Rathee, Kamra, Ayyub and now Faruqui: How the Indian right keeps creating new left-wing heroes

Being the epitome of reactionism that the Indian “right-wing” is, the Left in the country never runs out of heroes who they can hail, admire and follow as quintessential individuals standing up to the rogue and bullish Indian state, currently ruled by a supposedly ‘fascist’ BJP regime. In fact, the right-wing of India has become an industry of churning out new liberal heroes seasonally now.

Innumerable individuals have been created by the right-wing for the Indian left to hail, and these people, if not for the attention that is given to them by the country’s conservatives, would most definitely be languishing in anonymity.

Dhruv Rathee, Kunal Kamra, and Rana Ayuub among many others are all products of right-wing outrage on the left. None of these individuals would be known names by a fraction of what they are today, if not for well-intentioned nationalists making a grand spectacle out of such low-lives. 

Indian nationalists feel a sense of duty towards exposing Hindu-haters, however, one must begin to realise that in 2021 at least, the Left must be defeated smartly. Creation of heroes for Indian liberals is not smart by a long shot. 

Read More: BJP supporter Vikas Pandey nails Arvind Kejriwal and Dhruv Rathee in the defamation case

The same was analysed by TFI Media’s founder and CEO Atul Mishra in two tweets. The observation came in the backdrop of alleged comedian Munawar Faruqui getting arrested by Indore police on Saturday and subsequently being sent to judicial custody.

Faruqui was arrested along with four others, all of whom have been booked under IPC sections 295-A (outraging religious feelings), 269 (unlawful or negligent act likely to spread the infection of any disease dangerous to life) and other relevant provisions. For violating Covid-related protocols, Section 269 was also invoked by the police. 

“Faruqui will come back, get a verified account, leftists will follow him and hail him as the new hero of FoE. His tweets will go viral, Ravish will give him primetime space and then he will feature in “Faruqui‘s lies destroyed” articles on RW (Right Wing) blogs. This is how RW creates new demons,” Atul Mishra wrote. “RW has created Dhruv Rathi, Kunal Kamra and Rana Ayyub in the recent past and now we are content exposing their lies,” he added. 

RW has created Dhruv Rathi, Kunal Kamra and Rana Ayyub in the recent past and now we are content exposing their lies.

— Atul Kumar Mishra (@TheAtulMishra) January 6, 2021

The reason behind Faruqui and others getting arrested, of course, is not a subject of debate. The comments passed by them shrouded as comical jokes were preposterously vile and for that, the police have taken sufficient action against them. As a matter of fact, even before Munawar Faruqui started gaining social media traction, informed Hindus had filed a complaint against him in Indore on Friday itself, resulting in his arrest on Saturday. That is precisely how Hindu-haters ought to be dealt with.  

What unfolded on social media thereafter, however, more so among right-wing circles, was a brazen show of outrage, bravado and a needless sense of triumphalism which will only fuel Faruqui’s rise to stardom among those who consider Hindu haters free-speech warriors. 

Ask yourself, did any of the following – Dhruv Rathee, Kunal Kamra, Rana Ayyub, Swara Bhaskar, etc. have it in them to get themselves known without excessive aid from India’s right-wing? The answer is a simple no. All these individuals would be unknown if not for the outrage of India’s right-wing on close to every tweet and remark of theirs.

Munawar Faruqui is just another star which has been created. He too will now be invited for book launches and to lit fests. He too will now be considered an authoritative voice on all issues under the sun by Indian liberals.

Irrespective of his toxic hatred for Hindus and the BJP, he will now become a subject of right-wing media outlets to ‘fact check’ and report on. Articles on Munawar Faruqui, being as sensational as portals would turn them, would further add to his meteoric rise to near-infinite stardom among liberal circles.

Then, the right-wing will create another star, and go on and on doing the same in a vicious cycle. For once, we must introspect, and modify, if not completely overhaul our terms of engagement on social media.

Nobody is asking for elements like Faruqui to be let go scot-free. They must be made to face the music, legally. Any other mode of dealing with such specimens will be detrimental to India’s cause in the long run.