Controversial "Cauliflower Post" by Assam Minister Invokes 1989 Bhagalpur Massacre Amid Bihar Election Results

Assam Minister Ashok Singhal triggered significant controversy on Friday afternoon with a social media post featuring cauliflower imagery, as Bihar election results showed a clear NDA victory. The post evoked disturbing memories of the 1989 Bhagalpur massacre, where numerous Muslims were killed.

On platform X, Singhal, who serves as Assam's Minister of Health & Family Welfare and Irrigation Department, shared an image depicting a verdant cauliflower field with the caption: "Bihar approves Gobi farming ✅".

The post initially seemed incongruous but carried deeply troubling connotations. It referenced the 1989 Bhagalpur violence where Muslims were murdered and buried in farmland, with cauliflower subsequently planted above to conceal the bodies.

According to Diaspora in Action for Human Rights and Democracy, "Gobi farming" alludes to the horrific 1989 Bhagalpur massacre where over 1,000 people perished, with some investigations suggesting fatalities exceeding 2,000. In Logain village, authorities later discovered 116 Muslim victims in mass graves beneath cauliflower plantations. This imagery has evolved into coded anti-Muslim rhetoric in certain right-wing digital spaces.

Hours after his controversial post, Singhal credited Home Minister Amit Shah for orchestrating Bihar's electoral success, citing social engineering and cultural outreach among the contributing factors.

"Hon'ble HM Amit Shah ji expanded the NDA's social base through community outreach, empowerment of Nari Shakti and Yuva Shakti, and a strong cultural narrative," Singhal stated.

However, his initial cauliflower reference appears fundamentally contradictory to the "cultural outreach" he later praised. Despite mounting criticism, the BJP leader has neither removed nor modified the post.

Congress' Gaurav Gogoi, Deputy Leader of the Lok Sabha, condemned the post as "vulgar and shameful."

"The use of 'gobi farming' imagery by a sitting Cabinet Minister of Assam in the wake of the Bihar election results marks a shocking new low in political discourse. The image is widely associated with the Logain massacre of 1989, where 116 Muslims were killed and their bodies concealed under cauliflower plantations during the Bhagalpur violence," the Congress leader declared.

Gogoi added, "This mindset is promoted by his boss Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. The Chief Minister has a hatred for Indian minorities. This is not what Assam is. Assam is the land of Mahapurush Sankardev, Lachit Borphukan and Azaan Pir. And next year the people of Assam will end the rule of hate and greed."

Dr. Mohammad Jawed, Congress MP representing Bihar's Kishanganj, criticized the BJP, stating: "The BJP/RSS cadre has only one thing to offer to their core voters! Muslim hatred."

Senior Supreme Court lawyer Sanjay Hegde characterized the post as "incitement to communal slaughter," stating: "You sir do not speak for me or for most Indians. You are violating your constitutional oaths and are unworthy of the high office you hold."

One X user responded to Singhal's post, noting that a cabinet minister was "glorifying the massacre of 116 Muslims to celebrate an election victory." The user tagged Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, requesting influential Hindu leaders condemn this "normalisation of one of the worst pogroms perpetuated against Bihari Muslims."

Tharoor responded: "I'm not a community organiser, so joint statements are not my job. But as a passionate advocate of #InclusiveIndia and a proud Hindu, I can speak for myself, and for most Hindus I know, in saying that neither our faith nor our nationalism requires, justifies or condones such massacres, let alone applauds them."

When accused of not condemning the post, Tharoor clarified: "That's exactly what I did! I condemned it."

Trinamool MP Saket Gokhale also denounced the post on Saturday: "'Gobi farming' refers to glorifying the mass killing of Muslims in Bhagalpur, Bihar, in 1989. A cauliflower farm was planted on the graves to hide evidence. This is Modi's BJP Minister from Assam. Not some fringe element."