Raqib Hameed Naik, the founder of India Hate Lab, a project of Centre for the study of Organised Hate (CSOH) told TRT World that Hindu nationalists ideologically don’t consider Muslims as Indian citizens. They see them as outsiders.
“Over the years, there has been a campaign, even from the top offices of the country, focusing on immigration. Terms like ‘infiltrators’ have been specifically used for Muslims. This term has increasingly been weaponised against Muslims.
“When violence erupted against Hindus in Bangladesh, it was very natural for anti-Muslim sentiment and conspiracy theories about Muslims being outsiders—mostly Bengalis or Rohingya—to surface, leading to these attacks,” he added.