The #FarmerProtests seem to have put the BJP govt on the back foot because here it's the farmer who they need to dehumanise and vilify. But unfortunately for them, there is no popular prejudice in the public consciousness against farmers, unlike say Islamophobia. 1/
We know most of the times it is Islamophobia that is used to dehumanise the opposition, whether it fits the story (CAA, NRC, "Love Jihad") or not (it was forcefully invoked even to distract from the failure to appropriately deal with a religion-agnostic pandemic a while ago). 2/
Even in case of the #FarmerProtests, Islamophobia would have been somehow invoked, if not for the fact that the Sikh identity was already attached to it. Otherwise, they'd have attributed the protest to "the Islamo-commie nexus" and effortlessly sold it to their supporters. 3/
But to their utter dismay, it so happened that there was a significant Sikh population among the protestors, and thereby a religious identity had already gotten attached to the protest. This is what made it rather tough for them to invoke Islamophobia this time. 4/
The Khalistani angle just didn't have a universal appeal among their supporters, unlike Islamophobia. Apart from that, they haven't really been able to come up with anything much. The assassination plots have been overused and the Bollywood drugs drama is past its expiry date. 5/
It looks like the #FarmerProtests have been relatively more successful in penetrating into their bubble. Hopefully they will be forced to give in and withdraw the farm laws. If that happens, it will be a major victory for anti-fascists in the last 6 years. 6/6
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