'Talk to a Muslim': A new way to fight the rising Islamophobia in India

The hashtag is under fire for placing religion before any other form of identity as "talking to Muslims" has emerged as a patronising action

What: #TalkToAMuslim is the most recent addition to the set of communal hashtags being tweeted all over Twitter, leaving users of the social media platform divided. For some, this trend is a new, internet-savvy way to fight the rising Islamophobia in the country; others feel that this trend only serves to further alienate Muslims. The hashtag has its roots in the United Kingdom, when a letter that said April 3 should be “Punish a Muslim Day” began circulating in the country. The trend has been brought home, with tweets from Bollywood celebrities like Gauahar Khan (pictured) and Swara Bhasker urging people to initiate a dialogue about breaking Muslim stereotypes and putting an end to the communal divide.

Why: It all started when Rahul Gandhi met “Muslim intellectuals” at his residence on July 11. The Indian National Congress (INC) has, of course, been branded a “minority-appeasing” party for decades and this meeting added fuel to the fire leading up to the 2019 general elections. Prime Minister Narendra Modi joined the bandwagon by reiterating a headline in the Urdu daily Inquilab, which is said to have misquoted Gandhi as saying that the Congress is a party for Muslims. Everyone present at the meeting in Gandhi’s house refutes the quote, part of an article that wasn’t attributed properly either.

How: Gandhi has a Twitter following of 7.23 million and he chose to share this tweet on July 17: “I stand with the last person in the line. The exploited, marginalised and the persecuted. Their religion, caste or beliefs matter little to me. I seek out those in pain and embrace them. I erase hatred and fear. I love all living beings. I am the Congress.” The Tweet garnered 40,000 likes, 13,000 retweets and about 8,000 comments. Almost four hours after this tweet, Gauahar Khan posted on the micro-blogging site saying, “#TalkToAMuslim seriously didn’t think a day would come where talking to a muslim leader or a commoner would question ur patriotism or ur belief in ur own faith!!by land I am a Hindu ,by faith I am a Muslim and by heart n soul INDIAN is my identity !!! #killThehate #spreadlove”.

Her tweet, along with other such tweets, received mixed reactions. While some found this helpful, others found it demeaning. “Completely flaggerbasted [flabbergasted] by the #TalkToAMuslim hashtag. It imbues TALKING to muslims with a stigma that never was, and is patronising as heck. I’d imagine people with friends of different religions including Islam are quite taken aback by this and unsure what it attempts to fix,” tweeted Narasinga, to which Swara Bhasker replied, “I respectfully disagree. Muslims r being ‘othered’ by the discourse which goes hysterical because the leader of opposition ‘talked’ to a group of Muslims. They r creating a political culture where ‘talking’ to Muslims as a group will become taboo. Best counter is #TalkToAMuslim”

Now: The hashtag that claims to initiate a discourse surrounding Muslim lives in India in the current political climate is being pitted against itself as a “self-defeating” campaign that is “othering” already othered Muslims. It is under fire for placing religion before any other form of identity as “talking to Muslims” has emerged as a patronising action. But it has also become a beacon of hope for people who have indeed felt “othered” and marginalised in a country that is rapidly losing its splendidly diverse colours to a stultifying monochrome.