Raqib Hameed Naik Explained

Raqib Hameed Naik
Organisation:Hindutva Watch[1]
Birth Place:Doda, Jammu and Kashmir, India
Occupation:Journalist
Awards:Aminah Assilmi Award in Media Excellence - 2021.

Raqib Hameed Naik (born 1995) is a Kashmiri journalist. In 2020, he relocated to the United States. He is the founder and executive director of the Center for the Study of Organized Hate (CSOH), a nonprofit, nonpartisan think tank based in Washington, D.C.[2] He also founded Hindutva Watch, a research project that documents hate crimes and hate speeches against religious minorities in India, and India Hate Lab, which studies hate speech, disinformation, and conspiracy theories targeting religious minorities.[3]

Naik is the Pulitzer Center grantee.[4] He has been featured and quoted in various news outlets, including The Washington Post,[5] The Wall Street Journal,[6] The Guardian,[7] The Intercept,[8] American Kahani,[9] BBC,[10] Daily Express UK,[11] Tech Crunch,[12] Forbes,[13] Voice of America,[14] Vox,[15] Wired,[16] PBS,[17] NPR,[18] LA Times,[19] [20] Al Jazeera,[21] Reuters,[22] Rolling Stone[23] and The Chenab Times.

Early life and education

Raqib was born to Kashmiri parents in Jammu and Kashmir. He did his early schooling Sri Ranbir Higher Secondary School Jammu. He moved to Srinagar to complete his under graduation from Amar Singh College. He then attended Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi and University of Bolton,[24] UK for Masters in Public Administration and International Multimedia Journalism, respectively.[25]

Career

Raqib started his career as a staff reporter with Twocircles.net,[26] where he stayed until 2017. In his early career, he was based in Kashmir. Later he reported from different Indian states. He was guest editor at Beyond Headlines.[27] In 2018, he joined The Globe Post as its Indian correspondent.[28]

X Censorship Case

In January 2024, the Indian government geo-blocked the X (formerly Twitter) handle of Hindutva Watch, followed by the blocking of its website along with India Hate Lab. The government issued blocking notices under Section 69A of the controversial Information Technology Act.[29]

In April 2024, Naik petitioned the Delhi High Court to challenge the illegal, arbitrary, and disproportionate blocking of Hindutva Watch’s X account and both websites. The petition named the Union of India and X Corp, the company owned by Elon Musk that manages X.[30]

In September 2024, X Corp, for the first time in India, filed an affidavit in the Delhi High Court in support of Naik, calling the Indian government’s blocking order a “disproportionate and unreasonable restriction.”[31]

