The Indian corporate sector is often seen promoting Hinduphobes and ‘donating’ millions to bodies that actively propagate anti-Hindu and anti-Bharat propaganda. The latest instance is that of Tatas, who invited ‘journalist’ Mehdi Hasan to participate in the Tata Lit Fest in Mumbai.

Hinduphobic Mehdi Hasan hosted by Tata

Mehdi Hasan, well-known for his anti-Hindu stance, was a featured speaker at the 14th Tata Literature Live! The Mumbai LitFest. The event included two sessions, one with Congress MP Shashi Tharoor and another with ‘journalist’ Rajdeep Sardesai. Held at The Tata Theatre within The National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA) in South Mumbai on October 27th and 28th.

Hasan is described on the festival’s website as the host of The Mehdi Hasan Show on MSNBC and Peacock and as an author of ‘Win Every Argument: The Art of Debating, Persuading, and Public Speaking,’ a New York Times bestseller. The website further notes that he has previously worked with Al Jazeera English and contributed to publications such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Guardian. The event was sponsored by Tata Steel and Tata Motors and supported by Godrej and Kotak in association with NCPA.

Mehdi Hasan, a journalist of Indian descent raised in England, has made several unsavory remarks in the past. In a 2009 video, he equated non-Muslims with ‘cattle’ and likened homosexuals to ‘pedophiles,’ stating, “Once we lose the moral high ground, we are no different from the rest of the non-Muslims, from the rest of those human beings who live their lives as animals, bending any rule to fulfill any desire.” Hasan ‘apologized’ for these remarks in 2019.

In April 2022, Hasan again stirred controversy by targeting Bharat’s Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, and questioning Bharat’s secularism. He equated Hindu Nationalism with white supremacy, drawing parallels that were both inaccurate and offensive. Hasan also gaslighted Hindus by suggesting a false differentiation between ‘Hinduism’ and ‘Hindutva.’ This differentiation is often used as a means to hide one’s hatred for Hindus and their Dharma.

Moreover, Hasan was seen as resorting to a superficial appeal for peace after extremists attacked the Hindu community in Leicester in 2022, failing to directly address the attackers. In 2021, he provided a platform to anti-India activist Sunita Vishwanath, funded by George Soros, allowing her to propagate her views.

Furthermore, Hasan has repeatedly targeted Hindu leaders like Narendra Modi and Tulsi Gabbard. His controversial statements and actions have sparked debates about his credibility as a journalist and his ability to maintain impartiality and fairness in his reporting.

Netizens express their dismay

The decision to invite Hinduphobic ‘journalist’ Mehdi Hasan to ‘Tata Literature Live! The Mumbai Fest’ sparked outrage among social media users. Many expressed their dismay and criticized the event organizers for including him as a speaker. They cited his history of engaging in anti-Bharat, anti-Hindu, and anti-Semitic rhetoric. Some users questioned the choice to have him as a guest of honor, with some drawing comparisons to Islamists such as wanted terrorist Hafeez Sayyed and Hamas chief Ismail Haniya. One user even made calls for his removal from the program.

Many netizens also highlighted Tata-owned companies and businesses’ promotion of controversial themes through their advertisements and funding organizations like The Wire, Harvard, and Cornell, among others. It did not escape attention that Tatas are probably attempting monkey-balancing by promoting anti-Bharat propagandists on the one hand and nationalism on the other.

On this occasion, it was also highlighted how Jewish billionaires stood up for Israel following Hamas’ 7 October terrorist attack. The contrast with Indian corporates is too stark, whether it is intentional or unintentional, to go unnoticed.

Other corporates sponsoring anti-Hindu, anti-Bharat propaganda

Shri Rajiv Malhotra has repeatedly highlighted that Indian business houses are funding anti-Bharat and anti-Hindu propaganda. The author pointed out how Indian billionaires are sponsoring the anti-India agenda through their association with Harvard. Anand Mahindra’s Mahindra Humanities Centre, Laxmi Mittal’s South Asia Institute, and Piramal’s Public Health Centre were some of the examples cited by him.

Explaining how American concepts are exported to Bharat, Shri Rajiv cited institutes such as Ashoka University, TISS, and Azim Premji University, among others. These institutions propagate the ideas and concepts incubated at Harvard. Social Science and liberal arts at Harvard aren’t based on Indian ideas. Shri Rajiv Malhotra says if Bharatiyas want to sponsor Harvard, then they should sponsor streams such as science, technology, engineering, and medicine.

Mahindra gifted $10 million, Mittal donated $25 million, and Ratan Tata donated $50 million (in 2010) to Harvard. In 2014, Ajay Piramal and his wife Swati Piramal, gave a generous gift to Harvard’s Chan School of Public Health. In exchange, Swati was given a seat on the Harvard Board of Overseers.

Harvard promotes numerous problematic theories aimed at targeting Hindu Dharma. Mittal supports Hinduphobic Ajantha Subramanian of Harvard, while Piramal-sponsored Chan Institute is majorly supported by China. In other words, Harvard is using funds donated by Indian billionaires to promote anti-India propaganda, anti-Hindu propaganda, fake caste surveys, sponsoring Hinduphobic professors, making false accusations of Brahminical patriarchy, and undermining Bharat’s democracy.

Ashoka University, termed as Harvard’s junior partner by Shri Rajiv Malhotra, is funded and supported by Info Edge’s (Naukri.com) Sanjeev Bikhchandani, Flipkart co-founder Binny Bansal, P&G’s former CEO Gurcharan Das, Akasa Air co-founder Aditya Ghosh, Thermax’s Anu Aga, Venture Capitalist Sanjeev Agarwal, Bajaj, Motilal Oswal, Mankind Pharma, IndusInd Bank, and Axis Bank.

The remarks of Pratap Bhanu Mehta, Former Vice Chancellor of Ashoka University, are troublesome, to say the least. He said that for CAA to be repealed, there needs to be ‘mob rule’ and violence on the street. The University’s Faculty includes Ex-Naxalite Dilip Simeon, anti-Hindu Mitul Baruah (who petitioned for terrorist Yakub Memon), Hinduphobic Neelanjan Sarkar (known for mocking Prabhu Ram), Aparna Vaidik, Shahid Jameel, and Ashwini Deshpande (columnist with propaganda website The Wire). Equally problematic are the research fellows of the University’s Centre For Studies in Gender and Sexuality and Ashoka’s other Centres.

Sham Sharma also spoke about Godrej India Culture Lab (GICL), funded by the Godrej Family. This was developed to ‘create a better understanding’ of the LGBTQ movement and ‘progressive ideas’ in India. Anish Gawande, the biggest brand ambassador of GICL, calls himself an anti-nationalist and owns an NGO named The Pink List India.

He supports the Kashmiri separatist movement. He had opposed CAA and NRC, terming them ‘Islamophobic’ and ‘transphobic’, and even supported anti-CAA rallies. His anti-Bharat articles have been used by Hinduphobic American politicians like Ilhan Omar and Rashida Talib during hearings on Kashmir. Furthermore, he supports tukde-tukde gang’s Sharjeel Imam while speaking ill of the Bharatiya army. GICL and Gawande de-platformed pro-Bharat pro-Hindu LGBTQ activist Gopi Shankar Madurai from a pro-LGBTQ event organized by GICL and sponsored by Godrej without any explanation.

Not only Indian billionaires but even the ‘Hindutvawadi nationalist’ government’s bodies such as NITI Aayog, Ministry of Women & Child Development, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, and Government of Maharashtra are collaborating with anti-Bharat and anti-Hindu universities such as Harvard.