The ‘secular-liberal’ media along with mastering the technique of giving a ‘Hindu spin’ to crimes committed by Muslims, have also expertised the skill of vilifying Hindus by bashing their festivals. The recent example of the media’s relentless efforts to demonize Hindus and the rituals and practices they cherish has surfaced on the auspicious day of Dhanteras this Diwali.
On November 10, when Hindus across the world celebrated Dhanteras, the first day that marks the festival of Diwali, News 24 Hindi published a post on how a husband lost his wife in gambling during Dhanteras. However, what the media house, conveniently chose to ignore is the name of the perpetrator, which in this case was one Sohail Ahmed. Diwali was exploited as a handy opportunity to highlight a crime that a Muslim had committed.
News24 took to X to share a post the caption of which was written in Hindi and roughly translated to, “Husband mortgages wife after losing in gambling. The incident took place in Amroha, Uttar Pradesh. The woman’s brother came and saved her, case registered.”
Along with the caption, News24 Hindi, clearly insinuating that the crime was committed by a Hindu, posted a picture of a woman wearing a saree and jewellery. To further highlight that the crime was perpetrated by a Hindu on the occasion of the Hindu festival, the media house used hashtags like #viralstory, #crime and #Dhanteras.
Zee News Hindi went one step further and used a mocking headline to chronicle the incident, defaming the Mahabharata, one of the two great Sanskrit epics of ancient India that are revered in Hinduism. It headlined its report in Hindi, which roughly translates to “Another Mahabharata in Amroha. Husband loses wife in gambling.”
Without verifying details many other vernacular media houses like Amarujala, Jagran and TV9 Hindi also used the Hindu festival to highlight the crime that was actually perpetrated by a Muslim.
The misleading headlines published by these media houses allowed Islamists and leftist liberals to demonise Hindus and their festivals. While sharing the News24 post, Islamic fundamentalist Ali Sohrab took a jibe at Hindus by using hashtag #Sanskriti.
Similarly, Deepa Samrat mocked Hindus by captioning her post “Sanskari Samaj.” Meanwhile, using the same post, Mushtaq Ahmed extolled the virtues of his faith and declared that alcohol and gambling are forbidden in Islam. He kind of characterized Hindus as drunks and gamblers. Another Islamist X user Sajid Ali went on to utilise the opportunity to target the Sanatan Dharma as a whole.
The truth, however, is far from what was peddled by the ‘liberal-secular’ media. Since the incident incidentally happened on Dhanteras, the media wasted no time indulging in their usual antics of bashing it by associating it with the crime. But what these media houses conveniently hid in their effort to vilify the Hindus and their festival is that it was a Muslim man NOT a Hindu who had mortgaged his wife after losing in gambling.
The Amroha police took to X on November 11 to bust the lie peddled by News24 Hindi. It clarified that one Sohail Ahmed was the perpetrator. His wife had, in fact, also filed a complaint with the Amroha police accusing her husband and her in-laws of harassing her for dowry.
Although it is extremely unfortunate that the media, without even attempting to confirm the facts, took advantage of a Hindu festival to report a crime perpetrated by a Muslim, this is something which these ‘secular-liberal’ media houses indulge in doing on a regular basis.
For example, the fake news website ‘The Quint’ had once proceeded to brand the Holi festival as an occasion used by kids to unleash terror on the streets. Another notorious media outlet, Scroll. known for its anti-Hindu inclinations had resorted to publishing a post sending those celebrating the festival of Holi on a guilt trip by pointing out the terrible water crisis gripping the country. Likewise, The Wire, which had come up with the semen-filled balloon theory and carried a post that said, “The festival of Holi perpetuates rape culture”.
Even, Deepavali has time and again come under the scrutiny of the ‘liberal-secular’ media. The champions of secularism have made a common point against celebrating Deepavali by accusing Hindus of causing pollution and serious harm to the health of kids and adults alike by bursting crackers.
In addition to that, the ecosystem often reminds us how animals feel threatened and disturbed by loud noises during Deepavali. On Diwali, the Quint published an article claiming that firecrackers should be done away with as there’s nothing religious about them. The Wire known for its anti-Hindu inclinations fretted over pollution caused by the bursting of crackers that accompany the Hindu festival of Diwali.