Hamid Mir, a Pakistani journalist, known for interviewing the terrorist Osama Bin Laden, taking his X account (formerly Twitter) shared a video of Prime Minister Modi from his Rajasthan rally and claimed that he called Indian Muslim intruders and also insulted them for being an Aran descent by calling them Arab nasal. Hamid Mir wrote, “In some Arab countries, medals are put around Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s neck, but Modi, while addressing a rally, not only called Indian Muslims as intruders, but also insulted them for being of Arab descent. Now our Arab brothers have to decide. What is the next medal to be given to Modi?” (Archived link)
کچھ عرب ممالک میں بھارتی وزیراعظم نریندر مودی کے گلے میں میڈل ڈالے جاتے ہیں لیکن مودی نے ایک جلسے سے خطاب کرتے ہوئے بھارتی مسلمانوں کو صرف گھس بیٹھیا ہی نہیں کہا بلکہ انہیں عرب النسل ہونے کا طعنہ بھی دیدیا اب فیصلہ ہمارے عرب بھائیوں کو کرنا ہے کہ مودی کو اگلا میڈل کیا دینا ہے pic.twitter.com/R0bnhHN13Q
— Hamid Mir حامد میر (@HamidMirPAK) April 22, 2024
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Fact Check
In the start of our research, on the official YouTube page of Narendra Modi, we examined the complete 35 minutes 24 seconds video of his visit from the Banswara, Rajasthan on April 21.
Addressing the crowd at the 28:48 minute mark, PM Modi says, “When they (Congress) were in power, they had said that Muslims have the first right on the resources of the country. This means that they will collect wealth and distribute it to those who have more children. They will distribute it among the infiltrators. Will your hard-earned money be given to infiltrators?”
He further adds, “What the Congress manifesto is saying is that they will take account of the gold of our mothers and sisters, they will count it and assess it, and then distribute that wealth. And they will distribute it to those whom Manmohan Singh’s government had said – that Muslims have the first right to the nation’s wealth. Brothers and sisters, this is the thinking of urban Naxalites, they will not even spate your Mangal Sutra.”
Apart from this, many news media reports also make a clarification that the PM used the term Urban Naxal and not Arab nasal. The report by Times of India states “Congress is in the grip of “urban Naxals” determined to execute their beliefs and convictions through the party, PM Narendra Modi said on Sunday while drawing a link between opposition party’s pitch for distribution of wealth in its manifesto and his predecessor Manmohan Singh’s Dec 2006 statement that minorities have first right to the country’s resources.”
What is Urban Naxal?
It was only in the year 2018 that the term ‘Urban Naxal‘ gained significant attention for the first time. This term is older than before but its resonance in political circles started during that year. It is used to refer to a person or group believed to be a supporter or sympathizer of the leftist extremist movement, Naxalism. These individuals and groups working in this movement seek to destabilize the social order and incite violence or unrest within the country, without directly engaging in armed activities.
In 2018, the film maker Vivek Agnihotri, published his book “Urban Naxals: The Making of Buddha in a Traffic Jam” which explores Agnihotri’s perceivance on the infiltration of Naxalism ideology into urban intellectuals. It was during that time that the term Urban Naxal became popular and also came to be used in political circles in the aftermath of a crackdowns on activists and liberals associated with Elgaar Parishad case in Maharashtra.
The banned Naxalite group had allegedly organized the Elgaar Parishad event on December 31, 2017. The next day of the event, during the anniversary of the Bhima Koregaon, a clash broke out between Dalits and a Maratha group, resulting in a death of 28-year-old man and five others injured.
In the investigation, the police alleged that the inflammatory speeches given at the Elgaar Parishad event instigated and contributed to the violence that broke out during the Bhima Koregaon anniversary clash.
After the crackdown was initiated into this case, several activists were arrested and found to be associated with the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist), who were accused of conspiring to destabilize the country by posing a threat to national security. The activists and lawyers arrested in this case were termed as urban Naxals.
In conclusion, the claim made by Pakistani journalist Hamid Mir regarding PM Modi’s remark in Rajasthan is found to be false. PM Modi did not refer to Muslims as ‘Arab nasal.’
