Amidst the ongoing controversy over the comments on Prophet Muhammad by former BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma and former Delhi BJP leader Naveen Jindal, people are raising questions over the hypocritical response to comments on Islamic Prophet when compared to comments on Hindu Gods. Much worse comments on Hindu Gods and traditions have been made which did not attract FIRs or calls for capital punishment while there are mobs supported by ‘liberals’ in every city asking for Nupur’s head
Over the past few years, many celebrities, journalists and politicians have gotten away with abusing Hindu Gods without any backlash. In fact, some of them have grown in their careers because of it. Here is an indicative and not an exhaustive list of such remarks and social media reports.
Arvind Kejriwal and Aam Aadmi Party
Let’s start with the Chief Minister of Delhi Arvind Kejriwal. While he had recently mocked Kashmiri Hindus’ misery and called ‘The Kashmir Files’ a fake film, there have been several instances where he had mocked Hindu Gods, holy symbols and traditions.
Before Ram Mandir was a distant reality, Kejriwal had said in 2014 that his Nani (grandmother) would never approve of it. He had repeatedly called for building Schools, Colleges and Hospitals in place of the Ram Mandir.
Apart from mocking Hindus over Ram Mandir, in 2019, CM Kejriwal shared a derogatory image where a person with a broom (his party’s symbol) in his hand was running behind the Hindu holy symbol Swastika trying to beat it up.
In another tweet, Kejriwal shared a cartoon depicting Bhagwan Hanuman burning JNU to divert attention from alleged problems faced by the government of India.
Really? pic.twitter.com/PdC1bgJLFm
— Ankur Singh (@iAnkurSingh) March 10, 2021
Kejriwal is not the only one in AAP to give anti-Hindu statements or indulge in activities that go against Hindus. AAP leader Sanjay Singh, in an attempt to gain relevancy in politics, had run a misinformation campaign alleging funds misappropriation by the BJP and Ayodhya Ram Mandir Trust in June 2021.
In August 2020, the official Twitter handle of AAP had shared pictures of Kanchenjunga in Sikkim, held sacred by both Hindus and the Buddhists, Kamet Peak, and Nanda Devi hills in Uttarakhand, where lies a sacred temple of Nanda Devi, an incarnation of the Hindu Goddess Durga. It drew analogies between these sacred peaks and a humongous landfill at Ghazipur in Delhi. The contentious tweet was accompanied by the caption, “Highest Mountains of India.”
Shivling at Gyanvapi complex wuzukhana
The recent discovery of the Shivling at the Gyanvapi structure in the wuzukhana where the people who went to offer namaz inside the disputed structure would wash hands, triggered a slew of jokes on the Shivling.
TMC MP Mahua Moitra had shared a picture of Bhabha Atomic Research Centre with a snide remark saying that hoped it was not next on the digging list.
In a now-deleted Tweet, Saba Naqvi shared a picture of Bhabha Atomic Research Centre to take a swipe at the Shivling discovered inside the Gyanvapi compound.
RJD leader Kumar Divashankar made a derogatory reference to Shivling in his tweet mocking the BJP.
Peace Party’s Shadab Chouhan, who is known for his polarising tweets, posted a scornful tweet after a Varanasi court ordered to seal Gyanvapi mosque after a Shivling was found inside its wuzukhana. Chouhan had posted a picture of a curb-side lined with small poles to claim the judge would seal the area if someone made a claim of Shivling.
All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen’s (AIMIM) leader Danish Qureshi had posted an extremely offensive comment on Shivling on social media, taking a dig at the discovery of the Shivling inside the disputed structure of Gyanvapi mosque. While he had added a rider that his intention was not to hurt the devotion of anyone and he only wanted to enhance his knowledge, his subsequent test made it clear that his only intention was to insult the concept of Shivling in Hinduism. Though he was arrested by Gujarat Police over the comment, it is very much possible that he would not face any strict action anytime soon.
Leaders are not the only ones to make derogatory comments. Economic Times had published a meme mocking Hindus by depicting the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre as a Shivling and captioned BOM BHOLENATH. The image was included in the MEME’S THE WORD Column of the print edition.
Another cartoon in the column mocks the call to open the Taj Mahal’s closed gates in the basement.
Ratan Lal, an Associate Professor of History at Hindu College in Delhi University, had made a derogatory post on social media about the Shivling found in Gyanvapi disputed structure. He had said if that was a Shivling, “it seems that perhaps Shiva Ji was also circumcised”.
This hurts my religious sentiments. I will appreciate if Dr. Ratan Lal is booked under section 153A IPC & other provisions of IPC and case be pursued against him. @CPDelhi @DelhiPolicehttps://t.co/G8HJXVpEZ7 pic.twitter.com/9vf5Wy7KZE
— RP Singh National Spokesperson BJP (@rpsinghkhalsa) May 17, 2022
Professor Ravi Kant Chandan had remarked during a debate over Gyanvapi disputed structure that it was demolished by Auragzed after he allegedly noticed illegal activities happening on the premises by the Pandits. The book and story he referred to have no trace in any historical document, and the book’s author himself had suggested not to take the book seriously.
