The Milli Gazette, which claims to be the leading newspaper for Indian Muslims, made a rather insensitive comment on social media on Monday. In response to a tweet from scientist Anand Ranganathan on Munawar Faruqui, Milli Gazette made bigoted comments against the victims of the Godhra massacre.
The Islamist newspaper said, “Did Munawar comment that even if a puppy comes under his car he gets sad? What can be more dehumanising than this, Anand? Godhra was akin to Auschwitz? Wow, the Jews where attacking vendors/people on the train and on the stations to “celebrate” demolition of a religious building?”
There are multiple aspects of the bigotry exhibited by the Gazette which deserve greater attention.
Fake News about Godhra victims
Milli Gazette implies that the Godhra victims were celebrating the demolition of the Babri Masjid. It is patently untrue as the Babri was demolished in 1992 and the Godhra incident occurred 10 years later. The devotees had traveled to Ram Janmabhoomi in Ayodhya in 2002 to pay their respect to Shri Rama and take part in a ceremony.
While returning, they boarded the Sabarmati Express to Ahmedabad. When the train reached Godhra, it was attacked by a Muslim mob. 59 Hindus had lost their lives in the massacre, including women and children. 31 people from the Muslim community were eventually convicted over the matter and sentenced to life imprisonment.
Thus, the claim that devotees were attacking people and vendors is an outrageous claim that is not backed by any evidence at all. Worse, it appears to be a clear attempt to malign the memory of the innocent men and women who lost their lives in the Islamist carnage.
Milli Gazette justifies massacre of Hindus
What the newspaper essentially did through its tweet is justify the massacre of Hindus in the Godhra incident. According to the Gazette, it appears that the massacre of innocent men, women and children is justified as long as Islamists can find some excuse.
In such a case, when there can be no justification, groups such as the Milli Gazette would go out of the way to invent excuses in their attempt to justify the same. It is a stark reminder of the very mindset that believes in the dehumanization of Hindus and does not consider them human simply due to their religious beliefs.
There were Hindu children who lost their lives in the massacre and yet, Islamists claim that they deserved it. Why? Simply because they were Hindus.
Groups like Milli Gazette normalise Hindu Genocide Denial
Genocide denial is a crime in many European countries. Denying that the Holocaust happened or that Adolf Hitler committed a genocide of Jews can be prosecuted under law. And yet, despite the centuries of persecution of the Hindu community and the mountain of empirical evidence, genocide denial has been the normal course of affairs for India since independence.
Marxist historians have invented a mythical narrative about India’s past where genocidal Mughal tyrants are considered beacons of tolerance who danced to Bhajans during their free time. People who speak up against genocide denial are considered ‘communal bigots’.
The largest opposition party in the country feels emboldened enough to glorify Mughal maniacs and other genocidal tyrants such as Tipu Sultan. What we see the Gazette doing here, justifying the massacre of Hindus, is only the logical consequence of a culture of genocide denial that has been established in the country.
This is why ‘comedians’ such as Munawar Faruqui believe it is perfectly permissible to mock the victims of the Godhra carnage. It is the same reason why Milli Gazette believes the massacre was justified. It is the same reason why liberals will tolerate and encourage such comments against the Hindu community.
There are some issues which are considered beyond the realms of comedy in most civilized societies. Massacre of innocent people is one of them. Not only do liberals defend such comments, they also provide cover to those who justify the massacre itself.