Sharma’s posts, often riddled with Islamophobic slurs, disinformation, and calls to violence, have made him a polarising figure. While many applaud the repeated suspension of his account, calling it a step towards curbing hate speech online, critics argue that social media platforms like X have failed to permanently ban individuals like Sharma, allowing their platforms to become breeding grounds for dangerous ideologies.

His following, although controversial, remains loyal and vocal, amplifying his messages of bigotry across various corners of the internet, even during his suspensions. This digital army of followers, emboldened by Sharma’s provocations, perpetuates a toxic environment where minorities feel increasingly unsafe.

What makes Sharma’s case particularly alarming is the larger context it exists within. In an era where communal violence is on the rise and inflammatory rhetoric seems to seep into the mainstream, the continued presence of figures like him raises serious questions about the responsibility social media platforms have in curbing hate speech. Suspending accounts like Sharma’s temporarily may offer short-lived relief, but it does little to address the root of the problem: the ability of individuals to exploit digital spaces to further their agenda of hate.

It’s important to highlight that after the suspension of his main account, Deepak Sharma circumvented the ban by creating another account on X. Through this new account, he continued to post a stream of equally offensive, violent, and anti-Islamic content, further perpetuating his hateful rhetoric without pause. However, the said side account also got suspended today morning.

Another side account of Sharma’s, namely @sonofbharat7D was also suspended.

Who is Deepak Sharma?

Deepak Sharma, who claims to be an interior designer by profession, is far better known for his inflammatory, communal rhetoric than for any design work. Originally from Jaipur, Sharma has established himself as a prominent Hindu activist, though police records show he actually resides in Hathras, Uttar Pradesh. He is the founder of the Rashtriya Swabhimaan Dal (RSD), an organisation that, according to him, is dedicated to defending Hinduism and safeguarding national interests.

Sharma first gained notoriety through a disturbing video in which he attacked a defenceless boy on camera for allegedly creating ‘memes’ that mocked Hindu gods and goddesses. In his defence, Sharma claimed the violent Facebook live stream was meant to “raise awareness.” His early online presence was marked by bizarre, sometimes incoherent statements that many found either amusing or baffling.

Sharma’s rise to internet fame began with an angry video where he defensively listed his academic qualifications—boasting of a degree in Microbiology, a Master’s in Interior Design, and an MBA in Interior Design Management—in response to critics who questioned his education. Ironically, this video led to a flood of memes mocking his comments on “secular Hindus” and his self-proclaimed achievements.

However, what began as eccentric behaviour on social media quickly took a darker turn. Sharma moved from being an online oddity to a figure inciting communal violence, leaving behind a disturbing trail of incidents that have further deepened the divide in an already polarised society.

Previous offensive statements made by Deepak Sharma

In 2018, CJP’s Hate Watch team conducted an analysis of Deepak Sharma’s disruptive actions and hate speeches in Uttar Pradesh, revealing the various personas he has adopted. Even then, his animosity towards Muslims was evident, reflecting the same level of hatred he displays today. Sharma has made headlines for attempting to perform Hindu prayers at the Taj Mahal, launching verbal attacks against Muslims in his video rants, and even dabbling in poetry that calls for “another Godhra.”

Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP) was among the first to raise concerns about Deepak Sharma’s social media activities, flagging his profile to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on December 27, 2018. The report highlighted his biased, inflammatory posts, which were not only factually dubious but also deeply insensitive. CJP also filed a complaint with Facebook, which led to Sharma being banned from the platform. However, this did little to stop him. He repeatedly created new pages under different names, continuing to amass followers and incite similar hate.

Sharma has made shocking calls for the beheading of non-believers and openly expressed a desire for more incidents like the 2002 Godhra riots. His social media presence is rife with abusive, hate-filled posts, where he portrays himself as a “Nationalist!! Son of Bharat Mata!! Political Thinker” and proudly declares himself the founder of the Rashtriya Swabhiman Dal (RSD).

In 2021, Deepak Sharma ignited a storm of controversy with a provocative tweet, declaring, “अगर भोले के भक्त ‘तांडव’ पे उतरे तो वो तांडव तुमसे झेला न जाएगा – जिहादियों सहमत – RT,” which translates to, “If the devotees of Shiva begin the Tandav, or the dance of destruction, you jihadis (referring to Muslims) won’t be able to withstand it.” He then encouraged his followers to amplify this threat by retweeting it. The post garnered nearly 4,000 retweets and around 10,000 likes, signalling the alarming reach of his incendiary rhetoric.

Even more concerning were the 500 comments the tweet received, many of which called for the murder of Muslims, whom Sharma and his followers label as ‘jihadis.’ This tweet was part of a broader campaign by Sharma, in line with the right-wing agenda targeting the fictional web series Tandav, which had been accused of offending Hindu sentiments through its storyline. Sharma seized the controversy to push for what he described as an “anti-blasphemy” law, further stoking the flames of communal discord. His calls for violence and intolerance highlight the dangerous intersection of social media influence and hate-driven agendas.

Far from being a mere provocateur, Sharma has turned full-time hate-mongering into his profession. He joined Twitter in February 2020 and rapidly built a large following. His account has consistently featured hateful and abusive content, often drawing support from BJP MLA T Raja, a habitual hate speech offender himself.

A profile on his hateful propaganda may be watched here.

Here is a video by CJP explaining how he has misused Facebook as a platform.

It is essential to highlight here that Deepak Sharma’s Facebook account is still there, though the last post on it was made in the year 2022. It contains a similar type of anti-Muslim vitriolic as is there on his other social media accounts.

