‘Traitors’: Hate-filled songs target Indian Muslims after Kashmir attack
Mumbai, India – Less than 24 hours after news broke of the April 22 attack, in which gunmen killed 25 tourists and a local pony rider in the Indian-administered Kashmir region, a new song surfaced on Indian YouTube. Its message was unmistakable: We made a mistake by allowing you to stay on, You got your own country, why didn’t you leave then? They call us Hindus “kaffirs”, Their hearts are full of conspiracies against us. The song, titled “Pehle Dharam Pocha” (They Asked About Religion First) targeted Indian Muslims, insisted they were conspiring against Hindus and asked them to leave India. In less than a week, the song has garnered more than 140,000 views on YouTube. And it is not the only song. The killings in the picturesque resort town of Pahalgam marked the worst attack against tourists in Kashmir in a quarter of a century. But even as New Delhi hits back against Pakistan, which it accuses of links to the attack – a charge Islamabad denies – a wave of incendiary music tracks, crafted and circulated within hours, has set off an anti-Muslim backlash in India. Set to pulsing beats and catchy rhymes, these songs, part of a genre that has come to be known as Hindutva Pop, are calling for violent retribution for the attack. From songs that label Indian Muslims as “traitors” to songs that advocate their boycott, the country’s smartphones are buzzing. Hindutva is the Hindu majoritarian political ideology of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s governing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its allies. Advertisement Al Jazeera found at least 20 songs that carried and amplified such Islamophobic themes at a time when Indians were anxiously scrolling through their digital feeds for more information on the aftermath of the attack. These songs have a chillingly consistent narrative: Since the attackers are believed to have singled out Hindu tourists, Indian Muslims can no longer be trusted – never mind that a Muslim Kashmiri pony rider who tried to stop the gunmen was also killed. Apart from these, a glut of other hyper-nationalist songs has also emerged in the past week, pushing warmongering rhetoric deeper into Indian digital veins. There are songs that call for Pakistan to be nuked or for the Indian government to “wipe Pakistan off the map”, and others that advocate for “Pakistani blood” in exchange for the deaths, These songs have become a part of a broader digital push by Hindutva groups, who are using social media and encrypted platforms like WhatsApp to stoke fear, hatred, and division among Indians – all at a time when tensions with neighbouring Pakistan are ratcheting up. This campaign is mirroring real-world violence, across multiple Indian states. In Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Maharashtra and Uttarakhand, Muslims have faced brutal attacks and threats. Kashmiri Muslims have been evicted from their homes, street vendors assaulted, and in chilling acts of retribution, Muslim patients have been denied medical care by Hindu doctors. On Friday, a Muslim man was shot dead, with a Hindu supremacist in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, claiming responsibility for the shooting and saying it was retribution for the Pahalgam attack. Advertisement Concerted campaign All the 20 songs that Al Jazeera analysed saw a common theme being pushed: a reiteration of the assertion that tourists were killed for their Hindu identities, and therefore, Hindus across the country must now feel threatened in living around Muslims. Multiple witness and survivor accounts of the Pahalgam attack suggest that the gunmen asked the tourists to recite the Kalimas (sacred Islamic verses) and the men who could not do so were shot. The song Pehle Dharm Poocha (They Asked About Religion First) was released on April 23, the day after the attack. Singer Kavi Singh insists that letting Muslims stay on in India after the country’s partition in 1947 was “a mistake”, and asks them to go to Pakistan. Another song, Ab Ek Nahi Huye Toh Kat Jaaoge (If You Don’t Unite Now You Will be Slaughtered), by singer Chandan Deewana, is addressed entirely to Hindus, asking them to rise up and “save our religion”. The song insists that Hindus, not Indians, are under threat and warns that they will be “slaughtered” if they do not unite. It has garnered more than 60,000 views on YouTube in just two days. Jaago Hindu Jaago (Wake Up, Hindus) is a song that asks Hindus to identify “traitors within the country”, a coded reference to Muslims. The song’s video on YouTube contains an AI-re-enactment of the Pahalgam attack and has more than 128,000 views so far. Another song, Modi Ji Ab Maha Yudh Ho Jaane Do (Modi ji, Let The Great War Begin), refers to Muslims as “snakes” living in India. Another song calls the events in the country a “religious war”, and yet another asks for Hindus in India to be allowed to carry arms. Advertisement These songs provide a background score for social media posts that bear similar themes. From AI-generated videos and memes recreating the attack to Ghibli images, social media