Before the advent of social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter, it was easy for our politicians, journalists, film stars and other celebrities to get away with lies and double standards. Just saying ‘I was misquoted’ was one of the easiest ways to cover ones’ mistakes. Today, social media has become an effective tool to convey one’s social, political, economic and general views, but the flipside is that it has now become difficult to get away with lies and deceit. While the double speak and treachery of many social media warriors from both left and right of the political spectrum have been repeatedly exposed by netizens, one of the prominent names that stand out is that of self-proclaimed investigative journalist Rana Ayyub.
Ms Ayyub is a known critic (critic is too soft a word actually) of PM Modi, Amit Shah, BJP, RSS, and Hindutva. There’s nothing wrong with that and we all are entitled to have our opinions. But the disgusting thing about Rana Ayyub is to portray the Muslims of India as hapless victims, who are perennially subjected to cruelty from the majority community with the silent complicity of the dispensation at the center. Below are a few instances where Rana Ayyub has been witnessed playing a dangerous, communal and dirty game.
Her stand on lynch mobs and domestic violence – Any civilized person with a minimum amount of conscience would condemn communal violence and lynch mobs in any form irrespective of which religion or caste the oppressors and victims belong to. But with Ms Ayyub, it is almost as if she waits for such barbaric incidents to take place with Muslims as the victims that enables her to play her now famous victim card and spew her venom and hatred. Members of the Hindu community are repeatedly killed by Communists, TMC goons and radical Islamists in Kerala and West Bengal. Rana Ayyub has never condemned those killings nor has she stood by the victims. The only incidents that she laches upon are when Muslims are victims, even if the killings are not communal. Prashant Poojary, Ramalingam, Paresh Mesta, Dr Narang, and numerous other victims are not humans and their deaths don’t deserve any sympathies from Rana Ayyub.
Provocation – When Asaduddin Owaisi was about to take oath as an MP in the Lok Sabha, many members from the treasury benches started chanting Jai Shree Ram, which along with Vande Mataram are the new cusswords according to our intellectual liberals. No doubt this was provocation. Asaduddin Owaisi and his brother Akbar Owaisi’s hate for Hindus is well known and they have not made any effort to keep it subtle. Rana Ayyub was one of the first people to condemn the sloganeering and claimed the brazen heckling was because Owaisi belonged to the Muslim community. No madam, the provocation was not because he is a practicing Muslim, but because of his open hate for Hinduism and anything Hindu. Had it been a Dr Abdul Kalam, there would have been no such provocation. Ms Ayyub has herself left no stone unturned in provoking people who believe in a different ideology. During every Diwali, she greets the Hindus with ‘Diwali Mubarak’ rather than ‘Shubh Diwali’, which is very clearly an attempt at provoking the Hindus, who do not associate the Urdu word Mubarak with Hindu festivals. Her over-the-top praise for the Pakistani team and its batsman Babar yesterday in multiple tweets after their victory against New Zealand is also a clear attempt at provocation.
You are indeed a special player Babar
— Rana Ayyub (@RanaAyyub) June 26, 2019
And Pakistan beats the strongest team so far. Can we now have India vs Pakistan in the semis ?
— Rana Ayyub (@RanaAyyub) June 26, 2019
When there was nationwide outrage over the open slaughter of a cow by Congress workers in Kerala, Rana Ayyub hailed the act as ‘revolutionary’ knowing fully well that the cow is sacred to Hindus and is revered as a mother.
Free speech – Ms Ayyub got Dubai based chef Atul Kochhar sacked after he expressed his views on Islamic invasions and how Muslim rulers tormented Hindus, forced many to convert to Islam and imposed Jizya taxes on Hindus.
Just got this mail from @JWDubaiMarquis they have terminated the services of Atul Kochhar. Bigotry is non negotiable pic.twitter.com/BiwdYaowLB
— Rana Ayyub (@RanaAyyub) June 13, 2018
Yes, Kochhar got his math wrong when he mentioned 2000 years, but dismissing his views as Islamophobia and ensuring he got sacked from his organization is certainly not being liberal or endorsing free speech. Compare that with the recent Hard Kaur episode. When rapper Hard Kaur called UP CM Yogi Adityanath a rapist without any basis, falsely accused RSS and Mohan Bhagwat of 26/11 violence, there was an FIR filed against her. Rana Ayyub was among the first to condemn the filing of FIR. People like Rana Ayyub are liberal and supporters of free speech as long as the speaker agrees to her point of view. Else, it becomes trolling.
Her views on terror accused: When Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, the new MP from Bhopal, was invited to an interview in Aap Ki Adalat by Rajat Sharma, Rana Ayyub criticized this and said that terror accused like Pragya Singh should not be brought into the mainstream and Rajat Sharma is giving her a platform to express her views. Similarly, since the day Sadhvi Pragya was chosen by the BJP to represent Bhopal and contest against Digvijay Singh of the Congress, Ms Ayyub has been ranting about this to this day.
Imagine if it was not Pragya Thakur but Yasin Bhatkal, fielded by a Muslim party in India, wins the election, lauds Godse, enters the Indian Parliament. I mean…
— Rana Ayyub (@RanaAyyub) May 26, 2019
When Swami Aseemanand was acquitted by the court, Rana Ayyub cried foul and ranted against the judiciary.
Swami Aseemanand, Lokesh Sharma, Kamal Chauhan and Rajender Chaudhary acquitted in the Samjhauta blasts. Another clean chit to right wing terror in India. https://t.co/WjiUgTMNwe
— Rana Ayyub (@RanaAyyub) March 20, 2019
But in 2016, when 9 Muslim men were acquitted by the courts for their role in Malegaon blasts, Ms Ayyub’s reaction went something like ‘will the nation apologize to these 9 men?’. This sums up her double standards on terror accused.
The one topic that is very close to the heart of Rana Ayyub is the rising Islamophobia in the world. She has spoken about this in multiple platforms, both in and outside India. Recently, she also tweeted about Islamophobia in Sri Lanka after the hotel bombings that left many dead.
While on Sri Lanka, do remember the blasts in Malegaon took place on the eve of Shab-e-Baraat to ensure maximum casualties. Remind yourself yet again that the woman who conspired and facilitated the blast is today a candidate for the ruling party endorsed by the Prime Minister.
— Rana Ayyub (@RanaAyyub) April 21, 2019
If Rana Ayyub does an honest appraisal about the cause for the rising Islamophobia, she will realize that people like her are one of the major causes for this. By selectively tweeting against communal violence, by disgustingly and shamelessly playing the victim card at the drop of a hat, by not raising her voice against radical Islamists, she is not doing any favors to the Muslim community and is rather causing harm to them by putting them in poor light. The earlier she realizes this fact, the better for her and the many patriotic and well-meaning Indian Muslims.
