Media subverts the truth on Nuh riots, downplay and deny attack on Hindus by Muslim mob
Nuh, Haryana, India 
1 August, 2023
Case Summary
On July 31st 2023, a Muslim mob attacked Hindu devotees participating in the Jalabhishek Yatra in Nuh, Haryana. The mob, consisting of 800-900 individuals, targeted the devotees in the temple, causing damage to both the devotees and the temple itself. Following the incident, sections of the media attempted to downplay the attack. Mohammed Zubair of Alt News and journalist Arfa Khanum Sherwani of The Wire suggested that the temple was not attacked. However, the truth emerged from one of the FIRs filed by Duty Magistrate Mukul Kathuria, stating that the Muslim mob attacked the devotees with stones and gunfire, causing damage to the temple. The attack also targeted officials stationed at the temple, including the Duty Magistrate himself, his driver Khursheed, and Inspector Rajbala, with batons, guns, and stones.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case has been added to the hate tracker under the prime category of 'Hate speech against Hindus', under which the sub-category that has been selected is- Anti Hindu subversion and prejudice. Hate speech is defined as any speech, gesture, conduct, writing, or display that is prejudicial against a specific individual and/or group of people, which is leading to or may lead to violence, prejudicial action or hate against that individual and/or group. Media plays a specific and overarching reach in perpetuating prejudicial attitudes towards a community owing to unfair, untrue coverage and/or misrepresentation/misinterpretation, selective coverage and/or omission of facts of/pertaining to issues affecting a specific religious group. This type of bias can dehumanise the victim group, making it easier for others to justify harmful actions against them, which aligns with the objectives of hate speech laws aimed at preventing such harm. It is often observed that the media takes a prejudicial stand against the Hindu community driven by their need to shield the aggressor community which happens to be a numeric minority, however, is the one perpetrating violence against Hindus. For example, the media is often quick to contextualise religiously motivated crimes against Hindus, omit or misrepresent facts that point towards religiously motivated hate crimes, justify and/or downplay religiously motivated hate crimes or simply present fake news to stereotype Hindus. Such media bias leads to the denial of persecution and is often used to dehumanise Hindus, leading to justification for violence against them. For example, the media covered several fake allegations of Hindus targeting Muslims and forcing them to chant Jai Shree Ram. Most of these cases were proved false and fabricated after police investigation. These fake news reports were subsequently never retracted or clarified. Such fake news led to the justification of violence and dehumanisation of Hindus based on the argument that since Hindus targeted Muslims and forced them to chant Jai Shree Ram, the dehumanisation of Hindus and violence against them was par for the course and merely a retaliation. Such media bias leads to prejudicial portrayal of Hindus and offers a justification for violence against them and therefore, is considered hate speech under this category. The dissemination of propaganda by left media outlets like TheWire, Lallantop, and certain Islamist groups, which claimed that the temple in Nuh was not attacked and Hindus were not "held hostage," clearly illustrates prejudice against Hindus. By minimizing or denying the violence and desecration that occurred during the Nuh violence, media platforms essentially attempt to legitimise the violence against Hindus. This selective reporting diminishes the gravity of the communal violence, erasing the experiences of those affected. Such bias fosters a dangerous narrative that dismisses the Hindu community's plight, revealing an underlying intent to protect certain groups from scrutiny. In this case, the police officials and Hindus were on record testifying about how Hindus were cornered inside the temple where hundreds of Islamists were pelting stones and shooting. The media whitewashed the scale of the atrocity to exonerate the Muslim mob and legitimise violence against Hindus. Such repeated subversion of the truth about religious persecution leads to the dehumanisation of Hindus since it presents a narrative that the victims are lying about their persecution owing to their hatred towards Muslims. Eventually, it turns the aggressors into the victims and the victims into aggressors. The chilling effect of such a narrative is that after the victims are painted as the aggressors repeatedly, any violence against them is seen as a legitimate "reaction". For that reason, such subversion and downplaying of religious motivated violence against Hindus is categorised as hate speech.
Case Status
Unknown
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Others
Perpetrators Range
N/A
Perpetrators Gender
unknown
Sources 
