A report recently revealed that two men used fake email addresses with the name of Zubair Khan and Alam Ansari and cited themselves as members of ISI who wanted to blow up the Ram Mandir in UP! The men were arrested on January 3, 2024, reports a story by Scroll.  The threat was reportedly issued by two men named Omprakash Mishra and Tahar Singh, who created fake mail IDs in the name of Muslims. The crime did not happen in isolation. While these imposters were arrested as the investigation received wide publicity on social media, detailed inquiries revealed that the culprit who conspired to this falsification plot was actually a right-wing man named Devendra Tiwari. Tiwari also runs an organisation called Bharatiya Kisan Manch and Bhartiya Gau Seva Parishad and calls himself a cow protector (Gau Rakshak). Furthermore, Tiwari is also seen to have posted his pictures with Uttar Pradesh (UP) Chief Minister (CM), Yogi Adityanath on social media.

According to The Observer Post, an official statement about Tiwari was released stating, “Devendra Tewari, who has several cases against him in Manak Nagar, Ashiyana, Banthra, Gautam Palli, and Alambagh police stations in Lucknow, had told the arrested men to post threats on social media. Tewari runs a college in the Alambagh area named Indian Institute Paramedical Sciences, and he has an office there.”

जिन दो आरोपियों ओमप्रकाश मिश्रा और तहर सिंह ने जुबैर खान और आलम अंसारी के नाम से फर्जी मेल आईडी बनाकर ISI का हवाला देते हुए राम मंदिर, मुख्य्मंत्री योगी आदित्यनाथ और एसटीएफ चीफ अमिताभ यश को बम से उड़ाने की धमकी के मामले में गिरफ्तार किया गया था,

इनमें से एक तहर सिंह की काफी… pic.twitter.com/R5GNOWM7xR

— Adnan Miyan (@AdnanMiyan37546) January 4, 2024

This is not an isolated event. A disturbing trend has recently emerged where right-wing online users –with a free pass and impunity from the ruling regime dominated by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) — have been openly resorting to criminal activities and falsely trying to implicate Muslims in order to propagate their own hateful, political agenda. Various cases of people adopting false Muslim identities via online identities or adopting visible markers of Islam as a disguise to commit crimes have surfaced, leading to an alarming increase in Islamophobia in India. This article explores the dangerous modus operandi employed by these criminals and the grave repercussions of their actions, on the broader horizon of communal harmony. Sabrang India had earlier covered this article in November, 2023.

Several instances have also come to light where people have committed crimes and then have deliberately adopting a false Muslim identity to divert investigation and mislead authorities. These incidents include the case of Kanpur, where the husband of a tuition teacher reportedly killed a teenager who came to study at their place. The man, furthermore, falsely implicated the victim. He made use of religious phrases like “Allah hu Akbar” in a ransom letter in an order to divert the investigation. In another incident in Kerala, shockingly, an Indian Army soldier gave a false statement to the police, alleging an attack by a group of six people who painted the letters “PFI” on his back. PFI, Popular Front of India, is now an organisation that has been declared as illegal. The police in turn, upon discovery of the forgery, proceed to take the army man and his friend in custody for giving false statements to authorities.

Sabrang India’s November article highlighted these incidents. One particularly insidious incident was featured in the article from West Bengal, where individuals associated with the BJP engaged in stone-pelting during the Anti-CAA movement while wearing skull caps and lungi. However, it was soon discovered that these were actually people reportedly related to the BJP. Similar incidents have been found in Kanpur, Uttarakhand, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, and Kerala as well. 

The role of the media

Experts have also raised concerns about how the media also amplifies focus on the identity of the accused or suspect in these cases if the suspected culprit is a Muslim. This is a measure that leads to intensifying Islamophobia in an already communally polarised environment. Even when the accused is not Muslim and is unknown, news outlets often try to pass the blame onto Muslims using larger Islamophobic tropes and thus further contribute to the stigmatisation of the entire community.

In the recent Kerala blasts case that took place at Jehovah’s Witness Thalamassary, Kochi on October 29, 2023, it was evident that the media was keen to portray the perpetrator as a Muslim – even after he released a confession. There seemed to be a decided intent to portray the blast as motivated by communal intentions. Right-wing trolls flocked the social media as if on cue to post about Muslims being the culprit despite the suspect having surrendered himself to the police.

Journalist and anchor Ravish Kumar also covered  these criminal trends online. Kumar says that when these incidents successfully hoodwink people into believing crimes are being committed by Muslims, it increases the hatred against Muslims in the general populace. Thus the deliberate attempt to implicate Muslims in crimes not only undermines the justice system but also poses a severe threat to communal harmony. The broader impact of these actions is the perpetuation of stereotypes, reinforcing negative perceptions about an entire religious community. This not only hampers social cohesion but also creates an environment where innocent individuals may face unwarranted backlash. Furthermore, the speed at which misinformation spreads in the digital age exacerbates the impact of these actions has the tendency to result in real-life consequences for individuals and communities. From these instances, it is evident that right-wing online users often leverage social media platforms and other online spaces to disseminate false information, hate speech, and propaganda.

