In a show of remarkable insensitivity, BJP Chhattisgarh's official X handle has shared a 'Ghibli' version of the haunting image of a slain Indian Navy lieutenant and his wife that had shaken the conscience of the entire country in the hours following the Pahalgam terrorist attack.
At least 26 people were killed in the picturesque Baisaran valley near Pahalgam in Anantnag district on April 22 in the deadliest terror attack targetting tourists in Kashmir in recent history. According to survivors' accounts, three to four men in army fatigues descended from the dense Pine forests around 2 pm and fired indiscriminately at civilians enjoying their time in the lush meadows of what is popularly known as 'Mini Switzerland'. The Resistance Front (TRF), a shadow group of the banned Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), claimed responsibility for the terrorist attack, according to sources in the central agencies.
The terrorists reportedly asked about the religion of the tourists before firing at them. One of the victims, Shubham Dwivedi, was asked for his name and was ordered to recite the Kalma. When he couldn't, they shot him. Dwivedi's wife pleaded with them to shoot her as well, but they reportedly refused and told her to go back and inform the government about what they had done. Pallavi, whose husband Manjunath Rao was killed in the shooting, also recounted a similar interaction."I told them to shoot me too, but they said, 'Go tell Modi,'" Pallavi told The News Minute.
Amid the outrage and condemnation that followed, the horrifying image of Indian Navy Lieutenant Vinay Narwal's wife Himanshi sitting next to her husband's lifeless body shook the country. The couple, who was on their honeymoon, had tied the knot on April 16.
While the whole of India struggled to fully comprehend the scale of the catastrophe that unfolded, the official handle of the Bharatiya Janata Party Chhattisgarh 'ghibli-fied' the viral image and superimposed the text 'धर्म पूछा, जाती नहीं' and tweeted it. This is in tandem with the recent surge of Studio Ghibli-inspired images generated by artificial intelligence. The trend that recently gained momentum across social media platforms showcased highly stylised artworks mimicking the signature aesthetics of the renowned Japanese animation studio. The trend peaked last month when social media users started 'Ghiblifying' portraits, family photos, photos of celebrities et cetera.
The managers of the BJP Chhattisgarh X handle, it seems, thought it wise to go with the trend by rendering the Ghibli version of the image that represented an unimaginable tragedy. In the caption of the image, they wrote "धर्म पूछा, जाति नहीं… याद रखेंगे।" with the hashtag #Pahalgam. (Archive)
The tweet had garnered over 4 million views before it was deleted. However, the seeming awakening of a semblance of conscience was rather short-lived. BJP Chhattisgarh tweeted the same image again on the morning of April 23.
Several influential figures joined in, including BJP MLA and Delhi cabinet minister Kapil Mishra, Right-wing influencer Abhijit Iyer Mitra, BJP MLA and Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha vice-president Ram Satpute, Right-wing social media influencer handle Kreately, as well as the official handle of Dhirendra Shastri, the spiritual leader from Bageshwar Dham.
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The post by BJP Chhattisgarh continues to be available on X at the time of this report being written. Several social media users, have, however, expressed their disagreement with it.
"Taking victim's picture and using AI to create ghibli art just for a few likes on social media is a new low even for you guys. Shame on you!..." commented a user. Another wrote, "How's someone's first thought after a terrorist attack is to take a disturbing image from the attack, prompt AI to turn it into Ghibli style image and then use the image to spread hate based propaganda?". "Pathetic. As low as it could get!," commented another one.
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