Why RSS was mourning the death of a Pakistani Muslim

Lion of Punjab Son of Hindustan Lover of Canada Speaker of truth Fighter for justice Voice of the downtrodden underdogs and the oppressedrdquoThis is how Natasha Fatah daughter of late journalist and author Tarek Fatah described him in a tweet she posted last week The journalist and news presenter with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation paid tribute to her father while announcing his demise on April 24 following a battle with cancerFor several days before and after his death social media was abuzz with discussions about the man The news of his passing only led to a heavier surge of tweets and posts with many lamenting the loss Why though did a Pakistanborn resident of Canada become a talking point in IndiaAccording to entrepreneur Divya Gandotra Tandon director of Internet media company Scoop Beats Pvt Ltd Fatahrsquos ldquoinfluential and controversial public personardquo is responsible for the social media frenzy around himDivya Tandon Gandotra Pratik Sinha Poonam Joshi and Arshia MalikldquoFrequently igniting debates and discussions Fatah a notable writer and activist fearlessly voiced his opinions on sensitive topics related to religion politics and societyrdquo says Tandon adding ldquoAmidst both praise and criticism for his opinions on Islamic extremism terrorism and change within the Muslim community his passing has sparked curiosity from his followers in India and other regions His death has come during a time of conflict for the freedom of the press and expression which is particularly contentious in IndiardquoTandon was among the many Indians who took to Twitter to express grief at the news of his death referring to him as ldquoa brilliant thinker and a courageous voicerdquoThe Hindu rightwing organisation Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh also issued a statement condoling Fatahrsquos death on April 24 ldquo He was an eminent thinker author and commentator His significant contributions to the media and the literary world will be greatly remembered He remained committed to his principles and beliefs throughout his life and was respected for his courage and convictionrdquo RSS General Secretary Dattatrey Hosabale said in the statementFatah was known for his vocal opposition to Islamic practices speaking against ldquoHinduphobiardquo and retweeting Indian rightwingersrsquo posts On more than one occasion Fatah referred to himself as ldquoan Indian born in PakistanrdquoHis parents migrated from then Bombay to Karachi before he was born in 1949 While he graduated in biochemistry he chose to pursue journalism and was jailed by two military governments in Pakistan in the 1960s70s for his work as a student activist He was barred from practising journalism by the former Pakistan President ZiaulHaq which led him to migrate to Canada in 1987Delhibased columnist Arshia Malik says he didnrsquot shy away from challenging the existing hierarchies and talking about things that no one wanted the common man to hear ldquoFatahrsquos views were not so much radical as they were contrarian He spoke fearlessly about how the current form of Islam governed by the religious leaders was far from the message of the Prophet Mohammed He liked to call it the difference between Allah ka Islam and Mullah ka Islam He saw through the ISI the machinations of Pakistanrsquos political establishments the lies they told the people the way their actions led to civil war and the formation of Bangladesh and he never stopped talking about itrdquoMalik says that it is hardly surprising that he was a talking point among Indians ldquoHerersquos a Pakistani Muslim asking Indians lsquowhy are you being so defensive about our Indic rootsrsquo how Pakistan is a construct that has no business to exist and how the demand for an lsquoAzad Kashmirrsquo was ridiculous because you canrsquot have a Kashmir without its indigenous populationrdquo she saysPratik Sinha cofounder and editor of factchecking portal Alt News says that Fatahrsquos own religious identity coupled with his views made him a favourite of the India rightwing One of his recent tweets dated April 16 had a picture of Mahatma Gandhi with the caption saying ldquoHe left us for the wolves but now we know the differencerdquoldquoAnybody with a Muslim name supporting rightwing ideology is automatically in high demand and that is not just limited to Fatah There are so few of them but they become the poster boys for the right because they say that the BJP is lsquorightrsquo and the Muslims are at fault for what is happening in Indiardquo he saysSinha had his share of brushes with Fatah on Twitter as the latter was frequently called out for posting doctored videos and other instances of misinformation In 2019 Fatah posted a video about a protest rally against the Citizenship Amendment Act in Lucknow claiming that the protesters were raising slogans of ldquoPakistan Zindabadrdquo Sinha examined the video and tagged Fatah pointing out that the protesters were actually saying ldquoKashif Sahab Zindabadrdquo in support of Kashif Ahmed a leader with the All India MajliseIttehadul Muslimeen AIMIM who was leading the rallyA frequent grouse expressed against Fatah was that he never deleted his posts even after they were proven to be fake ldquoSomeone posting misinformation owing to an inherent bias is one thing But if you donrsquot delete it even after knowing what it is you simply donrsquot care Yoursquore looking for reach and validation Fatah gained social currency through his posts and that is a very effective way of becoming mainstream in politics and journalismrdquo says SinhaJournalist Poonam Joshi who also runs an organisation against marital abuse in the United Kingdom named Indian Ladies UK points out other instances Fatah had shared a video of burqaclad women dancing at a wedding in Dhaka claiming that they were Shaheen Bagh protesters in Delhi ldquoI honestly canrsquot speak about Fatahrsquos motivations but throughout history individuals have used the tactic of creating division to promote their unique worldviewrdquo she says ldquoThatrsquos just a fact of history and it happens all over the world itrsquos not confined to any one particular ideology or religionmdashthey could be Christian Buddhist Hindu Islamic capitalist or communistrdquoMuch to the chagrin of his detractors Fatah was nominated as the man to rename Lodhi Gardens in Delhi as Tarek Fatah Gardens by retired Indian Administrative Service IAS officer and lawyer Sanjay Dixit who posted a ldquorequestrdquo on Instagram Natasha has already tweeted a screenshot of the post and her tweet has garnered over 6000 likes and more than 1600 retweets since it was posted on April 27 Dixit runs a proright wing YouTube channel named the Jaipur Dialogue which also has a presence on other social media platforms midday reached out to Dixit for a comment but received no responseFatah himself became a victim of misinformation in his final days Even as he was battling cancer a tweet surfaced on April 21mdashthree days before his deathmdashclaiming that he had passed away It quickly gathered traction even as factcheckers got in touch with Natasha who denied the claim She also tweeted saying that Fatah was aliveOn April 28 three days after his death Fatah was cremated in Canada Once again social media erupted with reports that he was denied a space for burial as per Islamic traditions Natasha however countered these reports pointing out three different tweets in which Fatah had stated that he wished to be cremated ldquoLike my ancestors I too will not occupy a piece of land after Irsquom gone only to be eaten by worms as the body rotsrdquo he had tweeted