A curious video is doing the rounds. Titled “How will India become Lebanon | The game of Demography and population explosion” the ‘talk is by Ananta Sarga productions, anchored by its co-founder Varun Kulkarni, and uploaded on their Breathing History YouTube channel. It begins with a conclusion that “what happened with Lebanon will happen with India”, which the anchor only refers to as Bharat, like most Hindutva groups have instructed their followers to do.

“If we don’t wake up in time there is nothing stopping Bharat from becoming another Lebanon,” he says, “explaining” how in the 50s the Maronite Christians were in majority there and that it along with Israel were the only two democracies in the area. He stresses that these were also the only two “non-Muslim countries” of the area adding, “You can reach whatever conclusions you want from that.” He goes on to trace that all “refugees” including Christians and Muslims thronged to Lebanon. There is of course a dramatic sound track backing his claims of how “terrorist organsaitons like PLO” were doing their “politics under a Leftist banner” and projected themselves as “victims”. He further says, “I hope you can see the scary similarity” and goes on to claim “internal population explosion” and “refugees” for the rise in Muslim population.

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He then claims that “India is headed the Lebanon way.” He says that “they let refugees in”, and ‘explains’ in a simple way how ‘this was like a langar’ but changed the demography and “attacks” began. He claims this is happening in India and “Assam population” is an example, and claimed how “eight states in India” now “do not have Hindus as majority.” He says India “has not understood the demography game” and that Indian Hindus are not paying attention to the “cultural existential issues” and are easily diverted. He claims that Bangladesh and Pakistan are supporting the “illegal refugees”.

The man then concludes his communal monologue by appreciating the Hindutva groups who are “awakening” and saying things like “don’t teach us how to celebrate our festivals”, perhaps hinting at the concerns raised over Diwali related pollution etc. “Watch this video to understand (hopefully, realise) how scary and close India could be to become the next Lebanon. There are other European countries falling for the same too,” he claims in the description, adding an alarmist “Time to WAKE UP and do something about it” call to action.

However, his hate claims, and rumour mongering stands busted as ground realities showcase a completely different story. As detailed by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace website The Lebanese Constitution since 1926 was amended several times – in 1929, 1943, 1947, and 1990. “The most recent 1990 Constitution (found here in English, Arabic, and French) provides for an equal distribution of Christians and Muslims in both the Cabinet and the Parliament.” The Constitution “may be revised upon the request of the president or the parliament. A two-thirds majority of seats is needed to initiate amendment procedures (Articles 76 and 77)” and is also “supplemented by the 2008 Doha Agreement (English text), which ended an eighteen-month political deadlock and eventual violent outbreak between the Western and Saudi-backed majority and its pro-Syrian opposition.”

While historians and legal experts may bust the claims made by propaganda channels such as this which aim at creating a communal narrative, it is a cause of worry that such channels are allowed to air unchecked by Youtube. It is being shared by many groups. Anant Sarga productions is founded by engineers turned ‘fimmakers’ Preetham K Tiwari, and Varun Kulkarni, who anchors the show. Breathing History and Ananta Sarga specialise in a stylised presentation of the Hindutva narratives on many subjects. History, facts and objectivity are the top casualties of such projects.

Image Courtesy: Twitter

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