Indian influencer faces rape threats over pro-Palestine posts

NEW DELHI, India (MNTV) — An Indian social media influencer has been subjected to sustained online harassment, rape threats and death threats after expressing support for Palestine, exposing how Hindu extremist networks in India deploy sexualized abuse, Pakistan-baiting and moral policing to silence pro-Palestinian voices.

Yashaswinee Raje Singh, a social media influencer and daughter of BJP leader Vikram Singh, who speaks on global political issues, became the target of a coordinated Hindutva campaign after posting in support of Palestinians, whom she said have faced genocide over the past two years. 

Her posts were amplified by Hindu right-wing accounts, triggering a wave of attacks that quickly escalated into threats of sexual violence.

The harassment intensified after a Hindu extremist social media page circulated posts accusing her of having a Pakistani boyfriend and consuming beef — allegations routinely weaponized by Hindutva groups to mark individuals as “anti-national,” immoral, or disloyal. The page framed the claims as an exposé, contrasting her political views with her father’s public image.

Soon after, Hindutva trolls began circulating her personal photographs and details across platforms. The campaign was overtly communal and gendered: Pakistan was invoked as a slur, beef consumption was used to incite outrage, and her character was publicly sexualized. 

As the posts spread, Singh began receiving rape and death threats — a pattern widely documented against women who speak on Palestine, Kashmir, caste violence, or Muslim rights in India.

Singh later addressed the campaign in a detailed Instagram statement, describing it as a coordinated attempt to silence her political speech. She said her publicly accessible account had been systematically trawled, screenshots circulated, and false claims deliberately manufactured to malign her character.

“Over the last two weeks, I’ve been the target of a coordinated online attack,” she wrote, adding that lies and insinuations were amplified to intimidate her into silence.

She said misinformation about her personal relationships was deliberately spread, after which right-wing accounts flooded her messages with rape threats — a tactic she described as predictable and familiar to women who speak about politics and marginalized communities.

“The playbook is predictable,” she wrote. “When women speak about politics, ideas rarely matter. Instead, our lives are put on trial. Shame is deployed, lies are manufactured, and every personal choice is treated like evidence of moral failure.”

Rejecting the intimidation, Singh said she would not retreat from her views. “Palestine belongs to Palestinians,” she wrote, dismissing the rumors pushed by extremist accounts.

Responding to one such comment on X, she pushed back against the Pakistan-baiting used against her. “Global institutions attract global talent. I have friends from Pakistan, same as I do from 100 other countries,” she wrote, adding that friendships do not become “links” unless shaped by “irreparable jingoism.”

Only after the harassment escalated did her father, Vikram Singh — a former legislator affiliated with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party — file a police complaint. Singh alleged that fake reports about his family were being circulated online and said he had also received extortion calls and threats.

Rights advocates say the case reflects a broader Hindutva strategy in India’s digital space, where women who express solidarity with Palestinians are targeted through sexual violence threats, communal slurs and character assassination.

Analysts note that the use of Pakistan-related accusations and beef allegations is a familiar tactic aimed at delegitimizing dissent by framing it as treachery rather than political speech.