Chishtis and Khadims of the Ajmer Dargah have repeatedly incited hatred in the last few days over comments of Nupur Sharma and social media posts in her support. Continuing the streak, Syed Aadil Chishti – son of Sarwar Chishti – mocked Hindu deities. Aadil Chishti made the comments in an interview with Times Now in which he was saying derogatory things about Hindu gods.
In this video, Aadil Chishti said, “If Nupur Sharma is a Hindu, I have a few questions for her. How can one believe in the existence of 333 crore gods? How is this logical? We can understand if there is one god. We all are equal as humans irrespective of our religions. We believe in the existence of god and that there is an absolute god. There can be different interpretations of people of different religions. But, 333 crore gods, a wholesale of gods, how can that be believable? I feel that even if a person lives a thousand years, he cannot possibly please all 333 crore gods and goddesses.”
Amid the irony of Sarwar Chishti joining a peace march after alleged provocation, his son, Syed Aadil Chishti can be heard apparently mocking Hindu gods@bhanwarpushpen2 joins @Kritsween with analysis. pic.twitter.com/DHMyB1U4Uu
Aadil Chishti further said, “Secondly, I would also like to remind Nupur Sharma that in Hindu mythology there is also a mention of Lord Vishnu’s 10 avatars. A few of these incarnations are in Human form, a few in the form of the animal, and a few are hybrids of human and animal forms. I would like to ask her, are these 10 avatars possible or believable? You say that he is one God and then he appears in ten different forms. Some in the form of humans, some in the form of animals and then some in a fusion form.”
Aadil Chishti added, “Thirdly, how will she justify the existence of Lord Ganesh or Lord Hanuman? What I am trying to say that they were not of the human form, but you consider them to be your deities. Do these things sound logical? No they do not.” Aadil Chishti said these things on June 23, 2022.
Chishtis of Ajmer Dargah have made many such hateful statements in the recent past. Aadil Chishti’s father Sarwar Chishti had said that there will be a movement in India, so aggressive that the whole Hindustan will shake. Sarwar Chishti also called for economic boycott of Hindus. Sarwar Chishti’s nephew Gauhar Chishti gave ‘Sar Tan Se Juda’ calls demanding beheading of Nupur Sharma and those who allegedly insulted Prophet Muhammad. Gauhar Chishti also met Kanhaiya Lal’s killers. Kanhaiya Lal was killed in Udaipur for sharing a social media post supporting Nupur Sharma.
It is notable that in a major factual error in his statement, Aadil Chishti said that there are 333 crore deities in Hinduism. There is common misconception that there are 33 crore Gods in Hinduism based on the phrase ’33 koti devatas’. But 33 crore is wrong translation of 33 Koti, because the word Koti does not mean crore, but it means type. So, 333 crore is both mis-numbering and mistranslation of what it actually refers to.
According to Vedas, there are 33 types of deities. They are 12 Adityas, 11 Rudras, 8 Vasus, 1 Prajapati who rules them all and 1 Supreme Ruler. Adityas represent 12 solar months and different attributes of social life. 8 Vasus represent eight elemental gods signifying different aspects of nature. 11 Rudras include 5 abstractions, 5 roles of Shiva and 1 spiritual self. Rudras also represent ten energies and spiritual self. These 33 deities are called 33 Koti Devatas collectively. As the word Koti also means crore, it was wrongly translated as 33 crore by Europeans, and from that the misconception has spread everywhere. However, today Aadil Chishti distorted even more to 333 crore.
Besides their anti-Hindu tendencies, one of the enduring legacies of senior members and founders of leftist propaganda website Alt News is their penchant for peddling fake news. For some time now, Alt News has been at the vanguard of propagating misinformation under the pretext of carrying out “dispassionate” and “neutral” fact-checks that are invariably steeped in partisan prejudices and personal biases.
While their allies in the form of left ideologues and ideologically-aligned politicians bend over backwards to describe Pratik Sinha, Nirjhari Sinha and Mohammed Zubair—senior members and co-founders of Alt News—as crusaders of sorts combating the firehose of misinformation online, there are umpteen incidents available in the public domain when the said individuals have been caught sharing fake news.
Here is an indicative list of incidents when Alt News director Nirjhari Sinha, Alt News co-founders Pratik Sinha and Mohammed Zubair have resorted to sharing fake news while portraying themselves as “fact-checkers”.