The intentional manipulation of identities to frame the Muslim community for criminal acts by a leader of a Hindutva oriented organised is a puzzling and startling figure. One can assume that they further wish to polarise sentiment and continue their propaganda of Muslims being terrorists in the public image. Hindutva leaders continue to make hate speech decrying Muslims as terrorists and the need for Hindus to “awaken”, in some instances people are also enjoined to fight and take up arms against Muslims. Thus, these actions to defame Muslims seems to be another example of right-wing forces building conspiracies about the Muslim enemy, and takes a step forward to hoodwink the public by engineering these fake cases.

In all these cases, therefore, there seems to be an underlying assumption evident that it would be easy for people to be distracted from the actual culprits if they are provided with certain forged clues of Muslims being the perpetrators of the crime. People, it seems, who commit these crimes are well aware that Muslims are an easy target of suspicion as well as an easy target for hate as well.

In the age of fake news and fake criminals, this new trend bodes a worrying trend for social harmony in general and the lives and security of Muslims in particular.

Related:

Muslim population a “time bomb” to “Hindus take up arms’: A Seven-Day Hate Report

Hate speech promoting divisive beliefs and defending acts of violence against Muslims delivered in Bihar, UP

Jurisprudential development of a right of a voter to know the criminal antecedents of an electoral candidate

Attempts to give communal turn to blasts in Kerala unsuccessful, 3 cases filed by Kerala Police, CM Vijayan urges restraint & unity

The post Imposters posing as Muslims: A sinister ploy to further stigmatise appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Gopalganj Superintendent of Police Swarn Prabhat revealed that the victim, Manoj Kumar Sah, previously thought to be the temple priest, was, in fact, the caretaker of the temple in Manjha village’s Danapur area. His life ended in a mutilated condition, with his body discovered on the outskirts of a village after being missing for a week.

The lifeless body of the temple staff was found on the outskirts of the village a week after his disappearance.  The victim had last been seen leaving the temple premises in Manjha village within the Danapur area on a Monday. The discovery of his body occurred on the subsequent Saturday after the week-long search, according to PTI.

BJP leader Shezad was quick to make it a political issue, calling the murder “ISIS style.”

नीतीश राज नहीं जंगल राज

बिहार के गोपालगंज में पुजारी की isis स्टाइल हत्या

Bihar now has Jungle Raj not Nitish Raj

ISIS style killing of Pujari in Gopalganj
Shot dead, eyes gouged out, private parts damaged

Who is safe in Bihar? Neither Sadhus. Neither cops and nor is the… pic.twitter.com/wVSvDvhi3K

— Shehzad Jai Hind (@Shehzad_Ind) December 17, 2023

However, contrary to initial speculations about the alleged involvement of radical groups, investigators discovered it to be a crime due to personal enmity and relations.

A Special Investigation Team (SIT) was formed to investigate the crime and it led to the arrest of three individuals – Neha Kumari, Sunita Devi, and Amit Kumar. According to the police statements, Neha Kumari confessed to the crime due to alleged threats from Manoj Shah. The Superintendent Swarn Prabhat disclosed that the police successfully traced the victim’s final call which led them to Neha’s aunt, Sunita Devi. After this, the law enforcement officials visited their home and questioned the family. During the round of questioning, the both of them reportedly broke down and confessed.

According to reports, Manoj Shah departed from the Shiv temple at 12:45 am on December 11 and arrived at Neha’s house, where her family subdued and ultimately killed him. In a gruesome turn of events, they mutilated his lifeless body and disposed of it in a pit near the Sudha dairy outlet.

ANI has quoted the SDPO Sadar Pranjal as saying that, “A young man, named Manoj Kumar Shah, working as a caretaker at the Shiv Temple in Danapur, was missing. The CCTV footage showed that he locked the temple himself and went somewhere… During the investigation, we found his body in the Danapur area… The body was sent for post-mortem. The people blocked roads in protest… An FIR has been registered against some mischievous youth… Various internal issues including land issues within the family have come up… Some people have been detained… There was some stone pelting. Action is being taken…”

Reports suggest that the suspects Neha Kumari, Sunita Devi, and Amit Kumar are in custody.

Related: 

In a sinister forewarning, RSS leader says Muslims should hand over all disputed religious sites to Hindus: Indresh Kumar

Students called “Pakistani” after school debate justifies Israeli violence against Palestinians

Madhya Pradesh: One day after BJP’s victory, Muslim homes and meat shops demolished

Madhya Pradesh: loudspeakers in religious places, plans to ban open sale of meat

The post Bihar: Hindutva leaders cry ISIS style murder, police reveal girlfriend real killer appeared first on SabrangIndia.

