How coronavirus encouraged Islamophobia in India

For decades, India embraced many of the ideals that are the hallmarks of a liberal democracy. But since the election of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Hindu fundamentalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in 2014, we have experienced a breathtaking erosion in the rule of law and civil and political rights and the unleashing of a wave of intolerance against religious minorities.

Sadly, much of the Indian media has been complicit in the assault on democratic and secular values, either by actively promoting the narrative of BJP, or by censoring itself to avoid being punished.

There are still journalists who maintain their integrity and work to uphold the democratic ideals of the Indian Constitution.

For these independent journalists, it has become something of a rite of passage to have the police come after them for speaking out against the ruling establishment.

As a founding editor of The Wire, an independent online news portal, I have had my own brushes with the law, chiefly in the form of defamation complaints.

At one point, we faced 14 defamation cases, all of them frivolous, seeking damages totalling $1.3 billion. The cases were filed by people who are either a part of the ruling establishment or considered close to it. Seven cases have since been withdrawn.

A few weeks back, the harassment took a darker turn.

On April 1, I was accused by the police in Ayodhya, in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, of several serious crimes: using a computer to impersonate someone and transmit obscene material; disobeying the instructions of a public official; spreading panic about an impending disaster; and spreading rumours with intent to cause a riot. Some of these crimes carry a three-year prison sentence.

I'm against all terrorist organizations, even if they are Muslim because all terrorism is rejected and I'm against killing innocents even if they are not Muslims#India #Islamophobia #Islamophobia_In_India

— Hania Blogger (@BloggerHania) April 21, 2020