Alt News Director Nirjhari Sinha
Nirjhari Sinha, a director at Alt News, has a long and sordid history of peddling fake news and making unsubstantiated claims that later turn out to be hoaxes. Recently, a Twitter user who goes by the handle @Gujju_Er shared a sample list of instances when Sinha was caught red-handed sharing fake news and propaganda.
While Alt News fashions itself as a “fact-checking” website that has mastered the art of “reverse-searching” images to debunk fake news, Sinha was once caught sharing a picture from 2004 to mock Gujarat Tourism Ads in 2016.
Sinha had also shared a picture of Lord Krishna pointing out the Moon to a group of people, seemingly to push the incorrect propaganda that the Hindu God was celebrating Eid with his Muslim brethren. After Sinha shared the misinformation, the “fact-checking” website where she is a director displayed the gall of “fact-checking” if Lord Krishna really celebrated Eid with Muslims or not.
2. AltNews Director Nirjhari Sinha posted 'Pahadi Painting of Krishna sighting Solar Eclipse' with 'INCORRECT NARRATIVE' relating it to Eid
AltNews also 'Fact Checked' it. 'Spread a fake news, Fact Check it'
In yet another instance, Sinha shared a video claiming it is of a raid on the Tamil Nadu Chief Secretary in Chennai. As it turned out, the video was from a raid on a law firm T&T in South Delhi. On another occasion, Nirjhari shared the cover of the invitation card for an event organised by the Gujarat government to mark the 125th birth anniversary of singer Zaverchand Meghnani. Citing the cover page, which had pictures of BJP leaders, Sinha claimed the government forgot to include the poster of Jhaverchand Meghnani, conveniently not revealing the fact that the invitation had 13 images of the singer in it.
4. AltNews Director Nirjhari Sinha posted Video claiming it is of Raid on TN Chief Secretary in Chennai.
Reality: Video was of Raid on Law Firm T&T in South Delhi.
One of the potent methods that Alt News has employed to continue pushing its propaganda while burnishing its “fact-checking” credentials is by first disseminating fake news and then “fact-checking” them. Nirjhari Sinha had once posted a fake news website link to claim PM Modi was the most corrupt PM in the world. Later on, Alt News fact-checked it saying the website was fake.
Nirjhari Sinha is particularly susceptible to fake news websites that publish articles and news that resonate with her political inclinations. She had shared fake news about BJP leaders supplying arms and ammunition to Naxals, opining that it “explained” why the BJP won in Naxal-affected areas.
6. AltNews Model: First Spread a Fake News then Fact Check it
Posted fake news website link, which claimed Narendra Modi as most corrupt PM
Sinha had once shared a fake image attributed to Air India that said the airline is opening a new counter at major airports in the country for high-profile economic offenders looking for a safe passage out of India.
Sinha’s penchant for sharing fake news is not limited to the realm of politics alone. She had once posted two images saying they were “Award Winning Paintings” while in reality, it was digital art created by famous Instagram artist Maz Milly.
Alt News co-founder Pratik Sinha
Pratik Sinha, the co-founder of Alt News, has an equally unenviable record of peddling fake news.
In December 2020, a social media user @BefittingFacts took to Twitter to expose the AltNews co-founder Pratik Sinha for flooding social media platforms with fake and misleading information. The social media user highlighted that Sinha, a self-described ‘fact-checker’, has an inveterate habit of spreading lies and distortions and has been doing so with impunity for the last few years.
The social media user posted a string of tweets exposing Sinha for spreading misinformation and lies. He shared various instances when the so-called ‘fact-checker’ was caught red-handed for disseminating propaganda.
The Twitter user said that Sinha, a Hindu-hater masquerading as a ‘fact-checker’, made a career out of abusing and denigrating PM Modi through dubious portals such as Truth of Gujarat, eopinion and Alt News.
In the aftermath of demonetisation back in 2016, Sinha had shared images of people standing in long queues at financial institutes to allege that people had to go through hardships because of the Modi government’s decision. However, in doing so, Sinha shared a picture from 2014, about two years before the Demonetisation to portray that the decision had caused misery among people.
In another instance shared by the Twitter user, Sinha was caught using an image from 2004 to peddle the condition of cows in Gujarat in 2016. In the year 2016, Sinha shared another picture on his Twitter account where cows were seen lying on the road.
4- @free_thinker shares just headline of article to target PM Modi and his clean Ganga initiative. But in article NGT was actually praising PM Modi for starting project and was questioning state government(Akhilesh) and others. pic.twitter.com/ayrXkVFvw4
Sinha, in his bid to mock the Gau Rakshaks, commented, “Gau Matas rotting and being scavenged on in Gujarat. Where are the sons professing undying love for their mata?”
