More than half of anti-Muslim hate speech on Twitter comes from India: Study
A study conducted by an Australian Muslim body, Islamic Council of Victoria (ICV), has found that users India were responsible a staggering 55.12% of anti-Muslim content on Twitter. Between 2019 and 2022, over three million anti-Muslim posts were made on the platform.
The ICV has pointed to the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as the main reason for hateful anti-Muslim content in India.
“The BJP has actively normalized hatred towards Muslims in India to such an extent that 55.12% of anti-Muslim hatred tweets originate on Twitter in India,” the ICV report has said.
ICV said there is a correlation between hate speech and normalized anti-Muslim violence and discrimination in India.
“Social media companies like Twitter must take responsible action to halt anti-Muslim hate Tweets,” it said.
Similar to Twitter, Facebook in India has also been a key tool for Hindu supremacists to circulate mob lynching videos and calls for violence against Muslims, similar to the Facebook propaganda of the Myanmar military leading up to the Rohyingya genocide.
One in three prisoners in India are Muslim, despite being one in seven in population
According to the Indian government’s data, Muslims make up almost 30% of all detainees in Indian prisons in 2021, despite the minority group having a demographic percentage of only 14.2%.
The data, which is compiled by India’s National Crime Records Bureau, shows that Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, and Uttarakhand states, as well as Jammu & Kashmir, have the highest proportion of Muslim detainees relative to their population. In Assam state, 61% of inmates on death row and 49% of those awaiting trial were Muslims.
The staggering disparity in these statistics is a side effect of the justice system’s crackdown on Muslims for minor offences, while Hindu supremacists who have committed violent crimes often walk free.
Serial offender Hindu supremacist leader calls for Muslim university to be ‘bombarded’
Yati Narsinghanand, a vitriolic Hindu supremacist leader, called for renowned educational institution Aligarh Muslim University to be “bombarded” in a viral video.
“Aligarh Muslim University should be evacuated and bombarded; students/people associated with these institutions should be lodged in detention centres,” Narsinghanand told reporters while surrounded by his Hindu supremacist supporters.
Narsinghanand has an ongoing track record of making hate speeches against Muslims and calling for violence against minorities. Despite being previously arrested on hate speech charges, he continues to walk free despite repeatedly violating his bail conditions.
