New Delhi: On November 14, as the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) secured a sweeping victory in Bihar, a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) minister celebrated with cryptic calls for a Muslim genocide. Ashok Singhal, the cabinet minister for health and family welfare in Assam, posted a genocidal social media post captioned, “Bihar approves Gobi farming” with a photo of a lush cauliflower field.

The Wire had reported how these cauliflower memes have become a de-facto stand-in for a call to Muslim genocide in Hindutva pop-culture.

Many reacted with shock and anger at the BJP minister’s violent message. “This is incitement to communal slaughter. You sir do not speak for me or for most Indians. You are violating your constitutional oaths and are unworthy of the high office you hold,” wrote senior Supreme Court advocate Sanjay Hegde. 

“The BJP/RSS cadre has only one thing to offer to their core voters! Muslim hatred,” Dr Md Jawaid, the Congress MP from Kishanganj, wrote.

Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Saket Gokhale wrote, “Gobi farming refers to glorifying the mass killing of Muslims in Bhagalpur, Bihar, in 1989. A cauliflower farm was planted on the graves to hide evidence. This is Modi’s BJP Minister from Assam. Not some fringe element. Clearly, @PMOIndia approves this. The world should know.”

The imagery is understood to refer to the 1989 Bhagalpur anti-Muslim riots in which over 900 people were killed. In the village of Logain, 110 Muslims were killed and buried in a farm. It is well known that cauliflower saplings were planted over their dead bodies.

In recent years, this reference has been revived by alt-right groups, particularly the trads. Some of its less disguised versions in the past have portrayed hijabi women as cauliflowers.

The Wire had reported how trad iconography is usually designed to ‘trigger’ minority communities with shockingly violent ‘humour’. They include memes depicting the beheading of Muslims, caricatures of Muslims being mowed under their cars, Dalits depicted as “cockroaches” being gassed, or rape victims (who are either Muslims or Dalits) being urinated upon by a saffronised 'Pepe the Frog'. 

Also read: Assam BJP’s X Handle: An Exhibition of Hate, Xenophobia and Anti-Muslim Propaganda

This dependence on iconography draws directly from Western neo-Nazi creators and in some cases imitates the content of alt-right 4chan activists. References like the cauliflower meme or the invocation of the Ranveer Sena, a banned anti-Dalit militia accused of massacres in Bihar, are local additions.

While this content was rarely used by BJP officials and restricted to troll and extremist influencers, in recent years, the BJP has shown little restraint to adopt and broadcast some of these messages without restraint. 

Such imagery is capable of circumventing hate speech laws online, and was widely shared by pro-BJP political commentators following the communal clashes in Nagpur. More recently, the official X account of the BJP’s Karnataka wing, on May 23, posted an image depicting Union home minister Amit Shah holding a cauliflower over a gravestone that reads “RIP Naxalism". 

In September 2025, a viral AI generated ad by Assam BJP showed Muslims dressed in lungis, burkhas, and hijabs, as happy picnicking and shopping with their families, eating ice creams, boarding flights, watching cricket, and occupying public spaces. The Ad’s pitch was that if any other political party comes into power, Muslims will be allowed to live like normal citizens. 

Setting aside the violent message it conveys to the Muslim community in Assam, it also blatantly violated the representation of the People's Act (RPA) 1951. The RPA explicitly prohibits appealing to voters on the grounds of religion or promoting religious hatred during elections in the following sections. 

Section 123 3A mentions that the promotion of or the attempt to promote directly or indirectly or abetting of any election to be influenced by the promotion of or the attempt to promote on grounds of religion, race, cast, community or language the feelings of enmity or hatred between different classes of citizens of India in relation to an election shall be deemed a corrupt practice. 

Also read: What the 'Cauliflower' in BJP Karnataka's X Post Means

Section 125 underlines that any person who in connection with an election under this act promotes or attempts to promote on grounds of religion, race, cast, community or language feelings of enmity or hatred between different classes of citizens of India shall be punishable by imprisonment for a term which may extend to 3 years or with fine or with both. 

In the run up to the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP adopted some of this imagery and symbols – like Pepe the Frog, a depiction of Prime Minister Narendra Modi dressed in saffron and taking on the Muslims in green, and an animation of Muslims taking away property and the belongings of the Dalits – something that Prime Minister Modi mentioned in his controversial speech at Banswara.

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