The world is fighting Coronavirus but some of the Hindu extremist residents are fighting against Islam and Muslims not just in India but also in the Arab Gulf Cooperation Council Countries (AGCC) on the battlefield of Twitter and Facebook. This has led to a sharp reaction from the local Arabs in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Kuwait particularly. A diplomatic row is kicked up in the process.
A hate-monger notorious for his Islamophobic tweets, Saurabh Upadhyay caught the attention of Princess Hend Al Qassimi, a UAE royal, who warned that ‘rudeness’ will not go unnoticed. After a rude spat with the princess, Saurabh deleted his social media accounts and also his website which claims Saurabh to be running a ‘multi-million dollar’ company based in the UAE. India and China are his other places of business interests.
The lap media in India, which is sympathetic to Saurabh has down played the entire incident and did not care to investigate him. Forensic analysis has revealed that his company is located in Trimulgherry, Secunderabad in Telangana. The Emirati authorities are believed to be in touch with authorities in Telangana to find more details about Saurabh and his activities in Trimulgherry, Secunderabad, India. A UK national has lodged a complaint with the Dubai Police against Saurabh for ‘fraud’ and ‘hate-mongering.’ Saurabh seems to be a frustrated extremist going by his hate-filled tweets for Islam and even for the UAE, where he made his money!
Saurabh dubbed Muslims as ‘radical Islamists terrorists.’ Saurabh Upadhyay later went on to say how ‘Hindus were being targetted in the Middle East’ and that the region is what it is today “because Indians have built cities like Dubai from scratch! This rudeness and abuse made Princess Hend respond thus:
“All employees are paid to work, no one comes for free. You make your bread and butter from this land which you scorn and your ridicule will not go unnoticed.”
There are hundreds of extremist Hindu hate mongers based in the Gulf countries, who make a living on the Arab soil and abuse Islam and Muslims. Many influential Arabs have noticed this Islamophobia. There is a hashtag on Twitter: #Send-Hindutva-back-to-India. This effectively means many of these hate mongers are set to be rounded up and deported back to India after spending time in jail. Some people have questioned the presence of a large number of Hindus in Arab countries. In some countries, Hindus outnumber the local population. A feeble tweet from the Indian Ambassador to UAE Pavan Kapoor did not even condemn Saurabh Upadhyay: “India and UAE share the value of non-discrimination on any grounds. Discrimination is against our moral fabric and the Rule of law. Indian nationals in the UAE should always remember this.”
After the Islamophobic rants, there are questions raised as to why even the housemaid, the house boy and the drivers have to be Hindus? The Hindus in high-profile jobs will be thoroughly vetted through their social media accounts shortly to keep away extremist elements. After all, the Arabs are now concerned more about their security. Pointing out that India is going for a National Register of Citizens, some concerned Arabs are calling for a Register of Hindus in each of the Arab nations so that mischief mongers and Islamophobists can be easily identified and corrective security measures can be taken.
Till the writing of this report, the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has neither apologized to the Muslims of India and Arabs (particularly the UAE Princess Hend Al Qassimi) for the Islamophobia unleashed by the Hindu extremists nor has he taken measures to assuage the hurt feelings of Muslims worldwide. Will he take punitive measures against his party Parliamentarian Tejasvi Surya who talks about ‘orgasm of Arab women’ and ‘Islamofascism’ to incite hatred on twitter? Modi has not taken any action against the alleged accused in the bombing of Malegaon Muslim graveyard and hate monger Sadhvi Pragya, who called Nathuram Godse, the killer of Mahatma Gandhi as ‘a patriot!’ Any action against Tejasvi is far and remote.
We should justify our existence as the children of Adam and Eve. Mutual respect for different cultures will pave the way for a peaceful society. Indo-Arab friendship has been made very fragile with hate mongering and Islamophobia. Hope, better times come!
(Views are personal)