The report by the Washington Post notes that there exists a ‘parallel campaign’ beyond official social media fanfare of the BJP. This was revealed by BJP staff, campaign consultants, and party supporters during rare and in-depth interviews that the report included, which brought to light that the party maintains discreet collaborations with content creators responsible for managing what are referred to as “third-party” or “troll” pages. These content creators specialise in crafting provocative posts with the explicit aim of polarising sentiments on platforms like WhatsApp and at the same time maintaining the party’s core supporters.

Poojary therefore is no lone figure but part of a very efficient right wing ecosystem that thrives on hate and muscle power typical to the right. While Poojary has claimed that he didn’t make money from his controversial social media post, the account has certainly gotten him significant influence, despite being a “10th-grade dropout” without a regular job. In fact, his “Astra ” posts were even shared by the Karnataka chief minister, and he has also claimed to have gotten calls from top government and BJP officials.

These polarising messages have achieved their intended impact, as described by the Washington Post. He has been able to successfully influence Indians about the farcical propaganda that tries to accuse Muslims of conspiring against India and the Indian nation. For instance, this can be exemplified in the way he laid out a hand for the BJP in Karnataka. The BJP benefitted electorally especially in coastal Karnataka from this campaign by ‘Astra’, winning 11 out of 13 contested constituencies. One respondent in the Washington Post article has stated that nearing the day for voting, he received about 120 messages a day – which he said signified as a ‘reminder’ to vote right for the BJP.

The BJP is notorious for tactics like these. In 2017, Swati Khosla who worked as a ‘volunteer’ in the IT Cell, then headed by a man named Arvind Gupta, stated that the IT cell is a vast network that works with ‘volunteers’ like her, whom they can disassociate with at any circumstances. In the interview with Caravan Magazine, Khosla stated that the National Digital Operations Corporation (NDOC) orchestrated targeted campaigns using social media and instant messaging platforms like WhatsApp and Twitter. These campaigns were directed against individuals who dared to voice criticism of the Modi government or the BJP. Khosla revealed that the list of targets at the time included famous figures like Aamir Khan and Shah Rukh Khan, as well as respected journalists such as Rajdeep Sardesai and Barkha Dutt. Bollywood actor Aamir Khan had stated that ‘Our country is very tolerant, but there are certain people who spread ill-will’, to which he faced a targeted response.

Thus the former volunteer, Khosla, told the Caravan Magazine that following Aamir Khan’s comments in November 2015 regarding alleged incidents of intolerance in India, the cell had launched a concerted effort to make sure that Khan was removed from a deal with corporate giant Snapdeal. The BJP has been exposed several times for their outsourcing of hate. In 2022, for instance, social media trolls reportedly employed by BJP had accidentally revealed the background of their work, as one of them prematurely shared the entire social media ‘toolkit’ comprising tweets in both Telugu and English. The complete toolkit was 15 pages long and featured numerous tweets maligning opposition leaders and to flood Twitter with tweets using the hashtag #JPNaddainOrugallu.

Thus, similarly according to WaPo, the founder of Astra, Poojary is concerned about potential legal consequences for libel and spreading false information but however the success he has seen seems, especially as all five BJP candidates he supported on social media emerged victorious in coastal Karnataka, seems to have put everything else in the background.

This report by Washington Post further sheds light on Meta, the parent company of WhatsApp, Facebook, and Instagram, and how Meta has time and again faced accusations of not doing enough to prevent the spread of hate news and being lenient with BJP leaders who violated its terms, possibly to safeguard business interests. Similarly, SabrangIndia reported earlier this year, after social media giant Meta released its annual report on human rights, that it was noted by activists that not enough has been done by the social media giant to curb hate that run amock there as there was no concrete plan. Just earlier this year in June, there was a report that stated Elon Musk had asserted that it was better to follow local laws. This statement came in the wake of former CEO Jack Dorsey stating that Twitter, now X, and had been threatened with calls to shut down Twitter in India and to have ‘homes raided’.

These instances serve to show that not only do social media giants face pressure from the government to bow down to their demands, they also seem to have no will to make changes to ensure violation of human rights does not take place on these platforms.

Related:

 Facebook’s plans to curb online hate during Indian elections: Too little too late?

India’s Struggle for Social Harmony: Challenges Amidst Surge in Hate Speech

Is There a Hidden Narrative Behind Slurs Hurled in Parliament?

India’s Struggle for Social Harmony: Challenges Amidst Surge in Hate Speech

The post BJP’s “parallel” IT Cell exposed by Washington Post appeared first on SabrangIndia.

News channels that run on our television screens 24 hours a day have been branded as “mainstream news media” though commercial media that no longer plays a part in actual dissemination of news may be a more apt definition. This media has, of late, often being showcased for a deliberate suppression of news while selectively creating studio discussions on selective subjects that fuel a divisive, one-sided majoritarian agenda that currently suits the ideology of the party in power.

