After the editor-in-chief of Sudarshan News attacked the post, the defence ministry’s public relations officer (PRO) in Jammu allegedly deleted a tweet emphasising the Indian Army’s secular practise of holding an iftar party in Jammu and Kashmir’s Doda. Sudarshan News channel is a Indian right wing news channel and is known for divisive misinformation for spreading hate against particular community.
On April 21, the PRO tweeted photographs of an iftar held by the Army in Doda saying: “Keeping alive the traditions of secularism, an Iftaar was organised by the Indian Army at Arnora in Doda district”. The photos showed the iftar gathering, the General Officer Commanding of the Army’s Rashtriya Rifles’ Delta Force interacting with local Muslims, and a uniformed individual offering namaz to civilians.
Later that day, Sudarshan News CMD and editor-in-chief, Suresh Chavhanke tweeted, “Ab ye bimari Bhartiya sena mein bhi ghuss gayi hai? Dukhad…” (Now this disease has spread even in the Indian Army? Sad). The comment drew widespread support from several Twitter users.
The Army and the defence PRO did not respond to Chavhanke’s remarks, but the PRO defence (Jammu) deleted the original tweet highlighting the iftar. When contacted by Indian Express, Lt Col Devender Anand, PRO defence (Jammu), declined to comment on the tweet’s deletion.
Lt Gen Tej Sapru (retd), the former General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Western Command, who led the Nagrota Corps, which Doda falls under, expressed his displeasure with the removal of the tweet. “There was nothing wrong in the tweet. It should have been vigorously defended. The Army holds iftar in the insurgency-prone area because reaching out to the local population is an integral part of fighting the militants. And the Muslims in this part of the J&K are more Indian than you or me. The Army would do the same thing for any other religion if there was strife in that area and which it was tackling. In fact, we do so in the northeast too by reaching out to the Christian population. This has nothing to do with religion or politics and it is purely an instrument to fight militancy by taking people along with you,” he said, according to Indian Express.
Retired officer Maj Gen Yash Mor too defended the original tweet. “Indian Army has been at the forefront of interfaith harmony. We as officer’s take pride in the fact that we have NO religion, we just adopt the religion of the troops we command,” he tweeted.
Lt Gen H S Panag (retd), former GOC-in-C, Northern Command, told The Indian Express that failing to defend the original tweet and then deleting it in the face of criticism was “cowardice.” “The concerned PRO and the Army should have had the courage to stand up for the Ramzan tradition of holding iftar. Nothing is wrong with it. This is part of the Army’s strategy to win the local population’s hearts and minds. We run Army Goodwill Schools for the local population too and all these measures are meant to take the local population along as we fight a foreign-sponsored militancy. And the locals appreciate these efforts.”
“In any event, holding an iftar is nothing new in J&K, and it has been a practice for many years,” he added.
The Chenab Times News Desk