Following a brutal attack by militants on tourists in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam on Tuesday, killing more than 25 people, Hindutva groups and social media accounts have started sharing anti-Kashmir and anti-Muslim rhetoric.
From calls for genocide of Muslims to economic boycotts in Kashmir, X spaces and pages have been conducting discussions advocating for the “massacre of Muslims.”
Statements like “Cut their hands and hang their bodies in Lal Chowk,” along with Islamophobic slurs, were used in the space titled “Islamist Terrorist Attack in Pahalgam Kashmir #BoycottKashmir” by social media pages such as Shivani Vaid, Neeraj Singh Dogra, and Blood & Iron.
Most of these pages have massive followings and used the space to make statements like, “Every Kashmiri was involved in this massacre. Every Kashmiri did this.”
People who conducted X Spaces also called for the massacre of Kashmiris, with references made to The Kashmir Files. Misinformation and fake news were also spread.
Various Islamophobic slurs were used in the discussions.
“Why are Rohingyas and Bangladeshis settled in Jammu?” one speaker said.
“Hum bhi pant utaar kar dekhenge aur marenge.” (We will also take down their pants and kill them.)
“This is India’s October 7,” said another speaker.
The demand for a separate Union Territory for Jammu was also raised by many speakers. There were also comments against the government, demanding answers as to why there was no security at the location where the militant attack took place.
“Why are people going to Kashmir? The government sent tourist packages for Kashmir and promoted those people,” said another speaker.
Abuses were also hurled at those who tried to reason with the hate speech being delivered in the space.
“This is a religious war. Their (referring to Muslims) population is increasing, and that is why the war is increasing,” said a speaker who goes by the handle Katz4Blue.
The brutal attack on tourists is being mourned by the whole country. However, hate mongers have used the moment to spread misinformation.
Calls for the massacre of Kashmiri Muslims and statements advocating “bulldozer justice” were made not only in this space but also by many right-wing Hindutva nationalist groups.
Meanwhile, at a time when the government should be trying to find the culprits, state BJP pages like Chhattisgarh BJP are sharing AI Ghibli images with captions like, “They asked for religion, not caste.”
Social media was filled with Islamophobic and warmongering posts, with Hindutva pages unleashing hate comments across platforms.
Many handles urged the Indian government to take the “Israel way” in tackling the situation.
None of the posts included messages of consolation for the victims who lost everything in this brutality. Instead, anti-Muslim propaganda and narratives have taken over both social media and mainstream media.
The posts have received massive backlash from many social media users, who called the politicisation of the attack and the attempt to turn it into a Hindu-Muslim conflict disgusting.
Found benefit? Help keep it going. We rely on Allah—and your support.
