anti-Muslim slurs | SabrangIndia News Related to Human Rights Wed, 27 Sep 2023 04:57:15 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.2.2 https://sabrangindia.in/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Favicon_0.png anti-Muslim slurs | SabrangIndia 32 32 Is There a Hidden Narrative Behind Slurs Hurled in Parliament? https://sabrangindia.in/is-there-a-hidden-narrative-behind-slurs-hurled-in-parliament/ Wed, 27 Sep 2023 04:56:19 +0000 https://sabrangindia.in/?p=30047 BJP MP Ramesh Bidhuri’s outburst in the Lok Sabha empowers neither women nor the backward classes.

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The recent development in Parliament, of sitting Lok Sabha member Kunwar Danish Ali being referred to as a “terrorist” and “pimp” by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) parliamentarian Ramesh Bidhuri, who also threatened to settle scores with Ali outside Parliament, might illuminate the larger narrative structure of the BJP and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

However, we need to raise a different set of questions and offer an analysis different from what prevails in media reports and editorials. Repeated incidents of such a kind are often treated as “stray incidents” that are aberrations, and, therefore, condemning them and tendering an apology is not a problem for the ruling party.

However, this explanation may no longer help us understand the social character and narrative velocity of such incidents. We could, for instance, ask whether the remarks about Ali were off-the-cuff or planned as a part of a narrative. There is no way to know the answer, but one can reasonably raise the question as to what kind of a narrative and performance is potentially possible out of such a seemingly “shocking incident”.

Is there a pattern to such incidents, or are they as random as they are projected? Did not the BJP apologise on a previous occasion when Pragya Singh Thakur had celebrated the “martyrdom” of Nathuram Godse? Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said at the time that she could never be excused, but she went on to become a vocal Member of Parliament of his party.

Godse at home, Gandhi in the world is a fairly well-known strategy, and nothing about it looks random and happenstance.

Does it matter that Bidhuri is a Member of Parliament from the South Delhi seat and belongs to the Gujjar caste, recognised as an Other Backward Class (OBC) community? Is this, possibly, an incident that could wade off the potential damage that the Women’s Reservation Bill without a quota for the OBCs could do to the BJP’s electoral calculations? Has it not been a long-term strategy of the BJP to consolidate different social groups by producing a conflict between them and eventually acting as their only arbiter?

Is it possible that the “strategy” here is to consolidate women voters—both as women and as women of caste Hindu sections—and then project a masculine OBC voice against Muslims as a token of inclusivity and the voice of the BJP? Women are happy with the Bill and the OBCs with Bidhuri’s “heroic” abrasiveness. The reservation for women proposed in the Bill is a distant promise, so there is nothing for the male Members of Parliament to worry about for the time being or for the OBCs to think of the quota immediately.

As Modi hinted, for all of this to fructify, there is a need for a strong government with a decisive majority. So, it is a narrative of wheels within wheels that is open to multiple significations depending on one’s social location. The critical question, however, is the strategic ability of the BJP to mobilise contending social groups by deepening the social conflict between them without empowering either of them; in this case, neither the women nor the OBCs.

In the triple talaq case, Muslim men were criminalised, and Muslim women did not get alimony. The Congress party included, through accommodation, the BJP attempts to “include” by excluding others. Such a strategy is part of the majoritarian logic that does not begin or end with Hindu-Muslim polarisation but seeps into caste and gender relations, too.

In fact, one could argue that the modality of polarisation vis-a-vis the Muslims emerged from caste dynamics and sensibilities. Caste-based discrimination is unique in that the “lower”-end castes are neither allowed mobility nor to detach themselves. Detachment is rebuked through anti-conversion, and empowerment is rebuked as casteism. It is the logic of “absent presence” that Dalits define the contours of the caste order, dynamics and psyche by lying outside the formal caste/varna system.

Communalism in India and majoritarian dynamics are deeply marked by the sensibilities born out of managing the caste system and inequalities. Muslims, too, are integral to the order—again, without inclusion. The Dalits and Muslims are internal without inclusion. This is the precise reason why RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat said there can be no Hindutva without Muslims. Hindutva and a majoritarian order need every day and periodic referendums. It has to be built into every day to become a reality. It requires a quotidian reification and cannot be passed by law or instituted through custom or memory, though both are also invoked to strengthen the majoritarian project.

