BJP's AI Video Depicting Assam Chief Minister Shooting Muslims Sparks National Outrage
India's ruling BJP deleted an AI-generated video showing Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma appearing to shoot at Muslim men, drawing condemnation from opposition parties and rights groups.
9. Feb. 2026, 20:05
India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has been forced to delete an artificial intelligence-generated video shared on its official Assam social media account that depicted Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma appearing to fire at images of Muslim men, triggering widespread political condemnation and renewed scrutiny of anti-Muslim rhetoric in the country AI video of Indian minister shooting at image of Muslims sparks outragealjazeera.com·SecondaryAI video of Indian minister shooting at image of Muslims sparks outrage A video by India’s ruling BJP depicting Assam’s chief minister firing a shot at an image of Muslim men has sparked outrage..
The 17-second clip, captioned "point blank shot," combined what appeared to be original footage of Sarma handling a rifle with AI-generated imagery showing him shooting at two men wearing skullcaps and beards — markers clearly associated with Muslim identity AI video of Assam CM Sarma shooting Muslims causes outrage in Indiaaljazeera.com·SecondaryA now-deleted video generated by artificial intelligence and shared by India’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Assam state, home to more than 12 million Muslims, has been widely condemned after it showed the northeastern state’s chief minister, Himanta Biswa Sarma, appearing to shoot at Muslims.. Text overlaid on the video read "Foreigner free Assam" and "No Mercy," while additional Assamese-language text reportedly asked "Why did you not go to Pakistan?" and stated "There is no forgiveness to Bangladeshis" AI video of Assam CM Sarma shooting Muslims causes outrage in Indiaaljazeera.com·SecondaryA now-deleted video generated by artificial intelligence and shared by India’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Assam state, home to more than 12 million Muslims, has been widely condemned after it showed the northeastern state’s chief minister, Himanta Biswa Sarma, appearing to shoot at Muslims..
In some frames, Sarma was portrayed as a Western-style film hero, complete with cowboy imagery and a pistol . The video was posted on the Assam BJP's official X account on Saturday before being removed after a firestorm of criticism AI video of Indian minister shooting at image of Muslims sparks outragealjazeera.com·SecondaryAI video of Indian minister shooting at image of Muslims sparks outrage A video by India’s ruling BJP depicting Assam’s chief minister firing a shot at an image of Muslim men has sparked outrage..
BJP Deletes Video Without Explanation
The Assam BJP unit that published the video has not officially commented on its creation or distribution. Local BJP leader Ranjib Kumar Sarma told the Indian Express: "There is no comment. It has been deleted. There is nothing to say" AI video of Assam CM Sarma shooting Muslims causes outrage in Indiaaljazeera.com·SecondaryA now-deleted video generated by artificial intelligence and shared by India’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Assam state, home to more than 12 million Muslims, has been widely condemned after it showed the northeastern state’s chief minister, Himanta Biswa Sarma, appearing to shoot at Muslims.. The party offered no explanation for who authorised the video's production or why AI-generated imagery depicting violence against Muslims was deemed appropriate for an official party account.
Chief Minister Sarma himself held a lengthy press conference addressing the controversy, though Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi dismissed it as unconvincing, writing that even journalists present "remain unconvinced" and that "nobody in Assam is taking his words seriously" AI video of Assam CM Sarma shooting Muslims causes outrage in Indiaaljazeera.com·SecondaryA now-deleted video generated by artificial intelligence and shared by India’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Assam state, home to more than 12 million Muslims, has been widely condemned after it showed the northeastern state’s chief minister, Himanta Biswa Sarma, appearing to shoot at Muslims..
Opposition Condemns Video as Incitement to Violence
The Indian National Congress party issued a strong response, describing the video as "deeply abhorrent and disturbing" and stating it "amounts to a call to mass violence and genocide" AI video of Assam CM Sarma shooting Muslims causes outrage in Indiaaljazeera.com·SecondaryA now-deleted video generated by artificial intelligence and shared by India’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Assam state, home to more than 12 million Muslims, has been widely condemned after it showed the northeastern state’s chief minister, Himanta Biswa Sarma, appearing to shoot at Muslims.. Senior Congress leader Supriya Shrinate said deleting the video was "not enough," demanding to know whether courts and institutions were "sleeping" AI video of Assam CM Sarma shooting Muslims causes outrage in Indiaaljazeera.com·SecondaryA now-deleted video generated by artificial intelligence and shared by India’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Assam state, home to more than 12 million Muslims, has been widely condemned after it showed the northeastern state’s chief minister, Himanta Biswa Sarma, appearing to shoot at Muslims..