The technique used is hysterical and repetitive, with one-sided WhatsApp forwards based on no truths becoming the focus and subject for discussion! The one channel that has been prominently badgering its viewers with this persistently unethical, anti-constitutional and stigmatising anti-minority, narrative is Times Now Navbharat, affiliated to the all-powerful media house, the Times of India group.

Citizens for Justice and Peace has been consistently monitoring news channels and their tiresome trope and tools used to spread and further demonise the religious minorities. In this process, CJP has filed several complaints with the News Broadcasting & Digital Standards Authority (NBDSA) and received favourable orders as well. In our analysis we have found that while the narrative of news channels is similar to each other, it is the frequency that now plays a part. In this year, 2023, alone, CJP has filed five complaints against the channel and out of these five shows, CJP has complained against, three shows used the “jihad” trope. The channel is often seen using emotionally charged language, misinformation, and biased narratives to sway people’s beliefs and attitudes.

Even with noticeable trend, the past fortnight was a shocker. Not one day passes without this channel pushing its vicious, dehumanizing agenda. With CJP’s sizeable complaint bank behind us, we now bring you an analytical look at just one week of Times Navbharat content and leave our readers to judge what the motivations and ethics underlying generation of such content may be.

Repetition as Propaganda:

Picking the same issue over and over

After the violence in Kolhapur in the past few days, news channels kept running the debate over ‘Aurangzeb’! The main focus was on ‘Aurangzeb’ as villain in 2023! One of the last Mughal emperors that has had a particularly significant impact on the Deccan plateau, the historical narrative of his betrayal of and subsequent encounter (through Afzal Khan) with Shivaji is part of folk and political lore, given that Shivaji is a much loved figure, albit one who’s image has been also distorted for political gain. Anyway back to the channel, Times Navbharat. The channel, day on day, has been itself in the act of pushing the narrative that even harking (or hailing) back to Aurangzeb –who is and was un undeniable part of India’s past – is both sacrilegious and seditious, an outrageous (even unlawful) notion pushed by India’s present rulers, in Delhi and Maharashtra (belonging as they do to the majoritarian Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The channel appears to be on its own mission to convince (or brainwash?) its viewers into terming Aurangzeb referencing today as not only treason but acts that retaliatory targeted violence.

On this one incident alone, the channel ran provocative taglines in all their shows. These include:

“Aurangzeb par fasaad , kaun Pakistan ki aulaad” (riots over Aurangzeb, who is the son of Pakistan?)

“Shivaji ke Vanshaj vs. Aurangzeb ki aulaadein?” (Descendants of Shivaji vs. Sons of Aurangzeb?)

“Hinduon ka atyachari ki kis ke liye Krantikari?” (The oppressor of Hindus, for whom, is he a revolutionary?)

Such propaganda often relies on oversimplification and selective generalisation to stereotype religious minorities. It portrays them as threats to national integration, social order, national security, or cultural values, emphasizing their “differences” from the majority population. By portraying them as “the other,” propaganda fosters an “us vs. them” mentality, making it easier to sow seeds of hatred and discrimination.

Religious conversions

Forced conversions are another trope the channel consistently harps upon. The false narrative is the claim that religious conversions in India are primarily forced or coerced. Through its shows the channel suggests that religious minorities, particularly Muslims and Christians, engage in unethical practices to convert individuals from Hinduism or other faiths.  This coverage flies in the face of actual circumstance and data from the ground, as questions and answers in Parliament, studies conducted on the issue from government gazettes (New Indian Express) all show that in fact maximum converts were towards Hinduism! Pertinently also the Indian Constitution accords every citizen the right to freely choose and propagate any faith.[1]

By depicting each alleged cases of forceful conversion, the channel exaggerates these incidents as a phenomenon and suggests that large-scale conversions are eroding the majority religion and threatening the nation’s cultural fabric.

The all-time favourite “Love Jihad”

Despite there being no empirical evidence to prove the existence of this conspiracy theory of “love jihad” and many alternate news portals busting this falsehood, the news channel (any many others of its kind) have continued running with it. ‘Love Jihad’ is a conspiracy theory of the right-wing, which claims that Muslim men feign love to non-Muslim, especially Hindu women to induce them to convert to Islam with an intention to increase their population. However, what is pertinent is that no official agency has come forward with a definition or any data to substantiate the claims.

The coinage of the term gained national prominence in 2009 and its origins can be traced back to Kerala and the coastal belt of Karnataka. On June 25, 2014, then Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy informed the state legislature that 2,667 young women had converted to Islam in the state since 2006. However, he stated that there was no evidence for any of them being forced conversions, and that fears of ‘love jihad’ were “baseless.”

Here are some instances of shows the channel ran through last one week using “love jihad” as the main angle.

In this news report, the channel made sure to highlight the religious identity of the victim, a Hindu. It becomes amply clear when the channel does this, that the accused has to be a Muslim.

