Srinagar: Hindu right-wing handles—yet again—came up with the calls of rape and sexual violence against Kashmiri Muslim women after the Pahalgam attack, which killed 25 tourists and a local Kashmiri man.
A tweet from social media user Ben Dover, a user who appeared to be offering accommodation to any Kashmiri woman feeling threatened in Delhi, gained attention.
“Any Kashmiri girl feeling threatened in Delhi can come to my house at night. You will be safe and well hosted. A divided India will lose, A United India will win & thrive!” the tweet read, seemingly a gesture of goodwill. But it wasn’t long before his words took a turn into something far more sinister.
His tweets kept getting darker. The next thing he wrote was, “But I can’t guarantee if she will be alive after spending a night with me.”
“Hijabis are my priority,” he responded to one of the comments asking him if he would do the same for Kashmiri Hindu women.
The casual, unprovoked violence embedded in those words made it clear that this was not about safety.
Kashmiris staying outside the region have reported many incidents of harassment, assault, and threats since the incident occurred. Many of them returned home due to fear for their safety. But the hatred followed them online.
After Ben Dover tweeted, a series of tweets came up. Hindutva handles started copy-pasting his tweet, only adding their state names. Women social media users from fiffernt parts of India also engaged with their tweets, laughing and joking.
As many other users joined in, the vile remarks kept growing.
A user named Ashutosh Kunwar wrote, “For Noida, come to my house… DM for address.”
Another response to the tweet came from a user named Luc, who added, “Surprise sex on the menu boys.” In response, Ben Dover casually said, “We eatin’ well tonight.”
Another user asked, “Condom or without condom?” While one added, “Pajama utar ke kalma padaoge kya?”
Kashmiri people started calling them out immediately after they caught their attention.
“A tragedy has stricken and instead of mourning or standing with the victims, the first instinct of these entitled parasites, always eager to tear women apart for their own pleasure and self gratification, is to twist it into vile, porn-sick fantasies…” wrote one of the users.
Another called for a police action, naming the person giving rape threats. “He is making rape threats against Kashmiri girls and making disgusting comment with sexual innuendos (night stay). Strict action must be taken! @JaipurPolice @JmuKmrPolice please look into this urgently.”
Many users called for police action, but nothing changed, and the hatred continued.
Besides online harassment and threats, there are reports of physical assault in different states of India.
In Punjab, two cases of harassment were reported — one in Kharar and another in Dera Bassi — where Kashmiri students were threatened.
At the Central University of Punjab in Bathinda, where around 85 Kashmiri students are studying, the staff is keeping a close watch, even though no major incident has happened on campus so far.
In Dehradun, Uttarakhand, a member from a Hindu right-wing outfit called Hindu Raksha Dal gave open threats, asking Kashmiri Muslims to leave the city.
This has caused fear among Kashmiris living there. In Jalandhar, Punjab, Kashmiris have also reported feeling unsafe.
Many Kashmiris studying or working outside reported that they are scared. Some students have even rushed to airports to return home quickly. Others have been forced to leave their rented rooms.
After the Pahalgam killings, anger and sadness have spread across the country. But these attacks and threats against Kashmiris have added to the fear.
In 2019 too, several Hindu right-wing leaders made controversial remarks following the abrogation of Article 370, which revoked Jammu and Kashmir’s special status and divided into two union territories —JK and Ladakh.
One of them said that Hindu men should rejoice as they could now marry “fair-skinned Kashmiri women.”
The pattern has repeated itself once again, without any action against the perpetrators.
