TROPIC OF CANCER Report: Hindutva – Hindu supremacy in PM Modi’s India – are ascendant, spreading division and enabling hate speech several notches south of civility, pluralism and inclusiveness in the world’s largest and most populated land. And the effect on the lives of minorities – specially Muslims – has proven toxic, at times deadly. Toxic narratives have multiplied and become normalized in India over the past few years.
Al Jazeera’s documentary looks at rising intolerance and xenophobia in the land where the world’s largest Muslim minority community lives:
Among the BJP politicians, anti-Muslim hate speech (specially against Muslim girls and women) is also rife, further adding to narratives of division and hate in the society. Toxic narratives flood the airwaves, the internet, and the social media.
According to Hindus for Human Rights, “Facebook has allowed the spread of hate speech in India through a biased algorithm that caters to majoritarian views…listen to Facebook whistleblower and data scientist Frances Haugen’s words about Meta’s report ignoring this issue here >.”
In June, the Muslim world took notice of the new normal in Modi’s India — when an influential politico in the country’s power structure took a swipe at Prophet Mohammad. Muslim nations condemned it.
The senior politico reportedly apologized, “but the message is somewhat getting clearer…damage is being constructed within with sinister motives as Modi-led BJP looks toward another stint — elections are due in the summer of 2024. Hindutva as rallying cry, they think, will help invalidate the incumbency factor,” an independent India observer tells DesPardes.
