Soon after the news of the Qatar govt calling the Indian ambassador to explain the blasphemy issue and BJP suspending Nupur Sharma came out, we saw a lot of people rejoicing over the news in India. The reaction of these people was one of great relief. As if someone they were trying to control for a long time, was finally tamed. The most populous minority of India, which seems to have lost the bargaining power through its vote bank since 2014 because of reverse polarization, suddenly got another lever to exert their power, ‘The Oil Daddies’ sitting in Arab countries.
While they seemed overjoyed that Arabs have come to their rescue, there are bigger implications of the way this issue has played out. Whosoever came up with the plan to make this issue international has clearly not thought this through. Yes, the image of India (specifically Modi and BJP) took a beating and that is one of the objectives they had in mind, but the issue has snowballed into something bigger. While the idea was to show the world that Muslims are abused in India, it is playing out very differently after it spread beyond the Middle East. Since then, Dutch MP Geert Wilders and British political broadcaster Dominique Samuels have extended their support to Nupur against radicals who are baying for her blood. With that, the focus is now shifting to the radical nature of people demanding action against Nupur.
Something which they were not comfortable talking about, has become a drawing-room discussion across the world
Earlier, a non-muslim had no interest in discussing the personal life of Prophet Muhammad. Following the out-of-proportion outrage, it has made people curious. Something which wasn’t even talked about earlier has become a topic of discussion in every home. Everyone is curious to know what has Nupur said which is so offensive. While there are videos of Islamic scholars saying the same thing and screenshots of hadiths stating the same, it is becoming a big puzzle why there is an outrage on Nupur’s comment only.
Blasphemy law will apply to both sides
If BJP was hesitant in filing FIR against those openly mocking the Hindu faith after Shivling was found inside the Gyanvapi structure, the demand for action against Nupur for blasphemy gave them a perfect excuse. Now there is no stopping Yogi govt from going after people who were insulting Shivlings. Clearly, this was not factored in while dialing the Arab daddies.
The propaganda of the Muslim genocide will fall flat
A lot of influencers on Twitter and other social media platforms (including those backed by Pakistan) have been trying to create a narrative that Muslim Genocide is about to take place in India. At every available opportunity, they try to paint Muslims as victims in India. Some even try to convince us that holocaust-type persecution of Muslims has already started in India. However, visuals of riots coming in from several cities where radical mobs were out on the streets demanding the death penalty for Nupur paint an entirely different picture. No one is going to believe that a ‘Dara hua Musalman’ can gather in such large numbers and run riots without any fear of the law.
No country will be comfortable accommodating refugees from the Middle East next time
“I will openly mock and insult your Gods but if you do the same to my God, I will demand your execution”. Which sane country would like to accommodate refugees who have such a radical mindset. A lot of countries that gave accommodation to Syrian refugees post 2014-15 are witnessing high crime rates and radical activities. With this glaring example, they may shut the doors on any more refugees in the future. No one wants people who are perpetually outraged. Two years after Covid, countries are still grappling with dwindling economies, they can’t afford law and order problems to make matters worse.
Qatar’s short-sightedness is out in open
Last, but not least, while Qatar may try to play Messiah of the Islamic world right now, what does it say about a country which reacts and strains foreign relations based on made-up social media outrage. Anyone who has been on social media knows how trends are created often by using bots or influencers. Often the ground reality is very different from what is being portrayed by the social media trends. Qatar had the choice to discover the entire context before taking such a stance. On the world stage, everyone is being watched, and other countries will notice how Qatar behaved with India without validating the whole story. Qatar cannot say it behaved responsibly in this situation. As this spreads in western countries, if someone from America ‘does a Nupur’, will Qatar issue a diktat to Biden? If they don’t, it only exposes their double standards.
Above are some of the unintended consequences of the coordinated social media outrage created by ‘break-India forces’. While it achieved its immediate short-term goal, it has created some long-term problems for their larger agenda to succeed.