On the other hand, when an incident of murder came to light from Mumbai where in a live relationship, the man killed his partner in a rather gruesome manner (akin to the Shraddha Walkar case), the religion of neither the victim nor the accused was mentioned, because both were Hindus.

They even invented another term – “Gaming Jihad” alleging that there is game created by a Mulsim whereby Hindu boys are coaxed into converting to Islam. The news report ran an “investigation” on how this games allured Hindu boys into religious conversion to Islam.

Other divisive tools

When the trope of all kinds of “jihad” and religious conversion are used, they also resort to other tools. Like, establishing hegemony of Hindus by claiming Hindus saved Muslims:

Portraying certain prominent individuals/political figures as enemies of Hindus by vitute of them speaking in favour of Muslims:

Creating unsubstantiated trivial controversy over Muslim actors entering temples and seeking blessing of Hindus gods is also another of their favourites.

Questioning the sensitivity of certain topics and defending propaganda: When the teaser of the movie “72 hoorain” came out, the channel aired a debate on why are Muslims offended over it.

This week long overview establishes a clear political agenda and motive.

The intention of the channel is clear: to create a distorted reality that fosters division, fear, and animosity towardsthe Muslim community. False narratives contribute to the marginalization and stigmatization of religious minority communities, fostering discrimination, and hostility. This has already led to social exclusion, violence, and restrictions on the religious freedom. The spread of false narratives further deepens existing communal tensions and perpetuates an “us vs. them” mentality as well.

Where this leaves the quality and standards of fair and equitable practices in broadcasting is a question that has more than serious implications for India and Indian democracy.

[1] What do the figures tell us? CJP Legal Resource: Hinduism saw the largest increase in new converts, according to statistics collected by The New Indian Express collated from government gazettes that contain official figures for the year 2020. Hinduism, says this analysis, was “adopted” by 47% of those who converted to a different religion in Kerala during the referred year. 241 of the 506 people who reported their change of religion with the government were Christians or Muslims who converted to Hinduism. Islam attracted 144 converts overall, compared to 119 converts to Christianity.[2] The majority of Dalit Christians, or Christian Cheramars, Christian Sambavas, and Christian Pulayas, made up 72% of the new Hindu converts. It was clear that the absence of quota and reservation advantages had led to the re-admittance of Hinduism by many Dalit Christians. Christianity lost 242 believers to the other two religions and attracted only 119 persons. Islam gained 144 new believers and lost 40 during the period. Buddhism received two new believers who switched from Hinduism.As many as 77% of the new converts to Islam were Hindus and 63% women. It attracted the highest number of persons from Ezhava, Thiyya and Nair communities. 25 persons, including 13 females, switched from the Hindu Ezhava caste, to Islam. Data reveals that 17 Thiyya community members including 11 females converted to Islam. 17 persons including 12 females were from the Nair community. Of the 33 persons who crossed over to Islam from Christianity, 9 were Syrian Catholics, who included two women.

Related:

CJP SENDS COMPLAINS TO TIMESNOW NAVBHARAT AGAINST THEIR PROBLEMATIC DEBATE SEGMENT, PARTICIPANTS INDULGED IN COMMUNAL DIATRIBE

TIMES NOW NAVBHARAT USES ‘MAZAAR JIHAD’ IN A SHOW, CJP SENDS COMPLAINT

NBDSA: CJP ESCALATES COMPLAINT AGAINST TIMES NOW NAVBHARAT’S ‘ZAMEEN JIHAD’ SHOW

ANOTHER COMPLAINT TO TIMES NOW ON POLARISED DEBATE OVER MADRASSA SURVEY IN UP

The post Times Now Navbharat: Where hate sells like hot cakes daily appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Even as images and videos of the mishap started circulating, certain social media users tried to give the accident a communal twist by claiming that a mosque was located near the spot of the accident.

On Sunday, Memeghnad (@meghnad) tweeted a citizen’s agony: Since yesterday, there have been horrendous tweets and opinions being put out by BJP supporters about the #TrainTragedy.

These kind of incidents prove yet again how deranged that whole ecosystem really is.

Here’s a quick summary of the kind of shit that is being put out from…

Since yesterday, there have been horrendous tweets and opinions being put out by BJP supporters about the #TrainTragedy. These kind of incidents prove yet again how deranged that whole ecosystem really is.

Here’s a quick summary of the kind of things that is being put out:

(TRIGGER WARNING: This list will piss you off)

– Why should the Railway Minister resign? What’s the point? Instead he should work harder!

– Kavach safety system? Stop talking about that. It was not deployed on this track ok so it’s not anyone’s fault. Check your facts.

– Train accidents happen in other countries too ok. These kind of things keep happening around the world. No need to make a big deal of it.

– The opposition is responsible. Why is Rahul always outside India when some big accident happens huh huh huh?

– Why are all these other political leaders visiting the accident site huh? Something is fishy, something is afoot! But Ayega toh M….