The image shared by Sinha was from 2004 when many cows had died because of Nitrate poisoning but Sinha felt no compunction in using a 12-year-old picture to ridicule the Gau Rakshaks.
Sinha also actively participated in perpetuating the lie regarding PM Modi’s alleged promise to transfer Rs 15 lakhs to bank accounts if elected to power.
Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair
Mohammed Zubair, who is currently lodged in jail over his Hinduphobic tweets insulting Hindu Gods, too, has been exposed numerous times for his habit of sharing fake news and motivated propaganda.
Earlier in September 2020, activist Ankur Singh took it upon himself to show how Zubair is more of a weapon to spread misinformation, which could not only subvert Indian democracy but also pose a threat to it.
In an inordinately long Twitter thread spanning over 25 tweets, Singh meticulously exposed Mohammed Zubair’s dangerous games of spreading misinformation and many times deleted those tweets once they go viral without quite issuing a clarification. That way, many times, the screenshots of fake or misleading news go viral but the fact that he deleted the same after being called out for his lies does not.
Few months ago Rasode ka Factchecker @zoo_bear spread fake news of fire at Solapur Airport on the day when Modiji asked people to light a diya.
Mohammed Zubair through his parody account of BJP leader Subramanian Swamy where he initially portrayed himself as an anonymous troll, regularly indulged in sharing old, unrelated information as if it was a current incident.
Rasode ka Factchecker @zoo_bear shared a photoshpped pic to show Mohan Bhagwat ji sitting close to Mahant Gopaldas ji after he tested positive. pic.twitter.com/T2IbWmbydp
Singh highlighted how Zubair was spreading misinformation amidst the raging coronavirus outbreak that could have led to chaos and, thereby, a law and order situation. He also came to the defence of Islamists during the Sri Lanka terror attack.
Former Vice-President and Congress leader Hamid Ansari has issued a statement regarding his meeting with Pakistani journalist Nusrat Mirza who claimed he spied on India and handed over the information he had gathered during his visits to India between 2005 to 2011. In this statement, Hamid Ansari said that falsehood was unleashed on him by this controversy. He has denied the claimed of Nusrat Mirza that he had invited the Pakistani journalist for a conference in Delhi in 2010, saying that it is the government and the organiser who invites people.
It is notable that Hamid Ansari had inaugurated the International Conference of Jurists on International Terrorism and Human Rights on 11th December 2010 at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi, and Mirza had said that Ansari had invited him to this event.
In his statement, Hamid Ansari said, “Yesterday and today a litany of falsehood has been unleashed on me personally in the sections of the media and by the official spokesman of the Bharatiya Janata Party: That as Vice-President of India had invited the Pakistani journalist, Nusrat Mirza and that had met him in a conference in New Delhi on Terrorism, and that while as Ambassador to Iran, I had betrayed the national interest in a matter for which allegations have made by a former official of a Government agency.”
Hamid Ansari further said in his statement, “It is a known fact that invitations to foreign dignitaries by the Vice-President of India are on the advice of the Government generally through the Ministry of External Affairs. I had inaugurated the Conference on Terrorism, on December 11, 2010, the “International Conference of Jurists on International Terrorism and Human Rights”. As is the normal practice the list of invitees would have been drawn by the organizers. I never invited him or met him.”
Ex-VP & Congress leader Hamid Ansari issues a statement regarding Pak journalist Nusrat Mirza.
“…falsehood unleashed on me in sec of media&by official spox of BJP…known fact that invitation to foreign dignitaries by VP of India is on advice of Govt generally through MEA…” pic.twitter.com/BMX1Ft50IF
About his work as an Ambassador to Iran, Hamid Ansari said, “My work as Ambassador to Iran was at all times within the knowledge of the Government of the day. am bound by the commitment to national security in such matters and refrain from commenting on them. The Government of India has all the information and is the only authority, to tell the truth. It is a matter of record that after my stint in Tehran I was appointed India’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York My work there has been acknowledged at home and abroad.”
It is notable that Hamid Ansari was in the middle of a controversy when Pakistani journalist Nusrat Mirza was recently seen in an interview in which he claimed that he spied on India and gathered information while he was on some visits to India. Nusrat Mirza claimed that in 2010, he was invited to a seminar on terrorism by then-Vice President Hamid Ansari. However, in the statement issued by Hamid Ansari in this regard, he has put the onus on the then UPA government saying that it is the central government that decides the names of the dignitaries to be invited to the program.