A particularly telling reflection on Sharma had then come from the mother of Shivam Vashisht, one of his associates who tragically died in an accident. She expressed her disdain for Sharma, stating, “He is a traitor; he profited off my son’s name after his death… I had no idea he was such a lowlife.” This sentiment underscores the damaging impact Sharma has had on those around him, further highlighting the depths of his exploitation and the real-world consequences of his hateful rhetoric. (A video on the same may be viewed here.)

Inaction on complaints made against Sharma for his offensive statements

CJP also lodged a complaint with the National Commission for Minorities (NCM) after Sharma made derogatory comments about Allah in an audio chat room on the social app ‘Clubhouse.’ During this session, Sharma launched into a vulgar tirade about the anatomy and biology of Allah, remarks so offensive that they cannot be repeated in print. In June 2021, CJP submitted a screen recording of this audio chatroom to the NCM, highlighting Sharma’s offensive comments in a room titled Mahadev ko gaali India mein legal (Translation: Insulting Mahadev is legal in India). The complaint stressed how Sharma has been exploiting social media platforms to gain followers, despite his deeply questionable credentials.

CJP’s complaint to the National Commission for Minorities (NCM) had also exposed how the Uttar Pradesh police have been accommodating several of Deepak Sharma’s requests, filing First Information Reports (FIRs) against social media users for allegedly joking about the “Shivling,” a revered symbol in Hinduism. These jokes emerged after claims surfaced that a “Shivling” was discovered in the compound of the Gyanvapi mosque, although mosque authorities contend that it was simply part of an old, defunct fountain. This “Shivling” versus fountain narrative fuelled a wave of humour on Twitter, prompting Sharma to take it upon himself to report individuals who participated in the jokes.

In a series of tweets, Sharma had not only shared screenshots of these posts but also identified users, effectively reporting them to the police and instructing law enforcement on how to respond. He then celebrated his “victories” as FIRs were filed against those he had singled out, particularly targeting Muslim users.

What was particularly shocking is that the Uttar Pradesh police had allegedly permitted Sharma to instigate these criminal complaints. They had responded with remarkable speed to his grievances regarding a few jokes, while completely neglecting to take action against Sharma himself, despite his blatant human rights violations and his inflammatory rhetoric aimed at inciting communal discord and outrage among Muslim minorities. This disparity highlights a disturbing trend in which law enforcement appears to be complicit in targeting individuals for exercising their right to free expression while ignoring the hate speech propagated by figures like Sharma.

Notably, in response to the complaint sent by CJP, the NCM took up the issue. In a letter dated July 29, 2022, the Commission directed the Superintendent of Police in Amroha, Uttar Pradesh, to investigate the matter and provide a detailed report on Sharma’s activities. 

Series of suspensions, series of accounts

It’s important to highlight that before the suspension of his most recent account, Deepak Sharma had a previous “main” Twitter handle, @TheDeepak2020, which was suspended in 2022 following mass reporting. This account, like his others, was notorious for spreading hateful content and inciting violence, particularly against Muslim communities. The suspension came as a result of widespread outcry, with users reporting his posts for promoting communal tensions and violating Twitter’s policies on hate speech.

However, Sharma’s pattern of creating new accounts after each suspension reveals a troubling loophole in the enforcement mechanisms of social media platforms. Despite repeated violations, Sharma has been able to re-emerge under different guises, circumventing bans and continuing to build a substantial following. This ongoing cycle of suspensions followed by new accounts points to a larger issue: the failure of platforms like Twitter to permanently de-platform habitual offenders who misuse the space to incite hate.

The ease with which Sharma has managed to return time and again not only undermines the effectiveness of social media policies but also emboldens others like him. Each suspension may temporarily silence him, but the absence of more stringent measures allows him to regroup and resume his campaign of hate, once again mobilising his supporters. This cycle raises serious concerns about the platforms’ accountability in preventing the spread of communal violence and hate speech in digital spaces. 

The disturbing influence of Deepak Sharma: A catalyst for communal hatred in society

Deepak Sharma exemplifies a shameless purveyor of hatred within our society, leveraging social media platforms to amplify his vitriolic messages. His history of inflammatory rhetoric reveals a consistent pattern of targeting minorities, particularly Muslims, under the guise of “Hindutva activism”. Despite numerous suspensions from social media for his hateful speech, he persists in creating new accounts, circumventing bans while continuing to mobilise supporters around a deeply divisive agenda.

From his early days of instigating violence by physically assaulting a young boy over memes to his calls for the beheading of non-believers, Sharma’s actions reflect a disturbing disregard for the values of tolerance and respect that are essential in a diverse society. His inflammatory comments surrounding sensitive issues, such as the alleged discovery of a “Shivling” at the Gyanvapi mosque, serve to incite communal tensions rather than foster dialogue.

Sharma’s audacity is further exemplified by his attempts to monetise tragedy, as evidenced by the accusations from the mother of his associate, who criticised him for profiting off her son’s death. This exploitation of personal loss underscores a deeper moral bankruptcy, revealing how Sharma shamelessly capitalises on suffering to perpetuate his hateful narrative.

Moreover, his interactions with law enforcement raise alarming questions about complicity and accountability. CJP’s reports indicate that the Uttar Pradesh police have acted swiftly on his complaints against individuals joking about religious symbols while ignoring the hate speech he spews. This selective enforcement emboldens Sharma, allowing him to continue his campaign of hatred with impunity.

In a time when society grapples with issues of communal harmony and respect for diversity, Deepak Sharma stands as a stark reminder of the dangerous consequences of unchecked hatred and the critical need for collective action against such divisive forces. His relentless efforts to spread animosity not only threaten the fabric of social cohesion but also pose a significant challenge to the principles of justice and equality that should guide our society.

