran Manch (HJM). HJM is notorious for running aggressive Ghar Wapsi ( forced conversion to Hinduism) campaigns and targeting Muslims and other religious minorities by manufacturing conspiracy theories.

Gautam is a government teacher by profession and seeks to purge the Himachal Pradesh state of its Muslim population.

Gautam has been vandalizing Muslim places of worship and promoting the anti-Muslim conspiracy theory of ‘land jihad,’ which accuses Muslims of land grabbing for ulterior purposes.

“Will free every corner of the Devbhoomi. Will eradicate the land Jihad from Devbhoomi. Listen Aurangzeb’s illegitimate children, wherever you go in Devbhoomi, you will find Shivaji standing against you,” threatened Gautam in the caption alongside the video that captured the visuals of the demolition of a Muslim place of worship by HJM in Himachal Pradesh in January 2022.

In a video shared by journalist Zakir Ali Tyagi on July 4, 2023, Gautam threatened Muslims to vacate Himachal Pradesh state within thirty days or get killed. While addressing the Muslim minorities, he said: “Leave the state within thirty days or else you shall be responsible for whatever happens to you. If you do not do as said, the Hindu community shall resort to the method of  stop-interrupt-kill ( rokko-tokko-thokko) .”

In another hate speech delivered against Muslims in Bilaspur, Himachal Pradesh, on July 7, 2023, he openly threatened violence against the minority community. “I warn the state administration to stop these Mullahs and Maulvies coming from outside and disturbing the peace in the state through their Jihadi activities,” Gautam declared in front of a crowd that applauded by raising provocative slogans.

He added, “If the administration fails to stop them( Muslims), we are determined to stop them by adequate means,” while the crowd cheered, “Bharat me yadi rahna hoga to Jai Shri Ram kehna hoga, Islamic Mulle tere baap ka nam Jai Shri Ram. ( If you want to stay in India, you have to sing praise to Lord Ram, Islamic Mullahs! Your father’s name is Lord Ram).”

He also accused Muslims of hatching a conspiracy to change the state’s demography by luring Hindu girls into changing their religion. Gautam hurled accusations at the state government of providing land to Islamic Jihadists. He swore to demolish mosques and Madrassas in the state.

The video containing his speech came to the fore on July 7, 2023, and he was reportedly suspended by the education department the very same day.

On July 9, 2023, he delivered a hate speech in Hamirpur, Himachal Pradesh, threatening Muslims with an economic boycott. Addressing the Hindu crowd of the locality, he said, “I would like to tell you all that we should not give in to these ‘jihadi’ ideology bearers from outside and let them stay here just for the sake of some small rent payments. We are ready to give them our house or shops while they work to target our young daughters.”

“For every Hindu girl, 8-12 lakhs rupees are given to mosques and madrasas. If these jihadis come from outside to our land without panjikaran (registration) or pratyapan, it will be us, not some DC or SP, who will decide who gets to enter my (our) lane, our area, our district,” he added.

Comparing the Muslim vendors and fruit and vegetable sellers with wild boar, he advocated for a complete economic boycott of Muslim vendors and hawkers from entering Hindu localities.

He said, “These vendors of a particular (meaning Muslims) roam around in your streets, boycott them. I need not tell you how to deal with a wild boar that enters your field to destroy your crop.”