Swara Bhasker, Gauhar Khan and other Twitterati make 'Talk to a Muslim' trend on Twitter

 At a time when religious differences are plaguing the world, social media comes up as a tool to remind us of the fact that India has always embodied 'Unity in Diversity'.

People on Twitter joined hands under a trending hashtag 'Talk to a Muslim' on Tuesday, to show their unity against the alleged 'Islamophobia' that block many minds to work for a better future to reside in.

Twitterati like Swara Bhaskar, Gauhar Khan, Rana Safvi took to their respective handles to speak their mind about the same.
'#India is standing up for love and peace.. #TalkToAMuslim,' read one of her tweets.

'#TalkToAMuslim it's not a crime !' she further posted.

Retweeting author Rana Safvi's thoughts, Swara wrote, 'Word. From one of contemporary India's finest culture scribes :) #TalkToAMuslim'
Safvi, on her Twitter handle, posted, 'I'm an Indian Muslim'I have fun'I enjoy life'I can talk to you on Shakespeare, Ghalib, Meerabai, the Mughals and the First war of Indian independence'Of Muslim contribution to freedom struggle'Come talk to me #TalkToAMuslim #TalktoaMuslim'

Actress Gauhar Khan extended her support to the trending hashtag and wrote, '#TalkToAMuslim seriously didn't think a day would come where talking to a muslim leader or a commoner would question ur patriotism or ur belief in ur own faith!!by land I am a Hindu ,by faith I am a Muslim and by heart n soul INDIAN is my identity !!! #killThehate #spreadlove'


'#TalkToAMuslim we are all humans first #StopDividing #StartUniting,' wrote a user.


'I'm An Indian Muslim. I'm Human too. You can talk to me.#TalkToAMuslim,' wrote another user, Zainab Sikander, reposting a tweet by Congress president Rahul Gandhi, clearing his stand on the 'Congress is Muslim party' controversy.


'I stand with the last person in the line. The exploited, marginalised and the persecuted. Their religion, caste or beliefs matter little to me. I seek out those in pain and embrace them. I erase hatred and fear. I love all living beings. I am the Congress,' Rahul tweeted.

The Congress party president's statement on the micro-blogging site came just a day ahead of the commencement of Parliament's monsoon session.

Rahul Gandhi has been facing flak from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for a statement on the Muslims, which snowballed into a controversy.

On July 11, he held a meeting with Muslim intellectuals. On July 12, the Urdu newspaper Inquilab carried a story, headlined 'Congress is a Muslim party', to which BJP accused the grand old party of minority appeasement ahead of the upcoming 2019 general elections.

However, the Congress party, rubbishing the report, said that Gandhi never made such a declaration.
"This is absolute lies and shameful spin by the newspaper. The BJP using it to further its own agenda, yet again, exposes their desperate tactics to mislead the nation. However this will not deter us to fight for India's founding principles and its democratic values," Congress leader Priyanka Chaturvedi tweeted.


The hashtag 'Talk to a Muslim' came to life when communities across the United Kingdom, earlier, started responding to some violent threats, contained in a letter, which promised that April 3 would be marked as a 'Punish a Muslim Day'.
 

#TalkToAMuslim we are all humans first #StopDividing #StartUniting pic.twitter.com/uZqa6oKmNC

— Rani (@reliablerani) July 17, 2018

#TalkToAMuslim seriously didn’t think a day would come where talking to a muslim leader or a commoner would question ur patriotism or ur belief in ur own faith!!by land I am a Hindu ,by faith I am a Muslim and by heart n soul INDIAN is my identity !!! #killThehate #spreadlove pic.twitter.com/kiXaHNmplA

— Gauahar Khan (@GAUAHAR_KHAN) July 17, 2018

Hear. Hear. #TalkToAMuslim https://t.co/mC0t9NLhes

— Swara Bhasker (@ReallySwara) July 17, 2018

Word. From one of contemporary India’s finest culture scribes :) #TalkToAMuslim https://t.co/wQxCeZquxY

— Swara Bhasker (@ReallySwara) July 17, 2018

#India is standing up for love and peace.. #TalkToAMuslim https://t.co/uSJk3TjwSZ

— Swara Bhasker (@ReallySwara) July 17, 2018

#TalkToAMuslim it’s not a crime ! https://t.co/Lkl3HkdM2P

— Swara Bhasker (@ReallySwara) July 17, 2018

According to media reports, the phrase 'Punish a Muslim' was coined in an anonymous letter distributed to some homes and businesses in east London, the Midlands and Yorkshire in May. 


ANI