RIP, the secularism in India
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Online hate sows Muslim fears as India votes
After his brother was murdered in anti-Muslim riots, Pervez Qureshi watched the videos he believes incited the killers, part of a wave of hatred fomented on social media ahead of India’s elections.
India has a long and grim history of sectarian clashes between the Hindu majority and its biggest minority faith, but analysts warn that increasingly available modern technology is being used to deliberately exploit divisions.
“Videos and messages were shared on Facebook and WhatsApp which contained inflammatory language and incitement to violence,” Qureshi told AFP, recalling the attack on his brother Faheem in February in the northern city of Haldwani in Uttarakhand state. “It poisoned the atmosphere.”
Qureshi said his brother, Faheem, 32, was killed by Hindu neighbours after they first torched his car.
Nearly 550 million more Indians have access to the internet than when Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power a decade ago, according to figures from the Internet and Mobile Association of India.
Modi’s Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is widely expected to win a third term in elections that begin on April 19.
Part of his popularity can be attributed to his party’s masterful online campaign team, staffed by thousands of volunteers who champion his good deeds and achievements.
Modi’s use of social media “awakens nationalism and patriotism among the youth in every corner of the country”, said Manish Saini, a youth leader of a BJP “IT Cell” in Uttarakhand state, who works online to reach voters.
‘Atmosphere of hatred’
Critics however accuse the BJP’s sophisticated social media apparatus of also fanning the flames of division.
Haldwani community leader Islam Hussain said tensions were already high before February’s violence, after months of incendiary social media posts calling Muslims “outsiders”.
“It was said that due to the increasing population of Muslims, the social demography of Uttarakhand is changing”, Hussein said. “Right-wing social media cells have a big role in creating an atmosphere of hatred against Muslims.”
Source: Dawn News