Related:

Deepak Sharma is back on Twitter

CJP moves NCM against Deepak Sharma for derogatory remarks against Allah online!

Hate Offender: Meet Deepak Sharma, a self proclaimed Hindutva ‘leader’ seeking political attention in UP

FIR against Alt News Co-founder Mohammed Zubair based on complaint by BJP leader Udita Tyagi, action on his social media posts sought

The post Suspended again: Deepak Sharma’s relentless cycle of hate across multiple social media accounts appeared first on SabrangIndia.

In addition to the significant disparity in the frequency of hate events occurring in BJP-governed states, there is a notable contrast in the nature of these incidents when compared to non-BJP-ruled states. While approximately 80% of hate speech events took place in BJP-ruled states and territories, roughly 75% of events involving calls to violence occurred in these regions. Similarly, about 60% of events involving calls to arms took place in BJP-ruled states. Around 81% of the events involving conspiracy theories and 78% of the events including a call to boycott Muslims also took place in BJP-ruled states and territories. In contrast, when examining categories not explicitly related to violence or calls to arms, the proportion of events involving conspiracy theories, speeches by BJP leaders, and calls for boycotting were relatively similar in both BJP and non-BJP-ruled states.

The report states that, even according to official data, cases registered under Section 153A of the Indian Penal Code rose by more than 500% between 2014 and 2020. Hindutva Watch’s extensive research spanning several months reveals that in the first six months of 2023 (181 days), there were 255 recorded instances of hate speech gatherings or rallies targeting Muslims across 17 states in India, which includes the National Capital Territory of Delhi and the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir. This alarming statistic highlights an average of over one anti-Muslim hate speech event occurring daily.

As detailed in the analysis below, most hate events occurred in states governed by the BJP. Furthermore, a significant proportion of these incidents occurred in states scheduled to hold legislative elections in 2023 and 2024, highlighting the potential use of anti-Muslim hate speech events for voter mobilization. Disturbingly, the majority of these hate speech events also propagated dangerous conspiracy theories targeting Muslims, along with explicit calls for violence, calls to arms, and demands for socio-economic boycotts of the Muslim community.

Some learnings from the report that may be read here:

• 255 documented incidents of hate speech gatherings targeting Muslims in the first half of 2023.
• Overwhelmingly, 205 (80%) of these hate speech events occurred in BJP-ruled states and union territories.
• Maharashtra, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Gujarat witnessed the highest number of hate speech gatherings, with Maharashtra alone accounting for 29% of such incidents.
• Seven out of the top eight states with the highest hate speech events are governed by the BJP and its coalition partners.
• Around 52% of hate speech gatherings in BJP-ruled states and union territories were orchestrated by entities affiliated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), including the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), the Bajrang Dal, the Sakal Hindu Samaj, and the Bharatiya Janata Party. Overall, 42% of all hate speech gatherings in 17 states which includes two centrally controlled territories were organized by groups affiliated with the RSS.
• Approximately 64% of the events in BJP-ruled states and union territories incorporated references to popular Hindu far-right anti-Muslim conspiracy theories.  Overall, 51% of all the hate speech gatherings in 17 states which includes two centrally controlled territories featured anti-Muslim conspiracy theories.
• A concerning 33% of all the gatherings explicitly called for violence against Muslims.
• About 11% of events included explicit calls for Hindus to boycott Muslims.
• Disturbingly, 4% of all the events featured hate-filled and sexist speeches explicitly targeting Muslim women.
• Nearly 12% of events featured calls to arms.
• Notably, 33% of hate speech events took place in states that have already conducted or are set to conduct state legislative elections in 2023. Furthermore, over 36% of these events occurred in states slated to hold legislative elections in 2024. In total, nearly 70% of these events were reported in states with legislative elections either in 2023 or 2024.

Geographical spread of hate speech events

In the first half of 2023, hate events took place across the country, from Gujarat in the West to Assam in the East. However, as the map below demonstrates, there are apparent geographical disparities in the number of hate speech events in each state.

The group monitored anti-Muslim hate speech events in 15 states and two territories where the police and law enforcement fall under the direct jurisdiction of the BJP-led central government. The states with limited or no such events were predominantly located in the southern and eastern regions of the country, where the BJP’s electoral influence is relatively lower. Conversely, hate speech incidents were predominantly concentrated in India’s northern, western, and central regions, where the BJP wields significant electoral and ideological influence.

Regarding individual states, approximately 29% of hate speech incidents occurred in the state of Maharashtra, despite it constituting only about 9% of India’s total population. Maharashtra serves as an illustrative case, highlighting how the BJP leverages state power to propagate anti-Muslim hate speech in regions with fragile electoral support. In June 2022, the BJP managed to engineer a split in the ruling alliance, allowing it to assume power without a corresponding electoral mandate. With a state election scheduled for 2024, there appears to be a deliberate effort to disseminate anti-Muslim sentiments in the state. Similarly, BJP-ruled states such as Karnataka (under BJP rule for most of this period), Madhya Pradesh, and Gujarat witnessed a high number of hate speech incidents, with each of these states hosting 20 or more hate speech gatherings. The sole exception was Rajasthan, a Congress-ruled state, which is slated for elections at the year’s end. A particularly alarming trend emanated from the small state of Uttarakhand, which recorded 13 hate speech events in the first half of the year. This translates to 5% of hate events in the first half of 2023 in India occurring in Uttarakhand, despite the state comprising less than 1% of India’s total population. This disproportionate share of hate speech culminated in the widespread displacement of Muslims from Uttarakhand.