Ukraine may soon honour gay porn star Billy Herrington with a monument. Interestingly, if reports are to be believed, it would replace a statue of Catherine the Great in Odessa.
A petition has been filed addressed to the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, to commemorate American pornographic actor Billy Herrington with a monument in Odessa. So far, it has crossed 26,000 votes, which means it must be considered by the President.
A petition demanding the demolition of a statue of Russian Empress Catherine the Great to be replaced with a statue honoring gay porn star Billy Herrington has acquired enough signatures to ensure it must be considered by President Volodymyr Zelensky.https://t.co/Qs6LHZW6rW
The petition was launched in May by Ukrainian activist Oleksiy Yuriyovych Matveev and it crossed the threshold of 25,000 votes early this week. In the petition, the activists called Catherine II a “controversial historical figure whose actions caused great damage to Ukrainian statehood and culture.” They called on Zelenskyy to ensure that her statue located in Odessa was torn down and replaced with the statue of Herrington sitting “at the bar with a bottle of beer.”
The petition claimed that Odessa is not a part of Russian culture, and it has its own culture and sense of Humour. Replacing the statue would “send a clear signal that Ukraine supports the LGBT community.” The petitioner further said that a monument of Herrington would be “fun and funny.” He suggested that it would be worth “memes.”
Who was Billy Herrington?
Billy Herrington was a porn star from the United States of America. In his adult film career, most of the films he did were with other men. His career spanned from 1990 to 2018. He is quite famous in Japanese ‘Gachimuchi’ memes. Herrington was killed in a car accident in 2018.
This is not the first time a petition revolving around Herrington has been filed in Ukraine. A similar petition was filed in March to rename the Mayakovsky Square located in the city of Zaporozhye to ‘Billy Herrington Square.’
The controversies around the Catherine II statue
The monument of Catherine II in Odessa has been involved in multiple controversies. It was erected in 1900 by Yuri Meletevich Dmitrenko. However, it was removed in 1920 by order of the Bolsheviks. In 2007, it was restored by the Ukrainian authorities. However, the move was opposed by Ukrainian nationalists, including then-President Viktor Yuschenko.
Notably, Odessa used to be a fishing village for centuries. It was founded as a city by a decree of Catherine II in 1794. During the 19th century, it was considered to be the fourth-largest city in the Russian Empire. The predominating local language is still Russian in Odessa.
During the investigation on the Kanhaiya Lal murder in Udaipur by National Investigation Agency and Anti Terrorist Squad, it has been revealed that Pakistani organization Dawat-e-Islami and terrorist outfits had formed a team of 40 people in Rajasthan to target supporters of former BJP Spokesperson Nupur Sharma. A list of targets was created by the terrorist outfits who were to be executed in Taliban style.
As per reports, the 40 people linked to Dawat-e-Islami were given the task of “teaching a lesson” to those who publish posts on social media in support of Nupur Sharma. These people were associated with Dawat-e-Islami for over a year. The investigation agencies found out about the conspiracy by checking the call details of terrorists Riyaz Attari and Mohammad Gos, who were arrested for brutally killing Hindu tailor Kanhaiya Lal in Udaipur for a social media post supporting Nupur Sharma.
During the investigation, 20 mobile numbers of 10 people from Pakistan were investigated. Reportedly, the 40 people from India were given a target list to spread panic in India by publishing beheading videos in Taliban style. People associated with Dawat-e-Islami in six districts in Rajasthan were given the task of teaching a lesson to people for supporting Nupur Sharma.
Notably, NIA interrogated six people, including Sadar Mujeeb Siddiqui of Anjuman Talimul Islam, Maulana Zulkarnain, former Sadar Khaleel Ahmed co-secretary Umar Farooq, and two lawyers in Udaipur on Tuesday. These people were questioned after being taken into custody by the investigating agency. NIA also searched the house of Sadar Mujeeb. During the investigation, NIA also found that objectionable religious books were being sold in Ajmer at the shops opened by Dawat-e-Islami. The booksellers were paid Rs 250 per day to sell those books. Riyaz and Gos used to distribute such books from these book shops.
On Tuesday 12th July 2022, the Karnataka police arrested 7 illegal Bangladeshi nationals from the Ramanagara districts. The Bangladeshi nationals were illegally staying in Karnataka and working in a garment company called Link App Garments in Basvanapura village. Fake Indian IDs were found with the Bangladeshi nationals. This gang is said to have entered India through Assam. On getting a tip, the Karnataka police arrested 7 of them and further investigations in this case are going on.
