Residents of Haldwani, Uttarakhand and Jahangirpuri, Delhi say that the biased media coverage of the protests has led to misinformation on the issue and signals growing Hindu majoritarianism in India. Photo courtesy: Suhail Bhat, Sneha Richhariya

Demolition drives and the media target Indian Muslims

The Indian media’s coverage of demolition drives and "bulldozer" politics in Haldwani, Delhi and beyond is a new tool for spreading anti-Muslim hatred

Suhail Bhat is a freelance multimedia journalist based in New Delhi. Bhat has covered gender, minorities, development and environment based issues for national and international organizations such as Al Jazeera, DW, Nikkei Asia, IndiaSpend, The Quint and NewClick, among others. Sneha Richhariya is a freelance multimedia journalist based in New Delhi. She has contributed to organizations like DW, Scroll, TheQuint, IndiaSpend, Article 14, GaonConnection, NewsClick, etc on issues of rural development, public policy, health and environment.

Media portrayal of the protests against eviction and demolition drives in Muslim-majority areas in India has been marred with communal propaganda and stigmatisation of the Muslim community.

When covering protests in Haldwani, Uttarakhand and Jahangirpuri, Delhi, several mainstream news channels used terms such as "terrorists", "land-jihad", "Rohingyas", "Bangladeshis" and "Shaheen Bagh 2.0."

Residents of these areas say that the biased media coverage of the protests has led to misinformation on the issue and signals growing Hindu majoritarianism in India.

Reporter: Sneha Richhariya, Suhail Bhat

Camera/Edit: Suhail Bhat, Sneha Richhariya

Music: Youtube Audio Library

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