Categorising anti-Muslim hate speech events

Based on the categories discussed in the methodology section, one can see the sheer range and variety in the forms of anti-Muslim hate speech employed by Hindu far-right organisations and individual leaders. About 131 events, or about 51.3% of the dataset, included the propagation of prominent anti-Muslim conspiracy theories. Some of the most popular theories included Love Jihad, Land Jihad, and Hindutva adaptations of the Great Replacement Conspiracy. As is true of many xenophobic movements, Hindutva mobilization is highly dependent on spreading the fear of the “other,” primarily taking the form of Muslims.

Perhaps most alarmingly, 83 events (almost 33%) included direct calls to violence by Hindutva groups. This includes calls for ethnic cleansing and genocide against Muslims and calls for the destruction of Muslim places of worship. Such violent rhetoric primarily went unpunished and instead regularly contributed to physical violence. There were also 30 events (12%) of calls to arms, where Hindutva leaders asked members of the majority community to buy and keep weapons. A particularly prominent form of this was through “Trishul distribution” events, where Hindutva leaders distributed weapons to Hindu youths. These events also often included hate speeches against Muslims, hence their inclusion in this list.

There were also 27 instances (11%) of hate speech events which involved a direct call for the socio-economic boycott of Muslims. This included attempts to exclude Muslims from the state and calls for Hindus to stop purchasing goods and services from Muslims. Thirty-four events (13%) involved speeches by BJP leaders, including former Karnataka chief minister KS Eeshwarappa, Kapil Mishra, the Vice President of BJP Delhi, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and Member of Parliament Pragya Thakur. Of the 255 incidents, 11 directly targeted Muslim women, which included sexist and misogynistic speeches.

The majority of these events (70%) unfolded in states scheduled for legislative elections in 2023 and 2024. Specifically, 85 (33%) incidents occurred in five states holding or slated to hold elections this year, including Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, and Telangana. Likewise, approximately 93 events transpired in states set to conduct legislative elections in 2024. This trend suggests early indications of Hindutva mobilization through hate speech events and gatherings. It raises the possibility of a strategic approach by Hindu far-right groups aimed at fomenting hatred and inciting violence, potentially with an eye on bolstering the BJP’s electoral prospects.

Note: One hate speech event can fall under multiple categories. For instance, some hate speech events featured conspiracy theories such as Love Jihad or Land Jihad, while also including explicit calls for violence or calls to arms.

Organisations behind hate speech events

As the above chart demonstrates, many hate speech events were organized by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and the Bajrang Dal. They organized 62 anti-Muslim hate speech events in the first half of 2023. These are clubbed as one organisation because the Bajrang Dal is the youth wing of the VHP, and lately, they have been organizing most of their public events jointly. Both entities have a notorious history of spreading anti-Muslim hate speech and helping engineer anti-Muslim violence across India. The organisations are part of the broader Sangh Parivar or the Sangh Family. The Sangh Parivar, an umbrella term for several Hindu nationalist organisations led by the paramilitary group Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), consists of the RSS, the BJP, the VHP, the Bajrang Dal and dozens of other organisations. While the RSS is at the heart of the Sangh, the VHP and the Bajrang Dal are part of its muscular wing. The existence of these independent organisations helps ensure that BJP leaders can maintain plausible deniability about their actions, even though the organisations remain deeply connected.  Prime Minister Modi fiercely defended the organisation when the Congress proposed a ban on the Bajrang Dal as part of its election campaign in Karnataka. As the BJP has been further entrenched within the Indian state, evidence suggests that the Bajrang Dal and the VHP have even worked with the police to break up interfaith couples and help spread the anti-Muslim conspiracy of love jihad.

As the above pie chart indicates, the BJP itself was responsible for numerous hate speech events, with a notable upsurge during the Karnataka elections. During this period, several BJP leaders played a crucial role in stoking anti-Muslim hate sentiments.

Another organisation prominently involved in organizing hate speech events in Maharashtra was the Sakal Hindu Samaj. The organisation, primarily based in Maharashtra, is a coalition of several Hindu nationalist outfits in the state. Its leaders claim to be part of the wider Sangh umbrella and are affiliated with organisations like the RSS, the VHP, and the Bajrang Dal. The Samaj has played a major role in spreading the conspiracy theory of Love Jihad and Land Jihad. A frequent speaker at its events is Suresh Chavhanke, a notorious hate monger and the chairman of a TV news channel Sudarshan News. Chavhanke is responsible for several hate speech events in our database.

Another frequent speaker at gatherings organized by the Sakal Hindu Samaj is T Raja Singh. Singh, initially elected as a BJP legislator in the state of Telangana, faced suspension from the party due to his objectionable remarks against Prophet Muhammad. Singh has been actively involved in numerous hate speech events, promoting the conspiracy theory of love jihad and threatening violence against Muslims. Despite his suspension, Singh remains closely affiliated with the BJP, and Union Minister G Kishan Reddy has indicated that the suspension will likely be revoked soon. Recent news reports have even suggested that Singh has held meetings with top BJP leaders, indicating that he may stand as a nominee or proxy for the party in the upcoming Telangana legislative elections.

Other organisations involved in organizing hate events included the Hindu Janajagruti Samiti (HJS) and the Antarrashtriya Hindu Parishad (AHP). The HJS was responsible for helping organize an “All India Hindu Rashtra Convention” in Goa, where multiple speakers called for violence against Muslims, helped propagate dangerous conspiracy theories, and demanded the repeal of the Right of Equality in the Indian constitution. The AHP is led by Praveen Togadia, the former international working president of the VHP. Togadia, who had a falling-out with the Sangh Parivar, was particularly hateful for the first half of 2023, focusing on the propagation and spread of an Indian version of the “Great Replacement” conspiracy theory, with misinformation about the growth in the Muslim population of India.