The Opposition parties did not hesitate to criticise the brazen act of incivility in Parliament, including Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who has made it a mission to plant an alternative narrative of love and compassion and support compassion. While this does come as a relief, will it suffice to address the schisms being deepened through the dominant narrative? A narrative about love and compassion is vague, if not abstract. It creates an atmosphere for an alternative but may not provide an alternate frame to make sense of things.

The Opposition is failing to articulate and counter the micro-narratives within the BJP’s strategy. Why does the BJP think it can be indifferent towards women in the case of molestation of wrestlers and parading of women in Manipur, yet continue claiming the “Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao” slogan, followed by introducing the Women’s Reservation Bill? It can afford to neglect the OBC quota for women but counter it with Bidhuri’s offensive comments.

Perhaps it is possible because the BJP sees it through the lens of a live narrative and connects the dots, which gives it the advantage of control over the narrative, while the Opposition only has bullet points based on evidence and visualises each incident as a separate event disconnected from everything else.

It might reflect both a lack of clarity and conviction on the part of the Opposition to connect things because it will have to offer a more transformative politics, which has to transcend the current limits. The BJP has grown by precisely projecting itself as the harbinger of a more “progressive” narrative and demonstrated it in raising the gender question, the issue of caste within Muslims and the question of sub-castes within the Hindus—even as it appealed to a larger, common Hindu identity.

The Opposition has to change the terms of discourse to take control, but for now, it is treading carefully to find space by responding in an ad hoc manner.

The author is an associate professor at the Centre for Political Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University. The views are personal. His new book, Politics, Ethics, Emotions in ‘New India’, was recently published by Routledge.

Courtesy: Newsclick

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No Primetime Segment as anti-Muslim slurs rocked parliament last Thursday https://sabrangindia.in/no-primetime-segment-as-anti-muslim-slurs-rocked-parliament-last-thursday/ Mon, 25 Sep 2023 09:45:43 +0000 https://sabrangindia.in/?p=30017 Anti-Muslim slurs against MP in parliament do not make the cut for commercial new media channels (“mainstream media”) even as social media was ablaze with outrage last Friday

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A SabrangIndia Special Report

Anti-Muslim slurs by a BJP MP, Ramesh Bhiduri against a sitting Muslim MP in parliament seem to have been given significantly less media attention on Friday despite the fact that the issue was covered exclusively by international media outlets like Al Jazeera. The incident saw an erasure from the Primetime news segments which reveals a disturbing reality where big media seems to be revolving around the whims of the ruling party rather than on focussing on what the nation actually wants to know.  Few debates on the infamous news hour on Indian channels actually dealt with the rank unparliamentary language unleashed by an elected official that was an ugly first for Indian democracy under the Modi 2.0 regime.

Here’s how the events unfolded.

On Thursday, September 21, during the much-speculated upon “special session” of the Indian Parliament, a BJP MP hurled slurs and abuses at an MP Kunwar Danish Ali as the BSP MP objected against the unparliamentary language Bidhuri used for PM Modi.

The MP in question was BJP Lok Sabha MP Ramesh Bidhuri who represents South Delhi constituency. In a video that has since surfaced, Bidhuri can be heard delivering a highly charged speech with communal undertones while discussing the recent Chandrayaan 3 mission. He goes on to refer to MP Danish Ali as a “terrorist”, and “pimp”, and called for him to be removed from the proceedings, using further offensive slurs. The Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla had to intervene by requesting all MPs to take their seats.

This incident is a disturbing reminder of the growing discrimination, prejudice, and violence Muslims continue to face in India despite constitutional protections in place. The internet has been taken over by a storm after the video went viral. Kunwar Danish Ali has written a complaint against Bidhuri, and BJP has furthermore issued a show cause notice to its MP after the outrage refused to stop. However, as the pressure fomented on social media, we must ask what were viewers inside homes who access news through television sets watching? Did this harrowing incident make the cut? Let’s see how far and wide the coverage took place.

Our survey of the coverage of the event by some of India’s mainstream news channels on Friday proved to yield acutely disappointing results. Aaj Tak reported the incident and conducted a ten minute programme, citing how Bidhuri ruined the efforts for establishing the new parliament by PM Modi. The anchor, Shweta Singh, asked if action taken against the MP could be a “moment for learning” (sic) for everyone.

