Is India a soft target?

India is a secular country. People follow different religion- Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism and Islam. All these religions have different beliefs and culture and Article 25 in the Constitution of India gives the people of India the right to follow their beliefs. People of different religions have different eating habits, different gods to worship, they dress up according to their culture. Can’t the people of India stand with this difference in their culture? Are they going to get affected by the views of some outsiders? Can some outsider’s statements or outrageous videos related to India, break India?

Our team has collected some of the foreign media outlets and journalists who are playing a huge role in igniting conflict within India. Through our research, it has been seen that these accounts are majorly concerned for the Muslim minorities in India and almost no one raises a voice for Muslims who are facing Human Rights Violation in Iran, Pakistan, Myanmar, and other countries.

This year started with Hijab controversy, then the “The Kashmir Files” movie controversy, the Rajasthan Karauli controversy, the Biryani incident, and many more. These issues were mostly regional issues, which were properly raised within India and the law of India took steps to deal with any possible flare-ups. These issues were then taken up by some foreign elements, highlighting these internal matters of cities and states in such a way that it was portrayed as a nationwide concern, it becomes a major problem in India leading to cultural animosity and conflicts, affecting religious harmony within India.

Hijab Controversy

The controversy erupted on January 1, 2022, in a college in the state of Karnataka. It wasn’t even in the whole of Karnataka and happened in only one district of Karnataka, six girl students of the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial College in Udupi gave a press conference to protest the college authorities’ denial of permission to them to keep wearing their hijabs after they entered their classrooms. The Karnataka High Court on March 15, 2022, dismissed a batch of petitions filed by Muslim girls studying in pre-university colleges in Udupi seeking the right to wear hijabs in classrooms.

In other states of India, ‘hijab’ is still worn by Muslim girls who prefer to wear it. In most schools in India since independence, students wear their religious symbols till they reach their classroom and within classroom, everyone is the same.

Some Foreign media and accounts have portrayed the ban as an attack on their religious rights as a minority, which then caused protests and conflicts in Karnataka, India.

Table 1: External elements who contributed their opinion on Hijab Controversy in India.

Details of accounts:

Table 2: Details of Foreign Accounts involved in spreading Hijab Controversy

The Kashmiri Files Controversy

Written and directed by Vivek Agnihotri, ‘The Kashmir Files’ movie depicts the exodus of Kashmiri Hindus from the Kashmir Valley in the 1990s. In India, various states including Madhya Pradesh and Assam, state government even granted leaves to government employees who are willing to watch the movie.

However, the audience has been divided over the movie, like any other movie. While a section of the audience praises the movie saying it has shown the real plight of the Kashmiri Pundits, some others believe the movie is biased and may disturb communal harmony.

Some say that it is a propaganda driven movie and is pushed by India’s ruling dispensation. Whatever may be the case, it was just a movie which was earned by the authorities and the public had the freedom to watch/not watch the movie. The movie raised an important event in the history of J&K and portrayed what a few brainwashed individuals can do. There have been many such similar movies released throughout India over the year. The movie was picked up and targeted due to the name ‘Kashmir’ in it and was termed as an anti-Muslim movie by the foreign expert.

Did the movie really blamed the Muslims for exodus or is it blamed some wrong elements who are brain washed?

There have been many pro-voices related to movie which were not highlighted at all. Kashmiri Muslim, Javed Beigh, general secretary of People’s Democratic Front (Secular) has apologized to all Kashmiri Pundits who have suffered.

Look at how foreign outlets started their propaganda on the movie:

Table 3: Foreign elements forcing their opinion about “The Kashmir Files” movie on Indian Citizens

Rajasthan Karauli Controversy

On 2nd April 2022, in Karauli of Rajasthan, tension prevailed in the city after a bike rally taken out on the occasion of Hindu New Year was attacked while passing through the Muslim-dominated area of Hatwara Bazar in the city. Stones were pelted at the rally, and the miscreants set on fire more than a dozen shops and three bikes. The rally was organized to celebrate ‘Nav Samvatsar’, the first day of the Hindu New Year. There is no reports of Muslim houses being attacked or burnt. But Khaled Beydoun and Javeria Siddique has alleged that “Muslim Homes were set on fire. Hindutva is terrorism.”

Isn’t this a propaganda that can tarnish India’s image?

Table 4: Disinformation spread by Khaled Beydoun and Javeria Siddique on Rajasthan Karauli Case

After posting such disinformation and causing chaos in India, these foreign experts delete the tweet. Khaled Beydoun has done the same with the above tweet.