timelines have seen a flood of content emerging from the attack. Much of it carries similar undertones: to paint the attack as an assault on Hindus and the Hindu religion, while exhorting Hindus to “unite” against the threat of Muslims. Some posts liken the Pahalgam killings to the October 7, 2023, attacks on Israel by Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups, and exhort the Indian government to “take revenge the Israel way”. Israel launched a war on the Gaza Strip that has, since October 2023, killed more than 52,000 Palestinians and wounded more than 117,000 others. Raqib Hameed Naik, the executive director of the Washington, DC-based Center for the Study of Organized Hate (CSOH), which tracks hate speech in India, said the centre has observed “a sharp spike” in anti-Muslim rhetoric on social media since the Kashmir attack. “The [Muslim] community is frequently portrayed as an existential threat through memes, AI-generated images, videos and misinformation, systematically designed to inflame passions and justify exclusionary rhetoric,” Naik said.
Canada’s Liberal Party wins election dominated by Trump’s trade war
BREAKINGBREAKING, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on course to form next government, projections show. Canada’s governing Liberal Party has won national elections dominated by United States President Donald Trump’s trade war and annexation threats. Prime Minister Mark Carney will keep the top job after projections showed his Liberals on course to win the most seats in the 343-member parliament, national broadcaster CBC and CTV News reported late on Monday. It was not clear if Carney, a career economist who cast himself as a champion for Canada in the face of Trump’s threats, would be able to form a majority government or need to rely on the support of a smaller party. Adblock test (Why?)
Author of California child sex trafficking bill forced to exclude felony charge for buyers of teen victims
A California human trafficking bill to combat child sex trafficking is being gutted with the reluctant agreement of the bill’s author to remove a provision that targets consumers in an effort to get the legislation passed. State Assemblywoman Maggy Krell, a Democrat, agreed to remove a clause from Assembly Bill 379 that states buyers of 16 and 17-year-olds for sex would face felony charges, leaving the solicitation of those minors by adults to be treated as a misdemeanor. “In order to get a hearing on the bill, we were forced to remove the piece of the bill that ensures the crime of purchasing a minor for sex applies in all cases where the victim is under the age of 18,” Krell told Fox News Digital. HARVEY WEINSTEIN’S TEAM STRESSES SEX CRIME RETRIAL COULD LEAD TO DEATH, REQUESTS HOSPITAL STAY “I wholeheartedly disagree with that amendment,” she added. “This has been my life’s work and I will continue to partner with sex trafficking survivors and law enforcement to ensure all minors are protected from the horrors of sex trafficking.” Krell noted that the bill still criminalizes “the creeps who are loitering to buy teenagers for sex and sets up a fund to help victims. Those will be powerful tools in the fight against sex trafficking — it’s a good start.” California Assembly Republicans quickly criticized Democrats over the change. “Why are some @AssemblyDems planning to cut felony charges for adults who buy 16- and 17-year-olds for sex?,” California Assembly Republicans posted on X. “There are no excuses. Protect the kids. Not the predators.” Earlier, media reports stated that lawmakers wanted to hold off on the bill and possibly hold information hearings on the issue in the fall. The bill came together after older teens were left out of a state law that went into effect this year that makes it a felony to purchase a child, ages 15 and younger for sex. Last year, California State Sen. Shannon Grove authored a bill that made it illegal to buy minors for sex, but it excluded 16 and 17 year-olds. SON OF SUSPECTED WOULD-BE TRUMP ASSASSIN ARRESTED ON CHILD PORN CHARGES Currently, traffickers, not the buyers, face the harshest consequences when convicted of trafficking anyone under 18. AB 379 faced a key deadline this Friday and was dropped from the Public Safety Committee agenda for Tuesday’s meeting. State Rep. David Tangipa, a Republican, said the move was a way to kill a bill that lawmakers don’t want to be heard. If Krell didn’t want to accept the amendment, then the committee chair, Rep. Nick Schultz, would have discretion over whether the legislation should be heard, Tangipa said. “Apparently, what they want to do is remove the 16 and 17-year-old portion of the bill and then just increase penalties and fines,” Tangipa, who has a relative who was previously trafficked, told Fox News Digital. “What that actually sounds like is just California participating in the prostitution and the trafficking themselves.” Fox News has reached out to Schultz’s office and the state Democrats. In a post on X, the California Republican Party criticized the state Democratic Party, saying that it was “sad and disgusting that this is even a debate over at the pro-criminal” Democrats.
