Between Pahalgam attack and Operation Sindoor: India’s social media war

Himanshi Narwal was not the only Indian caught in the crosshairs of a social media trolling campaign.

Days after the Pahalgam terrorist attack, Himanshi Narwal, wife of murdered Navy Lieutenant Vinay Narwal, denounced hatred and appealed for peace. She further specified that she did not want people “going against” Muslims and Kashmiris.

Shortly thereafter, the grieving newlywed was viciously trolled on X (formerly Twitter). Accounts spreading Islamophobic content slandered her, questioned her loyalty to her deceased husband, called for her pension cancellation, and linked her with anti-army groups.

Ms. Narwal was not the only Indian caught in the crosshairs of a social media trolling campaign. After India launched Operation Sindoor against Pakistan on May 7, several Hindutva-promoting handles on X took it upon themselves to target fellow Indians whose opinions differed from theirs in any way. Users who shared posts that promoted pacificism, lamented the loss of lives due to war, expressed regret over shattered India-Pakistan relations, worried for Kashmiri civilians, or disagreed with the name ‘Operation Sindoor’ as they felt it patriarchal, were widely targeted and shamed online.

X users including journalists, activists, artists, and even students were hit with chilling levels of cyber abuse merely for expressing their feelings or asking questions. One far-right account with around 129,000 followers posted the details of people who called for de-escalation or peace. This account provided their Instagram handles, LinkedIn profiles, and other public social media handles so that its followers could harass the owners as well.

On May 11, however, the situation took a shocking turn when social media trolls targeted India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri with abusive comments for simply announcing that India and Pakistan had agreed to the cessation of military operations. Misri’s daughter was caught in the digital crossfire, with her phone number being leaked. This is an act known as doxxing. Misri went on to lock his X account while other lawmakers or officers came to his defence and praised his service.

Indian journalist and fact-checker Mohammed Zubair of Alt News also shared that he was doxxed by right-wing handles and targeted with Islamophobic abuse.

“People have leaked my home address and Mobile Number and have threatened to send Pork to my address. There are already life threats against me. This isn’t the first time. The same person in 2023 had sent Pork to my address and shared the shipping address on Twitter,” he posted on X on May 12.