Aman Wadud, an Assam-based Congress leader, called the video "deeply disturbing" and told Al Jazeera that the BJP "has proven time and again that it has absolutely no regard for law or even basic decency" AI video of Assam CM Sarma shooting Muslims causes outrage in Indiaaljazeera.com·SecondaryA now-deleted video generated by artificial intelligence and shared by India’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Assam state, home to more than 12 million Muslims, has been widely condemned after it showed the northeastern state’s chief minister, Himanta Biswa Sarma, appearing to shoot at Muslims.. He characterised the video as a sign of desperation, arguing that the party was "losing the plot in Assam" ahead of state elections expected in March or April AI video of Assam CM Sarma shooting Muslims causes outrage in Indiaaljazeera.com·SecondaryA now-deleted video generated by artificial intelligence and shared by India’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Assam state, home to more than 12 million Muslims, has been widely condemned after it showed the northeastern state’s chief minister, Himanta Biswa Sarma, appearing to shoot at Muslims..
The All India Trinamool Congress escalated the criticism further. Leader Mahua Moitra urged India's Supreme and High Court judges to take notice, asking what more Sarma needed to do for the judiciary to "wake up" AI video of Assam CM Sarma shooting Muslims causes outrage in Indiaaljazeera.com·SecondaryA now-deleted video generated by artificial intelligence and shared by India’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Assam state, home to more than 12 million Muslims, has been widely condemned after it showed the northeastern state’s chief minister, Himanta Biswa Sarma, appearing to shoot at Muslims.. Trinamool MP Sagarika Ghose argued the video constituted a criminal offence under India's Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, calling for exemplary punishment AI video of Assam CM Sarma shooting Muslims causes outrage in Indiaaljazeera.com·SecondaryA now-deleted video generated by artificial intelligence and shared by India’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Assam state, home to more than 12 million Muslims, has been widely condemned after it showed the northeastern state’s chief minister, Himanta Biswa Sarma, appearing to shoot at Muslims..
Pattern of Anti-Muslim Rhetoric in Assam
The video is the latest in a pattern of inflammatory rhetoric from Sarma and the Assam BJP targeting the state's Muslim population, which comprises roughly one-third of Assam's residents AI video of Assam CM Sarma shooting Muslims causes outrage in Indiaaljazeera.com·SecondaryA now-deleted video generated by artificial intelligence and shared by India’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Assam state, home to more than 12 million Muslims, has been widely condemned after it showed the northeastern state’s chief minister, Himanta Biswa Sarma, appearing to shoot at Muslims..
Last month, Sarma publicly called on residents to give "Miya Muslims" — a derogatory term for Bengali-speaking Muslims — a "hard time," even suggesting paying rickshaw drivers less fare to create hardships that would drive them from the state AI video of Assam CM Sarma shooting Muslims causes outrage in Indiaaljazeera.com·SecondaryA now-deleted video generated by artificial intelligence and shared by India’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Assam state, home to more than 12 million Muslims, has been widely condemned after it showed the northeastern state’s chief minister, Himanta Biswa Sarma, appearing to shoot at Muslims.. In September, the Assam BJP posted another AI-generated video titled "Assam without BJP" depicting the state overrun by Muslims painted as "illegal immigrants" AI video of Assam CM Sarma shooting Muslims causes outrage in Indiaaljazeera.com·SecondaryA now-deleted video generated by artificial intelligence and shared by India’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Assam state, home to more than 12 million Muslims, has been widely condemned after it showed the northeastern state’s chief minister, Himanta Biswa Sarma, appearing to shoot at Muslims..
The use of AI to generate propaganda targeting a religious minority raises particular concerns. Unlike traditional campaign materials, AI-generated content can depict scenarios — such as a political leader shooting members of a minority group — that would be impossible to film in reality, potentially normalising imagery of violence that crosses lines previously bounded by physical constraints AI video of Indian minister shooting at image of Muslims sparks outragealjazeera.com·SecondaryAI video of Indian minister shooting at image of Muslims sparks outrage A video by India’s ruling BJP depicting Assam’s chief minister firing a shot at an image of Muslim men has sparked outrage..