Bank Holidays: Banks to remain closed for 3 days till May 1; check list of states
Banks will remain closed for three days, from April 29 to May 1, for various festivals in different states. However, not every state has declared a bank holiday.
Deal struck between US and Mexico to ensure Texas farmers get much-needed water
The Trump administration and Mexican officials reached a deal to ensure Texas farmers get much-needed water from the Rio Grande, less than a month after President Donald Trump accused the neighbor to the south of robbing the farmers of water promised under a decades-old treaty. U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins announced on Monday that the deal had been reached with Mexico to meet the current water needs of Texas farmers and ranchers as agreed under the 1944 Water Treaty. Under the latest agreement, Mexico committed to send water from international reservoirs and increase the U.S. flow from six of Mexico’s Rio Grande tributaries through the end of the current five-year water cycle, which ends in October. “Mexico finally meeting the water needs of Texas farmers and ranchers under the 1944 Water Treaty is a major win for American agriculture,” Rollins said. “After weeks of negotiations with Mexican cabinet officials alongside the Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau, we secured an agreement to give Texas producers the water they need to thrive.” TEXAS FARMING CRISIS LOOMSAS US, MEXICO SPAR OVER LONG-STANDING WATER TREATY Rollins called the measure a significant step forward, noting that the Trump administration welcomes Mexico’s continued operation in support of American agriculture. Under the 1944 Water Treaty, Mexico agreed to deliver 1.75 million acre-feet over five years to the U.S. from the Rio Grande. In exchange, the U.S. agreed to deliver 1.5 million acre-feet of water to Mexico from the Colorado River. But at times, Mexico falls short with its delivery to the U.S., and it has led to severe water shortages in the Rio Grande Valley for farmers and ranchers, killing crops and jobs while threatening the local economy. BOTH SIDES CLAIM VICTORY AFTER SUPREME COURT RULES TEXAS RANCHER CAN SUE STATE OVER FLOODED LANDS The agreement comes weeks after Trump threatened to impose tariffs on Mexico, possibly even sanctions, if it continued to rob South Texas farmers of Rio Grande water as promised under the treaty. “This is very unfair, and it is hurting South Texas Farmers very badly,” the president wrote in a post on Truth Social on April 10. “Last year, the only Sugar Mill in Texas CLOSED, because Mexico has been stealing the water from Texas Farmers. Ted Cruz has been leading the fight to get South Texas the water it is owed, but Sleepy Joe refused to lift a finger to help the Farmers. THAT ENDS NOW!” TEXAS TOWN DECLARES ‘WATER EMERGENCY,’ TELLS RESIDENTS THAT IT COULD RUN OUT OF WATER Trump continued, saying he will make sure Mexico does not violate treaties with the U.S. and hurt farmers in Texas. “Just last month, I halted water shipments to Tijuana until Mexico complies with the 1944 Water Treaty,” he wrote. “My Agriculture Secretary, Brooke Rollins, is standing up for Texas Farmers, and we will keep escalating consequences, including TARIFFS and, maybe even SANCTIONS, until Mexico honors the Treaty, and GIVES TEXAS THE WATER THEY ARE OWED!” Texas farm groups warned of a disastrous season ahead of them for citrus and sugar last year as Mexican and U.S. officials tried to resolve a dispute over the 1944 treaty that supplies U.S. farmers with critical irrigation. The two countries have tussled over the treaty before, but the drought-driven water shortages were the most severe in nearly 30 years.
