Christchurch shootings: why would some right-wing Indian Hindus celebrate the death of Muslims?

When a gunman stormed Al Noor Mosque in Christchurch, New Zealand, on March 15, Ansi Alibava ran for her life. In vain. Minutes later her bullet-riddled body was found on the street by the man she had recently married and moved to the country with, Abdul Nazer.

Along with Alibava, five other Indians lost their lives that day, so it was only natural that the horror and revulsion felt across New Zealand would be shared in India, where millions took to social media to condemn the attack. Far less natural – at least in the eyes of those not well versed in Indian politics – was that some Indians celebrated it. There were posts on Facebook and Twitter that cheered the news or cracked jokes, while others decried their reactions as shameful.

The Christchurch attack proclaimed the arrival of white supremacist violence, half a world away from its roots. White nationalists have claimed lives in the United States, Canada, Norway and other European countries. Ethnic Indians – including Hindus and Sikhs – have been among the targets. Indians of every religion in the United States have also been among the main victims of the Trump Administration’s decision to tighten the rules on H1-B visas, to pander to the nativists in his electoral base.

India’s right-wing Hindus appears to have no reason to support white supremacists – other than a shared hatred of Muslims.

For the most part, Indian history has also been laced with examples of a syncretic Hindu-Muslim culture birthing its own unique genres of music, dance, cuisine and even forms of worship.