– Look! There is a masjid beside the railway site. You know what THAT means right? TERRORISM.

(It was not a masjid, it was an ISKON temple)

– This is what happens when you let the reserved category inferior type people do railway job. Now suffer!

– Overpopulation. That’s the problem. It’s just too many people ok. And some of these people die when they crowd around.

– PM Modi rushed to the scene in such heat omg what great leader doing great things WE NEED HIM SO BADLY RIGHT NOW IN THIS DIFFICULT TIME!

– LEAVE MY MODIJI ALONE ITS NOT HIS FAULT NONE OF IT IS HIS FAULT PLS LEAVE HIM ALONE!!!!

Within hours after the deadly train crash in Odisha’s Balasore that killed close to 290 people,  several of them migrant labour, and wounded 1,000 others on Friday, June 2 evening, several social media accounts insinuated that Muslims were responsible for the accident. A preliminary inquiry by the Indian Railways revealed that “a signalling error was responsible for India’s deadliest train accident in two decades, stated the Indian Express citing a “multi-disciplinary joint-inspection note by supervisors”. Other news reports have highlighted concerns over maintenance and declining funds, as well as flaws in the signalling system.

These were not the serious concerns for trolls and accounts known for spreading majoritarian Hindutva. These accounts, also supporters of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party swung into swift action to protect both the union government as also the Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw from any responsibility (moral or otherwise) amidst growing voices for the minister to resign.

On the afternoon of June 3, Saturday, a Twitter account with the handle @randomsena posted an image of the crash site with an arrow pointing to a white structure with domes close to the tracks and captioned it “just saying…yesterday was Friday”. This seemed to suggest that the structure was a mosque and that Muslims were somehow responsible for the tragedy.

Fact-checkers from Boom and AltNews immediately pointed out that the shrine is, in fact, a temple run by the International Society for Krishna Consciousness or Iskcon. Boom said its team checked images as well as footage.

More Hate

The story does not stop here. Shockingly, the Twitter account of “Prof.N John Camm”, who claims to be a senior Germany-based cardiologist, tweeted “rail jihad”. Several more right-wing Twitter accounts have joined the chorus alleging “sabotage” and a “conspiracy”.

Another Twitter user going by the name “BhikuMhatre” with the handle @MumbaichaDon, posted images of what he claimed was the “primary investigation report” and alleged that the tragedy “looked like a case of sabotage”. The Twitter user, whose followers include BJP leaders and a Mumbai BJP legislator, also demanded an investigation by the National Investigation Agency. This claim was retweeted by others, with one user alleging more “such incidents” ahead of the 2024 elections. Another alleged the hand of American billionaire George Soros and the Congress to create publicity for Congress Rahul Gandhi who is currently visiting the United States.

Hindu supremacist and journalist Suresh Chavhanke and his Sudarshan News (owing allegiance to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh-RSS), known for incendiary television news programmes that target Muslims, further amplified these claims of sabotage, including tweeting out the hashtag “train accident or attack” in Hindi.

Twitter user PallaviCT, the co-convener of the Mumbai BJP’s social media cell, also drew links to unrelated previous incidents to claim there was sinister intent behind the Odisha train accident ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The Twitter user’s bio says “blessed to be followed” by the prime minister.

On Sunday, the Odisha Police said that it was “highly unfortunate” that social media handles were “mischievously” communalising the train accident. The police warned of legal action against those trying to “create communal disharmony by spreading rumours”.

‘Reservations’ to blame

The most ludicrous of all was another section of Twitter users, meanwhile, has blamed the reservation policy in government jobs for Indians from the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes for the train crash.

Fact check: ISKCON Temple not Mosque

Undeterred by fact however, the Twitter account named “The Random Indian”, however, doubled down on the claim. “Balasore is a hub of rohingya Muslims,” it said, defending itself by saying that there was “no mention of Muslims” in its post. In a revealing statement of the impact of the algorithms of hate, by the afternoon of June 4, Sunday, the tweet had garnered four million views and nearly 4,500 retweets. The account also posted a series of old news reports involving Muslim suspects in cases of previous, unrelated train incidents with comments such as “something is fishy” to claim a bigger “conspiracy” at work.

This is how it began. User The Random Indian (@randomsena) tweeted an image of a drone view of the spot with an arrow pointing at a white building, the apparent mosque, and wrote, ‘Just Saying Yesterday Was Friday’. By saying this, the user tried to claim that Muslims were responsible for the tragedy. This particular tweet was part of a thread wherein he tried to establish that the train accident was a planned attack by Muslims. (Archive)

Other users, including @RajputRanjanaa, @RealVirendraBJP, @abbajabbadabba4, verified user @VIRALKI44722069 and parody account @mdallahwala, tweeted the same image wherein the white building was pointed at and claimed that Muslims were responsible for the accident. (Archives- 1, 2, 3, 4, 5)

This claim is also viral on Facebook.