The segment further discussed how these words were against the tradition and integrity of the parliament, as it played MP Danish Ali’s statement after the incident went viral.

India Today too dealt with the matter in some depth holding a debate anchored by Rajdeep Sardesai with Advocate Sanjay Hegde and and former MP Satya Pal Jain, asking if suspension or anything beyond suspension can be done to implement a precedent to prevent such abuse. The segment also featured Sanjay Hegde stating that ‘enough is enough.’

Similarly, News18 too covered the incident. However, the channel attempted to seemingly engage in diluting the severity of the case by pinpointing the limelight on Danish Ali making out the victim to be worthy of the slur, or almost. . In a news article on their website to portray him in poor light by referring to how he apparently objected to ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’ slogans by  BJP MP MLC Hari Singh earlier this year. In another short segment by CNN-News18 on what they call  the ‘controversy’, the reporter, Pallavi Ghosh seems to spend significant air time time highlighting the INDIA alliance is taking this moment in the parliament to sway voters against the BJP in the upcoming general assembly elections.

The INDIA alliance is a name released by opposition leaders for an upcoming alliance for the 2024 general assembly elections. The reporter also asserted that the BJP ‘clearly’ did not waste much time issuing the show-cause notice as it doesnt want the narrative of the BJP being anti-Muslim to takeover, nor does the BJP want the the ‘emotive words used by Danish Ali’ to ‘divert’ from the work it has done. The reporter ends by saying that the ‘Bidhuri vs Danish Ali’ issue has now given an opportunity to Opposition parties to capitalise on for the upcoming elections. News 18 Hindi too did a short section on the issue. And Zee News (Hindi) did an afternoon segment on the issue this Friday, broadcasting Danish Ali’s statement.

Let’s have a look at the minimalist news coverage of the shameful incident in parliament in some of the channels guilty of being repeat hate offenders:

Times Now Navbharat
(No Prime Time)
#BSP सांसद #DanishAli के खिलाफ #BJP सांसद #RameshBidhuri ने की अभद्र टिप्पणी
सब्सक्राइब करें #TimesNowNavbharat
https://youtube.com/c/timesnownavbharat
#TimesNowNavbharatOriginals #TNNOriginals

Republic TV
(No Prime Time)

Aaj Tak
(No Prime Time news segment)
(has done a 10-minute Programme)
संसद के असंसदीय शब्द
देखिए @SwetaSinghAT
के साथ #10Tak
#RameshBidhuri #DanishAli #BSP | #ATVideo
https://twitter.com/aajtak/status/1705280008330133547

India Today
(No Prime time)
Is this a fit case for the suspension of a session or something more can be done? ASG @SatyaPalJain
answer this and more Full show: https://shorturl.at/rtvyY #DanishAli #RameshBidhuri #NewsToday |
@sardesairajdeep
https://twitter.com/IndiaToday/status/1705258645632491799

News18 (English)
(No Prime Time)
Ramesh Bidhuri Today Speech | BJP MP’s Slurs In Sansad: Will ‘Hate Speech’ Be Punished? | News18  (Heading is BJP slur but video is on Women reservation)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYebv_tc3ME

They are trying to do character assassination of Danish Ali
BSP MP #DanishAli grabbed the headlines in August for strongly opposing chanting of ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ by BJP MLC Hari Singh Dillon in his address at #Amroha railway station
By: @Oliver056
https://www.news18.com/politics/when-bsp-mp-danish-ali-opposed-chanting-of-bharat-mata-ki-jai-slogan-bjp-mp-ramesh-bidhuri-controversy-8588069.html

BJP Issues Show Cause Notice To Party MP Ramesh Bidhuri | English News | News18 | BJP News | N18V
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jFnaw6Qv_q4

News18 (Hindi)
(No Prime Time)
Only small coverage in afternoon
Danish Ali on Ramesh Bidhuri Remarks: BJP सांसद बिधूड़ी ने BSP सांसद दानिश को गालियां दीं | N18V
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXlUv_2s_HA

Zee News (Hindi)
(No Prime Time)
‘मैं रातभर सो नहीं पाया’ बिधूड़ी पर दानिश अली का बयान | Ramesh Bidhuri | Lok Sabha | BSP Danish Ali
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWE10jMi6fI

What does this exclusion of any discussion on hate speech means?