While talking to news agency ANI, Santosh Babu, SP Ramanagara said, “Ramanagara rural police arrested seven Bangladeshi nationals who were living & working here with fake ID proofs. They were working in a garment factory. They had Odisha, West Bengal & Assam ID cards.”
Karnataka | Ramanagara rural police arrested seven Bangladeshi nationals who were living & working here with fake ID proofs. They were working in a garment factory. They had Odisha, West Bengal & Assam ID cards: Santosh Babu, SP Ramanagara (12.07) pic.twitter.com/ysn4pRqiZg
Using these identity cards, they had secured jobs in Karnataka. According to a report by the Republic World, Ramanagara Superintendent of Police Santhosh Babu said, “We got a tip-off about Bangladeshi nationals working in Ramnagara. We have arrested 7 Bangladesh nationals, who were working in a garment factory. They reached Ramanagara on the 1st of June. They had Indian Aadhaar cards. We will question the garment factory owner regarding the criteria on which they had appointed them to the garment company. We are investigating further to trace the network.”
The arrested illegal Bangladeshi nationals have been identified as Sohail Rana, Zulfiqar, Ujjal, Munazil, Mussa Shaik, Raheem, and Arif. According to the police, the Bangladeshis had illegally entered Assam in May this year, and had got Aadhaar cards in their names made through a broker using an address in Assam. From Assam they first went to Doddaballpur in Karnataka, from where they moved to Ramanagara. They secured jobs at a garments factory in Ramanagara. They were staying at a rented place there.
Ramanagar SP K. Santosh Babu said that the all seven persons have admitted that they entered Indian illegally, and they reached Karnataka with the help of a broker. Police have also recovered documents from them proving their Bangladeshi origin. All of them will be shifted to the Bengaluru detention centre after the interrogations. Police teams are searching for the broker that helped them.
It is also being probed whether these people came to Karnataka for jobs only, or had they arrived in India and took the jobs on a different conspiracy.
It is notable that, in May 2022, the Bengaluru police launched an identification campaign to track down Bangladeshi immigrants working as domestic workers, garbage collectors, or ragpickers, and file charges against them if they are found to be illegal immigrants.
On Tuesday, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) lodged a complaint against Lakshadweep MP and NCP leader Mohammed Faizal, his nephew, and others over charges of corruption and irregularities, including an alleged scheme in the shipment of tuna fish to a Sri Lankan business. The CBI conducted searches at six locations related to MP Mohammed Faisal across Delhi, Calicut, and Lakshadweep.
According to the reports, CBI received information relating to irregularities in the procurement of Massmeen (dry tuna fish) from fishermen of Lakshadweep island during the year 2016-2017. Khan reportedly gave false assurance of a higher rate and exported the same through M/s. Lakshadweep Co-operative Marketing Federation Ltd to Sri Lanka. On June 25, a combined surprise inspection was performed at the LCMF Ltd offices in Kavaratti (Lakshadweep) and Calicut (Kerala).
It was revealed that during the fiscal year 2016-17, Mohd Faizal, MP, Lakshadweep, falsely assured to LCMF that a foreign buyer M/s SRT General Merchants Importers and Exporters, Colombo 11, Sri Lanka is prepared to buy Massmeen at a higher rate than the uniform price. In its meeting on November 21, 2016, the Board of Directors of LCMF Ltd then decided to procure the dry tuna from poor fishermen of Lakshadweep Island, and subsequently procured approximately 287 MT of dry tuna from them of various islands of Union Territory of Lakshadweep through relevant co-operative societies of islands.
During this procedure, the LCMF assured the fishermen that they would be paid more than the current rates. The case was handled by MP Anwar, the then-Managing Director of LCMF, without following any rules or procedures and relying solely on the guarantee of Mohd Faizal, MP Lakshadweep. Based on the aforementioned surprise check, a senior CBI official in New Delhi filed a complaint, which indicated that Mohd Abdul Razik of Lakshadweep, a relative of Mohd Faizal, MP, Lakshadweep, was the representative of M/s SRT, Colombo, Sri Lanka in this affair.
All the arrangements were made by Mohd Faizal, MP for Lakshadweep, and he was crucial in establishing the dry tuna exporter M/s Accelerated Freeze Drying Company (AFDC), Cochin, Kerala, through LCMF Ltd. Following that, LCMF Ltd. entered into an arrangement with M/s AFDC, a Cochin-based exporter agency, in which terms of reference for dry tuna export were agreed upon.
