New Delhi: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) officials have consistently made statements targeting the Muslim population of the nation during election rallies, public gatherings and across social media platforms. In this regard, the social media account of the BJP in Delhi has recently garnered attention. Amid the ongoing special intensive revision (SIR) process taking place in various states and Union territories, including the capital, the Delhi BJP has been accused of sharing Islamophobic content under the pretence of this process.

On December 1, a post from the Delhi BJP's X account shared a graphic portraying opposition leaders Rahul Gandhi, Arvind Kejriwal, Akhilesh Yadav and Mamata Banerjee in Muslim attire. The graphic, designed like a movie poster, is titled “Ghuspaithiyon ke Bhaijaan [Brothers of Infiltrators]”.

The caption of the post states: “Those most annoyed by the SIR are these sympathisers of infiltrators.”

In this post, the BJP seems to be suggesting that opposition leaders who are against the SIR are purportedly supporters of “infiltrators”. The post employs Muslim identity and symbols to refer to “infiltrators”.

It is important to highlight that the BJP has often employed the term “infiltrators” to specifically target Muslims. It typically uses this term to refer to undocumented immigrants originating from Bangladesh and Myanmar. However, during political campaigns and speeches, it has also been applied in contexts that pertain to the Muslim population of India.

Opposition parties have raised questions about the SIR process since it began in Bihar this June, whereas the BJP asserts that this process is effectively eliminating undocumented immigrants from the voter list.

During the Bihar election campaign, Prime Minister Narendra Modi repeatedly referred to “infiltrators” in his speeches. At one rally, he posed the question, “who will determine the future of Bihar – you or the infiltrators?”

Union home minister Amit Shah also asserted that undocumented foreigners have been eliminated from Bihar's voter list through the SIR process. However, the Election Commission has yet to officially reveal the number of foreign nationals removed from this procedure in the state.

A report in The Wire, which analysed the available data from the Election Commission, indicated that during the SIR, the proportion of foreign nationals among Bihar's voters was merely 0.012% of the total.

Although the SIR process is currently being implemented in several other states, the BJP continues to frame it as an initiative to identify “infiltrators” and expunge them from the voter list.

BJP keeps pushing for SIR with 'infiltrator' narrative

In a recent post aimed at raising public awareness about the SIR, the Delhi BJP posted a video featuring a woman who explains the exercise to her domestic help. She states:

“Do you remember the illegal settlement in Wazirpur? Infiltrators have taken over that land and are residing there. They have even forged voter cards and other documents. Now, they have begun performing cleaning and watchman duties in the nearby areas … and at cheaper rates. As a result, legitimate Indian citizens are ‘losing their jobs’. These infiltrators have also created a lot of mess … It is these individuals that the SIR aims to expel.”

The series of posts does not end there.

The Delhi BJP also shared another graphic via its X handle, depicting a caricature of Modi sealing holes in a wall to stop rats that are peering inside. The wall is prominently labelled with the term “infiltrators” in large letters.

The caption accompanying this image states: “No place for infiltrators in India.”

The message conveyed by the BJP through this post seems to indicate that the government is implementing stringent measures against “illegal” immigrants within the nation. The cartoon illustrates “infiltrators” as rats, rendering this portrayal dehumanising and offensive to a specific community.

Similarly, the Delhi BJP posted a Reel on Instagram addressing the ongoing SIR process in Bengal. The caption accompanying the Reel stated: “See who is the most annoyed with SIR in Bengal and the entire country?”

The video features a harvester moving through a field of crops, during which pig-like creatures concealed within the vegetation are seen fleeing. The fleeing creatures appear to depict 'infiltrators', invoking an offensive and harmful trope.

In another Instagram Reel, the Delhi BJP portrays West Bengal chief minister Banerjee seated on a chair, with the terms “infiltrators” and “Rohingya” inscribed on two of its four legs. In the footage, a saw marked “SIR” is depicted as severing those legs.

This scene seeks to communicate the idea that if the so-called “infiltrators” and “Rohingya voters” are eliminated from the voter list through the SIR process, Banerjee's influence will diminish or she may face defeat in the upcoming assembly election.

In a separate Reel posted on Instagram, the Delhi BJP likened “infiltrators”, that is Muslims, to mosquitos. The video depicts a family clad in Muslim attire, with a man and two boys donning skull caps and a woman wearing a black burqa.

A woman wakes her husband up, urging: “Get up quickly, the Election Commission is conducting SIR.” The entire family, including their children, is depicted fleeing their home, along with others in similar attire.

Meanwhile, a mosquito coil is lit inside the house, and the smoke from the coil seemingly forms the letters “SIR”. The video metaphorically illustrates that the ‘infiltrators’ (represented as the Muslim community) are escaping in response to the ‘SIR’.

This post from the Delhi BJP is also Islamophobic and portrays Muslims in a dehumanising manner.

In addition to these, various other posts have been disseminated on the Delhi BJP's social media channels, seemingly targeting Muslims through the SIR.

In one video post, a garage owner explains the SIR to a Muslim worker, stating: “There are millions of infiltrator voters in the country who are masquerading as painters, barbers and mechanics, and depriving workers like us of their livelihoods. They must be ousted. That’s what the SIR will do.”

It is important to note that reports of booth-level officers (BLOs) passing away while carrying out the SIR process are surfacing persistently. In Uttar Pradesh alone, ten BLOs have tragically lost their lives in the past 12 days, with three of them reportedly taking their own lives allegedly due to the pressures associated with the SIR.

Despite this, the ruling BJP continues to depict the entire initiative as simply a campaign to “expel infiltrators”, while humanitarian and administrative challenges continue to emerge on the ground.

Other BJP state units have also shared Islamophobic posts

Islamophobic content shared by BJP social media handles extends beyond the SIR. In the wake of the National Democratic Alliance's landslide victory in the recent Bihar assembly elections, Ashok Singal, a minister in the Assam government, shared a controversial post via his official X account, which is interpreted as a symbolic reference to the genocide of Muslims.

The post featured an image of a cauliflower field accompanied by the caption “Bihar approves cauliflower farming”.

Through this post, he was alluding to the 1989 Bhagalpur riots, a part of which is infamously known as the “cauliflower burial incident”. During this tragic event, 116 people were killed in Logain village, situated in the Goradih block of Bihar's Bhagalpur district. It is reported that over 110 of the deceased were Muslims, whose bodies were buried in the village with cauliflower plants subsequently placed at the burial site.

The official account of the Assam BJP has consistently shared Islamophobic posts.

What is X's policy regarding Islamophobic content?

X's policies do not specifically categorise Islamophobic content. Such content falls under the same regulations as those governing hateful conduct or general posts. As per the platform's guidelines, users are prohibited from directly attacking an individual or group based on their race, ethnicity, nationality, caste, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, age, disability or serious illness.

The company states that this policy is breached if an account targets an individual or community on these bases through posts or direct messages. In these instances, X can evaluate a report made to it and take appropriate action.

Previously, in February 2022, X (then Twitter) acted on this premise against an ‘Islamophobic post’ shared by the Gujarat unit of the BJP.

This post, which depicted Muslim men hanging from a gallows, was shared following the special court's verdict in the 2008 Ahmedabad serial blasts case. The court subsequently sentenced 38 individuals to death and 11 to life imprisonment.

In response to significant backlash against this post on social media, Twitter removed it from the platform, deeming it a violation of its policies.

This article originally appeared on The Wire Hindi and was translated by Naushin Rehman.

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