In mid-February, the Indian Muslim journalist Junaid Khan, his wife and three daughters were on their way to a family visit in the city of Surat in the northern state of Gujarat. Moments later, a car rammed Junaid's motorcycle from behind, 4 people got off towards him, and they stabbed him to death in the clear The day is in front of his wife and daughters.
This story represents one of the painful stories that Indian Muslim journalists are experiencing, in light of the “Islamophobia” phenomenon that is sweeping the country, especially in the past few months. Muslims in the country.
Journalism is a crime
Journalist Rabia Shirin described the situation of Muslim journalists as "very sad", stressing that the Muslim journalist "must bear a lot to reveal the reality of persecution of Muslims in the country that claims to be the largest democracy in the world."
These pressures are detailed by her colleague, Muhammad Irshad, saying, "We receive threats everywhere: on the street, on television, in my e-mail, and on social media; every day messages of hate and threats pour into us, and this is only because you are telling the truth."
In early February, the Indian Rights and Risks Analysis Group published a report on the situation of journalists in India, titled "Freedom of the Press in India in 2021", which stated that the past year, at least 6 journalists were killed, 120 others were attacked, and even headquarters Newspapers, magazines and independent agencies were not spared from these attacks, as 108 of them recorded acts of violence practiced against them.
Escalating threats and incitement
Kawashik Raj, a Hindu journalist and activist against Islamophobia, stressed that "it is hard for everyone who talks about Islamophobia, even I receive messages of insults and accusations every day, but - of course - it is double for my Muslim friends."
Raj added, "I am working on the Islamophobia file in India with a Muslim colleague named Alishan Al-Jafri, and he is exposed to many foolishness and threats that reach him and his family daily, as well as the psychological effects that Jafri - and other Muslim journalists like him - are exposed to because of covering attacks on their communities, except That never stops."
When asked about the role played by the Indian media in this anti-Muslim discourse, Raj replied that the pro-authority media always raises conspiracy theories and attributes them to Muslims to incite against them. as many Hindus as possible.
Raj pointed out that this campaign was systematic to distract public opinion from the failures of the Indian government in the face of the pandemic.
Tragic reality in Kashmir
As for the situation in Kashmir, it is worse. A journalist from Kashmir says - on condition of anonymity - that "we are not allowed to work in the journalistic field. What you know about Kashmir represents a very small part of the tragedies experienced by Muslims, we either remain silent or To speak for the government.
As for Omar Sofi, another Kashmiri journalist, he explained that as a Muslim “I cannot express my opinion freely; for example, when a work colleague of another religion speaks and says his opinion on political, religious or social issues, he says what he wants freely, nor He gets the judgments and the angry reactions I get when I just try to give my opinion. And if I did, I was accused of spying for Pakistan, and of course I was often described as a terrorist."
Indian journalists - who spoke with Sanad Agency - describe the government of Narendra Modi as trying to push Muslims towards ethnic genocide, and that attacks on Muslims will escalate in the coming periods, but Ershad had a different opinion, saying, "It is wrong to say that Indian Muslims are on the verge of Ethnic extermination, look around, Muslim activists and journalists in prisons, others being killed in cold blood, bulldozers demolishing Muslim homes and shops, all of which clearly indicates that we are already experiencing genocide."
Research and statistics, including the Pew Center, indicate that about 172 million Muslims live in India, where they constitute 14.2% of the population of 1.38 billion people.
India ranked 150th in the Press Freedom Index published by Reporters Without Borders, falling 8 places from last year, to its lowest level ever among 180 countries.