Supporting bigotry, Islamophobia? Diaspora NGO opposes Australian MP's views on Yogi

Counterview Desk
Humanism Project, an Australian civil rights organisation with large number of India diaspora as its members, has a shot letter to letter Craig Kelly, member of Parliament from Member for Hughes, New South Wales (NSW), on his alleged effort to spread misinformation about Covid-19 and his “inadequately informed” views about Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.
Telling Kelly that his view comes even as Australia is struggling with the resurgence Covid-19 epidemic in NSW, the letter insists, it is “important that our parliamentarians do not support misinformation on Covid-19”, accusing him of siding with Adityanath, who has been a protagonist of “bigotry and Islamophobia.”

Text:

We are an Australian civil society organisation that represents the interests of the Indian diaspora in Australia. We write to you in relation to your tweet congratulating Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on his use of Ivermectin to control the Covid-19 pandemic. You can access your tweet here.
We are concerned that your views on Ivermectin, Chief Minister Adityanath and his management of Covid-19 pandemic in India have been inadequately informed. We detail our concerns below.
Your views on Ivermectin
The role of Ivermectin in eliminating Covid-19 in lab studies was first postulated in Monash University-led collaborative study. As evident from the link, Ivermectin was never deemed to be suitable for treating Covid-19 in humans.
The Australian Department of Health (DoH) notes that there is currently insufficient evidence to support the safe and effective use of ivermectin for the prevention or treatment of Covid-19. You can access the DoH recommendations here.
The DoH recommendations have been validated by the British Medical Journal of Evidence Based Medicine (accessible here) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommendations from US (accessible here).
As evident above, the current evidence based guidelines do not support the use of Ivermectin for the prevention or treatment of Covid-19.

Your views on Chief Minister Adityanath and his management of Covid -19
This BBC report (accessible here) reported that during the Covid-19 pandemic, India's holiest river, the Ganges was swollen with bodies. The Ganges flows through Uttar Pradesh - the state governed by Chief Minister Adityanath.
A journalist told the BBC said he believed that many of the bodies were either Covid patients who died at home without a test, or poor people who couldn't afford a cremation. Another journalist told the BBC the corpses were evidence of massive discrepancy between the Chief Minister Adityanath’s government’s official Covid-19 death figures and the actual numbers on the ground.
This was also covered in many large national and international news media outlets like ABC (accessible here), Reuters (accessible here) and Washington Post (accessible here).
Chief Minister Adityanath's gross mismanagement of Covid -19 therefore caused death and suffering for many Indians. Chief Minister Adityanath is also known to flaunt his bigotry like a badge of honour and does not disguise his hatred and contempt for Indian Muslims, Christians and other oppressed sections of the Indian society.
He actively promotes Islamophobia and has sought to annihilate the livelihoods of many poor Muslims through his weaponisation of law and the police for overtly majoritarian political ends. This is evident from the article on Chief Minister Adityanath here.
In addition, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom's (USCIRF), in its recent briefing on June 21 2020, raised concerns about mosque demolitions, hate speech against minorities in Chief Minister Adityanath state of Uttar Pradesh. You can access the report here.
Your validation of Chief Minister Adityanath and his management of Covid-19 pandemic is therefore deeply hurtful and troubling to many Australian Indians. As we struggle with the resurgence Covid-19 epidemic in NSW, we do feel that it is important that we do not support misinformation on Covid-19.
It is also important that we don’t enable leaders who spread bigotry and Islamophobia. Consequent to the above, could we please ask that you

Reconsider your views on Ivermectin and Chief Minister Adityanath’s management of Covid-19 in India.
Reconsider your validation of Chief Minister Adityanath given his deeply troubling background of bigotry and Islamophobia.
Consider condemning Chief Minister Adityanath’s assault on religious freedoms in India with particular reference to mosque demolitions, hate speech against Christians, Muslims and his efforts to annihilate the livelihoods of many poor Muslims in his state. Many thanks for considering our concerns and request above.

