New Delhi: On a cold, rainy evening in Delhi, the dying embers of Lutyens’ liberal elite kept the hope of countering the BJP’s propaganda aglow.
The book Love Jihad and Other Fictions: Simple Facts to Counter Viral Falsehoods, by journalists Sreenivasan Jain, Mariyam Alavi, and Supriya Sharma, was launched to much applause on 31 January at the Constitution Club of India. The book is an important and incredibly well-researched, meticulous manual on how to fact-check the Hindu Right’s pervasive project to misinform and mislead voters.
At the launch moderated by veteran journalist Karan Thapar, the three authors were in conversation with lawyer Vrinda Grover, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor and President of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul-Muslimeen (AIMIM) Asaduddin Owaisi — public figures who regularly engage with countering narratives like “love jihad” and “population jihad.”
Packed with over 150 attendees, the crowd spilled out of the room. The audience spanned all age groups and was mostly made up of journalists, researchers, and academics, including economist Jean Dreze, historian Romila Thapar, NDTV founder Prannoy Roy and former news anchor at NDTV Nidhi Razdan.
In a sense, the room was a literal echo chamber: The same liberal elite, who have been talking about countering the BJP’s propaganda, were preaching to the choir. This wasn’t lost on the panel, and especially on the authors.
Everyone was on the same page, and on the same side — but in these polarised times, it lent some much-needed relief to many seeking directions in countering the overwhelming onslaught of Right-wing rhetoric.
“Given that I spend so much time trying to fact-check family members and friends about the Right’s propaganda, it was momentarily comforting to be in this room and listen to this kind of conversation,” said one member of the audience, a Ph.D. scholar. “It was a sort of relief. What more can this side do but give us a manual on how to counter it?”
Fact-checking
The discussion opened with Thapar’s question — what made the authors write this book?
The book unpacks myths and rumours like “Muslim areas are getting more electricity supply during Eid” with extensive data mining, hard government data, and documented evidence. Originally a project of Alavi and Jain, Sharma joined it when she heard they were working on it.
Alavi said her urgency to write the book was amplified by her lived experience. Jain conceded that falsehood and lies are not limited to any ideological side or political party, but in this day and age, “today’s WhatsApp forwards is tomorrow’s law.” He went on to illustrate the example of “anti-love jihad laws” — that 11 states have passed, despite the Ministry of Home Affairs saying it’s not a category under law.
“We wanted to produce a book shorn of polemic — for people who are ambivalent about things to see the facts for themselves,” said Sharma.
The speakers also encouraged Aleph, the publisher, to publish translations of the book so that it can reach a wider audience. Thapar said the book should be compulsory reading for all members of the Sangh Parivar. Owaisi agreed, and said a signed copy should be sent “to the Prime Minister of India, who’s become the Prime Priest of India.”
The talk inspired conspiratorial chuckles and well-timed jibes at the ruling establishment, which went down well with the audience. Jokes were made about how a signed copy of the book should be given as a gift to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Minister of Home Affairs Amit Shah, BJP National President JP Nadda, and Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Yogi Adityanath, followed by snide remarks on stage about whether they can actually read. Thapar described the book as “compulsory for people to understand, obligatory for those who refuse to believe.”
Calling it a “reference book” for those who want to counter fake news, Tharoor joked that Aleph should turn the book into a series of WhatsApp forwards so it can be shared more easily. He did not say whether the Congress party would participate in doing this.
“I don’t know whether this book will stop the adherence of Hindutva ideology in spreading lies, hate, and fiction,” said Owaisi, who many would say falls into an ‘anti-Modi’ camp and not the ‘liberal’ one. “What can stop the Sangh Parivar and BJP is a counter-narrative — and we don’t have that.”
Speaking plainly, Owaisi said that the Opposition needs a counter-narrative, its own propaganda. “It’s the job of political parties to do this. And we have failed,” he said. “I don’t know how we’ll be able to do it. We don’t do it because we need the Hindu vote. The Hindu vote is so important that we follow the agenda set by Modi.”
Looking to the future
The speakers also discussed the cultural ecosystem that encourages the proliferation of misinformation.
“Fear is a very easy thing to capitalise on,” said Alavi, while Jain and Sharma talked about the kernels of truth that turn into mountains of lies — like the fact that the Muslim fertility rate is technically higher than the Hindu fertility rate. But the Muslim fertility rate is also dropping, another fact that is also available in the public domain as it has been widely researched and reported. However, this is obfuscated by the propaganda of “population jihad.”
Grover brought up the recent news about the Allahabad High Court refusing protection to eight interfaith couples.
“Yes, we need a lot of re-examinations, but we’re talking at a time where reason and facts aren’t making much headway. And the onus is on [Hindus as] the majority community to call out the lies that have dominated our polity and society,” she said, to spontaneous applause — the only time during the discussion.
The audience also posed questions to politicians Tharoor and Owaisi. One man, who identified himself as Yusuf Ansari, asked Tharoor about the Congress’ role in India’s current state of affairs. Tharoor said that would be too much of a case of victim blaming, and did not agree that the Congress was afraid of “losing the M vote,” as Ansari put it.
Another audience member, Nitin, asked Owaisi about his proposed counter-narrative. Owaisi responded by saying that people not only need to openly call out lies but also openly accept realities like the sidelining of minority groups like the Pasmanda Muslims. He added that this narrative should also be set by the “so-called secular parties” in India.
Thapar’s expertly moderated session went on for about one hopeful hour. Many in the audience said that they felt optimistic, especially in the week following the consecration ceremony at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya—the book gives them something tangible to use to fact-check propaganda in real-time.
However, there was also a sword hanging in the air — the threat of the BJP’s potential pushback cast a pall.
Owaisi, Tharoor, and Thapar all congratulated the authors on bringing out such a book during these times when dissent is discouraged. Owaisi even said that he hopes the authors are protected from what’s coming their way.
“We have Vrinda Grover for that,” said Jain.
“You’ll need hundreds of her,” quipped Owaisi.