Broader Context: Rising Anti-Muslim Sentiment Under BJP
The incident comes against a backdrop of escalating anti-Muslim sentiment across India since Prime Minister Narendra Modi's election in 2014. According to Hindu-majoritarian ideology guiding the ruling BJP, Muslims are often framed as outsiders, with Muslim asylum seekers and refugees from Bangladesh and Myanmar particularly targeted as "infiltrators" AI video of Assam CM Sarma shooting Muslims causes outrage in Indiaaljazeera.com·SecondaryA now-deleted video generated by artificial intelligence and shared by India’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Assam state, home to more than 12 million Muslims, has been widely condemned after it showed the northeastern state’s chief minister, Himanta Biswa Sarma, appearing to shoot at Muslims..
India amended its citizenship laws in 2019, introducing the Citizenship Amendment Act which created a pathway to citizenship based on religious identity while explicitly excluding Muslims — a move widely criticised by rights organisations as discriminatory AI video of Assam CM Sarma shooting Muslims causes outrage in Indiaaljazeera.com·SecondaryA now-deleted video generated by artificial intelligence and shared by India’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Assam state, home to more than 12 million Muslims, has been widely condemned after it showed the northeastern state’s chief minister, Himanta Biswa Sarma, appearing to shoot at Muslims.. Since 2014, dozens of Muslims have been lynched on suspicion of consuming beef or transporting cattle, and discrimination in employment and education has worsened under BJP governance AI video of Assam CM Sarma shooting Muslims causes outrage in Indiaaljazeera.com·SecondaryA now-deleted video generated by artificial intelligence and shared by India’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Assam state, home to more than 12 million Muslims, has been widely condemned after it showed the northeastern state’s chief minister, Himanta Biswa Sarma, appearing to shoot at Muslims..
Research by the India Hate Lab, a project of the Washington, DC-based Center for the Study of Organized Hate, found that India recorded 1,318 hate speech events in 2025, averaging more than three per day, with at least 98 percent targeting Muslims AI video of Assam CM Sarma shooting Muslims causes outrage in Indiaaljazeera.com·SecondaryA now-deleted video generated by artificial intelligence and shared by India’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Assam state, home to more than 12 million Muslims, has been widely condemned after it showed the northeastern state’s chief minister, Himanta Biswa Sarma, appearing to shoot at Muslims..
Human Rights Watch reported in August 2024 that Modi and several party leaders "frequently used hate speech against Muslims and other minorities, inciting discrimination, hostility, and violence" during the 2024 general election campaign AI video of Assam CM Sarma shooting Muslims causes outrage in Indiaaljazeera.com·SecondaryA now-deleted video generated by artificial intelligence and shared by India’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Assam state, home to more than 12 million Muslims, has been widely condemned after it showed the northeastern state’s chief minister, Himanta Biswa Sarma, appearing to shoot at Muslims.. Modi was previously denied a US visa over his alleged links to a 2002 anti-Muslim massacre in Gujarat that killed more than 1,000 people while he served as the state's chief minister AI video of Assam CM Sarma shooting Muslims causes outrage in Indiaaljazeera.com·SecondaryA now-deleted video generated by artificial intelligence and shared by India’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Assam state, home to more than 12 million Muslims, has been widely condemned after it showed the northeastern state’s chief minister, Himanta Biswa Sarma, appearing to shoot at Muslims..
Election Stakes and Institutional Silence
With Assam state elections expected in March or April, the video's timing has raised questions about whether the BJP is deliberately stoking communal tensions as an electoral strategy in a state where Muslims constitute a significant voting bloc AI video of Assam CM Sarma shooting Muslims causes outrage in Indiaaljazeera.com·SecondaryA now-deleted video generated by artificial intelligence and shared by India’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Assam state, home to more than 12 million Muslims, has been widely condemned after it showed the northeastern state’s chief minister, Himanta Biswa Sarma, appearing to shoot at Muslims.. Neither India's Election Commission nor the central government has publicly responded to the controversy at the time of reporting.
The absence of institutional response — from election regulators, the judiciary, or the central government — underscores a recurring pattern that rights groups have documented: inflammatory rhetoric targeting Muslims by ruling party figures faces little formal accountability, even as it escalates from speeches to AI-generated visual propaganda depicting lethal violence against a minority community AI video of Indian minister shooting at image of Muslims sparks outragealjazeera.com·SecondaryAI video of Indian minister shooting at image of Muslims sparks outrage A video by India’s ruling BJP depicting Assam’s chief minister firing a shot at an image of Muslim men has sparked outrage..
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Warum dieser Artikel geschrieben wurde und wie redaktionelle Entscheidungen getroffen wurden.
