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ISLAMABAD: A female journalist in India&#39;s Kerala state has alleged that she faced online abuse and threats after questioning a BJP candidate about a cash-for-votes controversy. The incident marks the latest escalation in a row that has already triggered an official inquiry and raised concerns over the safety of journalists covering the case. Maktoob Media reported that journalist Shamna K, a Muslim, who works with Malayalam news channel Big TV, received abusive messages and misogynistic remarks across social media after pressing Sobha Surendran at a press conference. According to Maktoob, the exchange took place after Shamna asked Surendran whether the woman seen in a video allegedly distributing cash to voters was linked to the BJP candidate. The report said Surendran did not give a clear answer and ended the press conference soon afterward. The controversy comes amid an ongoing probe into allegations that cash was distributed to influence voters in Palakkad ahead of the Kerala Assembly election. The Times of India reported that the district inquiry has concluded and that a final report is expected next week, although it is still pending the statement of an elderly woman allegedly seen receiving the money. The inquiry has included statements from Surendran, rival candidates and other witnesses connected to the case. The issue has also raised wider concern about the treatment of journalists reporting on the episode. Earlier this month, police protection was provided to MediaOne Palakkad reporter Sajid Ajmal after intelligence reportedly flagged threats linked to BJP-RSS circles over his reporting on the same alleged cash-for-votes incident. That development was reported by both Maktoob and Madhyamam, the new outlets. Taken together, the latest developments suggest that journalists pursuing sensitive questions in the Palakkad controversy are facing an increasingly hostile environment. Threats, political pressure and allegations of intimidation are now becoming a parallel story to the cash-for-votes probe itself.

India

The incident marks the latest escalation in a row that has triggered an official inquiry and raises concerns over the safety of journalists covering the case.

India: Muslim journalist faces abuse after questioning BJP candidate

NEW DELHI: A key opposition Indian politician has threatened legal action against the election commission after millions of people were struck off electoral rolls, the latest flashpoint over a contentious voter clean-up drive. A sweeping voter registration overhaul -- known as the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) -- meant to remove ineligible voters but which critics say is skewed against marginalised and minority communities, kicked off last year in several states and territories. Many of these regions voted Thursday to elect local governments, with two other states slated to go to polls later this month. That includes West Bengal, a state with roughly 100 million people led by Mamata Banerjee of the Trinamool Congress party, where it has run into furious opposition. West Bengal is also a crucial election battleground, which Prime Minister Narendara Modi&#39;s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has never governed. - Move to court - Banerjee, the state&#39;s chief minister, accused India&#39;s Election Commission of &quot;working at the behest of the BJP&quot; to strike off her supporters from the state&#39;s electoral rolls. &quot;We will move court again to resist the exclusion of names,&quot; she told her supporters at an election rally on Wednesday. A previous challenge by Banerjee, one of Modi&#39;s most formidable opponents, is pending in the Supreme Court. Members of Modi&#39;s BJP have long claimed that large numbers of undocumented Muslim migrants from neighbouring Bangladesh have fraudulently entered India&#39;s electoral rolls. West Bengal shares a 2,217 kilometre (1,378 mile) long border with Bangladesh. The Election Commission, in its defence of the SIR, has said it is in part to avoid &quot;foreign illegal immigrants&quot; from voting. The SIR drive in West Bengal was carried out in two phases. In the first, around 6.3 million names were deleted, with officials citing routine reasons such as deaths or voters having moved out of the state. A second, more controversial phase, flagged another six million voters for &quot;adjudication&quot;, a category introduced for the first time in West Bengal, which relied on software to identify anomalies such as spelling mismatches. Muslims, who make up a quarter of the state&#39;s population, were disproportionately flagged for this extra scrutiny, according to at least two independent analyses of Election Commission data. Of those flagged, about 2.7 million were finally found to be ineligible to vote, the Election Commission&#39;s data released earlier this week, raising the total number of exclusions to over nine million -- or roughly 12 percent of the electorate. The 2.7 million left out after the second phase can still appeal their exclusion. But with the tribunals set up to adjudicate such matters still not fully operational, a decision is unlikely before voting begins on April 23.

Mamata Banerjee has threatened fresh legal action against India’s Election Commission over a voter roll purge in West Bengal that excluded over nine million people, with critics alleging minority targeting and warning many appeals may remain unresolved before April 23 voting.

