The Growing Phenomenon of Demonising Muslims – By Partha S. Ghosh
Ever since the Al-Qaeda terrorist attacks on the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon on September 11, 2001 (9/11), Muslims all over the world are ‘under siege’.… Even after 18 years of 9/1, we do not see any abatement in the phobia.… The Islamophobia of South Asia is historically different from Europe, but varies little in terms of content. In India, it has much to do with Hindu nationalism, which has at least a hundred years of history. But only in its present form has it become virulent. …
The matter has reached such ridiculous levels that even App-based services such as Uber (taxi) and Zomato (food delivery) are affected. There are reports of Hindus cancelling their trips or food orders upon discovering that the taxi driver or the Zomato delivery man has a Muslim name. The only silver lining is that the Zomato owner, a Hindu, has refused to budge, declaring that it goes against ‘the idea of India’. He has not obliged his customers even though it has caused his company some losses on account of the undelivered food and also generated calls for boycott of Zomato on social media.
At the state level, the worst example of Islamophobia is the way the National Register of Citizens (NRC) is being compiled in Assam, with plans to extend the register nation-wide. The assumption behind the exercise is that Muslim immigrants from Bangladesh (Hindu and Buddhist immigrants are excluded as the government’s statements indicate) are ‘like termites [who] will completely lick off the country’ and must be prevented from doing so. One shudders to think what will happen when the NRC report will be out, latest by August 31, 2019.…
https://www.newsclick.in/growing-phenomenon-demonising-muslims
SEE ALSO:
- The Islamophobic roots of population control efforts in India – By Kunal Purohit (Aug 9, 2019, Al Jazeera)
https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/islamophobic-roots-population-control-efforts-india-190808085219969.html - Zomato row shows bigotry is alive and well, taking new shape in urban India – By Patralekha Chatterjee (Aug 8, 2019, Asian Age)
https://www.asianage.com/amp/opinion/oped/080819/zomato-row-shows-bigotry-is-alive-and-well-taking-new-shape-in-urban-india.html - Criminalising triple talaq Muslim divorce is overkill – would India treat Hindus this way? – By Arif A. Jamal (Aug 6, 2019, South China Morning Post)
https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3021570/criminalising-triple-talaq-muslim-divorce-overkill-would-india - Marking Tipu’s legacy to foster historical temper – By Janaki Nair (Aug 2, 2019, The Hindu)
https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/marking-tipus-legacy-to-foster-historical-temper/article28787685.ece