Comments

From plagiarism to proxy exams: Galgotias and systemic failure in education

By Sandeep Pandey* Shock is being expressed at Galgotias University being found presenting a Chinese-made robotic dog and a South Korean-made soccer-playing drone as its own creations at the recently held India AI Impact Summit 2026, a global event in New Delhi. Earlier, a UGC-listed journal had published a paper from the university titled “Corona Virus Killed by Sound Vibrations Produced by Thali or Ghanti: A Potential Hypothesis,” which became the subject of widespread ridicule. Following the robotic dog controversy coming to light, the university has withdrawn the paper. These incidents are symptoms of deeper problems afflicting the Indian education system in general. Galgotias merely bit off more than it could chew.

Covishield controversy: How India ignored a warning voice during the pandemic

Dr Amitav Banerjee, MD * It is a matter of pride for us that a person of Indian origin, presently Director of National Institute of Health, USA, is poised to take over one of the most powerful roles in public health. Professor Jay Bhattacharya, an Indian origin physician and a health economist, from Stanford University, USA, will be assuming the appointment of acting head of the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), USA. Bhattacharya would be leading two apex institutions in the field of public health which not only shape American health policies but act as bellwether globally.

The 'glass cliff' at Galgotias: How a university’s AI crisis became a gendered blame game

By Mohd. Ziyaullah Khan* “She was not aware of the technical origins of the product and in her enthusiasm of being on camera, gave factually incorrect information.” These were the words used in the official press release by Galgotias University following the controversy at the AI Impact Summit in Delhi. The statement came across as defensive, petty, and deeply insensitive.

Farewell to Saleem Samad: A life devoted to fearless journalism

By Nava Thakuria* Heartbreaking news arrived from Dhaka as the vibrant city lost one of its most active and committed citizens with the passing of journalist, author and progressive Bangladeshi national Saleem Samad. A gentleman who always had issues to discuss with anyone, anywhere and at any time, he passed away on 22 February 2026 while undergoing cancer treatment at Dhaka Medical College Hospital. He was 74.

Growth without justice: The politics of wealth and the economics of hunger

By Vikas Meshram* In modern history, few periods have displayed such a grotesque and contradictory picture of wealth as the present. On one side, a handful of individuals accumulate in a single year more wealth than the annual income of entire nations. On the other, nearly every fourth person in the world goes to bed hungry or half-fed.

From ancient wisdom to modern nationhood: The Indian story

By Syed Osman Sher South of the Himalayas lies a triangular stretch of land, spreading about 2,000 miles in each direction—a world of rare magic. It has fired the imagination of wanderers, settlers, raiders, traders, conquerors, and colonizers. They entered this country bringing with them new ethnicities, cultures, customs, religions, and languages.

Thali, COVID and academic credibility: All about the 2020 'pseudoscientific' Galgotias paper

By Jag Jivan* The first page image of the paper "Corona Virus Killed by Sound Vibrations Produced by Thali or Ghanti: A Potential Hypothesis" published in the Journal of Molecular Pharmaceuticals and Regulatory Affairs , Vol. 2, Issue 2 (2020), has gone viral on social media in the wake of the controversy surrounding a Chinese robot presented by the Galgotias University as its original product at the just-concluded AI summit in Delhi . The resurfacing of the 2020 publication, authored by Dharmendra Kumar , Galgotias University, has reignited debate over academic standards and scientific credibility.

'Serious violation of international law': US pressure on Mexico to stop oil shipments to Cuba

By Vijay Prashad In January 2026, US President Donald Trump declared Cuba to be an “unusual and extraordinary threat” to US security—a designation that allows the United States government to use sweeping economic restrictions traditionally reserved for national security adversaries. The US blockade against Cuba began in the 1960s, right after the Cuban Revolution of 1959 but has tightened over the years. Without any mandate from the United Nations Security Council—which permits sanctions under strict conditions—the United States has operated an illegal, unilateral blockade that tries to force countries from around the world to stop doing basic commerce with Cuba. The new restrictions focus on oil. The United States government has threatened tariffs and sanctions on any country that sells or transports oil to Cuba.

Conversion laws and national identity: A Jesuit response response to the Hindutva narrative

By Rajiv Shah A recent book, " Luminous Footprints: The Christian Impact on India ", authored by two Jesuit scholars, Dr. Lancy Lobo and Dr. Denzil Fernandes , seeks to counter the current dominant narrative on Indian Christians , which equates evangelisation with conversion, and education, health and the social services provided by Christians as meant to lure -- even force -- vulnerable sections into Christianity.

Search This Blog