High level of hate speech through early 2023

Hate speech targeting Muslims remained a persistent issue in Indian politics throughout the first half of 2023, with every month witnessing over one hate speech incident daily. Notably, there was a surge in hate incidents during March, coinciding with the Hindu festival of Ram Navami on March 30th. In the final week of March, both leading up to and during the festival, there were 18 hate speech events nationwide, suggesting a possible coordinated effort to incite violence on this specific day. As previously discussed, these efforts unfortunately succeeded, resulting in outbreaks of violence in at least six states. Tragically, this violence led to the loss of two lives and injured many others, a direct result of attempts by Hindu far-right organisations to orchestrate violence on Ram Navami.

Hate speech events concentrated in BJP-ruled states

The above graph illustrates that hate events are predominantly concentrated in states governed by the BJP. This report documents approximately 205 events in BJP-ruled states, including an additional 15 events in NCT of Delhi and the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, where the police and law and order fall under the control of the BJP-led central government. Nearly 80% of the hate speech events were held in BJP-ruled states or territories controlled by the BJP-led central government. This statistic is particularly striking, considering that only 45% of India’s population falls under BJP rule. Notably, among the eight states with the highest number of hate speech events, seven are governed by the BJP. Taken together, this evidence suggests that hate events are significantly less likely to occur in non-BJP-ruled states. This disparity could be attributed to the willingness of non-BJP states to take proactive measures against hate speech, in contrast to the BJP’s utilization of state power to organize and endorse events in states under their governance. The sole exception to this trend is the state of Rajasthan, governed by the Congress party, which recorded 25 hate speech events and is scheduled to hold legislative elections at the end of 2023.

 (Raqib Hameed Naik is a Kashmiri-American journalist and founder of Hindutva Watch. Aarushi Srivastava is an early career journalist based in Paris. Abhyudaya Tyagi is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Political Science at Columbia University.)

The post Maharashtra tops states in anti-Muslim hate speech, 80 % of hate in BJP ruled states: Hindutva Watch appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Remember, the teacher is not beating the boy herself but ordering each student of the class to beat him up. She encouraged the act of violence and stigmatisation and said that all Muslim children should be dealt with like this!

Where is the Indian moral outrage?

The criminal and thuggish teacher identified as Tripta Tyagi is actually head of the Neha Public school of a village in Mujaffarnagar district in Uttar Pradesh.

This clearly reflects how much poison has been spread in our heart across the nooks and corners of the country and it should not merely make us feel ashamed of us but worry us deeply.

Should we allow such things to happen or they need a strong socio-political and cultural response. Often the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Sangh Parivar promote their “agenda” on a ‘non-political basis’ using common prejudices and cultural practices as if they are the sole guardians of the society.

The most atrocious part of these hate crimes is that they are being recorded and spread across the internet by the perpetrators of the crime, validated and legitimised by hundreds of thousands of viewers.

In most of such cases when there is a huge outrage, the state apparatus acts like it acted in the Manipur case, to punish the person who posted the video on social media. The person who brought it to the notice of the nation becomes a criminal while the criminals who commit such heinous crimes are carefully pushed in the background for some time till someday some outfit of the Hindutva makes the person their leader.

Tripta Tyagi actually does not deserve to be teacher but for certain she is the product of the ‘jahar kee pathshala’ (hate school) of various outfits of the saffron propaganda militia.

We all celebrated India now on the moon but yesterday. The G-20 summit is scheduled to happen in the second week of September. The prime minister has already got an ‘international award’ for his ‘contribution’ but the crisis in India is much bigger than even the BJP can think of now.

The poison of hatred has spread across. The Sangh Parivar outfits, Noida Propaganda media all have worked hard during the past 10 years.

Remember, it is not merely the act of committing the hate crime but justifying it through the vilifying those who speak up against such hatred. The vilification of the opponents is justified through whereaboutary on the prime time.

Criminals get normalised on TV. Media will wait for a couple of days till they find some Muslim criminal to have committed a heinous crime to deflate the story. The continuous vilification of Muslims in our media is the biggest vile “achievement” of the present dispensation.

 India’s ruling party and its Ministers rarely speak on the issue.  The officers will wait for the orders of the highest authority and the media will begin to cover up the incident.

The Darbaris and loud speakers on prime time will not allow ‘Hindus’ to be ‘targeted’ for some ‘isolated’ incident and blame the opponents for conspiring to ‘defame’

India when the country has landed on moon and G-20 is happening. The ruling party’s response to this will be on conspiracy theory while their ground staff will continue to feed the hatred against Muslims as well as the Bahujan Samaj of India.

Good thing is that the people are speaking. Though slowly. And somewhat softly.

Many political leaders have spoken the left, Sitaram Yechury, Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi. It was essential for them and speak against hatred.

I am still waiting Uttar Pradesh, Bihar Netas to speak up on the issue and call for a full-fledged battle against hatred.

More than anything else, India does not merely need a ‘ muhobbat kee dukan’ but complete demolition of the hate factories built up so powerfully with the help of the power elite. Hate crime flourishes on the strength of distortion of history and fake news.

So, the biggest priority of our political parties today in INDIA should be to unite against the culture of violence, prejudices and hate crime.

Do not legitimise news channels that spread fake news and justify hate crime. Speak up against hatred as otherwise it will engulf you. You can’t build stronger and united India on the edifice of falsehood and hatred.

Remembering Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore’s powerful lines here

‘Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high,

Where knowledge is free

Where the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls;

Where words come out from the depths of truth;

Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection;

Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way into the dreary desert sand of dead habit;

Where the mind is led forward by thee into ever widening thought and action

into that heaven of freedom, my father, l

Let my country awake’

Let my countrymen awake against this culture of hatred which will ultimately affect us as a society and as a citizen of India.

