{"id":296258,"date":"2025-03-30T09:04:41","date_gmt":"2025-03-30T03:34:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/?p=296258"},"modified":"2025-05-23T14:38:35","modified_gmt":"2025-05-23T09:08:35","slug":"nagpur-clashes-cryptic-cauliflower-memes-referring-to-mass-killings-in-1989-bhagalpur-riots-resurface","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/nagpur-clashes-cryptic-cauliflower-memes-referring-to-mass-killings-in-1989-bhagalpur-riots-resurface\/","title":{"rendered":"Nagpur clashes: Cryptic cauliflower memes referring to mass killings in 1989 Bhagalpur\u00a0riots\u00a0resurface"},"content":{"rendered":"

Often, innocuous-seeming symbols are encrypted with coded messages. For instance, in the United States, a hangman\u2019s noose is associated with the far-Right, White supremacist group Ku Klux Klan (or the KKK) and has come to symbolise its heinous legacy of racial violence against the country\u2019s African American citizens.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Such symbols are often used by supremacist groups to subtly issue threats against certain communities. On the face of it, these symbols appear harmless and are used for targeted messaging, but owing to their cryptic nature, they cannot be categorised as hate speech or directly linked to violence.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the aftermath of the recent communal clashes in Maharashtra’s Nagpur<\/a>, images of cauliflower plantations were shared widely on social media, especially on X, with cryptic posts alluding to a ‘solution’ to the March 17 Nagpur violence. Most accounts that shared these identified with pro-Hindu or far-Right ideologies, going by their bios.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Cauliflower Plantation as a Symbol<\/h4>\n

On March 18, a day after the Nagpur clashes, X user Hindutva Knight<\/span><\/a> (@HPhobiaWatch) shared a seemingly harmless image where a woman is tending to a field of cauliflowers. The caption alluded to it as a \u2018solution\u2019 to the Nagpur violence. (<\/span>Archive<\/a>)<\/span><\/p>\n

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Nagpur violence has a solution pic.twitter.com\/niswiTluGr<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Hindutva Knight (@HPhobiaWatch) March 18, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Notably, the user\u2019s bio says they are “Hindu | Bihari Rajput | Cauliflower Farmer | BLT Enjoyer.” At first glance, the mention of ‘Bihari Rajput’ and ‘Cauliflower Farmer’ may not raise alarm but these are loaded references. More on that later. Additionally, BLT in ‘BLT Enjoyer<\/a>‘ stands for “Bhagwa Love Trap”. ‘BLT’ is a conspiracy theory<\/a> popular in some Muslim circles, claiming that Hindu men engage in relationships with Muslim women to lure them away from Islam and convert them to Sanatan Dharam, and has emerged as a counter to the ‘Love Jihad’ narrative.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Also read: Who is behind @HPhobiaWatch, the account that doxxed journalist Rana Ayyub?<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Another X account, Randomsena (@randomsena), made a similar post on March 19. Sharing an image of a stack of cauliflowers, the caption said, “Organic Cauliflower is one of my favourite vegetable \ud83e\udd70”. (Archive<\/a>)<\/p>\n

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Organic Cauliflower is one of my favourite vegetable \ud83e\udd70 pic.twitter.com\/63Sn726kTA<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Randomsena (@randomsena) March 19, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Note that both these users have, on several occasions, shared misinformation and amplified hateful and inflammatory communal content. Alt News has documented some of these here<\/a> and here<\/a>. <\/span>For instance, in May last year, following the Rafah attacks in Palestine, a graphic expressing solidarity with Palestinians went viral. Several Indian celebrities shared it on their Instagram stories, only to be bullied, trolled and harassed by the Right. Some, including Ritika Sajdeh, wife of cricketer Rohit Sharma, and Rhiti Tiwari, a BJP member and daughter of MP Manoj Tiwari, even received threats, leading them to delete their posts. User Randomsena celebrated<\/a> this wave of online bullying, tweeting “Hail RW supremacy.”<\/p>\n

Another X user, Saumya Sharma (@remottouch), whose bio claims they are an ‘RSS member and an organic farmer’, posted this on March 18: “In 1989 we had an amazing cauliflower produce (IYKYK).” ‘IYKYK’ is an acronym for “If you know, you know.” This post was reported en masse and the X account stands suspended. (Archive<\/a>)<\/p>\n