I received a lot of engagement to my thread after @priya_27_ retweeted it yesterday (thanks @priya_27_ :) ). But one thing I noticed in the responses by many people is the notion that the French media is different than the French people and the French govt (hence it is ok 1/n https://twitter.com/priya_27_/status/1321175661382299648

to express support for France while being critical of its media). Another recurring theme was the notion that people in the West are tired of their media (and hence will be sympathetic of the dangers that Islam poses to Hindu society). 2/n

In my opinion, such comments betray an ignorance on how the Western mind views India or Hinduism, and how media portrayals of India in the West are tightly bound with the public opinion in Europe. First of all, as far as I can tell, the French media has not been 3/n

particularly critical of Macron, even though he has made his stand on Islam clear for quite some time, as this article from February 2020 shows: https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/02/24/emmanuel-macrons-war-on-islamism-is-europes-future/. 4/n

However the same media has a different standard on India, as I have shown in my thread, even though India has faced a lot worse in the form of Islamic violence. Even though my thread dealt with France, the same ‘Hindutva’ and ‘caste’ and ‘violence against Muslims by Hindus’ 5/n

and ‘Muslims killed for eating beef’ theme dominates the discourse on Hinduism all over Europe, be it in the media or the public discourse. 6/n

Secondly, people in the West may be tired of the media when it comes to how they depict the situation in Europe, but not when it comes to how they depict the situation in India. In fact, when it comes to India, the very same media becomes not just 7/n

acceptable, but the source of truth. Of course centuries of religious indoctrination against ‘paganism’, ‘idolatry’, or ‘polytheism’ has played its part, along with the narratives of ‘caste’ and ‘Hindutva Fascism’ so when people read such reports, 8/n

it only confirms their preconceived notions. Now let’s say people are fed up of the Leftist media in Europe and let’s say their media is taken over by people who are critical of Islam. But will this stop the prejudices against Hinduism? No. The Western media will 9/n

continue to rant about ‘caste’ and ‘Hindutva’ even then, because that is ingrained in the public opinion. 10/n

Today Hindus are extending their ‘support’ to France in a spirit of goodwill.The same thing was seen in the ex-Muslims incident, where Hindus cheered when an ex-Muslim tore down the Quran, but then had to bite dust when he profaned Maa Kaali. 11/n

Today I see Hindus repeating the same mistake when they offer their ‘support’ to France. I just don’t want that Hindus keep repeating the same mistake again and again, offering support but only to be spat upon in return. At the cost of sounding 12/n

didactic: Some battles are just not yours, a common enemy does not make a friend, and extend support only when you know what you are going to get in return. 13/n

Further, in this case it is hard to draw a sharp distinction b/w media, govt and people. Who works in the media? Of course the people, not some extra-terrestrials. And the people in the West already have preconceived notions when it comes to Hinduism, 14/n

conditioned by centuries of indoctrination against ‘pagans’, ‘polytheists’ and ‘idolators’. And this is reflected in the media reports... 15/n

...and that’s how you get a self-reinforcing feedback mechanism: Media reports confirm people’s biases regarding Hinduism; this bias is again reflected in media reports, which again shapes public opinion, and so on. 16/n

And again, who works in the govt.? The people of course! And their biases again inform govt policies and attitudes. 17/n

I have myself been a victim of this media propaganda against Hinduism in Germany. During the anti-CAA violence, German newspapers were full of reports of ‘violence against Muslims’ by the ‘Hindu fanatics’. I was discreetly asked 18/n

by an acquaintance, an elderly German lady during that time if I was a Hindu fundamentalist. Another time someone asked me in a train when we struck up a casual conversation if caste plays an important role in India, 19/n

and when I replied that at least in my case it has not played an important role, she jokingly replied that if you are in the right caste, it is probably not important. 20/n

By the way, the incident with that ex-Muslim and Goddess Kaali shows that Muslims may become ex-Muslims, Christians may become atheists, Leftists may become critical of Islam, but their antipathy for Hinduism remains unchanged. Centuries of propaganda and indoctrination 21/n

cannot be washed away so easily. There are deep historical, cultural, and religious reasons at work behind these prejudices which can form the subject of several books and academic articles. Making this artificial distinction between media, people and govt, 22/n

or pretending that the French are tired of their media and since their media is prejudiced against Hindus the people will automatically be sympathetic to Hindus, displays a surprising lack of understanding of these reasons. Either a lack of understanding or willful blindness. n/n