Communists all across the world are known to be aggressively against all forms of organized religion. However, in India, it has never been the case. Indian communists have always been prone to romanticizing Islam and Christianity and while denigrating Hinduism.
Thus, it surprised no one when former Vice-President of JNU student’s union and Leftist activist Shehla Rashid tweeted in celebration of a musician’s conversion to Islam.
Wow! Unbelievable! I first thought this is fake. Sinead O’ Connor (now Shuhada Davitt) converts to Islam, recites Azan. One of my favorite singers. I’ve always loved ❤ her so much. Welcome to the community @MagdaDavitt77 @SineadOconnorHQ! https://t.co/1YYmobSX6t
— Shehla Rashid (@Shehla_Rashid) October 27, 2018
People were quick to point out the hypocrisy of someone celebrating conversions to one’s faith while condemning ‘Gharwapsi’, an initiative to bring back converted people back to the Hindu fold.
Wow! Unbelievable. I first thought this is a fake tweet.
Remind me of this next time when she gets hyper on any random VHP guy issuing a “welcome to community” in some random case of #GharWapasi . https://t.co/PyvaO9gZa3
— Yashwant Deshmukh (@YRDeshmukh) October 28, 2018
This is the actual reality of a Muslim liberal/leftist of India. They celebrate their religion and are loyal toward it. Would you ever imagining likes of @BDUTT @rajdeepsardesai @Ram_Guha @ShekharGupta welcoming others to Hindu fold? Like.. Ever? https://t.co/xYj6POAr5x
— Vikas Pandey (@MODIfiedVikas) October 28, 2018
But but Shehla is secular. Shehla sees beyond religion. Hindus who buy into Shehla’s narrative – please note. https://t.co/DRgqGGeXEh
— Vishakha J (@VishakhaJ18) October 28, 2018
One such person was Pawan Khera, leader of the Congress party.
What is the difference between the underlying mindset of this ? and that of the ‘Ghar Waapsi’ gang? https://t.co/AJ6gmo9jHT
— Pawan Khera (@Pawankhera) October 28, 2018
However, ‘neutral’ journalists were quick to come to Shehla’s defence.
A simple matter of choice, Mr Khera. The Ghar Waapsi gang offers no choice. https://t.co/2kTs3tskoa
— Pritish Nandy (@PritishNandy) October 28, 2018
Funnily enough, even ‘neutral fact-checkers’ could not see the hypocrisy of a communist celebrating religious conversions, especially those who condemn ‘Gharwapsi’. The Co-founder of AltNews, Pratik Sinha, dragged Rahul Gandhi into the controversy suggesting that the Congress President was creating a ‘sense of otherness’ by peddling soft-Hindutva.
Rahul Gandhi has been aggressively peddling his religious identity for over a year now. What is that about then? https://t.co/qdRi2sJ5yK
— Pratik Sinha (@free_thinker) October 29, 2018
It is indeed quite revealing that self-proclaimed ‘neutral’ political observers who have no qualms about the celebration of religious conversions to monotheistic faiths condemn ‘Gharwapsi’ for being communal and accuse of it of being forced despite it not being the case. It is also quite interesting that public display of faith by Indian politicians is construed as creating a ‘sense of otherness’.