California Dem lawmakers proposes bill to decriminalize welfare fraud below $25K over administrative errors
A bill that would decriminalize welfare fraud under $25,000 in California for simple administrative errors is being pushed by a Democratic lawmaker. State Sen. Lola Smallwood-Cuevas introduced Senate Bill 560, which would delete criminal penalties for welfare fraud below $25,000, and delete a provision for criminal penalties for any attempt at welfare fraud below $950, according to the legislation, which was introduced in February. “California’s safety net should lift families up, not trap them in poverty,” Smallwood-Cuevas told Fox News Digital. “Right now, a missed deadline or paperwork mistake can lead to felony charges that tear families apart — even when there’s no intent to deceive.” The lawmaker said the bill “offers a smarter, more humane approach by allowing counties to resolve most overpayment cases administratively, holding people accountable without criminalizing poverty.” WE’RE MEMBERS OF THE HOUSE FREEDOM CAUCUS. THE US MUST CHOOSE: EITHER $20 TRILLION IN DEBT OR MEDICAID REFORM The legislation is set for a hearing on May 5. The bill would require a county agency to determine whether the welfare benefits were authorized as a result of an error in the Statewide Automated Welfare System (CalSAWS). It would prohibit a person from being subject to criminal prosecution in certain instances for an overpayment or overissuance of benefits, the bill states. “This bill is about keeping families out of the criminal justice system from making administrative errors on raising the threshold for welfare fraud prosecutions,” Smallwood-Cuevas said in an April 8 Instagram post. LOS ANGELES ISSUES ONLY 4 PERMITS TO REBUILD HOMES AFTER DEVASTATING PALISADES FIRE: REPORT Most welfare fraud occurs when the reported absent parent is actually living in the home, unreported income, using an ineligible child or children not living in the home who are part of the recipient’s case, according to the California Department of Social Services. In Los Angeles County, field investigators handle 15,000 to 20,000 fraud cases or referrals, according to the Department of Public Social Services. Annually, investigators find fraud in around 5,000 to 8,000 cases. Of that, 200 cases are sent to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office and 95% result in a conviction.
Dem senator says Abrego Garcia situation ‘not going to end well’ for Trump, argues he’s ‘undermining’ freedom
Democratic Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley warned President Donald Trump that his mass deportation efforts are “not going to end well” for him, during comments from the annual White House Correspondents’ Association dinner over the weekend. Merkley’s warning came after being asked about his thoughts on Trump’s deportation policies and Democrats’ efforts to challenge them, specifically their decision to visit alleged Venezuelan gang member Kilmar Abrego Garcia in El Salvador, after the Trump administration deported him. Democrats insist Abrego Garcia was wrongly deported in the president’s sweeping decision to remove hundreds of mostly Venezuelan gang members from the United States, arguing Abrego Garcia is not a gang member despite the Trump administration’s insistence that he is. DEMOCRAT FAULTS HIS OWN PARTY FOR PICKING WRONG BATTLE WITH CASE OF DEPORTED MS-13 SUSPECT “You know due process is a – it sounds very scholarly but it’s basically what prevents the government from sweeping you, or me, off the street,” Merkley said when asked his thoughts on Democrats’ defense of Abrego Garcia. “[Due process] is extraordinarily important for freedom.” “I want President Trump to understand this is about freedom and that what he’s doing is undermining it,” Merkley continued. “It’s not going to end well for him because our nation is going to respond, and we are going to defend our Constitution and our freedom.” The White House, meanwhile, slammed Merkley and other Democrats for choosing to die on a hill defending a documented criminal who was residing in the United States illegally. DEMS RIDICULED FOR GOING ‘ALL IN’ ON SUSPECTED MS-13 GANG MEMBER KILMAR ABREGO GARCIA “If the hill that Democrats want to die on is demanding the return of a violent illegal alien, wifebeater, and foreign terrorist, we are happy to dig that grave for them,” White House spokesperson Kush Desai told Fox News Digital in response to Merkley’s comments. In addition to Trump’s deportation of Abrego Garcia, Democrats have also been up in arms over the president’s decision to rescind student visas and deport non-citizen college students in the U.S. who have allegedly been involved in organizing anti-Israel, and some have argued anti-Semitic, protests on college campuses. The Trump administration has cited federal law that allows immigration enforcement against visa-holders deemed a national security threat. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP On Monday, Trump also signed an executive order aimed at rescinding local sanctuary city policies that prevented local law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration authorities. The new order seeks to hold federal funds hostage and allows the Justice Department to pursue “all necessary legal remedies and enforcement measures” to bring non-compliant jurisdictions back into compliance with the new order.