The message one can take from these is that the abusive words hurled at the BSP MP in parliament are not that severe an issue for commercial news media channels, and that the attention and outrage it has garnered is something that is being dubbed “politically motivated in light of upcoming state and general assembly elections” (by the ruling party, the Bharatiya Janata Party, BJP, the party from whom the hate offender hails).

This seems to be a gross misrepresentation of the situation.

A sitting MP from a minority community has been assaulted with the aggression of anti-Muslim slur, within the portals of the Indian Parliament, is surely a situation that would ideally demand urgent legal attention? An immediate suspension? A party decision not to allow him to contest elections in future?  In places like the USA, or even in India, identity-based slurs for black or Dalit communities are a cause for outrage and, in some cases, incidents that may be subjected to punitive measures by the legal system.

Furthermore, it is crucial to note that this news from the special session of the parliament did not make it to any of the Primetime segments of mainstream media surveyed by the team at Sabrang India. This disturbing outcome comes at a time when freedom of the press is increasing at risk in India, and there has been much discussion about how mainstream media has seen death at the hands of the corporate-BJP nexus.

In sharp contrast the channels responsible for this significant gloss over of such a shameful act in Parliament (News18, TimesNow Bharat, ZeeNews, Times Now, AajTak) have been over the past three years especially, guilty of the worst and most unprofessional newshour debates that further hate-mongering and stigmatising the minorities

Here are some examples

For instance, as recent as May 2023, Aaj Tak was released a one hour  programme which had the title ‘Gaming Jihad’ with Sudhir Choudhary as the anchor. The show was allegedly about a gaming racket busted in Ghaziabad which was engaging in religious conversion of young children. The show’s tagline ended with the sentence ‘Is mobile converting you child’s religion.’

The anchor proceeded to peddle a baseless story about the possibility of four lakh children being converted by these tactics. These claims continue to have no base to back them, however Aaj Tak provided a full one hour coverage to them, which makes it clear that the show was seemingly another attempts at propagating false narratives to spread hatred against Muslims by alleging a conspiracy by religious minorities in India.

In another incident where Citizens for Justice and Peace, filed a complaint was filed against a programme by Times Now Navbharat which used the term ‘Mazaar Jihad’ in a show titled ‘धामी सरकार का ‘ऑपरेशन मजार’, ‘गजवा-ए-हिंद’ की साजिश के किससे जुड़े तार?’ It was broadcast in May earlier this year. The programme once again alleged falsely that the Muslims in India are waging a conspiracy to conquer India. The programme repeatedly used terms like ‘mazaar jihad/ zameen jihad’. This is a repeat offense despite News Broadcasting and Digital Standards Authority (NBDSA) has, time and again, warned new channels to not use such terms.

In another instance, resultant of a complaint filed by CJP, the NBDSA issued a fine on on two separate incidents against News18 in February this year. The NBDSA also ordered the video in question to be removed from the channel. Thus, a concerted efforts at stigmatising minorities has been continuing at the behest of media.

This is corroborated by international media institutions. According to the latest report released in 2023 from the global media watchdog, RSF (Reporters without Borders) India’s standing in the global press freedom rankings has worsened. The report, released on World Press Freedom Day, places India at the 161st position out of 180 countries revealing a concerning decline. However, in comparison India had held the 150th rank in the previous year’s report in 2022.

According to the RSF, several factors have contributed to this decline, one of them being the high-profile raids on the BBC headquarters in India which had drawn widespread international criticism, and raised concerns about the overall environment for a free and fair media within which journalists are operating in India.

In contrast to India’s trip down the rankings, neighbouring South Asian countries have demonstrated improvements in their press freedom rankings. Pakistan had risen to the 150th spot from the 157th position in 2022, while Sri Lanka jumped up to the 135th rank.

The RSF report furthermore points out and stresses on how the corporate ownership of media outlets in India has changed the scenario completely. The report highlights that a majority of mainstream media in India are now owned by corporate companies with close ties to BJP and the PM Modi.  The report states that despite a large number of media outlets, there is a ‘concentration of ownership’, and furthermore stresses that this is an ongoing hit against the declining press freedom situation in India.

