A central tension runs through the Republic of India between its Hindu majority and Muslim minority. Due to this tension, conspiracy theories of a supposed ‘fifth column’ of India’s Muslim minority have developed, claiming that Muslims are working to carry out ‘Ghazwa-e-Hind,’ the Islamic conquest of India.
Some Hindutva activists fear that Muslims seek to alter the demographics of India to gain economic ascendancy in the country. Across social media, false news stories are re-reported with a religious angle, and religiously and ethnically motivated disinformation is shared rapidly and in apparent coordination.
The purported Muslim tactics identified by Hindutva activists are labeled as different forms of Jihad. In this report, we analyze on the spread of these theories: