• This article examines Ranveer Allahbadia’s transformation: from friend to the Muslims to Hindutva supremacist.
• It takes a closer look at his baseless comments on Piers Morgan Uncensored.
Ranveer Allahbadia, the golden boy of India’s podcasting boom, has finally revealed what many quietly suspected. Beneath the Mr Openminded—Mr Nice Guy facade— not to mention, his pseudo-spiritual musings— lies a man willing to shapeshift when the stakes climb. Last night, on Piers Morgan Uncensored, his Hindutva supremacy was laid bare for everyone to see.
And, I don’t know about you, but I’ve always felt that if someone harbours anti-Muslim views, they should at least have the honesty to own them. Wear the label as boldly as you wear the prejudice I say. Just please spare us the masquerade. There’s something far worse than bigotry — and that’s bigotry dressed up as virtue.
Okay, let’s rewind, it’s important to revisit the context after all…
Earlier in the year, Allahbadia sat across the room from our brother Imran Hussain of Sapience Institute, nodding thoughtfully, listening attentively, telling Hussain—whilst hosting him on the BeerBiceps podcast— (on numerous occasions I hasten to add) how he was thrilled to be sat with him and how he genuinely wanted to learn more about Islam. He has in addition hosted a whole host of Muslims on his podcast.
We were all fooled.
Almost.
A week later, the entrepreneur and content creator asked an utterly shocking and grotesque question during his appearance on Samay Rahina’s show India’s Got Latent. During the show, Allahbadia, who was a panelist, directed his question to a contestant, one that has since haunted him like Marley’s ghost in A Christmas Carol! I consider the question too repugnant to repeat, though you can view it here.
India turned against Allahbadia
And with a substantial following of 8.21 million followers on YouTube at the time, he began losing his fanbase. Then came his crying apology.
But perhaps there’s more to the story…
In the immediate aftermath of the Pahalgam attack, Allahbadia posted the following on his social media accounts:
This was a gesture of kindness toward Pakistanis/Muslims — a small act, perhaps, but one that suggested a man striving for nuance in Modi’s India. Then came the heat. The backlash. The brand risk. And subsequently, his deleted tweet.
We could be lead to believe that perhaps Allahbadia began with good intentions, perhaps he did want to genuinely connect with Muslims with integrity. Perhaps this is what the hunger of fame and acceptance can do to a man, if not careful— make him utterly void of his principles.
Last night on Piers Morgan Uncensored, we saw a very different Allahbadia, a smug accomplice to none other than the paragon of honest, unbiased journalism herself—Barkha Dutt— pandering to what his Indian audience demands of him.
“If India exports vacancies and engineers, Pakistan exports terrorism,” he said.
“Muslims in India are flourishing compared to Pakistani Muslims.”
Let’s take a look at this claim shall we? Here’s what Indian Muslims endure on a daily basis:
Mosque demolitions, Cow vigilantism, lynching, housing discrimination, exclusion from employment opportunities, Ghettoisation in urban planning, their free speech being suppressed, to mention a few human rights violations.
In 2019 New York-based ‘Human Rights Watch’ analysed the statistics of Hindu nationalist cow vigilantism in India. The 104-page report revealed that tragically, 44 Muslims had been killed, and 280 Muslims had been severely injured in more than 100 attacks between May 2015 and December 2018.
Yogi Adityanath, a prominent BJP leader and Hindu monk, known for his strong Hindutva ideology. Has been pushing forth his advocacy for “bulldozer justice”. This involves the forceful demolition of houses belonging to minorities under the pretext of addressing illegal constructions or corruption. Sound familiar? These actions have raised questions about the rule of law and the protection of individual rights in the pursuit of a particular ideological agenda in “democratic” India.
When asked about why India hadn’t provided any evidence regarding Pakistan’s involvement in the Pahalgam attack, Allahbadia replied, “It doesn’t matter if we don’t have evidence, just look at Pakistan’s reputation”. He proceeded by holding up a picture to the camera of Osama Bin Laden, “Pakistan was hiding him,” he said. Unfortunately, the Pakistani guests on the panel took the bait, while he steered the conversation away from India’s lack of evidence and the subsequent brutal attack on Pakistani Civillians.
“I don’t have a dog in this race”— Piers Morgan
Throughout the episode, Morgan exhibited a clear bias, repeatedly aligning with his Indian guests, just as he does with the Zionists who appear on his show. Furthermore, it’s curious that this episode was orchestrated after India had suffered decisive defeats both in the digital sphere and in the skies.
Recommended further reading: Pakistan Strikes Back: Operation Bunyan-un-Marsoos Shocks India and the World
The attempted erasure of Muslims and Islam from Kashmir and India
Many have characterised the Pahalgam attack as a false flag operation, suggesting it served as a pretext for advancing the expansionist ambitions of the RSS and BJP.
The BJP Celebrate Godse
Akhand Bharat envisions an expanded India stretching from Afghanistan to Myanmar involving Pakistan, Bangladesh, Tibet, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives. This concept, rooted in the RSS’s Hindutva ideology, disregards the complex historical realities of the region and the diversity of kingdoms that existed in ancient times. In 1948, when Nathuram Godse (RSS leader and Mahatma Gandhi’s assassin was executed himself, he shouted, “AkhandBharat Amar rahe” (Long live Unbroken India). Even today, BJP supporters favour the killing of Gandhi by Godse as Godse wanted a Hindu unified nation.
India’s relationship with Islam
The initial significant Islamic expansion into India occurred under the Umayyad Dynasty of caliphs, headquartered in Damascus. In 711, the Umayyads designated Muhammad bin Qasim, a 17-year-old from Ta’if, to extend their authority into India (modern day Indo-Pak region). Islam proliferated in coastal Indian urban centres through both migration and conversion. Furthermore, Islam has long been interwoven into the fabric of Indian society, from its Mughal reign to the enduring beauty of its architecture cherished today.
