It takes shamelessness of another level to whitewash the crimes when there are multiple pieces of evidence to prove the same. Liberals are shameless, I must say. They are shameless enough to defend the criminals and put the onus on victims themselves. So, the flag bearer of propaganda channel has stepped in with yet another shameless attempt to whitewash the crimes of the Jahangirpuri riots accused.
The Print’s propaganda to defend Muslims
The Print recently published an article titled “Desire for pan-Hindu identity, hatred for Bangladeshis – Why teens joined Jahangirpuri riots”. Though it was a great attempt by the media portal to come to the rescue of Muslim rioters but failed miserably to peddle its agenda. The article begins by quoting a statement of a 15-year-old Sagar who stated that “He planned to catch up on homework, but it was much more important to attend the Hanuman rally. Shakha te bolechhe (Our RSS branch told us so).”
It went on to feed the audience with the narrative the young boys aged 10, too participated in the Hanuman Jayanti rally that led to communal clashes. What they want readers to believe is that those who took part in the rally were primarily Bengali Hindus, most belonging to lower castes.
Moreover, the article was published in order to establish the ‘fact’ that “They were especially mobilised by the local Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) shakha, allegedly run by Suken Sarkar, who is among 25 people arrested so far in connection with the Jahangirpuri violence.”
The Print quoted the brother of Suken Sarkar named Suresh Sarkar as saying “For a community long oppressed by caste, this was a way to assert their credentials as part of a pan-Hindu identity against a common enemy: Muslims.”
“It’s good that the clashes happened… otherwise, how would Hindus be awakened?” he asks in Bengali.
How The Print attempted to demean Hindutva
The Print then proceeds by remarking that Bengalis of the area do not celebrate Hanuman Jayanti and it was the first year that they joined others to celebrate the festival. That too, because the Sarkar brothers brought a Hanuman statue and asked them to join.
Quite convenient to say, right? What the author didn’t write in the article is that the community willingly joined the procession to celebrate the festival. Moving further, it attempted to portray Hindutva in a bad light.
The article wrote, “Many in the marginalised communities have derived a sense of agency and power by joining the forces of Hindutva.” Moreover, it quoted Teenager Sagar, Suresh Sarkar’s elder son as saying that he has not attended school despite having board exams this year because it’s a small sacrifice for the “Hindutva cause”.
In another statement that was intended to demean Hindutva, it was written that “Some are not quite able to articulate what the “Hindutva cause” means but trust what they were taught at the shakha and by their family members.”
Muslims are victims and Hindus are criminals for The Print
How beautifully ‘The Print’ peddled its agenda, right? It left no stone unturned to portray that Hindus are criminals. It didn’t even spare a young boy aged 13 years old and made him a part of the propaganda as well. It quoted him as saying “We were taught in the shakha to be brave and never be scared of Muslims, as we Hindus have to protect our country from them.”
Read more: Jahangirpuri rioters picked up guns to ‘protect their community’
In order to portray that Hindus are the evils and consider Muslims as the enemy, it shamelessly quoted a lady as saying, “Muslims are the shoitaan (devil). If given a chance they will dominate us so they have to be kept under the thumb in our country.”
It conveniently picked up a few people and quoted them to establish the narrative that Muslims are god’s people and Hindus hate them like anything.
In a rather shameless manner, it explained that “Jahangirpuri consume a steady diet of videos, memes, forwards, and saffron pop that promote not just Hindu muscularity but a fear of Muslim virility. There is a sense of urgency that Hindus of all hues and castes must band together to “save” the country from a burgeoning population of Muslims.”
Jahangirpuri clashes
The Jahangirpuri clashes show how Islamic radicalisation is on a rampant rise. The Hanuman Jayanti festivities of the Hindu community were attacked with stone-pelting, torching vehicles and gunshots. What was supposed to be a cheerful day turned into a painful day, full of sorrow and fear for times to come.
Read more: Ansar emerges as the key conspirator of Jahangirpuri clashes
The massive level of arms brandishing, clashes and gunshots in the presence of police authorities suggest that the mob was predetermined, directed through some clear hierarchy and had weaponry prior to the clashes. The police have taken stringent actions against the perpetrators of the Jahangirpuri clashes and around 21 accused have been arrested.
The prima facie reports and police enquiries suggest that the main mastermind behind this orchestrated attack on the Hindu procession is some Ansar.
While going to the court Ansar of the Jahangirpuri clashes, instead of remorse for his heinous act, was seen smirking and doing the famous Pushpa movie scene to boast his confidence and feeling proud of doing such a dastardly attack.
Despite this, the propaganda portal went on to depict the whole incident as atrocities against Muslims. Kudos to The Print for such a ‘brave’ attempt.