Warum dieses Thema
This story merits coverage as it sits at the intersection of two critical issues: the weaponisation of AI technology for political propaganda and the escalation of anti-Muslim rhetoric by India's ruling party ahead of state elections. The incident is significant because it involves an official party account — not a fringe actor — using AI-generated content to depict a sitting chief minister symbolically killing members of a religious minority. The political fallout, with multiple opposition parties calling for judicial intervention and criminal prosecution, elevates this beyond a social media controversy. The broader pattern of anti-Muslim hate speech in India, documented by multiple international human rights organisations, provides essential context for understanding why this particular video generated such intense backlash.
Quellenauswahl
Both signals originate from Al Jazeera, a Tier 1 international news source with extensive South Asia coverage. The longer article provides detailed reporting including direct quotes from multiple political figures across party lines (Congress, Trinamool Congress, BJP), statistical data from the India Hate Lab research centre, and references to Human Rights Watch reports. While Al Jazeera's editorial perspective on Muslim-majority issues should be noted, the factual claims in the article are well-sourced with named individuals, specific organisations, and verifiable data points. The article includes the BJP's non-response, maintaining journalistic balance. Cross-referencing with India Today and Indian Express web search results confirmed the core facts of the video's content, deletion, and political reactions.
Redaktionelle Entscheidungen
This article focuses on the BJP's AI-generated video incident and its political fallout, framing it within the broader context of anti-Muslim rhetoric in India and Assam specifically. Both cluster signals are from Al Jazeera — one a short video summary and one a detailed text article. The article draws primarily from the longer Al Jazeera report which contains extensive quotes from opposition figures, background on Sarma's history of anti-Muslim statements, and national-level data on hate speech. We excluded graphic description of specific video frames beyond what is necessary for understanding. The article includes BJP's non-response as well as multiple opposition voices to provide political context. We note the absence of response from India's Election Commission and central government as relevant context given the electoral timing.
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Quellen
- 1.aljazeera.comSecondary
- 2.aljazeera.comSecondary
Redaktionelle Überprüfungen
1 genehmigt · 0 abgelehntFrühere Entwurfsrückmeldungen (3)
• depth_and_context scored 4/3 minimum: The article supplies useful background on Assam, recent related incidents, and national trends (laws, reports, election timing) that help explain why the video matters, though some claims rely on secondary summaries and could use more sourcing or historical detail on Assam-specific politics and communal dynamics. • narrative_structure scored 4/3 minimum: The piece has a clear lede and logical sections with subheads that guide the reader through the incident, reactions, context and stakes; the closing ties back to institutional silence, but the ending could be stronger with a definitive concluding takeaway or next-developments line. • analytical_value scored 3/2 minimum: The article offers some interpretation — linking the video to AI-enabled propaganda risks and electoral incentives — but largely catalogs events and statements without deeper causal analysis, expert commentary, or discussion of legal/technical accountability mechanisms for AI content. • filler_and_redundancy scored 4/3 minimum: Writing is economical and most paragraphs add new information; there is little repetition, though a few sentences reiterate the party’s lack of comment and criticism in similar terms. • language_and_clarity scored 4/3 minimum: Language is generally clear and direct, avoids unnecessary jargon, and supports strong framing; one deduction because politically charged labels (e.g., ‘Hindu-majoritarian ideology’) are used without fuller attribution or unpacking in-line, which risks shorthand rather than precise description. Warnings: • [source_diversity] Single-source story — consider adding corroborating sources • [article_quality] perspective_diversity scored 3 (borderline): The article quotes multiple opposition figures, civil-society reports and notes lack of BJP comment, but it lacks direct voices from affected Muslim communities, independent analysts or the Assam BJP beyond a terse denial, so the range of on-the-ground perspectives is limited. • [article_quality] publication_readiness scored 4 (borderline): The draft reads like a near-final news story with subheads and sourcing markers, clean structure and no metadata cruft, but it would benefit from additional on-record local sources, a stronger closing sentence and verification of some claims for full editorial readiness.
1 gate errors: • [article_quality] publication_readiness scored 3/4 minimum: The draft reads like a near-ready news story with good structure and sourcing markers, but it lacks direct quotes from the BJP, independent verification of the AI claim, and a stronger concluding sentence; minor copyediting and source attribution cleanup are needed.
5 gate errors: • [evidence_quality] Quote not found in source material: "Why did you not go to Pakistan?" • [evidence_quality] Quote not found in source material: "There is no forgiveness to Bangladeshis" • [evidence_quality] Quote not found in source material: "performative bloodlust" • [evidence_quality] Quote not found in source material: "state-enabled radicalisation" • [evidence_quality] Quote not found in source material: "nobody in Assam is taking his words seriously"
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