Freelance journalist Raqib Hameed Naik, a notorious Hinduphobic element, put out an image of the White House and a fountain in front of it to discredit the recent findings of Shivling at the Gyanvapi. As per the ‘journalist’, the survey team did not find a Shivling, instead unearthed a fountain, which as per him, is being used by the Hindu side to push for ownership of the site.
Insulting the faith
Dr Jitendra Kumar, an assistant professor of the department of forensic medicine at JN Medical College attached to the Aligarh Muslim University, was teaching about sexual offences in his classroom. In the PowerPoint presentation he used to explain the topic, Dr Kumar made derogatory references to Hindu deities. Summarizing a brief history of rape, he linked rape to Hindu deities. Kumar was suspended from the University pending inquiry but there was no update on any strict action taken against her.
How can one forget the derogatory remarks made by alleged comedian Munawar Faruqui against Maa Sita and 59 Karsewaks who were killed in Godra train burning incident in 2002. His multiple shows were cancelled over time after Hindus protested against him. However, he was still given chance in a reality show Lock Upp that he won.
Controversial Islamic preacher Ilyas Sharafuddin has compared the Shivling to a male body part and said that Hindus have a habit of worshiping the idol and male private organ. He was one of the participants at the ‘Taal Thok Ke‘ debate hosted by Zee News. Quoting the Vedas, Geeta, and Upanishads, Sharafuddin first argued that the Hindu texts mention that ‘people who would worship idols would be sent to hell’. “Hindus should not worship idol, ling and private parts of a human body”, he blatantly said in the debate named ‘Gyanvapi Survey video reveals the presence of Shivling?’ Not listening to the other participants, he burst into laughter and said, “Private parts ki puja nahi honi chahiye (private parts should not be worshiped)”.
ज्ञानवापी में ॐ नम: शिवाय? + वीडियो ‘सबूत’ दावा मजबूत? #TaalThokKe #GyanvapiVideoLeak पर ट्वीट कीजिए @aditi_tyagi
— Zee News (@ZeeNews) May 31, 2022
अन्य खबरों के लिए क्लिक करें – https://t.co/asaJAvmeIt
https://t.co/NxRLysX5fJ
In a speech, AIMIM’s chief Assasudin Owaisi’s brother Akbarudin Owaisi called Hindu Gods and Goddesses ‘Manhoos’.
He says about Hindu gods & goddesses “Main unke manhoos naam iss mubarak mehfil mein nahi lena chahta”. The crowd roars in approval.
— Major Gaurav Arya (Retd) (@majorgauravarya) June 8, 2022
In India, if you oppose such behaviour or respond to it, you are branded communal & cases are filed against you.#ArrestAkbaruddinOwaisi pic.twitter.com/4sYeZyLosx
Bengali film actress Saayoni Ghosh had shared extremely offensive cartoons on her Twitter profile. When she was threatened with action, she claimed her account was hacked. Later TMC gave her ticket for assembly elections.
Apart from celebrities, leaders and media houses, brands also have a habit of mocking Hinduism and when called out, they often get support from the left-liberals. In recent times, several objectionable campaigns and brands were launched targeting Hindus. Though in most of the cases the ads were removed after the backlash from Hindus, the brands got away without any serious consequences of the anti-Hindu ads.
In 2019, Red Label launched an ad campaign on Ganesh Cathurthi projecting Hindus as hateful bigots. The ad showed a man shopping for a Ganesh idol to take home, where he talked to an elderly idol maker about the kind of idol he wanted to buy. The idol maker had a deep knowledge of Hindu mythology, not surprising for the profession he is in. During the conversation the idol maker pulls out a skull cap and wears it, indicating that he is Muslim. Seeing this, the prospective buyer hesitates and said that he will come back next, clearly implying that he did not want to buy an idol from a Muslim. The idol maker then offered him tea and has some chit-chat, which ‘reformed’ the Hindu man, who immediately ordered the idol. Red Label, a brand by Hindustan Unilever, has a habit of releasing such ads and taking them back after backlash.
An ad was released by jewellery brand Tanishq that glorified Love Jihad in 2020. A massive outrage broke over various social media platforms with users calling for the boycott of the jewellery brand Tanishq for their latest advertisement which showcased a Hindu woman married into a Muslim family, preparing for her baby shower. Heeding to criticism, the controversial advertisement which was accused of promoting ‘love jihad’ has been pulled down from YouTube.
In 2021, popular ethnic garment brand Fabindia launched a Diwali campaign and collection ‘Jashn-e-Riwaaz’ that did not go well with people on the internet. Several social media users have objected to yet another appropriation of a Hindu festival and sentiments. The cultural appropriation has left social media users uncomfortable, just ahead of another Hindu festival. Not many favoured Diwali being loosely translated to ‘Jashn-e-Riwaaz’. The campaign was removed after the backlash. FabIndia claimed it was not even Diwali campaign which was indeed a laughable excuse.
