Allure Of Hatefulness Beyond Hate Speech

Polarisation between the Hindus and the Muslims is an unappetising reality, an ugliness that will not go away even after the votes get counted

- Harish Khare

ON Thursday, May 16, 2024, at 10.38 pm, a post lands up in a WhatsApp group that was originally set up by an eminent doctor to educate his patients, but taken over by the radical bhakts. It read: "Hyderabad ke razakarone Hinduo par, unki mahilao par kitne julam dhaye hai, iss ka ithihas aaj ki, vartman pidhi ko to patta hi nahi hai... Dobara aisa na ho, isliye "jagrook" ho kar matdan avashi kare." Roughly translated, the post recalls for the benefit of the younger generation, all the "atrocities" committed by the Nizam's razakars (volunteers) against the Hindus, especially the Hindu women. The post asks the viewers to vote vigilantly, lest that "story" gets repeated. For dramatic effect, there is a clip from the film, Razakar, and a commentator weaves in the "atrocities" committed on the Hindus in Kashmir.

Thousands of such messages flood social media platforms daily, all intended to scare Hindus against the unnamed yet obvious "enemy". These messages are designed to neatly shoehorn themselves into the mythology of hate that has been assiduously cultivated over the decades. In this election season, "hate" seems to be the flavour of the month.