As Violence Against Muslims Escalates, Online Hindutva Propaganda Pushes Economic Boycott

…. Throughout August, Muslims across India were beaten, lynched, harassed, assaulted, publicly humiliated, forced to chant “Jai Shri Ram” and “Vande Mataram”, accused of ‘mehendi jihad’, ‘bangle jihad’, ‘narcotics jihad’, ‘economic jihad’ and even ‘juice jihad’. From Ajmer to Kanpur, Indore to Delhi, Hindutva groups wielding their majority community status set out to show Muslims their ‘rightful place’ in Indian society.

All this has been documented, broadcast and streamed by the mainstream media. But a more insidious form of Hindutva violence against Muslims also prevails in India – economic violence. This manifests in social media propaganda, complete with hashtags, trends and concocted videos, with one single aim: to boycott Muslim-owned and run businesses.

Ever since the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020 and participants of the Tablighi Jamaat began to be vilified on social media, Hindutva supporters on Facebook and Twitter have been exhorting social media users of the Hindu faith to destabilise what they call the ‘halal economy’ of Indian Muslims by transferring their business to Hindu-owned and run businesses instead….

https://thewire.in/communalism/muslim-violence-hindutva-propaganda-social-media-economic-boycott