The Reasons Why Islamophobia in India on the Rise
- MoroccoWorldNews
India – The Israel-Hamas war not only affects Palestinians and Israelis, but also many countries indirectly. Support for each side was campaigned in various countries, one is India.
In India, there's a significant proof of disinformation campaigns. The campaigns are said to contain Islamophobic content and conflic-related disinformation spread by Indian right-wing influencers.
India-based right-wing accounts, including verified users on X, have shared a large several false posts targeting Palestinians and supporting Israel during the escalation of the war in Gaza.
Demo protes islamofobia di India
- AP/Aijaz Rahi
As example, a video claimed to be proof that dozens of Israeli girls had been used as sex slaves by Hamas fighters, when in fact the footage was of Israeli children on a school trip completely unrelated to the conflict.
The video received millions of views before it was examined.
Additionally, a post circulated on a Telegram channel listing the names of ten Indians killed by Hamas, resulting in a flood of abuse and hatred towards Muslims around the world, especially in India.
In response to the video, a user stated that he would like to remove all Muslims from India if he had the chance.
Some time later, members of the channel pointed out that the people killed were Nepalese workers, not Indians.
WhatsApp and Telegram groups in India are currently said to be full of Islamophobic content comparing the situation in Gaza to the Indian context.
For example, a message in a Telegram group showed protests from Indian Muslims against the Israeli military response accompanied by the narrative "only terrorists will support other terrorists and thus India should focus on cleaning up Indian terrorists (referring to Muslims) rather than focusing on terrorists outside,"
Konflik Israel-Palestina
- (Foto AP/Fatima Shbair, File)
In addition, there are instances of WhatsApp messages warning that future attacks could occur in India by "Islamist terrorists" and Hindus should carry weapons to protect themselves.
There are also other messages that mock and celebrate the deaths of Palestinians, blaming Islam for the conflict in the region.
Furthermore, most Indian Hindu right-wing channels and users on social media have expressed support for Israel. They have also contributed to the #IStandwithIsrael hashtag trending across the country.
These examples illustrate how the Israel-Hamas conflict is being misused against groups that have no direct involvement.
However, this phenomenon is not new to India, a country that grapples with more misinformation than any other in the world.
Right-wing groups have mobilized online campaigns run by members of political parties like the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). These campaigns create and spread false information and Islamophobic content in India.
The surge in such content from India can be attributed to a few key factors. First, the online right wing has a strong capacity to spread anti-Muslim hatred, both in India and on a global scale.
Second, India's foreign policy shift has fostered closer ties with Israel, resulting in better relations between the two countries.
