Afghanistan crisis: A tool to target Islam?

Islam Image Courtesy:indiatvnews.com

The ongoing crisis in Afghanistan, with Taliban capturing and taking control of several regions, has led to outpouring of grief and solidarity in India too. But certain people are seeing this as an opportunity to target Islam.

Ashwani Dubey, an Advocate on Record in the Supreme Court has drawn parallels between the Taliban and Bakhtiyar Khilji, a Turkish leader who had destroyed the Nalanda University in Bihar, which led to the destruction of many religious texts, way back in the twelfth century.

His Islamophobic tweet read, “Taliban burns library in Kabul Once upon a time Nalanda University Library was burnt by Bakhtiyar Khilji Time has changed not the Modus operandi #Talibans #Afghanistan”

Taliban burns library in Kabul
Once upon a time Nalanda University Library was burnt by Bakhtiyar Khilji
Time has changed not the Modus operandi#Talibans #Afghanistan
— Ashwani Dubey (@ashwani_dube) August 19, 2021

The purpose of the tweet was probably achieved if one looks at the responses to it. Some netizens pointed at the irony of a city in Bihar named after Muhammad Bin Bakhtiyar Khalji (Bakhtiyarpur). A tweet by one Aman Kumar also stated that the name of the city has not been changed yet because the government fears they will lose their minority vote bank!

Not long ago in 2019, the Akhil Bharatiya Sant Samiti, an umbrella body of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), had written to the Chief Minister of Bihar, Nitish Kumar to rename the city and that it was time to “undo the sins of the past” by renaming the town and the railway station, reported The Print.

A look through Dubey’s Twitter handle tells us that he also sides with the idea of “Hindutva” that can prevent the country from turning into Kabul, insinuating that Muslims are capable of creating a Kabul like upheaval in the National Capital!

For how long is the question. The whole CAA charade was anything but a protest against policy. Bilkis Daadi would get better biryani @ Kabul. https://t.co/mIPsJVuhF1
— Siddharth Nayak (@_SiddharthNayak) August 16, 2021

A strange focus only towards the Indian Muslims to condemn the actions of the Taliban is bewildering. This opinion has also reached newsroom shows. News Nations’ “Desh Ki Bahas” show broadcasted a programme titled “Taliban ke kitne Hindustani hamdardi?” (How many Indian sympathisers for Taliban?) on August 18.

Deepak Chaurasia, the host of the show, at one point forced an All-India Muslim Personal Board member Yasmeen Farooqui, to condemn the Taliban, even when she said that she will not express any opinion before the Prime Minister issues a statement against Taliban’s rule in Afghanistan. To this, Chaurasia bizarrely reacted as to why she was so concerned about the opinion of the Prime Minister, when she blatantly disrespected the citizenship laws and participated in the Shaheen Bagh protests.

A journalist unabashedly brought up the Taliban government and how the person she was tweeting against (poet Hussain Haidry) is perhaps a Taliban lover. This is just another instance to show how easy it is to target the already marginalised and vilified Indian Muslim community.

I don’t need certificates from you
An attention seeking rogue ( who was definitely called out by all of us every time,but u won’t find those tweets as they don’t suit u) is more dangerous than Taliban governing Afghanistan? Taliban govt looks too dear to u its seems https://t.co/yDQXQE2dsS
— Sakshi Joshi (@sakshijoshii) August 19, 2021

Days ago, the Zee News also came out with an insensitive piece in DNA suggesting an “Afghanistan Tour Package” for “Tukde-tukde gang” (a common pejorative for liberals and intellectuals), who allegedly supported the Taliban. The publication referred to the statement allegedly made by Shafiqur Rahman Burke, a member of the Samajwadi Party, who said that the Taliban fought in the same way as the revolutionaries of our country fought the British for freedom. As per media reports, he has booked under sections 124A (Sedition), 153A (promoting enmity amongst groups of people on the basis of religion, sex, caste, race, etc) of the Indian Penal Code.

Referring to liberals as ‘these people’, the article says that they don’t believe in democracy. The DNA News piece says that they could go to the Parliament in Kabul, have dinner with the Taliban leaders and members and go to theme parks with them!

Today, August 20, Hari Bhushan Thakur Bachaul, BJP MLA from the Bispi in Madhubani district of Bihar, said that those having problems living in India should go to Afghanistan. When a journalist asked him a question about rising petrol prices, he said that people who have an issue with this should go to Afghanistan where fuel prices are lower!