We must stand united and firm against the culture of hatred and bigotry.

Related:

Delhi HC Women Lawyer’s Forum petitions CJI against calls for socio-economic boycott of Muslims at Nuh, Haryana

Haryana: Resolutions banning entry of Muslims traders withdrawn after authorities send show-cause notice

Growing calls for social and economic boycott of Muslims surfacing on social media, plea in the Supreme Court

The post Outrageous, hate corrodes UP classrooms appeared first on SabrangIndia.

In Jammu, a Muslim medical student was allegedly beaten up with an iron rod by fellow students due to an altercation over the said movie. He sustained head injuries and had to get stitches for the same.

This was reported on May 15, by twitter account called @HindutvaWatch

Location: Jammu, J&K

Muslim medical student was brutally beaten with an iron rod by fellow students due to an altercation over the recently-released Bollywood movie The Kerala Story.

The student sustained head injuries & received over 10 stitches.

pic.twitter.com/zqM7HBdgEV

— HindutvaWatch (@HindutvaWatchIn) May 15, 2023

Another video came to the fore on May 6 where some people, presumably outside a movie hall, were enraged and speaking against Muslims. A man, being interviewed by a man on camera said, “If you (Muslims) cheat Hindus and do something wrong against even one Hindus, you will have to leave this country.. We will beat you up if you don’t leave our Hindu women alone. If any Muslim even looks at a Hindu woman, he should be killed there itself. They are a threat to us”. It is unclear where this video was recorded.

This was a main intention to make a movie like #KeralaStory to Incite #Hindus against #Muslims With Fake Propaganda.

After watching a movie they are now calling violence against Muslims.#TheKerelaStory #HateSpeech pic.twitter.com/Ouyd1peCS0

— Hate Detector (@HateDetectors) May 6, 2023

Another reaction video after watching the movie surfaced on May 9. A woman was interviewing some people who were exiting the cinema hall after watching ‘The Kerala story’ and asked a woman, how did she like the movie, to which the woman responded, “I am very scared.” She then asked the reporter her name and when she said her name is Alisha, the woman confirmed if she was a Hindu, to which she replied in the affirmative. Then the woman said, “It was very nice but I am scared. Everyone should watch it. Every Hindu should watch it. I got scared looking at Muslims”.

“I got scared after seeing #Muslims,” said a woman in her reaction after watching ‘#TheKeralaStory‘. She first checked religion of the reporter and then gave her reaction. pic.twitter.com/kFKV8IeqAH

— Hate Detector (@HateDetectors) May 9, 2023

These are just the incidents that have been so far recorded and somehow landed up on the internet, there are certainly many more of such undocumented incidents where animosity against the Muslim community must have increased, making room for hatred against them. Most of the time this animosity is unspoken (even hidden) as it influences the mind of a person who leaves the cinema hall after viewing the movie. It is these unspoken impressions that propaganda effectively hardens to then incites hatred against a community. It is this potential for creating lasting feelings of disharmony that has led to some governments to reach out to the courts for redressal.

The serious toss up is however between free speech, democracy, censorship and reasonable restrictions on free expression. Should a movie such as this, even if propaganda, be  expressly restricted under the restrictions provided for freedom of speech under Article 19(2) ? What are the dangers to taking such a line? The restrictions under this Article include restrictions in the interests of the security and sovereignty of India, friendly relations with Foreign States, public order, decency or morality in the relation to contempt of court, defamation or incitement to an offence. A movie like this would and could and has definitely become a reason for incitement to violence or could disturb public order, all of it indirectly, how should this impact be curtailed?

As is apparent from the incidents entailed above, the movie has become a cause for violence, a cause for disturbance in public order, yet it has not been seen as the kind of speech that needed to be restricted under the Constitution. The debate goes on. The wider creative community needs to step in.

Related:

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

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The Kerala Story: now claims of true story of only 3 girls?

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Arguments in the contested Ayodhya caseculminated on October 16, 2019. The Supreme Court at made this clear at the start of hearings today. Anticipating this, many news channels –famed for riding high on sensation– picked on a divisive rhetoric; pitting Hindus versus Muslims, even when the dispute is being heard purely as a land dispute by the Supreme Court.

Amidst this news channel cacophony, came Aaj Tak with a disturbing catch-line for a debate calling it “Janmabhoomi hamari, Ram hamare, Masjid wale kaha se padhare” (the birthplace is ours, Ram is ours, where have these ‘mosque people’ come from?). There could be no sharper instance of ‘othering’. Unfortunately in today’s India it garners support and increased TRPs. They put out this tweet on the evening preceding the final day of hearing , of the Ayodhya case, employing divisive news reporting simply to fuel division not . There was a not so carefully hidden agenda of spreading hate and enmity between the two communities.
 

 
Though belatedly, the National Broadcasting Standards Authority (NBSA), has issued a special advisory on the issue. It is to be hoped that this will be followed by news broadcasters while giving news coverage to the proceedings in and out of the court on the Ayodhya case.
The advisory issued on October 16, 2019 can be read here.

The advisory highlighted some very key tactics that news channels commonly resort to which could lead to the disturbing of public harmony. NBSA advised news channels to follow this  advisory. In brief, the NBSA asked news channels not to speculate, to ascertain facts of the hearing before reporting, to refrain from showing mosque demolition footage, to not broadcast any celebrations of any community with regards to the Ayodhya case and to ensure that no extreme views are aired in the debates.

It was expected that after having received such advisory, Aaj Tak would retract and delete their hate-filled tweet and post. So far that has not happened.
 

