‘Your existence is reason enough’: in Modi’s India, Muslim journalists face harassment, threats and assault

India has seen a steep spike in anti-Muslim sentiment since PM Narendra Modi’s Hindu-nationalist BJP came to power in 2014, and journalists have not been spared the hatred

Even in the absence of direct attacks, an undercurrent of Islamophobia makes it difficult for many Muslim reporters to do their jobs, and often sees them singled out for abuse

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Hindu hardliners, one brandishing a sword, chant slogans against Muslim communities during a rally in 2018 in Uttar Pradesh. Photo: AP

Published: 3:00pm, 3 Apr 2021Updated: 3:00pm, 3 Apr 2021

Multimedia journalist Shahid Tantray does not tell people his name any more, unless he really has to. He stopped after being attacked by an angry mob in New Delhi last year for the “crime” of being Muslim.

The Indian capital’s northeast had just been rocked by six days of brutal communal riots that claimed at least 52 lives – most of them Muslims – and Tantray was reporting on the aftermath of the violence for The Caravan magazine when he was approached by a group of men who demanded to see his press card.

After realising he had a Koranic name, the men began hurling abuse at Tantray and ordered him to delete the photos he had taken in their neighbourhood. “I tried to calm them down but the crowd kept growing. Some of them started to slap me but I refused to delete the photographs I had taken,” he told This Week In Asia.

Indian security forces patrol near the site of violent clashes in New Delhi in February 2020. Photo: EPA

The mob refused to relent even after the police arrived, following Tantray and his colleague to the local police station where the pair were forced to hole up for hours on end until the crowd outside finally dispersed. “My editors have been very supportive [since the incident],” Tantray said. “I have been advised to prioritise my own security.”

India has seen a steep spike in anti-Muslim sentiment since Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party came to power in 2014, and journalists have not been spared the hatred. During the North East Delhi Riots in February last year, reporters on the ground trying to cover the carnage were frequently forced to reveal their religious identities – with Muslims then being singled out for threats of violence.

Even in the absence of direct threats or attacks, Muslim journalists in many parts of the country regularly have to contend with an undercurrent of Islamophobia that not only makes it difficult for them to do their jobs, but also sees them targeted for online harassment.

“Officials, especially police, have often asked me about my ‘motivations’ for doing a story,” said Ayesha Minhaz, a freelance journalist based in the southern city of Hyderabad. “As a Muslim woman journalist, you are made deeply aware that you don’t have to work on sensitive stories to be hated in the Hindutva ecosystem, your existence is a reason enough.”