As the holy month of Ramzan has marked escalated violence on Hindus on their festivals, the rampant campaign against Hindus in India has spread on a global scale. Recently, British-American Journalist Mehdi Hassan, TV presenter and Chef Padma Lakshmi and German Footballer Mesut Ozil have made unimaginable assertions against India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while being openly complicit in being propagandists over so-called narrative of ‘Muslim Persecution in India’.
Mehdi Hassan
On April 26, British-American Journalist Mehdi Hasan tweeted his MSNBC editorial report saying, “Putin. Orban. Le Pen. We talk a lot in the West about the rise of far-right authoritarians and yet we never mention India’s Narendra Modi and his BJP. I did a deep-dive into India under Modi & new warnings of an anti-Muslim genocide.” The report alike his previous ones, carries his tirade against India and PM Modi saying that Modi is hell-bent on re-creating the “lost Hindu kingdom” one likes to call “Hindu Rashtra” and is “far-right” and “supremacist”.
Putin. Orban. Le Pen. We talk a lot in the West about the rise of far-right authoritarians & yet we never mention India’s Narendra Modi and his BJP.
— Mehdi Hasan (@mehdirhasan) April 26, 2022
On the @MehdiHasanShow, I did a deep-dive into India under Modi & new warnings of an anti-Muslim genocide:pic.twitter.com/McOGhQy7Gp
In the video he equated Hindu Nationalism in India (a nation which was divide on religious lines) with White Supremacy in the West, which is an ideology based on race. Later, he made false assumptions on historical figures like Gandhi, Nathuram Godse and Golwalkar with an agenda to equate Hindutva with Anti-sematism. In the past, he has claimed that non-Muslims live like animals and equated homosexuals with paedophiles, for which he has later apologised.
Padma Lakshmi
TV presenter and writer Padma Lakshmi, who often flouts her Indian origin “Sickening to see the violence against Muslims celebrated in India. The widespread anti-Muslim rhetoric preys on fear and poisons people. This propaganda is dangerous and nefarious because when you consider someone less than it’s much easier to participate in their oppression,” she alleged.
Later, she insinuated, “Fellow Hindus, don’t succumb to this fear-mongering. There is no threat to Hinduism in India or anywhere else.” Such a statement from Lakshmi is itself a reflection upon Hinduphobia that co-exists with denial of Hindu human rights from people like her.
Fellow Hindus, don’t succumb to this fear-mongering. There is no threat to Hinduism in India or anywhere else. True spirituality doesn’t include any room for sowing hatred of any kind.
— Padma Lakshmi (@PadmaLakshmi) April 27, 2022
People of all faiths should be able to live peacefully together in this ancient, vast land.
When Padma Lakshmi asserts that true spirituality doesn’t include any room for sowing hatred of any kind, maybe she should realise that has been Hinduism, that has practised plurality while accepting people from all communities inside its civilizational fold even after facing catastrophic attacks from invaders.
Mesut Ozil
Today, German soccer player Mesut Ozil tweeted, “Praying during the holy night of Lailat al-Qadr for the safety and well-being of our Muslim brothers and sisters in India. Let’s spread awareness to this shameful situation!” The Arsenal Footballer asked “What is happening to human rights in the so-called largest democracy in the world?” with a hashtag ‘Break the Silence’.
Praying during the holy night of Lailat al-Qadr for the safety and well-being of our Muslim brothers and sisters in India🤲🏼🇮🇳🕌Let’s spread awareness to this shameful situation! What is happening to the human rights in the so-called largest democracy in the world?#BreakTheSilence pic.twitter.com/pkS7o1cHV5
— Mesut Özil (@MesutOzil1088) April 27, 2022
With Ozil, it seems the international tookit for Muslim victimhood has started. He tweeted a picture of Muslims praying inside Delhi’s Jama Masjid on a Ramzan evening – which is itself shows how the Muslim community has prospered and continues to celebrate its festivals safely in India. Ozil has been vocal about his association with Turkish Prseident Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and was caught in controversy after posing for a photograph with the dictator in 2018.
Other ‘Toolkits’ that made to the news
The monicker ‘Toolkit’ which has become a shorthand for a coercive action, targeting or online lynch-mob to a threaten a person or institution was first popularised by infamous global climate activist Greta Thunberg. She had inadvertently revealed the sinister global campaign against India after she shared a ‘Toolkit’ in a tweet during the Framer’s protests in India in 2021.
The document shared by Greta Thunberg listed a series of actions that people across the world could take to pressurise the Indian Government over the cause of agitating Farmers. Earlier, celebrities and politicians including Rihanna, Greta Thunberg, Mia Khalifa and Canadian MP Jagmeet and others had come forward in support of the farmer protests. But the document shared by Greta has made it clear that it is part of a larger conspiracy to cause unrest in India.
Later, in May 2021, A new Congress toolkit was circulating on social media that contained ways to craft a deliberate narrative to paint the Kumbh Mela as a “super-spreader” while maintaining a carefully crafted silence over massive Eid gatherings. The toolkit asked to “Collaborate in advance with friendly journalists on social media to immediately amplify these messages,” directed to its workers.