Women Arrested in India for wishing Republic Day to Pakistan

Table 5: foreign Experts on Women Arrested in India for wishing Republic Day to Pakistan

Biryani Incident

A biryani stall was vandalized by some goons in a city of Uttar Pradesh named Meerut. The boy who was selling the biryani was falsely accused of selling Beef Biryani but in actual it was vegetable Biryani. It was something that is not acceptable and even the people who were involved in this crime has been charged under serious provisions. This event was highlighted by foreign experts, but shouldn’t they mention that criminals have been charged for it?

Table 6: Foreign Experts on Biryani Incident in Meerut

In almost every anti-Muslim incident in India, the above foreign elements are active in pushing the content but these accounts never post any optimistic news related to the Muslims of India.

1. Eight Muslims Among This Year’s Padma Awardees

President Ram Nath Kovind will confer Padma awards on March 21, 2022. Eight Muslims were among this year’s Padma Awardees

Table 7: Eight Muslims among this year’s Padma Awardees

2. Telangana government and Delhi Government permits Muslim employees to leave early during Ramzan

Ramadan 2022 in India began in the evening of Saturday, 2^nd April and ends in the evening of Monday, 2^nd May 2022. During this Ramadan period, Telangana and Delhi Government permits Muslim employees to leave early.

 Shouldn’t this be highlighted to show that Muslim festivals are also celebrated in India with full gusto?

Anyone who has really visited India without any prejudice would have seen that Muslim festivals, Buddhist festivals, Christian Festivals are celebrated together.

Table 8: Telangana and Delhi Government permits Muslim employees to leave early during Ramadan month.

3. Muslims Showered Flower Petals on RSS Workers during Prabhat Pheri.

Link: https://twitter.com/timesofindia/status/1510969721792782337

Figure 3: Muslims showering petals on RSS Workers

Shouldn’t this be highlighted to show that communal harmony exist in India?

At the same time, it should be noted that these foreign experts do not cover the anti-Islam incidents happening in other countries in the same way as they cover India.

Other Country’s anti-Muslim incident not covered by Foreign Media & Journalist

1. Hassan Qanuni, a Hazara young Doctor, tortured, killed & his body set to fire by the Taliban fighters in Hazara district of Jabrayil, Herat.

Link: https://twitter.com/CFATM2/status/1509840667706417154

The above mentioned accounts didn’t raise voice on this incident.

2. 6 year old, Ziauddin, from Musakhail Balochistan was abducted, abused, mutilated & dumped in DG Khan’s fields.

Link: https://twitter.com/NavedBaloch2/status/1506590919746895877

Why the atrocities on Baloch are not highlighted?

3. Sac Military Kills two Rohingya teenagers in Myanmar

Link: https://twitter.com/RoMdzubair7/status/1505936767052001285

Why Rohingya Muslims condition in Myanmar not highlighted?

4. China is demolishing religious places of Muslims in the holy month of Ramadan.

Link: https://twitter.com/Sara_Tassera/status/1511628747123789826

What about the Human Rights violations on Uyghur Muslims?

5. Attack in Iran on Shia Clerics

Attack in the Shiite Shrine of Imam Reza in the city of Mashad, Iran.

Link: https://twitter.com/erfanyousafzai/status/1511371750797369348

No voices raised for Muslims in Iran?

6. Explosion at Pul-e-Kheshti Mosque in Kabul

The Taliban Interior Ministry confirmed an explosion at Pul-e-Kheshti Mosque in Kabul, adding that six people were wounded in the blast. The blast occurred when worshipers were praying in the mosque and someone threw a hand grenade at them.

Link: https://twitter.com/PaykMedia/status/1511671846646784000

Figure 9: Attack on Pul-e-Kheshti Mosque

No voice raised for Muslims attacked in Kabul?

7. Ahmadiyyas targeted in Pakistan

 A young man killed & another injured at a medical clinic in Peshawar Pakistan, in a targeted hate crime against the Ahmadiyya Muslim community, the day after an attack on a Shia Mosque.

No voice raised on target killing of Ahmadiyyas in different countries?

It is good to highlight human rights violations against minorities. But targeting a particular country and only highlighting negativity and hiding positive content is purely propaganda. People should also not be angered by the propaganda spread by verified and foreign accounts. They should first verify the content and then give feedback.