However, the project could not materialize due to AFDC’s unwillingness to pay Rs 60 lacs for the first shipment of 10 MT of maasmeen exported to the Sri Lankan business. As a result of the above, the firm M/s AFDC, Cochin experienced a loss of roughly Rs 60 lakhs and did not continue the lifting of additional Massmeen through LCMF, as per the agreement. Finally, although M/s. AFDC suffered a loss of Rs 60 lakhs, the impoverished fishermen of Lakshadweep Islands and LCMF suffered a loss of Rs 9 crores.
It is important to note that amid the progressive reforms brought up by the Lakshadweep Administrator Praful Patel in year 2021, MP Mohammed Faisal had declared that beef-eating was a constitutional right of Lakshadweep people. Patel had floated a number of proposals aimed at ensuring the safety and well-being of residents, along with promoting the islands as a tourist destination on par with the Maldives.
The draft Lakshadweep Development Authority Regulation (LDAR) 2021 also proposed a new law to ban cow slaughter and beef, which is in line with the prevailing law in most of the states in India. Opposing the proposals, MP Mohammed Faisal had said that eating beef was constitutional right of the people of Lakshadweep and that the new proposals were aimed at undermining the ‘Islamic character’ of the island where Muslims constitute 96% of the total population.
A woman in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, who was charged with ‘insulting Islam’ by allegedly “acting indecently” while performing at a comedy club pleaded not guilty to the accusation. Siti Nuramira Abdullah, 26, pleaded not guilty to the charge before Judge Siti Aminah Ghazali. She was accused of stirring up religious conflict among Muslims.
The woman was accused of committing the offence of ‘insulting Islam’ by stripping to show herself in a short dress at the Taman Tun Dr Ismail comedy club. She acknowledged being a Muslim and having memorised 15 chapters of the Quran.
Nuramira was charged under Section 298A of the Malaysian Penal Code for producing discord, disunity, or emotions of animosity. If convicted, she faces up to five years in jail. Deputy Public Prosecutor Najah Farhana requested during the hearing today that no bail be granted to the accused since the offence is not bailable.
However, the accused’s attorney, R. Sivaraj, requested a reduced bond, arguing that the bail was merely aimed to assure their client’s appearance in court. The court set bail at RM20,000 with one surety, and the accused was ordered to forfeit her passport until the matter was resolved.
During her open mic stint on stage, the woman wearing a hijab allegedly made derogatory religious remarks and removed her Baju Kurung (Malay dress). Under the outfit, she was wearing a spaghetti-strap dress. On July 9, police arrested the woman following a 54-second video of the show going viral.
The matter has elicited criticism from both the government and the general population. The comedy club’s operations have been temporarily halted by Kuala Lumpur City Hall.
The viral video of the woman is being looked at by the Federal Territories Islamic Religious Department. A fine of up to RM3,000 or a sentence of up to two years in prison are possible penalties for anyone found guilty of insulting or causing contempt for Islam under the Syariah Criminal Offences (Federal Territories) Act of 1997 in Malaysia.
On July 13, the researchers at Network Contagion Lab at Rutgers University-New Brunswick (NC Lab) published a paper on the rise of Hinduphobia on social media and messaging platforms. The researchers found evidence of a sharp rise and evolving patterns of hate speech against Hindus on several platforms.
As per the paper titled “Anti-Hindu Disinformation: A Case Study of Hinduphobia on Social Media”, multiple actors, including white supremacists, 4Chan and other extremists, are widely sharing genocidal Pepe memes against Hindus among Islamist web networks through messaging services such as Telegram and other platforms.
NCRI’s latest paper on “Anti-Hindu Disinformation: A Case Study of Hinduphobia on Social Media.” was released today on KQED/NPR
— Network Contagion Research Institute (@ncri_io) July 13, 2022
With the help of artificial intelligence, the Rutgers researchers were able to analyze over 1 million tweets and found that Iranian trolls were in action on several occasions to spread anti-Hindu propaganda. These actors accused Hindus of perpetrating genocide against minorities in India. Interestingly, similar propaganda against the Hindu community of India is being spread in western countries, and several activists and so-called journalists like Rana Ayyub are extensively fueling the said narrative in their circle.
Prasiddha Sudhakar, a student analyst who worked on the paper, said, “I appreciate the opportunity to bring awareness to this underrepresented subject matter.” She has worked with high school students from the New Jersey Governors’ STEM Scholars program to collect and analyze data.