India election roll overhaul sparks anger as key states vote

ISLAMABAD: Islamophobia and hate speech against minorities have seen a sharp increase in Kerala, India, Maktoob Media reported on Monday.&nbsp; Citing data compiled by the Islamophobia Research Collective (IRC), the report said at least 909 incidents of Islamophobia, including hate speech, discriminatory actions and prejudicial campaigns were documented in the state between Jan. 2025 and March 2026.&nbsp; Of these, 659 incidents were recorded in 2025, while 250 more were reported in the first three months of 2026 alone, showing a sharp increase in Islamophobia. The reports by Maktoob Media and Madhyamam News said the incidents were not limited to isolated remarks.&nbsp; Instead, the documentation described a broader pattern of inflammatory rhetoric, discriminatory mobilization and coordinated prejudicial campaigns targeting Muslim leaders, organizations, religious symbols and places.&nbsp;<div class="fr-embed"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-1" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-1&features=eyJ0ZndfdGltZWxpbmVfbGlzdCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOltdLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X2ZvbGxvd2VyX2NvdW50X3N1bnNldCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOnRydWUsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdHdlZXRfZWRpdF9iYWNrZW5kIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6Im9uIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH0sInRmd19yZWZzcmNfc2Vzc2lvbiI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfZm9zbnJfc29mdF9pbnRlcnZlbnRpb25zX2VuYWJsZWQiOnsiYnVja2V0Ijoib24iLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X21peGVkX21lZGlhXzE1ODk3Ijp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6InRyZWF0bWVudCIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfZXhwZXJpbWVudHNfY29va2llX2V4cGlyYXRpb24iOnsiYnVja2V0IjoxMjA5NjAwLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X3Nob3dfYmlyZHdhdGNoX3Bpdm90c19lbmFibGVkIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6Im9uIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH0sInRmd19kdXBsaWNhdGVfc2NyaWJlc190b19zZXR0aW5ncyI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdXNlX3Byb2ZpbGVfaW1hZ2Vfc2hhcGVfZW5hYmxlZCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdmlkZW9faGxzX2R5bmFtaWNfbWFuaWZlc3RzXzE1MDgyIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6InRydWVfYml0cmF0ZSIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfbGVnYWN5X3RpbWVsaW5lX3N1bnNldCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOnRydWUsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdHdlZXRfZWRpdF9mcm9udGVuZCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9fQ%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=2041327850389696584&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Fdashboard%2F&sessionId=bc7437aa505acff146a41911dbb9b72fe3304f9d&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 897px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;">&nbsp;</iframe></div></div>Madhyamam said the findings pointed to an &ldquo;unprecedented rise&rdquo; in hate speech aimed at Muslims in Kerala.&nbsp; Among those named in the documentation, right wing party, SNDP Yogam&rsquo;s general secretary Vellappally Natesan was said to have topped the list with at least 60 hate speeches in 2025.&nbsp; Political commentator Adv A Jayashankar and BJP leader PC George were also listed among those with more than 50 instances each.&nbsp; Maktoob further reported that members of the ruling Left, including ministers and MLAs from the Left Democratic Front(LDF), were also cited in the documentation, indicating that the problem cuts across political lines. A major part of the criticism concerns police inaction.&nbsp; According to both reports, IRC member Baburaj Bhagavathy said many complaints were either never filed or did not lead to meaningful police action even when submitted.&nbsp; Bhagavaty said this was especially troubling because the Supreme Court has directed authorities to take suo motu cognizance of hate speech, yet many such cases in Kerala allegedly saw no action.&nbsp;The complainants have been facing difficulties themselves, reportedly.&nbsp; Raihanath Kappan, the wife of Kerala-based journalist Siddique Kappan, who was arrested while attempting to cover the Hathras rape case in 2020, said multiple complaints she filed over alleged hate propaganda on YouTube were not registered.&nbsp; Another case involved writer KR Indira, whose past anti-Muslim remarks had drawn complaints, but where follow-p action was allegedly weak. Maktoob also said activist Usman Kattappana, who criticised those remarks, was himself booked by police.&nbsp; With Kerala already in election mode ahead of April 9 polling, Bhagavathy warned that Islamophobic campaigns could see a spike during the campaign period.&nbsp;That has raised fresh concerns about communal rhetoric and weak enforcement in a state often seen as more socially progressive than much of India.&nbsp;

Islamophobia in Kerala is rising sharply, with 909 documented incidents since Jan. 2025, as reports allege growing hate speech, cross-party involvement, and weak police action despite Supreme Court directives.


Articles tagged with "Kerala"

India: Muslim journalist faces abuse after questioning BJP candidate

India election roll overhaul sparks anger as key states vote

India's Kerala state records over 900 Islamophobic incidents since 2025: Report