The Right-wing ecosystem has cited the attack on Israel to lash out at "Islamist Jihadi terrorism", Kashmir militants and Pakistan, and called for the supply of Indian missiles to Tel Aviv for use against Hamas.
On Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had condemned the "terrorist attacks" in a message of "solidarity" with Israel.
Through Saturday and Sunday, hashtags like #IStandWithIsrael, #IndiaWithIsrael and #BharatWithIsrael gained traction on various social media platforms, with known pro-BJP handles dominating the discussions.
The BJP's official X handle sought to exploit the West Asian crisis for domestic political mileage, saying what Israel was facing today, India had suffered during the UPA years.
"What Israel is facing today, India suffered between 2004-14. Never forgive, never forget...," a pinned post on the BJP X handle said on Sunday.
A video with clips of various terror attacks in India was attached to the post.
The BJP handle, however, overlooked the attacks the country had faced when the party was in power. The 1999 Kargil invasion, the hijack of the IC-814 Air India flight, and the 2001 Parliament attack happened during the tenure of the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government.
During Modi’s tenure, India witnessed the deadly attack on a military camp in Uri (2016), followed by the Pulwama attack (2019) that killed around 40 CRPF men. Terror attacks in Kashmir continue despite the government’s “all is well” stand since the dilution of Article 370 in August 2019.
Right-wing social media users have, however, posted hardly any solidarity message for the people of Manipur, a state in the grip of sectarian violence for more than five months. The cue seems to have come from the top, with Modi continuing to maintain his deafening silence on the northeastern state.
On Saturday and Sunday, Right-wing social media users cited the Israel attacks to claim that Hamas, the Lashkar-e-Toiba, the Hizbul Mujahideen and the Jaish-e-Mohammed are “different faces of the same Islamist Jihadi terrorism”, some putting Pakistan in the same group. Many slammed Indian “liberals” for allegedly supporting the “Jihadis slaughtering Jews”.
An X user, Major Gaurav Arya (retd), called for the use of Indian missiles to attack Hamas and “stand with the Israeli brothers”.
“Israel has been a true friend of India. It stood with us when no one did... Israel is under attack... It is time to send Brahmos and Pinaka to Tel Aviv. Hamas must feel the ‘thundering of fire’. Let us stand with our Israeli brothers,” Arya, known to adopt ultra-nationalist positions in military matters, posted on Saturday.
On Sunday, Arya hit out at Pakistan, claiming the country was celebrating the Hamas attack on Jews. “Wait for 48 hours and you will see the same Pakistanis playing the victim card. Wait for cries of Islamophobia,” he wrote.
Opponents of the Right wing hit back by pulling out a 2018 post on X (then Twitter) from Modi that described Palestine as a long-time friend.
“Friendship between India and Palestine has stood the test of time. The people of Palestine have shown remarkable courage in the face of several challenges. India will always support Palestine’s development journey,” Modi had posted in 2018 when he visited Palestine.