Awards

Raqib won the Aminah Assilmi Award in Media Excellence in 2021[32] and has been shortlisted for the Thomson Foundation Award.[33]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Purohit . Kunal . India's Hindu-Muslim hate crimes are being tracked, by self-exiles Modi supporters wants silenced . . 12 August 2023 . 12 August 2023.
  2. Web site: Far-right Hindus use Bangladesh as pretence to target India's weary Muslims . TRT World . 2023-10-05 .
  3. Web site: Raqib Hameed Naik on Oslo Freedom Forum . Oslo Freedom Forum . 2023-10-05 .
  4. Web site: Raqib Hameed Naik on Pulitzer Center. . 13 July 2023.
  5. News: Tracking rising religious hatred in India, from half a world away . en-US . Washington Post . 2023-05-13 . 0190-8286.
  6. News: Purnell . Newley . WSJ News Exclusive Guns Offered for Sale in Facebook Groups Devoted to Religious Extremists in India . 2023-05-13 . Wall Street Journal . 8 February 2023 . en-US.
  7. News: Sharma . Yashraj . 2023-04-05 . Twitter accused of censorship in India as it blocks Modi critics . en-GB . The Guardian . 2023-05-13 . 0261-3077.
  8. Web site: Hussain . Murtaza . Grim . Ryan . January 24, 2023 . Elon Musk Caves to Pressure From India to Remove BBC Doc Critical of Modi . 2023-05-13 . The Intercept . en.
  9. Web site: Kulkarni . Bhargavi . 2023-01-22 . A Rebel in the Crosshairs: Founder of Hindutva Watch Says He's Forced to Live in the Shadows in the United States . 2023-05-13 . American Kahani . en-US.
  10. Web site: 2023-02-09 . ভারতে হিন্দুত্ববাদী বজরং দলের সমর্থক ফেসবুক পেজে পিস্তল বিক্রির অভিযোগ . 2023-05-13 . BBC News বাংলা . bn.
  11. Web site: Watling . Tom . 2023-02-21 . India's raids on BBC branded a 'blatant attack on press freedoms' . 2023-05-13 . Express.co.uk . en.
  12. Web site: Mehta . Ivan . 2023-02-14 . Twitter's restrictive API may leave researchers out in the cold . 2023-05-13 . TechCrunch . en-US.
  13. Web site: Shah . Naomi . 2024-06-11 . Oslo Freedom Forum: Why Bitcoin Matters More Than Its Price . 2024-06-11 . Forbes.
  14. Web site: 2024-04-05 . US Watchdog Documents Hundreds of India Election Rallies Targeting Muslims . 2024-04-05 . Voice of America . en.
  15. Web site: Shah . Zoya . 2024-05-17 . Inside India’s Secret Campaign to Threaten and Harass Americans . 2024-05-17 . Vox.
  16. Web site: Shah . Priya . 2024-03-02 . India’s OpIndia Promoted Religious Hatred While Profiting From Google Ads . 2024-03-02 . Wired.
  17. Web site: 2024-02-12 . Why Elections in India, the World’s Largest Democracy, Are Crucial to Watch . 2024-02-12 . PBS.
  18. Web site: 2024-04-18 . Hindu Nationalist Music Could Be Destructive Ahead of Indian Elections, Critics Warn . 2024-04-18 . NPR.
  19. Web site: 2023-10-30 . India Anti-Muslim Hate Crimes, Speech Rising . 2023-10-30 . LA Times.
  20. Web site: 2023-03-15 . 3 Minutes with Raqib Hameed Naik . 2023-03-15 . Rest of World.
  21. Web site: 2024-01-31 . Hate Crime Tracker Hindutva Watch Blocked in India Ahead of National Vote . 2024-01-31 . Al Jazeera.
  22. Web site: 2023-06-22 . Biden Says He Will Talk Human Rights, Rule of Law with Modi . 2023-06-22 . Reuters.
  23. Web site: 2023-01-24 . Twitter, Elon Musk, and the BBC Doc Critical of Modi . 2023-01-24 . Rolling Stone.
  24. News: Journalist from Doda selected by Bolton University UK . Kashmiri Observer .
  25. Web site: Featured Student Projects | International Multimedia Journalism.
  26. Web site: 2017-09-10 . The worrying silence of Greater Kashmir and the Editors' body on the arrest of a Kashmiri photojournalist . 2021-03-20 . TwoCircles.net . en-US.
  27. Web site: Contributors . 2021-03-20 . BeyondHeadlines . en-US.
  28. Web site: Our Team . 2021-03-20 . en-US . The Globe Post.
  29. Web site: Hate crime tracker Hindutva Watch blocked in India ahead of national vote . Al Jazeera . 2024-01-31.
  30. Web site: Plea in Delhi High Court challenges blocking of Hindutva Watch, India Hate Lab websites in India . Bar & Bench . 2024-04-05.
  31. Web site: In HC, X slams govt order blocking Hindutva Watch; IT Act doesn’t permit curbs on future content . The Print . 2024-09-15.
  32. Web site: Doda-born journalist receives Aminah Assilmi Media Excellence Award in the United States . The Chenab Times . 13 December 2021 . 13 July 2023.
  33. Web site: All fired up: The journalists addressing the climate emergency . . 8 March 2021 . 13 July 2023.

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