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Twenty-two-year-old Shahrukh Khan was lynched to death by an angry mob for allegedly trying to steal buffaloes in Bholapur Hindoliya of Bareilly in western UP. Khan worked in Dubai as a zari (embroidery) worker and was slated to return to Dubai just three days later.
 
Uttar Pradesh, as per the 2011 Census, accounts for 16.5% of the country’s population. However, almost a third of the hate crimes recorded in 2018, 26, were reported from one state, Uttar Pradesh (UP), India’s most populous. Since 2009, 61 of the 278 attacks recorded in Hate Crime Watch have been reported from UP.
 
To understand and investigate why, FactChecker travelled across the state in early December 2018, covering 3,500 kilometres over 14 days.
 
We listened to the main actors on the ground–the victims and alleged perpetrators, the purported eyewitnesses, local politicians, local police, and members of various religious communities. This was essential to understand not just what had happened, and why, but also what has happened since–have the cracks dissolved or do enmities continue to divide individuals and communities?
 
There was one more crucial purpose: To check on the status of the cases filed–whether investigations were on track to bring justice to the victims.
 
We selected 14 cases reported from different regions of the state over the last three years, which were reportedly driven by various religious bias-related motivations such as opposition to cow slaughter and interfaith marriage. There were some cases whose motivations were unclear.
 
This is the first in our six-part series. In this story, we outline our key findings and some common threads that run through most of the cases. We will explore these in more detail in the stories that follow.
 
Overlapping caste, religion and gender dynamics
Our investigation from the site of many of these crimes found that hate crimes are not motivated by religious hatred alone. In many cases, we found a common thread of overlapping caste, religion and gender tensions. In Sonda Habibpur village of Bulandshahr in western UP, a Dalit man, Shrikrishna, was assaulted by Muslim and upper-caste men of his village and was forced to lick his own spit. This was a form of “punishment” by an enraged village panchayat for his son having eloped with a Muslim girl of the village.
 
In Bholapur Hindoliya of Bareilly in western UP, a 22-year-old Muslim boy, Shahrukh Khan, was lynched to death in August 2018 after he was allegedly caught stealing buffaloes in a Jat-dominated village. Jats are a land-owning, traditionally cultivator caste, and the village had seen multiple such cattle thefts and resultant economic losses.
 

The spot where Shahrukh Khan, 22, was attacked in Bholapur Hindoliya village in Barreily in western UP. Villagers alleged that Khan, along with three friends, tried to steal buffaloes. His friends managed to flee across the river but Khan did not know how to swim. The villagers found him here, struggling to breathe, and lynched him to death, eyewitnesses and police told FactChecker.
 
The villagers were desperate and angry. But the mob, before they lynched the alleged thief, asked his name. “Shahrukh”, he replied, a recognisably Muslim name. Moments later, he was being beaten, with bare hands and lathis (rods).
 
From our reporting, one case turned out not to be about a hate crime, as per the definition we use for the Hate Crime Watch database and methodology. In eastern UP’s Fatehpur district, some of the media reporting on an incident that had left a Hindu man dead had categorised it as a clash between members of the Hindu and Muslim communities over a piece of land. Our investigation from the ground found that the reality was more complicated–a forceful, illegal land-grab had met with resistance from local villagers; the faith of the actors was incidental. This case has now been dropped from our database.
 
The role of the police
Several other patterns were repeated in many of the crimes, primarily the role of the police. A clear religion-based pattern emerged as we found many instances where cases against members of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)–currently in power in UP as well as at the Centre–or activists from Hindu right-wing organisations were watered down or prematurely closed.
 
Cases involving Muslims were followed up with mass arrests, with many of the accused alleging they had been falsely implicated. In two of these major incidents, the police invoked the stringent National Security Act (NSA) against Muslim accused.
 
The NSA allows for preventive detention for up to 12 months. The person detained has to be informed of the charges within 10 days, but if the authorities consider this disclosure against public interest, they can withhold this information. Effectively, this means a person can be detained for up to a year without being told why.
 
In Purbaliyan village of western UP’s Muzaffarnagar district, there was a clash between Hindus and Muslims, but no lethal weapons were used and no major injuries caused. Yet, four Muslim men were arrested and later charged under the NSA. They have been detained since August 2018. Many Muslim men and women that FactChecker spoke to said they had come to expect such treatment from UP’s law enforcement system.
 

Muzaffarnagar lies in the sugarcane belt of western Uttar Pradesh and is often called the country’s sugar bowl. The district witnessed riots in 2013, which created deep divisions between the Jat and Muslim populations. Five years on, some cracks have healed but in Purbaliyan, where a communal clash took place in August 2018, the divisions remain.
 
Often, the police version of events was very different from the version we could piece together from talking to a range of people at and around ground zero. The police version often left out the role of the majority community. If the accused were from Hindu right-wing organisations or from the ruling BJP, the investigations were often shut down or left incomplete, as happened in Moradabad.
 
In these cases, the victims said they were told to water down their allegations in the First Information Report (FIR). In Moradabad, Haji Aslam, a meat trader whose van was burnt down, allegedly by Hindu right-wing activists, said the local police asked him to say the van had been set afire because some locals had been angered by the pungent smell of rotting meat that it carried.
 
Aslam said he had bought the van only two years earlier and was still paying off the loan, and needed to claim insurance. “I gave in. They realised my weakness and told me that they wouldn’t help me if I insisted on the names,” he told FactChecker.
 
One police official had been present at the spot when the van was burnt, Aslam said. “I even named the suspects and pointed them out to the police,” he said, but no one was arrested or charged.
 
FactChecker made numerous attempts at getting comments from the UP Police and sent out questionnaires to various officials, but none of them responded. We also tried contacting local district police officials in all the hate crime spots. Those who responded have been quoted in later pieces.
 
