A tweet of a film poster that shows Hindu goddess Kali smoking a cigarette has sparked rage in India.
Leena Manimekalai, a Toronto-based director, tweeted the poster on Saturday, July 2. In the tweet, Manimekalai announced that her film Kaali would be released as part of the Aga Khan Museum's Rhythms of Canada Festival.
On July 21, Umesh Kolhe, a pharmacist, was brutally killed on his way home after shutting his drug store in Maharashtra, India. The authorities suspect he was attacked for sharing posts on social media supporting Nupur Sharma. The police have arrested seven, and the NIA (National Investigation Agency) has started an in-depth investigation.
On June 28th, a Hindu shop owner named Kanhaiya Lal was brutally murdered in the city of Udaipur in the Indian state of Rajasthan by two Muslim men over an alleged social media post, triggering tension between the two communities. It is believed that the shop owner may have been facing threats for ten days leading up to the murder and asked for protection from the police, which they did not provide.
After the regressive overturning of Roe V. Wade, the US Supreme Court sided in favor of high school coach and former Washington State University coach Joe Kennedy in that his firing from the Bremerton School District violated his First Amendment rights.
Mohammed Zubair, a journalist and co-founder of India’s leading fact-checking website Alt News was arrested and charged by police for hurting religious sentiments.
Believers of Islam were infuriated by the remarks of some politicians of India's ruling party, the BJP, claiming that Islam and the prophet had been insulted. Nidhal Siam, a Palestinian Islamic scholar, recently held an anti-Indian rally at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem in protest.
Muslims have protested across India over the remarks by one of the ruling party’s top members. As of the second week of June, two people have died related to the protests in Jharkhand, a state in eastern India, while hundreds were arrested.
In Uttar Pradesh, around 230 protesters were arrested. In West Bengal, 70 people were arrested and charged with rioting and disturbing public order.
Anti-Muslim songs filled with hateful lyrics and a suggestive message are rising in India. Fueled by the increasingly bold Hindutva organizations, these songs are becoming a centerpiece of nationalist rallies and meetings.
Earlier this year, a Hindu priest paraded near a mosque in Uttar Pradesh. He was calling for the assault of Muslim women while blasting anti-Muslim songs from a speaker.
A recent study conducted by the Indian national government demystified the narrative of a replacement theory peddled by Hindutva figureheads.
Like their American counterparts, extreme right-wing nationalists in India are convinced that Muslims are taking over their country. And that Indians are being slowly ousted from their rightful place, despite being the majority.
A talk on casteism at Google’s HQ was canceled in light of pressure from employees who claimed their lives were at risk if Thenmozhi Soundararajan was permitted to speak. Thenmozhi is the founder and executive director of Equality Labs, a nonprofit advocating for lower caste individuals, and former president of Ambedkarites Association of North America (AANA).
