Discussion Thread With Rana

From 7PM IST, I will be discussing "Sooryavanshi," my piece in the Washington Post, and other issues of importance to my readers

On November 16, the Washington Post published my newest piece on Islamophobia enabled by the popular culture in India, especially the Indian film industry, in the wake of the release of Sooryavanshi, a flagrantly anti-Muslim film.

India’s Muslim population—220 million people—is being targeted in hate crimes enabled by the Indian state: Journalists have been charged with sedition for reporting on anti-Muslim violence. The residence of the ex-Foreign minister of India was vandalised after he spoke out against Hindu supremacy. In Kashmir, the military killed four civilians in cold blood. We are living in a time when the man who shot Mahatma Gandhi has become a folk hero, when Indian Muslims have been successfully ‘othered’, when our media refuses to call out hate crimes that are pre-cursors to genocide.

Sooryavanshi, the first Hindi film to hit Indian cinemas post the pandemic, has broken box office records. Its audiences clap and cheer to its anti-Muslim rhetoric. It legitimises attacks on the Muslim community.

Since this piece was published, I have been inundated with questions, observations, applause, and brickbats. On my Substack, I want to engage with a plurality of voices, opinions and viewpoints. This is a platform that has no place for gatekeepers or censorship, and so I want to have a discussion thread with you on this issue. This thread is open to anyone who wants to contribute, but beginning in December 2021, all threads, Q&As like this one, exclusive interviews, and investigations will be available only to paid subscribers.

We are living in a time when journalism  and journalists have become the new enemy of the state. Many have said they want to read independent journalism and a cross section of opinions. If you’re one of those people, I would ask you to put your money where your mouth is. See you at 7 PM IST!