Pakistan is using the Prophet remarks row to its advantage to defame India and run a propaganda campaign showing Muslims under threat in the country, a report by agencies has revealed.
The report, a copy of which is with CNN-News18, analyses the remarks made by suspended BJP leader Nupur Sharma and its aftermath, especially in the virtual space. Sharma was suspended and her colleague Naveen Jindal expelled amid the outrage as Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Jordan, Bahrain and Afghanistan joined several Muslim nations to condemn the controversial remarks.
According to the report, various hashtags were floated on social media from both the pro-Hindu and pro-Muslim sides. On the pro-Muslim side, various hashtags from different parts of the world — especially Pakistan — were seen gaining a lot of attention on social media such as #Except_Messenger_of_God_Modi and #StopInsulting_ProphetMuhammad among others. The hashtag creators were identified as @SupportProphetM, @IMKaleem, and @LubnaAnsar. Another narrative that was peddled was that people should boycott Indian products and the key people influencing were @TurkiShalhoub, and @ShaikhDadow. There were more than 2,400 unique accounts created on the Muslim side, according to the report.
Meanwhile, on the pro-Hindu side, trending hashtags were #ArrestZubair, #IstandwithNupurSharma, #IsupportNupurSharma. The hashtags were created by @GauravArora0409, @KapilMishra_IND who either belong to or support the BJP. However, tweets related to #ArrestZubair gained a lot of momentum — Mohammad Zubair, co-founder of ALT News who goes by the handle @zoo_bear, was the one who threw light on the controversy. More than 1,500 bot accounts were created on the Hindu side of the narrative in support of Nupur Sharma.
As the controversy rages, threats have emerged for India and Nupur Sharma from all sides. While Al-Qaeda in Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) has issued warnings of bombing in various parts of the country, KashmirFight — the media forum of The Resistance Front — has also warned of impending action and condemned the statement made by Sharma.
To show that external forces are not ready to let the issue die down, several events have been planned to register their protest against Sharma’s comments. On June 17, a rally is scheduled outside Indian Embassy in Japan and Netherlands. The same day, Maulana Taukeer Raza, a UP politician, has also called for massive protests. A day later, a protest is planned at Dharna Chowk, Indira Park, Hyderabad, by Telangana and Andhra Pradesh’s Joint Action Committee.
The report also blamed the neighbouring country for trying to defame India. A majority of the users who interacted on the hashtag were from Pakistan, reported Digital Forensics Research and Analytics Centre (DFRAC). Of more than 60,000 users analysed, majority of them were the non-verified users who all interacted with the hashtags.
An analysis of bots also shows that more than 2,400 accounts were created in a span of two weeks, with a sharp rise in number of bots on June 5, 2022, two days after the Kanpur violence broke out.
While there was a section of people calling out Sharma for her insensitive and inflammatory remarks, another stood up in her support and questioned action against her for quoting something written in the Quran.
In conclusion, the report says security should be beefed up as various parts of the country will witness protests and rallies.
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