Just last year, after great resistance from its founders, the Roy couple, a media broadcasting channel, NDTV, that was touted to be more neutral in its reportage was lost in the fight against corporate media. In August 2022, a new venture by Adani AMG Media Networks announced the indirect acquisition of a 29% stake in the company with plans to acquire an additional 26% as well. Prannoy Roy and Radhika Roy had reportedly tried to prevent Adani’s influence for a long time but to no avail and accused him of a takeover without their consent or consultation as they resigned by the board last year. News 18 too saw a similar fate when it was acquired by Mukesh Ambani in 2014.

These developments do not bode well for the country or its press freedom as more and more of the country’s popular television news channels are now placed under the control and mercy of billionaires who have very close ties to the current regime of the BJP.

 

Related:

The blatant anti-Muslim violence displayed in the parliament is a shame for the country

MP witnesses rising violence against tribals as BJP youth wing leader is caught beating an elderly tribal

FIR against Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma for hate speech

Hate speeches by VHP, BJP leaders continue as India slated to host world leaders

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Noida cops suspended for inaction in 2 yr-old hate crime against elderly Muslim man https://sabrangindia.in/noida-cops-suspended-inaction-2-yr-old-hate-crime-against-elderly-muslim-man/ Mon, 27 Feb 2023 09:34:28 +0000 http://localhost/sabrangv4/2023/02/27/noida-cops-suspended-inaction-2-yr-old-hate-crime-against-elderly-muslim-man/ The man was attacked in July 2021 for his religious identity; he was reportedly stripped while derogatory anti-Muslim slurs were hurled at him by some goons in a car

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Noida

Following a notice from Supreme Court, four policemen from Noida sector 39 have been suspended as they failed to register a case against the culprits involved in the attack, robbery and abuse of 62-year-old Kazim Ahmed. The police station in-charge of Sector 113 Kotwali, Pramod Kumar, and the then Sector 39 Kotwali in-charge, Azad Tomar, were among those suspended on February 24, reported Maktoob Media. The FIR was finally registered on January 10, 2023 against some members of the Pechkas gang after the victim identified the assailants and a chargesheet has also been filed.

In July 2021, Ahmed, resident of Zakir Nagar in Delhi, was allegedly attacked and robbed by three Hindu youth in Noida Sector 37 while he was on his way to Aligarh to attend a relative’s wedding.

Back then he had said, “While I was waiting at Noida Sector-37 to get a bus for Aligarh, some people standing at a distance in a white car called me towards them. When I went there, they dragged me inside the car, rolled up the windows and started beating me before I could ask or say anything. They slipped off my pyjamas, attacked me with a screwdriver on the nose, took away all my money, belongings, and spectacles. They pulled my beard and tried to strangle my neck with their towel,” while speaking to Maktoob Media

He had said that his beard was pulled, and he was attacked because of his identity and that had experienced a similar attack in 2020 when he was attacked by some people of Gujjar community while he was travelling in a train to Aligarh.

Yet, no action was taken in this matter and ultimately Supreme Court intervention forced the police into action. The FIR was finally registered on January 10, 2023.

The Supreme Court bench of Justices KM Joseph and BV Nagarathna had noted “with distress” that written complaint was filed on July 6, 2021 and yet FIR was filed on January 15, 2023. In an affidavit before the court, the UP government had stated that the case was transferred to crime branch and that punitive action was underway against the delinquent cops for inaction. It is in furtherance to this, that the Noida cops were suspended. Referring to the inaction of the police, the bench had orally remarked, “Such officers cannot escape by being negligent in their duty. We should set an example, only then we can be at par with developed countries.”

The bench sought to know the result of the Special Investigation team (SIT) that was investigating the case. The case is next scheduled to be heard on March 3, 2023

Back when the incident occurred, some cops had visited Ahmed at his home to pressurize him to “let go of the matter” and to remove the social media post about the incident that had gone viral. Additional CP (Law and Order), Love Kumar had said that it is a criminal matter but it was being given a communal colour as an afterthought.

The court order may be read here:

 

Related:

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Junaid Nasir murder: Magistrate summons relatives, villagers of victims for breach of peace

Bihar: New day, new atrocities reported against the Muslim community

Citizens’ attempts to prevent hate speech event ignored, Hate Event allowed by Ratnagiri Police

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