This story is part of Undertones, Global Voices’ Civic Media Observatory's newsletter. Find out more about our mission, methodology, and publicly available data. Subscribe to Undertones. Muslims in India are seeing their homes, history, and mosques being dismantled. Muslim schools are becoming secular, Muslim rulers are disappearing from history books, mosques are being converted into Hindu temples, and state forces have physically demolished Muslim-owned homes and businesses. Indian Muslims are under threat. Even India’s iconic Taj Mahal monument, a world-renowned Muslim mausoleum built by a Mughal emperor to honor his late wife in the 17th century, is now under question. More and more hyper-nationalist Hindus – within media ecosystems rife with Islamophobia – are convinced that the Taj Mahal was, in fact, built over a Hindu temple and so must be repurposed that way, even though the case was settled by Indian courts in 2017. Ever since Narendra Modi, who is from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), came to power in 2014, extreme pro-Hindu narratives entered the mainstream. Islamophobia is rampant in political discourses, which is then amplified by mainstream media and pro-Hindu groups online, creating feedback loops. The basis of the BJP party’s philosophy is Hindutva – a political ideology that seeks Hindu supremacy in all avenues, including the nation-state. India is home to one of the world's largest Muslim populations, but Muslims are still a minority within the country. In its 2011 census, Muslims comprised 14.2 percent of the population, while Hindus accounted for 79 percent. Voices critical of the government’s Islamophobia are few and far between. Online, posts that speak on behalf of Muslims’ rights are hyperlocal and do not garner much engagement. When they do attract attention, right-wing trolls verbally attack and threaten them. Modi’s government has dubbed all critics “enemies of India,” which may further quell freedom of speech. The ruling party and other hyper-nationalist Hindu groups are asserting that all Islamic structures in India, like mosques and monuments, were built either on Hindu land or ancient Hindu temples. For them, these structures need to be demolished and converted to give justice to Hindus. This narrative erupted in 1992 with the demolition of the 500-year-old Babri Mosque based on claims that it was built over a Ram (Hindu God) temple. The BJP and its ideological parent, the RSS, launched a campaign against the mosque and tore it down, leading to conflict, riots, and the death of hundreds of Muslims and Hindus. Currently, right-wing groups are targeting the famous Gyanvapi mosque in northern India, and also the Taj Mahal. They presented a petition to the courts claiming that the Taj Mahal is originally a Shiva (Hindu God) temple. This narrative has been circulating on Instagram, Telegram, and Whatsapp groups. A nationalist Hindu page on Instagram posted two side-by-side photos, one of Babri Mosque, which was demolished by right-wing Hindu extremists in 1992, and another of the Gyanvapi Mosque. The post claims that what happened in 1992 must also come to pass in 2022, thereby encouraging Hindu groups to demolish the Gyanvapi mosque. The post garnered 3k likes and enthusiastic messages calling for the mobilization of Hindus. (See the analysis here) In our analysis, this post ranked the lowest point on the Observatory’s civic impact score (-3) because it incites violence and has reached a large audience. The following post shows criticism of anti-Muslim peddling. The local opinion page, Ulta chasma uc, sarcastically points out that while young people in the state of Uttar Pradesh struggle with unemployment, the BJP-led state government “is busy finding idols in mosques and building temples.” (See the analysis here) In our analysis, this post received a +2 in the civic media impact score because it is one of the few that have openly challenged the BJP's Hindutva rhetoric and aimed to draw attention to the actual problems faced by Indians. Under this prevalent but growing narrative, everything from Muslim prayers and clothing to cuisine is under attack by right-wing Hindu outlets. The BJP and allies assert that all Muslims living in India and in the broader subcontinent are outsiders who invaded the region and are now threatening Hindu society. Islam in India has come from travelers, traders, as well as historical invasions, which spanned from the 12th to the 19th centuries, namely by Central Asian, Persian, and Mughal rulers. Arab and Persian cultures have become integral to Indian cuisines, art, languages and traditions. Indian culture and history cannot be understood without the influence of different cultures over the centuries.