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There is a popular quote in the 2019 film Klaus: "A true selfless act always sparks another."
This aptly captures the pushback against hate that we have seen in the past few weeks. It's courtesy to this one name that has made it to headlines and gone viral for all the right reasons: Mohammad Deepak aka Deepak Kumar who rescued an old Muslim shopkeeper and confronted a radicalised majoritarian mob in Kotdwar, Uttarakhand.
In a communally charged state like Uttarakhand where calls for 'Hindu-only Devbhoomi' galore, Kumar seemed to be an exception. Weeks later, what we see is a ripple effect of his actions: several cases of people resisting hate and questioning the mobs across the country.
All because Kumar said these five simple words: 'My Name is Mohammad Deepak.' His words and action have catapulted and actualised acts of solidarity rarely seen in today's political climate.
This is not to say that hate crimes have been reported any less. In the face of larger pattern of attacks by Hindu right-wing groups, it has been a beath of fresh air, perhaps, a small win that more people are calling out the audacity of mobs to harass people.
This is being called the 'Mohammad Deepak' effect, which in its essence is similar to the 'Upstander effect.' This is when people, witnessing injustice or bullying choose to intervene, rather than being a passive bystander.
First, there were posts, even AI-generated posts with text like "Main bhi Deepak hoon." This support now seems to have spilled into the real world.
The pushback against hate has also come as a reaction to support Kumar's resistance but also reflects a solidarity at a time when Hindutva leaders who amped up their threats to beat Kumar and announced a bounty on his head.
Locals Show Support for Muslim Vendor
Support poured in for the Sheikh Vali, a street vendor from Andhra Pradesh's Kurnool who was allegedly harassed by a group of YouTubers during the recently held biennial mega tribal festival held at Medaram in Telangana’s Mulugu district. He was made to eat his own food after claims of "food jihad."
The channel Tejaswi News has published a series of videos over the past week or so, alleging that Muslim vendors were selling “adulterated” kova buns at the Jatara. In a video posted on 5 February, the anchor Balu Balaji Goud, along with another person, demanded Vali to show his Aadhar card and questioned his food, the price and its expiry date and then made him eat the buns on video.
The video still exists on their YouTube channel with the title: 'Food Jihad: Food jihad is not purification at the fair. Slow Poison.' Since then, the channel has posted more videos over the same issue.
Shortly after, another video, circulated on social media, showing people from Vali’s village near Kurnool, stand firmly in support of the vendor saying that they have been eating his Kova bun for several years.
“I have been buying from him for a long time. I never faced any issue. The food is normal and affordable," a local woman customer said, as per reports.
Andhra Pradesh ministers and leaders of the ruling Telugu Desam Party, called out the divisive and communal behaviour stating that it has no place in Telugu society.
In recent years, these allegations of 'food jihad' have gained more traction in the public discourse, especially under the term 'thook jihad' which has been amplified by the Hindutva groups despite a lack of evidence.
'UNO Reverse' Moment for Bajrang Dal?
During Valentine's day in Rajasthan's Jaipur, members claiming to be from Bajrang Dal reportedly arrived at a park to harass couples.
In what is jokingly being called an 'UNO reverse' moment, the locals confronted the group and asked them for their identification details.
"Show your ID, Aadhar card? Why are you carrying a stick. We'll see you in court, they are harassing people here," one of them could be heard saying.
On being questioned, the Bajrang Dal member said, "Bajrang Dal doesn't have any ID."
"Have you come to become a neta?" berated the locals.
Bajrang Dal has long been known for their moral policing and assaults of couples on and around 14 February, to the point that there are now memes and reels on them.
However, this was first such incident in a long time on Valentine's day where young citizens questioned the Hindutva group, whose members seemed to be young boys too.
'Show Your ID First'
In another case, a group of 20 students from Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidyapith University on 17 February, attempted to force some shops to shut in Varanasi's goat market. These were reportedly ABVP-affiliated students led by Kashi Mahanagar ABVP secretary Shivam Tiwari.
The mob had alleged that there were illegal slaughterhouses and that there was a video allegedly showing a dead goat in the area.
These young men were reportedly seen banging on doors and demanding for the shops to be shut down. The police has stated that they did not find any slaughterhouse in the area and have written a letter to the municipal corporation to probe if the market is legal or not, as per reports.
Locals stated the goat's body was found in the market area was due to an accident. However, the police has filed a case on the basis of a letter and the videos by the ABVP-affiliated students.