Move to counter dominant Indian media seeking to separate Hindus from Muslims

By Syed Ali Mujtaba*

I believe the Indian media’s project to separate Hindus from Muslims, which has been going on since 2014, is on the wane. The electoral defeat of the BJP in several places reflects that the ‘Othering Muslims’ project has lost its sheen, and I see the media no longer finding it a profitable business proposition. The campaign of Hindu Nationalism that brought the BJP to power in 2014 has lost its momentum, thanks to other factors such as malpractices in the electoral list that have dented the phantom called Hindu nationalism.

From my own observations, media coverage of Indian Muslims gained traction after the BJP came to power in 2014, and since then, I have watched Indian media dish out stories with religious biases, misinformation, and disinformation about Indian Muslims. The narrative pushed was that Hindus were in danger from Muslims. This communal-political rhetoric was injected into Hindu minds to instill fear of the so-called demon called the Muslim. I have seen how social, cultural, and political conversations within Hindu families about Muslims have been sourced directly from media narratives.

The internet and TV, in my view, worsened this by cocooning people, cutting them off from meaningful social interaction. What they consumed from the media was accepted as truth, and Muslims became the ‘enemy,’ shutting the door to engagement.

This dangerous trend of anti-Muslim campaigns by the media, encouraged under BJP rule, has disrupted India’s social order. Since 2014, I have witnessed intolerance, hatred, and lynching of Muslims becoming rampant. There is no doubt in my mind that the media has been helping the ruling party construct an environment of anti-Muslim imagery to buttress Hindu nationalism. This, I feel, has been deliberately done to sustain the politics the BJP thrives on.

To me, it is glaringly obvious that a media-politics nexus has been working to separate Hindus from Muslims and create an atmosphere of exclusion to prolong BJP rule. I see this as part of a well-thought-out project from Hindutva laboratories, executed with media help under the catchphrase ‘Islamophobia,’ a euphemism to smear Muslims. The aim is to brainwash Hindus into seeing Muslims as anti-Indian citizens. This stereotyping thrives under the benign protection of the ruling government because it works as a magic formula to retain power.

I have also noted how the media first targeted the word ‘secularism’ in the constitution, branding it as Muslim appeasement. This lie was repeated until Hindu consumers of media accepted it as gospel truth. The central plank of this anti-secular narrative was to attack Muslim identity to advance Hindu nationalism.

This concocted theory of the Hindu right was eagerly lapped up and translated into BJP consolidation across states. I saw the government lure media with massive advertising funds, ensuring public opinion was built around hating and mistrusting Muslims, powered by brute Hindu nationalism. The Cobra Post sting operation on Indian media laid bare this hidden truth.

The outcome has been the normalization of an anti-Muslim narrative in media discourse since 2014, polluting society with toxic ideology. So deep has this gone that even the coronavirus was blamed on Muslims. Watching this circus, I can say with some authority that the media has been engaged in building the theory of Hindus as a wounded civilization, blaming Muslims and their co-religionists who once ruled India. This twisted logic demands that today’s Indian Muslims pay the price. Such hyperbole sustains Hindu nationalism.

This vicious nexus between media and the ruling government, in my opinion, must be exposed. The bourgeoisie character of media houses—their ownership, ideological leanings, and ties to the government—must be researched and laid bare. We must understand the demand side of misinformation and expose its sources. Only then will we see how the media has blinded Hindu nationalists with constant disinformation about Muslims.

To me, this politico-media nexus is an assault on the very idea of India we inherited. The portrayal of Muslims as ‘the other’ robs us of peace and harmony, which are the real dividends of a plural society and essential for progress.

It is with this conviction that I propose a book titled Essays on Interplay of Muslims and Indian Media– Journalism, Nationalism and Sensationalism. My effort is to unmask the true face of Indian media and its biases against Muslims, and to build public opinion against this untrustworthy role. Protecting Muslim identity in India, I firmly believe, is essential to sustain democracy.

I am seeking essays from anyone who shares an opinion on the media’s distorting role regarding Indian Muslims. The essay should be 2,500 words, well-researched, fearlessly articulated, and strongly opinionated. It should conclude why reclaiming plural values is crucial for the peace and prosperity of our country. The deadline for submission is October 30, 2025. Authors may send a 150-word abstract to syedalimujtaba2007@gmail.com or WhatsApp 9840698069. A sufficient number of contributions will ensure the publication of this edited book.

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*Journalist based in Chennai

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