Outsiders foment trouble
Most of the hate crimes played out in a strikingly similar manner. Typically, a small incident would occur. Soon after, groups of men from outside the village, many belonging to right-wing organisations, would descend on the village and stoke tensions.
 
In Adhauli village of Bulandshahr, local villagers told FactChecker how, on August 25, 2017, hundreds of Bajrang Dal activists and members of cow-protection groups had gathered within minutes of a cow carcass being found in a pond. They had marched through the lanes of the Muslim locality, shouting slogans of “Bharat Mata ki Jai!” and “Gau Mata ki Jai!”
 
Slowly, the sloganeering had turned into anger against the Muslim community, until an agitated mob had started pelting stones to eventually vandalise a mosque. “Those people came and incited us against our own neighbours and vanished before the police could come back,” Dinesh Rajput, an Adhauli resident who made the first call to the police, told FactChecker.
 
An exodus
 
For days after an incident, community elders send young Muslim men away from the village in anticipation of police action.
 
“The town looked like a town for the old; all the younger men had been smuggled out,” 70-year-old Abdul (name changed for safety), a businessman who had sent his son out of Kasganj in an ambulance following a communal clash on Republic Day in 2018, told FactChecker. He said he had heard that the police were indiscriminately arresting Muslim men.
 
Villages that had not seen any communal tension in recent history are now divided along communal lines. Many, especially among the victims, question whether it is safe to carry on living in the village. Some have left, in search of a new home where they can feel secure.
 
Many villagers came to see Vakeel Ahmad and his family leave Soi village of Bulandshahr district, where the family had lived for generations. A year earlier, his father Ghulam Mohammed had been lynched and killed just outside the village. “The village Pradhan [head] also came; no one said anything, no one asked us to stay back,” Ahmad said.
 
This is the first of a six-part series.
 
Next: Across UP’s Hate Crimes, A Formula At Work: ‘Outsider’ Elements, Police Action Against Victims Of Violence
 
(Purohit is an independent journalist, writing on politics, gender, development, migration and the intersections between them. He is an alumnus of the School of Oriental and African Studies, London.)

Courtesy: https://factchecker.in/
 

The post A Field Report From 13 Sites Of Hate Crime In Uttar Pradesh: Lingering Fear, Distrust, Justice Delayed, Denied appeared first on SabrangIndia.

 
On June 7, Zee News host Sudhir Chaudhary broadcast a show about former President Pranab Mukherji’s speech before a gathering on Swayam Sevaks in Nagpur. Though Chaudhary’s show was cleverly worded, ultimately it served to widen the divide between Hindus and Muslims.
 
The host spoke about the RSS ideology and Mukherjee’s balancing act of speaking to RSS in their language while maintaining his Congress roots. The host praised Mukherjee for trying to create a bridge between two vastly different political ideologies and philosophies. The show used a section of his speech to further their agenda of inciting hate. Mukherjee spoke about Islamic invasion in India before the British. The show used his speech to recall all past Muslim rulers and the Hindus that died under their regime.
 
The entire show may be viewed here: 

 
Sudhir Chaudhary said that since Islam has spread, Indian territory has become smaller, telling their 150 million viewers that the growth of Islam was directly proportional to land lost in India. He said that an Indian king ruled Afghanistan before he was killed by Muslim rulers.
 
He added that in the last 1300 years or so, India has lost its land and people to Islamic extremism. He recalled all past Muslim rulers, right from 13^th century, and how they invaded, looted and killed local Hindu population. He spoke about many Muslim kings like Balban, Khilji, Tughlaq, Taimur, Akbar, Nadir Shah and more and showed how many Hindus they killed during their rule. He quoted an excerpt from BR Ambedkar’s book on partition of India and Pakistan and how he said that 1300 years ago, a Muslim ruler named Mohammed bin Qasim ousted a Hindu king, razed all the temples, converted the local ‘idol worshipping’ population to Islam and built mosques where temples first existed.
 
The host then quotes an Angus Maddison study that tells the viewers that India’s GDP took a sharp downturn after Muslim rule. He also talks about all Indians should keep division aside and work together to reach where Ancient India used to be.
 
By indirectly associating medieval Muslim kings to the current demographic, by legitimizing the RSS Mohan Bhagwat’s words that Muslims were originally Hindus and painting a diabolical picture for the viewers, the host succeeded to create animosity between two communities in the present.
 
The host carefully washes his hands off the divide by offering a small disclaimer about India being a democracy and having a heart big enough for all communities to thrive together. But the damage is done and it is too late for a re-education.
 
In an expert web series by Dr. Ram Puniyani, it is evident that India has progressed towards democracy over theocracy and autocracy. Judging people today because of the actions of kings 1300 years ago is ridiculous. The battles and deaths were a part and parcel of medieval India and not an ideological warfare on Hindu or Muslims. It was purely for power and a throne.

 
By continuously looking at the past to justify our hatred in the present, it paralyses the masses to be prepared for a future. With the world technology, ideology and education changing at a rapid pace in a matter of decades, preparing the contemporary Indian for a volatile future should gain importance over painting communities in a single colour over centuries old realities for political power now.
 
CJP acted against Zee News for airing hateful poetry on the issue of surgical strikes. It was possible because we followed guidelines of notifying the broadcaster within seven days of the airing of offending material. Since the broadcaster did not remove the said material even after a week of us writing to them, we will be taking our complaint to the National Broadcasting Association within 14 days of the notifying letter sent. Since our reader informed us about this show a month late, we could not take any action. We urge our readers to notify us within seven days of such broadcasts or prints.
 

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