Dangers of misreporting Dhaka's 'river of blood'
On Eid day, social media was flooded with photographs of Dhaka's streets, submerged in a "river of blood" as rain water mixed with the blood of goats slaughtered on the occasion of Eid al Adha.
Soon, almost every news outfit picked up the story, from CNN to The Guardian to Zee News.
Eco-friendly Eid
Only days ahead of this year's Eid al Adha celebrations, like the past few years, a sort of campaign was launched in India to advocate an “eco-friendly” Eid, implying the symbolic sacrifice of animals. From Hindutva trolls to the well-meaning, liberal-minded people, everyone turned champions of animal rights overnight.
The Dhaka image particularly suited the agenda of those decrying a bloody festival, and consequently, the criticism of ritual sacrifice often bordered on Islamophobic commentary. Several images, many of them clearly digitally enhanced, and a video of the blood swept streets of Dhaka were being shared by Hindutva trolls.
In this news item, Sudhir Choudhary of Zee News explains the nuances of the "river of blood" in Hindi, expressing shock at the number of animals that must have been slaughtered for such streams of blood to inundate the streets. A day earlier, when a BJP leader suggested, on Choudhry's show, that Muslims celebrate an eco-friendly Eid, the anchor went on to discuss the issue in detail and urged that the "cruel practice" must end.
It is only later in the programme that he mentioned, and that too in the passing, that the blood of animals got mixed with stagnated water following a heavy downpour, leading to the blood-red streams. So the "river of blood" was rain water that mixed with some blood.
The way the news was presented, however, made it appear as if streams of blood were flowing across Dhaka.
The Dhaka incident was soon juxtaposed with the whole of Bangladesh and other Muslim countries like Pakistan, and data about the number of bovines slaughtered in different countries across the world on the occasion generously shared.
The tone with which the "river of blood" was being discussed in India's social media space, immediately after mooting the idea of "eco-friendly" sacrifices infuriated Muslims and several liberals. That got many "Internet Muslims" active and, by Thursday evening, you saw photographs claiming that the pool of blood was Photoshopped by the Islamophobic media. They showed the images appeared normal, not blood-stained. Soon, the authenticity of several photos of the "river of blood" was questioned on this ground.
It began with few individuals, but Milli Gazette, a community news portal of Indian Muslims, shared a few of the new images on its Facebook page and, within hours, the counter claims too went viral.
Some smaller media watch sites as also other community news portals reported the alleged Photoshop drive purportedly aimed at maligning Islam/Muslims. In the process, however, they all committed the same mistake the media was accused of: they posted photos without verifying their sources. Clearly, some of the images the Hindutva trolls used appear enhanced and altered, but there is no basis to claim that all the photos are fabricated.
What is worse, no one bothered to contact anyone in Dhaka to know what exactly happened.
Did a"river of blood" claim Dhaka streets?
Friends in Dhaka told me that the streets were indeed blood-red, and that those debunking the authenticity of the images were sharing Photoshopped pictures, showing bloodless streets.
People who were sharing altered photographs conveniently ignored the fact that there were short videos that most media outfits had shared.
As most international media channels had reported, the poor drainage system in the city led to water logging after the heavy downpour, which is not unusual in our parts of the world - owing to rapid unplanned urbanisation - and in some localities, the rain water got mixed with blood.
As a BBC report notes – and my friend in Dhaka told me – the problem was most acute in the Shantinagar suburb of Dhaka. Almost all images being shared on social media are from the same locality.
A media professional from Dhaka said, “The area in question (Shantinagar) is going under serious (implying burgeoning) construction. There's a huge flyover being built there, so the drainage system has gone for a toss, literally.”
As many news reports had reported, he too acknowledged that the local administration in Dhaka allocates space for slaughter, but the heavy rain had “prevented people” from performing the ritual sacrifice at the designated locations. Locals were hence forced to slaughter animals in their garages, outside their homes and on the streets, leading to streams of blood mixing with flood water.
On October 16, Dhaka Tribune reported on the “probable disease outbreak in Dhaka following the hours-long waterlog mixed with the blood of sacrificed animals.”
Time for introspection
As someone who relishes different kinds of meat delicacies, I certainly am not one championing the cause of animal rights. But I strongly feel that Muslims in India – and in countries like Bangladesh – need to do some soul searching. The Holy Quran clearly mentions: “It is not their flesh, nor their blood, that reaches Allah; but your devotion will reach Him.” But if we see around us, the spirit of sacrifice seems to have reduced, in most cases, to a status symbol. The size of the animal, the price you pay and the number of animals you buy, attain no spiritual goal, but have materialist implications.
Every Eid al Adha, despite local imams urging people to be mindful of sentiments of fellow citizens, I see pools of blood, and carcasses lying in the open on the streets of Khidderpore, a largely Muslim-populated area in Kolkata where I reside, throughout the day, often for three days at a stretch.
A friend who works in Dubai told me that there is a designated slaughter house in the city and the sacrifice is offered in a systematic manner through a coupon system. There are time slots to collect the meat sacrificed in one's name.
Several international community-based organisations are involved in outsourcing the ritual sacrifice, particularly for Muslims living in the West, and the meat offered in their name is distributed among poorer people in countries like India, Pakistan and Somalia.
Muslim organisations, who otherwise champion the cause of personal laws, must come forward and develop community slaughter houses in cities, at least, and evolve a mechanism for more responsible ways of sacrifice. They should also encourage people to go for collective sacrifice in rural areas, rather than stocking their homes with meat for days.
Animal rights vs Islamophobia
The debate on the "river of blood" is connected with two larger issues: animal rights and Islamophobia. Increasingly, as people have become more sensitive towards animal rights’, there is a sustained campaign in favour of vegetarianism. Animal rights activists and vegans have, for long, pursued the case against any kind of slaughter and one must respect them for enthusiastically campaigning for what they believe in.
But those urging for complete prohibition of animal sacrifice must realise that any reform, if it must happen, will occur only when the community thinks it is time. Brandishing a community as backward people who must reform, and that too under duress of "outsiders", will only push them into a cocoon and make them more aggressive.
While animal sacrifice witnesses an outcry, a large share of it actually goes to feed the poor; we do not see similar enthusiasm against KFC, Burger King or such reputed food joints who too slaughter millions of animals on a daily basis. And India is also one of leading exporters of not just beef, but also other meat products. One must also note that in several temples, from Kalighat in Kolkata to Kamakhya in Guwahati, animals are sacrificed in large numbers.
What is worrying though that for last few years, particularly after the NDA government took over, it has become a ritual for almost everyone to turn animal rights activists and propagate vegetarianism in a country that so fervently raises the chorus for ahimsa just before a Muslim festival.
There is, however, a catch! Can one ever imagine a scenario where self-proclaimed reformers of Islam, self-proclaimed liberals, animal rights activists and the Hindutva spokes are on the same plane? Well, some of the first and last of those are often seen hand in glove these days.
But wonder is when even the most gentle of liberals and rights activists get swayed in their zeal to propagate animal rights. When even the likes of Shekhar Gupta and Prashant Bhushan advocate alternate ways to please God, never mind that many of them may actually themselves be meat eaters.
This only gives Hindutva zealots, who justify cow vigilantism on a daily basis, an opportunity to suddenly advocate ahimsa.