Joel Finkelstein, the chief data scientist at the NCRI and a senior research fellow at the Miller Center, said, “Educating young people on how to detect open-source hate messaging is a vital first step in helping vulnerable communities prepare for and respond to emerging threats.”
John J. Farmer Jr., director of both the Miller Center and the Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers University-New Brunswick, noted that the bigotry and violence faced by the Hindu population was nothing new. “What is new is the social media context in which hate messages are being shared. Our prior work has shown a correlation between the intensity of hate messaging over social media and the eruption of real-world acts of violence,” he added.
Analyzing Hindu hate on social media and messaging platforms
First of all, it is essential to understand that the Hindu community has been facing discrimination and hate for a long time. In the paper, John Farmer talked about the anti-Hindu moment called the ‘dot-busters’ of the 1980s. He pointed toward a letter that was published in the Jersey Journal in 1987. In the letter, the author talked about attacking Indians who were largely Hindus and forcing them to leave Jersey.
He said, “I’m writing about your article during July about the abuse of Indian People. Well, I’m here to state the other side. I hate them. We are an organization called dot busters. We will go to any extreme to get Indians to move out of Jersey City. If I’m walking down the street and I see a Hindu and the setting is right, I will hit him or her. We plan some of our most extreme attacks, such as breaking windows, breaking car windows, and crashing family parties. They will never do anything. They are a weak race physically and mentally. We are going to continue our way. We will never be stopped.”
Following the letter, multiple attacks had happened on Indians in the Jersey area. Some of the attackers were arrested as well, but they were acquitted as the victims could not identify them during the trial. In short, anti-Hindu propaganda is nothing new, and the Hindu community has been facing it in India as well as in other countries.
What does the data suggest in the current scenario?
According to the Rutgers researchers, there is an alarming rise in anti-Hindu slurs and slogans. They also noticed an increase in the proliferation of anti-Hindu genocidal memes in memes in Islamist, white nationalist, and other extremist sub-networks online. It is noteworthy that, in general, such posts are seen as anti-Indian, but the researchers pointed out that the “specific content of these memes, hashtags and derogatory messages very clearly targets decidedly Hindu symbols, practices, and livelihoods.”
“Hinduphobic tropes — such as the portrayal of Hindus as fundamentally heretical evil, dirty, tyrannical, genocidal, irredeemable or disloyal— are prominent across the ideological spectrum and are being deployed by fringe web communities and state actors alike.”
— Network Contagion Research Institute (@ncri_io) July 13, 2022
The presence of both established and emergent actors spreading anti-Hindu propaganda on social media and messaging platforms for political purposes was also discussed in the paper. The Rutgers report noted, “[The] state actors within Iran often weaponize this discourse to ignite conflict between India and Pakistan.”
Non-state actors like ISIS-K are also involved in such propaganda. The researchers pointed out how the recent attack on Gurudwara in Kabul was linked by ISIS-K to the alleged derogatory remarks against Prophet Mohammed by former BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma.
The data extracted from different sources ranged from 2019 to 2022. They found that the anti-Hindu disinformation is often masked through the use of ethnic pejoratives, slurs, and coded language such as the word ‘pajeet.’ It was first seen on 4Chan. It is an “ethnic slur, coined as a derisive imitation of Indian names. Typically, pajeet is used to describe Indians on the Internet and, by default, Hindus,” the paper suggested.
It is notable that the word has found its way into extremists’ manifestos as well. The paper reads, “The white supremacist shooter of the Chabad Synagogue in San Diego, 2019, had referenced “pajeets” in this manifesto. This slur has also been used by white supremacists in white nationalist podcasts in reference to violent, murderous fantasies about Indians.” Interestingly, the slang was used extensively when Parag was appointed as CEO of Twitter in late November 2021.
Pepe the frog meme on 26/11, a meme pushing propaganda of treating Hindus like the Police Officer, treated John Floyd, and similar memes have surfaced on social media from time to time.
Source: NCRI
The idea of anti-Hindu hate on social media revolves around describing Hindus as dirty. Words like sh*tskinned, sub-human, and others are commonly used to describe Hindus online. The researcher found that users commenting about “Pajeets,” “Hindus,” and “India” on 4Chan self-reported their locations in the US, India, Canada, UK, and Australia, with the overwhelming majority being located in the US.
Source: NCRI
The hate is widespread on multiple platforms. The paper read, “Accounts titled “Caliphate Revive” call for “Ghazwa-e-Hind,” a violent fantasy by Islamists to colonize India. Similar calls to violence are echoed on Twitter.”
