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India’s BJP Sparks Outrage with Anti-Muslim Social Media Campaign in Assam
The Bharatiya Janata Party’s Assam unit has come under fire for a series of inflammatory social media posts targeting Muslims ahead of next year’s state elections. The controversy reached the Supreme Court on October 7, when justices issued a notice to BJP Assam Pradesh and social media platform X to respond to pleas seeking removal of content that allegedly vilifies Muslims.
The legal challenge, filed by former Patna High Court judge Anjana Prakash and journalist Qurban Ali, centers on a September 15 post depicting an AI-generated video portraying “Assam without BJP.” The video showed Muslims overrunning the state, with imagery of men in skull caps and lungis chopping beef alongside burqa-clad women crowding public spaces. The post warned that without the BJP, Assam would become 90% Muslim.
“Choose your vote carefully,” the video cautioned, receiving nearly 5 million views before being deleted on October 9. The caption read, “We can’t let this dream of Paaijaan to be true!!” – a derogatory reference to Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi.
The Congress party’s Assam unit had previously filed a police complaint against the state BJP on September 18, alleging that such content promoted “enmity between religious groups” and violated the model code of conduct.
An analysis by Alt News of 100 posts shared by the BJP Assam account between September 1-12 revealed that nearly 40% contained communally divisive content. These posts consistently portrayed Congress supporters as “Momins,” “Kanglus,” “Miyas,” and “Pakistanis,” using AI-generated imagery to depict Muslims as “infiltrators” from Bangladesh.
One particularly concerning post from September 1 appeared to endorse Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma’s “shoot at sight” orders during Durga Puja for those who “disturb our mandir” and “break the peace.” Another video from September 6 showed an AI-generated Muslim man urging votes for Gogoi to establish a “Miyaland.”
When criticized for Islamophobia, state BJP leader Piyush Hazarika defended the campaign, stating: “The video clearly spoke about the threat of illegal immigrants… If, in their logic, talking about illegal immigrants equals Islamophobia, then aren’t they themselves suggesting all Muslims are illegal immigrants? Who’s the real Islamophobe here?”
However, the content’s focus on religious markers rather than documentation status raises serious questions about this defense. The posts consistently use terms like “Paaijaan,” “Kanglus,” and “Miyas” as apparent slurs, making it difficult to distinguish between targeting illegal immigration and religious identity.
The campaign reflects deeper tensions in Assam’s history of migration politics. Since 1979, there have been aggressive drives to identify migrants, particularly Bengali Muslims. The 2019 National Registry of Citizens left nearly two million people off the citizenship list, while recent months have seen thousands of alleged Bangladeshi immigrants “pushed back” across the border.
Human rights organizations report that some deportees later returned after proving Indian citizenship, suggesting that Bengali-speaking Muslims are being targeted regardless of legal status. Since June, authorities have demolished homes of over 3,000 Bengali Muslims in Assam labeled as “illegal infiltrators.”
The BJP’s social media campaign appears designed to leverage both Assamese concerns about demographic change and Hindu nationalist sentiment ahead of state elections expected in early 2026. Chief Minister Sarma, who is seeking reelection, has added what critics call a “Hindutva edge” to Assam’s already complex identity politics.
X’s platform policies prohibit content targeting protected groups with “repeated slurs, tropes or other content that intends to degrade or reinforce negative or harmful stereotypes.” Despite multiple reports from journalists and users, X has taken limited action against the BJP Assam account’s inflammatory posts.
The controversy highlights both the increasingly divisive nature of election campaigning in India and the challenges social media platforms face in moderating political content that veers into hate speech.
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7 Comments
The BJP’s social media campaign in Assam seems to be a cynical attempt to rally their base by scapegoating Muslims. This kind of fearmongering is concerning and could further polarize the state ahead of the elections. Voters deserve a substantive debate on the real issues facing Assam.
I share your concern. Whipping up anti-Muslim sentiment for political gain is a dangerous game that undermines the foundations of Indian democracy. The BJP should focus on positive, inclusive policies instead of resorting to divisive rhetoric.
Divisive and inflammatory rhetoric on social media is very concerning, especially when it targets minority communities. This type of content can sow discord and undermine democratic institutions. It’s important for political parties to focus on substantive issues and bring people together, not divide them.
I agree, the BJP’s social media activity in Assam appears to cross the line into hate speech and fearmongering. Political discourse should aim to be inclusive and fact-based, not promote harmful stereotypes or extremist views.
This controversy highlights the challenges of regulating harmful content online, especially around elections. While free speech is important, inciting hatred or spreading misinformation can have serious consequences for social stability and democratic norms. Platforms and authorities need to strike a careful balance.
Absolutely, the Supreme Court is right to intervene here. Inflammatory, anti-Muslim rhetoric has no place in a pluralistic democracy like India. The BJP should be held accountable for this divisive rhetoric on their social media channels.
It’s troubling to see a major political party like the BJP engage in such blatantly Islamophobic propaganda on social media. Spreading misinformation and stereotypes about the Muslim community is unacceptable, especially from a party in power. Voters in Assam deserve better from their elected leaders.