Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and right-wing Indian newsoutlets have launched an attack against the Urdu language, calling it a‘Muslim’ language.
Araga Jnanendra, the home minister of the BJP-ruled state of Karnataka insouthern India claimed on Wednesday that a 22-year-old was murdered in thestate’s capital because he did not speak Urdu.
He later retracted the statement, saying that his initial statement was‘not right’, as reported in *The Times of India.*
Other BJP leaders and right-wing news outlets however have continued toamplify this false claim, including BJP National Secretary CT Ravi.
In a separate incident, popular food company Haldiram’s was targeted by aright-wing news outlet that claimed the company was using Urdu to ‘hide’the contents inside its food packaging from Hindus.
*Sudarshan News’* editor Suresh Chavhanke claimed that the ingredientsbehind a specific Haldiram’s snack were written in Urdu to deceive Hindusinto eating food they are not allowed to consume on certain religiousoccasions.
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The text is not Urdu but Arabic, as Haldiram’s is widely exported fromIndia to the Gulf states.
“Why is the information printed in the Urdu language on the snacks packet?Did the company use animal oil in the making which shouldn’t be consumed byHindus during Navratri? Or is it beef? Hindus who fast can’t understandthis language and people who can understand this language do not fast, sowhy Urdu on this?” he tweeted.
*Sudarshan News* is known for its support for Hindu nationalism and forspreading hatred against Muslims, and is one of the biggest beneficiarieslinkofgovernment advertising since Narendra Modi came to power in 2014.
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