Altnews and Boomlive did swift fact checks

Fact check

Upon a closer examination of the spot from different angles, we found that the white structure seen in the viral image resembles a temple and not a mosque. The following image was used in a Reuters report titled, “Deadly Indian rail crash shifts focus from new trains to safety“. We have circled the structure on the image:

They reached out to journalist Tamal Saha who is currently at the spot of the accident in Bahanaga. He confirmed to Alt News that the structure near the accident was indeed a temple. Upon probing further, we found that the temple was the Bahanaga ISKCON temple. A YouTube video of the temple, uploaded five months ago shows that the structure is white in colour and was under construction (although functional) at that time as well. On our request, Saha visited the temple and sent us an image of the board outside the temple saying ISKCON Bahanaga.

Altnews also received a video capturing the entrance to the temple. Below is the comparison among a screen grab of the aforementioned video, by Altnews the portion of the viral image showing the alleged mosque and the image from the Reuters report. As is evident, all three show the same structure.

Below is another video capturing the road outside the temple

Altnews and Boom also reached out to the authorities of the ISKCON temple in Bahanaga who confirmed to us that the train accident happened on the tracks near the temple. They also confirmed that the structure seen next to the spot of the accident is the ISKCON temple.

All this hate when after over 12 hours after the mishap, the Railways is looking at the possibility of a signalling error as its prima facie cause, sources told The Indian Express. According to the report, a multi-disciplinary joint-inspection note by supervisors concluded that a green signal was given to the Coromandel Express to pass through the designated main line, and then the signal was taken off. But the train entered the loop line, rammed into a stationary goods train and derailed. Meanwhile, on the down line, the superfast express train from Yashwantpur had arrived and its two coaches derailed.

Thanks to the fact checking by Boom and Altnews it became clear that in the drone-view image of the train accident site in Balasore shared on social media, the white structure partly visible is not a mosque, but an ISKCON temple in Bahnaga. It is baseless and absurd to claim that the proximity of the structure had anything to do with the accident. At the time of the filing of this report, an inquiry is still on to ascertain the exact cause of the mishap.

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The post Hate and the Balasore train tragedy: Welcome to 2023 India appeared first on SabrangIndia.

The Kerala Story and Propaganda

Let us first examine the film The Kerala Story, which exemplifies how propaganda can influence our beliefs. It led us to believe that 30,000 women were missing in Kerala. The success of The Kerala Story can be attributed to our failure to question information and uncover the underlying political motivations.

The Kerala Story, is a propaganda film about missing women in Kerala. Following pressure from the court, the producers have altered the text in the film’s teasers on YouTube, changing the statement from 32,000 missing women to three women allegedly brainwashed, converted, and sent on terror missions.

Let us start with what Prime Minister (PM) Modi said about a recent movie during the Karnataka election. He told his audience and the rest of the country about a film, Kerala story.

Modi delivered a pre-poll speech in Ballari, Karnataka, on May 5, where he stated the following:

“In these changing times, the nature of terrorism is also changing …Bombs, rifles and pistols… (have been replaced by) a new type which undermines society from within, makes no sound. The Kerala Story is a film based on one such conspiracy in Kerala”.

Prem Shankar Jha, in his column  The Wire,

“Just a year after The Kashmir Files, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is once again leveraging another highly provocative film, The Kerala Story, to fuel animosity towards Indian Muslims, aiming to secure the “Hindu” vote and maintain his power in the upcoming year”

“A study by the Manohar Parrikar Institute reveals that by 2019, fewer than 100 migrants in the Gulf were believed to have been lured by ISIS, while 155 individuals in India were arrested for having ISIS connections. The claim of 32,000 recruits from India, particularly a significant number being women, is absurd. European Union and US Central Intelligence Agency estimates put the maximum strength of ISIS at around 30,000 during its peak.”

Why Fewer Indians Have Joined ISIS

Low Budgets Films – New Tool for mass propaganda

A new tactic has emerged where low-budget films are used to fuel hatred deliberately, following the success of The Kashmir Files. This is followed by a widespread propaganda campaign through news channels, influencers, articles, and various government branches to amplify and perpetuate this divisive narrative. The goal is to manipulate public sentiment and consolidate power by creating an atmosphere of hostility. The target is a vulnerable section of the Indian population, our Muslims.

Missing Women – A Study of Demographic Data

Let’s delve into the concept of “Missing women” as defined by Amartya Sen—an issue that should deeply concern all of us and remain at the forefront of our national consciousness, particularly for the government and Prime Minister Modi, who have championed initiatives like “Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao.”

The Sex Ratio indicates the number of females for every 1,000 males in a particular population, revealing insights into gender distribution and societal dynamics. Meanwhile, the Child Sex ratio focuses on children aged 0-6, highlighting gender-based discrimination and practices such as female feticide.