Source: NCRI
The Iranian connection
Furthermore, the researchers observed that state actors also use anti-Hindu tropes as part of information operations for geopolitical influence. Using the dataset released by Twitter, they found that there were over 17 lakhs tweets from state-sponsored Iranian trolls between 2010 to 2021.
Their analysis suggested that they used social media to associate Hindus with extremists who perpetrated violence against minorities. They also tried to cause political unrest in India. Also, the location analysis done by the researchers pointed toward the highly clustered presence of trolls in Pakistan. Some anti-Hindu accounts operate from India as well.
They often talked about India and Hindus during times of geopolitical conflict. For example, when a bomb blast occurred on the Bhopal-Ujjain Passenger train by ISIS, the Iranian trolls ran a disinformation campaign to suggest that the attack was made by “Hindu Extremists.” In August 2017, they ran a hashtag #KashmirDeniesIndia following the unrest caused by the extermination of Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist Burhan Wani.
During the March 2017 Bhopal–Ujjain Passenger train bombing by ISIS, Iranian trolls, pretending to be Pakistani, attempted a disinformation campaign to suggest that the attack was done by “Hindu Extremists,” and attempted to get it trending. pic.twitter.com/IOA4St05nv
— Network Contagion Research Institute (@ncri_io) July 13, 2022
A similar campaign was launched by the Iranian trolls in the aftermath of the Delhi riots of 2020. They ran propaganda to establish that Hindus murdered Muslims on the streets of Delhi in bloodthirsty and brutal ways.
They even disguised as human rights activists, journalists, and humanists. They tagged publications like CNN and MSN to push them to condemn India for anti-Muslim violence. The paper suggested, “Iranian trolls deliberately suggested that Hindus were committing genocide against Muslims while unilaterally portraying Hindus with genocidal bloodlust. Iranian trolls thus use covert influence and hijack social justice rhetoric to promote anti-Hindu disinformation.”
The Rutgers paper on Hinduphobia on social media and messaging platforms can be read here.
Navjot Singh Sidhu has created another controversy even while serving his imprisonment in the Patiala jail. Reportedly, Sidhu had an argument with prisoners locked in his cell, forcing other prisoners to maintain distance with him. The prisoners have accused Sidhu of misbehaving with them. To avoid further clashes, these prisoners are put in other cells now.
Accused by other prisoners of misbehaving, Sidhu alleged that some of those prisoners purchased a few things from the canteen using Sidhu’s canteen card without his permission.
Navjot Singh Sidhu is serving a one-year jail term in Patiala Central Jail in connection with a road rage case, as he was awarded a jail term of one year in the case. The behaviour of jailed Navjot Singh Sidhu has become a problem for his fellow prisoners. Three prisoners lodged with him in the barrack demanded the jail authorities change the barracks. Accordingly, their barracks have been changed.
During interrogation, Sidhu told the jail authorities that when his fellow prisoners had purchased the goods arbitrarily using his canteen card, he prevented them from doing so. On the other hand, the prisoners told the jail authorities that Sidhu was not treating them properly. At present, the jail authorities ended the dispute and changed the barracks of the three prisoners and now two other prisoners are lodged with Navjot Singh Sidhu.
Navjot Singh Sidhu is lodged in barrack number 10 along with other prisoners. When asked about this, the jail authorities confirmed the change of barracks of the three prisoners but remained silent on the complaint regarding Sidhu’s behavior.
Navjot Singh Sidhu, who is in the central jail of Patiala, was accompanied by five other prisoners. Sidhu is not allowed to step out of the barrack due to security reasons. In such a situation, Sidhu was getting goods from the canteen ordered using his card with the help of the prisoners who were detained with him. All of this was running smoothly as the fellow prisoners were coordinating things well.
Some days ago, fellow inmates bought some goods for themselves using Navjot Singh Sidhu’s canteen card. Learning about this, Navjot Singh Sidhu got furious as to why these prisoners purchased using his card without permission. He also argued that the card limit is low. As the dispute stretched further, it was noticed by the jail authorities. The inmates alleged Sidhu of using derogatory language against them and objected to his behaviour. The jail authorities ended the dispute by changing the barracks of the fellow inmates.
Jail Superintendent Manjit Singh said the barrack of the prisoners lodged with Sidhu has been changed but he cannot say anything more than that. As per the rules, other prisoners are locked up with Navjot Singh Sidhu. Earlier Navjot Singh Sidhu was also at the centre of a controversy for the special treatment being given to him by the jail authorities to ensure that he gets a special diet as prescribed by the doctors.