Trump administration targets Ivy League school, law journal for racial discrimination
The Trump administration has launched investigations into Harvard University and the Harvard Law Review after allegations that the journal discriminated against readers who wanted to respond to an article about police reform because they were white men. Both the Department of Education and Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) launched investigations into possible violations of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The investigations were launched in response to information both federal agencies received about policies and practices for journal membership as well as article selection that may violate Title VI. In a press release, HHS claimed the Harvard Law Review’s editor reportedly wrote that it was “concerning” that “four of the five people” who wanted to reply to an article on police reform were “white men.” TRUMP FROZE FUNDING FOR HARVARD. MONEY TO THESE UNIVERSITIES MAY ALSO BE ON THE CHOPPING BLOCK HHS also said another editor at the Review suggested “that a piece should be subjected to expedited review because the author was a minority.” Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color and national origin in education programs and activities that receive federal funding. Any violations of Title VI could result in the loss of funds from the federal government. “Harvard Law Review’s article selection process appears to pick winners and losers on the basis of race, employing a spoils system in which the race of the legal scholar is as, if not more, important than the merit of the submission,” HHS Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Craig Trainor said. “Title VI’s demands are clear: recipients of federal financial assistance may not discriminate on the basis of race, color, or national origin. No institution—no matter its pedigree, prestige, or wealth—is above the law. The Trump Administration will not allow Harvard, or any other recipients of federal funds, to trample on anyone’s civil rights.” TRUMP ADMIN SLASHES OVER $2.2B IN FUNDING TO HARVARD AFTER SCHOOL DEFIES DEMANDS In a statement to Fox News Digital, the school stated, “Harvard Law School is committed to ensuring that the programs and activities it oversees are in compliance with all applicable laws and to investigating any credibly alleged violations. The Harvard Law Review is a student-run organization that is legally independent from the law school. A claim brought in 2018 was dismissed by the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts.” The investigations come as the Trump administration continues to feud with elite education institutions, announcing earlier this month it would be cutting off over $2.2 billion in funding to Harvard University while threatening cuts to another $1 billion of its federal grants and funding. After Harvard refused to comply with a series of requests from the Trump administration to reform various practices on campus, the administration revealed April 18 that it would freeze more than $2 billion in federal funding for the institution. HARVARD WON’T COMPLY WITH TRUMP ADMIN’S DEMANDS AMID THREATS OF CUTTING FEDERAL FUNDING Harvard University President Alan M. Garber said in a statement that President Donald Trump’s administration tacked on additional requests that go beyond addressing antisemitism on campus, and the institution would not comply because the demands were unconstitutional. Garber said the new requests “direct governmental regulation of the ‘intellectual conditions’ at Harvard,” including auditing viewpoints of student, faculty and staff members on campus and eliminating all diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs, offices and initiatives at Harvard. “It makes clear that the intention is not to work with us to address antisemitism in a cooperative and constructive manner,” Garber wrote. “We have informed the administration through our legal counsel that we will not accept their proposed agreement.” The Trump administration launched the Federal Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism in February, which aims to eradicate bias on campuses that have experienced incidents targeting Jewish students since October 2023. “It is time for elite universities to take the problem seriously and commit to meaningful change if they wish to continue receiving taxpayer support,” the task force said in a statement. Fox News Digital’s Diana Stancy contributed to this report.