Research suggests that boys tend to outnumber girls at birth by around 105-106 males per 100 females, a consistent pattern noted by Amartya Sen. The reasons behind this disparity are still debated. However, women tend to have a biological advantage over men, with extensive research indicating that women tend to live longer and exhibit better resistance to diseases if they receive similar healthcare, nutrition, and general medical attention. This advantage is observed not only in the later stages of life but also during infancy and even in the womb. Women have higher survival rates when provided with equal care than men.

In regions such as Europe, the United States, and Japan, where women face relatively less essential nutrition and healthcare discrimination, they significantly outnumber men. This discrepancy can be attributed, in part, to social and environmental factors that increase male mortality rates, including violence and smoking-related diseases. However, even after accounting for these factors, women’s longer lifespans stem from their biological advantages in disease resistance. Whether the higher frequency of male births has evolutionary links to women’s potentially more excellent survival rates is still an interesting topic of study.

Overall, Sen emphasises that women tend to have lower mortality rates than men at various stages of life when given similar treatment in matters of life and death. These findings underscore the importance of addressing gender disparities and ensuring equitable access to healthcare and resources to promote better health outcomes for all.

“Missing women” refers to the gender imbalance resulting from various factors, including gender-based discrimination, female feticide, infanticide, and inadequate access to healthcare and nutrition for women. It highlights the discrepancy between the expected number of females based on natural factors and the observed number, indicating the gender-based discrimination and inequalities prevalent in society. The concept of “missing women” is related to the sex ratio, an indicator of gender distribution and can be calculated for different age groups or the overall population. A sex ratio below 1,000 suggests a lower proportion of females, while a ratio above 1,000 indicates a higher proportion of females. “Missing women” serves as a reminder of the need to address gender disparities and promote gender equality by ensuring equitable access to healthcare and resources for all.

Missing Women – India

Let us study missing women in Indian States using the Sex ratio and some interrelated social metrics to see if we can link the missing women to address gender disparities.

It is important to note that negative values in the “Missing Women” row indicate a surplus of women rather than missing women. These values are calculated by subtracting the sex ratio of each State from 1000.

This table displays data on gender disparities in six Indian states – Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Haryana, Punjab, and Uttar Pradesh. By examining the Sex Ratio and Child Sex Ratio metrics, we can analyse the concept of missing women and compare it to other indicators, providing an academic summary of the states.

1. Missing Women: Missing Women refers to the discrepancy between the expected number of females in a population and the actual number. It serves as a measure of gender disparities and potential discrimination.
2. Kerala exhibits a negative value for missing women, indicating that the actual number of women exceeds the expected number by 84. This suggests a potential overrepresentation of women in the state.
3. Tamil Nadu reports a relatively small value of missing women (4), indicating a close alignment between the expected and actual number of women.
4. Gujarat, Haryana, Punjab, and Uttar Pradesh show higher values of missing women, with Uttar Pradesh reporting the highest (88). These figures indicate a gender imbalance, with the actual number of women falling below the expected number.

The analysis reveals varying degrees of gender disparities among the states. Kerala has a more balanced gender distribution, reflected in its negative value for missing women and a smaller literacy rate gap. The state also demonstrates better maternal healthcare outcomes with a lower MMR.

In contrast, states like Gujarat, Haryana, Punjab, and Uttar Pradesh exhibit more significant gaps in literacy rates, higher MMR values, and positive values for missing women. These findings indicate gender imbalances, potential discrimination against women, and challenges in education and healthcare access.

Kerala –

Other states can learn from Kerala’s success in improving sex ratios and addressing gender disparities. Kerala’s achievements can be attributed to its focus on critical areas such as literacy, healthcare, and maternal mortality rate (MMR).

• Literacy: Kerala’s emphasis on education and high literacy rates for both genders have contributed to more equitable sex ratios. Other states can prioritise education and ensure equal access to quality education for girls, empowering them and reducing gender disparities.
• Healthcare: Kerala’s robust healthcare infrastructure, particularly maternal and child health, has significantly improved sex ratios. Investing in accessible and quality healthcare services, including reproductive health, can improve health outcomes for women and children in other states.
• Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR): Kerala’s low MMR reflects its focus on maternal healthcare. Other States can learn from Kerala’s efforts to improve healthcare access, provide skilled birth attendants, and implement maternal health initiatives to reduce maternal mortality rates and improve overall well-being.

By focusing on literacy, healthcare, and MMR, States can take inspiration from Kerala’s approach and work towards achieving better sex ratios and addressing gender disparities.

¹Assuming Kerala’s sex ratio in Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat, it is estimated that there are 15 million missing women in UP and 5 million in Gujarat.

(The writer is a financial professional, also passionate about the arts, academia, and social issues related to development and human rights)

Note/Appendix

Please note that negative values in the “Missing Women ” column indicate a surplus of women rather than missing women.

Data sources:

Related:

Kerala: The Real Story, where Facts and numbers add up

What a one-sided Kerala Story does to society

To Lord Ram, a letter of remorse and resolve

To Lord Ram, I write again for Hope

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