For the past few days, violence has gripped US cities following the death of George Floyd as a result of police brutality. The US now finds itself dealing with the double challenge of fighting the pandemic and the violence unleashed by arsonists and vandals in the name of protests under #BlackLivesMatter.
Meanwhile in India, as the number of Wuhan virus cases is on the rise, a popular online news media The Quint, has been putting stories (check this and this) and sending mails calling for a US style protest ‘to bring justice home’. The Quint is owned by Raghav Bahl, who is accused of money laundering.
On June 1, the outlet published an article claiming to tell a story of two protests. The article sought to draw similarities between the anti-CAA protests (violence) and the protests that are happening in the US currently.
It selectively quoted incidents that shows Hindus as perpetrators and Muslims as the victims of violence in India since 2014 when Prime Minister Modi came to power. However, in its articles, it conveniently left out hate crimes and atrocities committed on Hindus during the same period.
- It forgot to mention about Sharukh Pathan who brandished a gun in broad day light against a police man during the anti-CAA riots in Delhi.
- It forgot to mention about the supreme sacrifice made by Head Constable Ratan Lal who died at the hands of Islamic fanatics.
- It forgot to mention IB officer Ankit Sharma who was stabbed 51 times (jihad style) and whose body was pulled out of a drain during the Delhi riots.
- It forgot to mention about AAP councillor Tahir Hussain who has now been chargesheeted for murdering IB officer Ankit Sharma, who had stocked up petrol bombs on his terrace to target Hindus.
- It forgot to mention about the mob that beat a Hindu man to death while screaming “Allahu Akbar” during the Delhi riots.
- It forgot to mention about Auraiya sadhu murders perpetrated by Muslim cow smugglers.
- It forgot to mention about Amit Gautam, the Dalit Hindu youth who was found dead at the gate of a mosque.
- It forgot to mention about the incident where a Muslim woman’s house in Uttar Pradesh was set on fire for supporting the construction of Ram Temple in Ayodhya.
- It forgot to mention about the Shahid Faisal, headmaster of a primary school who beat up students for saying Vande Mataram.
- It forgot to mention about the Dalit Hindu family in Haryana that was attacked by a Muslim who had consistently applied pressure on them to convert.
- It forgot to mention about the 17 year old Hindu boy in Maharashtra who was set ablaze by 3 Muslim men.
- It forgot to mention about the Muslim mob that had vandalised shops owned by Hindu men in Uttar Pradesh.
- It forgot to mention about the incident in Uttar Pradesh where 2 Muslim men molested a woman belonging to Dalit community.
- It forgot to mention about the incident that happened in Rajasthan where a Dalit wedding procession was attacked by a Muslim mob.
- It forgot to mention about the Hindu girl in Uttar Pradesh who was abducted, raped and force fed meat by her Muslim neighbours.
- It forgot to mention about the 2 Sadhus who were lynched to death by a mob of 100 in Palghar in Maharashtra.
- It forgot to mention about the attack on head priest of Jagrut Mahadev Mandir and Ashram Sankaranand Saraswati and his aide Shyamsingh Somsingh Thakur.
- It forgot to mention about the sadhu and his aide found murdered in Nanded in Maharashtra.
The list could go on and on where Hindus have been victims of violence.
But The Quint’s selective quoting of incidents to draw a comparison between US and India at a time when the George Floyd protests are flaring up the streets of US raises questions about its intentions. The article concludes by saying “The time has come to ask ourselves how many Faizans, how many George Floyds it will take” implying that only Faizans and not Fanikeshwars have been victims of hate crimes and violence.
It did not just stop there. Shorbori Purkayastha, Senior Producer at The Quint sent bulk emails appealing to people to take to the streets like in America.
This is nothing but a blatant call for violence and mayhem at a time when the country is fighting the pandemic.
Ofcourse, what else can be expected from an outlet that eulogizes a terrorist and associates Holi with terror?
