By Reeba Khan
On 23rd May 2025, the official X account of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Karnataka wing posted an AI-generated image of Union Minister Amit Shah holding a cauliflower—with a malicious smile—over a gravestone that read ‘Naxalism Rest in Peace‘. This post, captioned ‘LOL Salaam, Comrade!!‘, was posted as a response to the press statement by the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation condemning the extrajudicial killing of ‘the General Secretary of CPI (Maoist) Comrade Keshav Rao and other Maoist activists and Adivasis‘ under ‘Operation Kagar’—India’s biggest crackdown to make India Naxalite-free. Under the leadership of Union Minister Amit Shah, the operation seeks to eliminate Naxalites by March 2026.
While using satirical caricatures has been part of political exchange for decades, the invocation of symbolism that is associated with the cauliflowerblatantly incites the decimation of the Muslim community. The accessibility and wide reach of AI-generated art have allowed the public and officials to spread violent fantasies without any repercussions. As artificial intelligence continues to “democratise art”, it has taken out the soul of human artistry and the integrity that visual art embodies. This constant misuse and exploitation of generative AI to perpetuate hate and evoke emotions that celebrate the annihilation of an entire community has gained impunity due to the astounding normalisation of such tools and visuals.
The “cauliflower” and the symbolism it evokes
The Cauliflower, in recent times, has increasingly been used to depict an open call for bloodshed of Muslims. It is a violent symbol that evokes the violent memory that references the 1989 Bhagalpur riots and the massacre of Muslims that followed. These riots saw over 250 villages razed to the ground and the killing of over 1000 people, mostly Muslims.
In August 1989, amid the growing communal distress and intensification of the Ram Janmabhoomi movement, a rumour spread that 200 mutilated bodies of Hindu students were found in a well in Parbatti locality in Bhagalpur town. Later on it was found that there were only 12 bodies, all of them family members of Mohammad Javed, a Muslim. But the rumour had already sparked widespread unrest in the district. This was followed by the Ramshila procession, going towards Ayodhya. Members of the procession passing through Muslim areas shouted provocative slogans while it was stated that crude bombs were thrown over the procession.
While the source of these bombs stayed unclear, it had already triggered riots in the town. In Chanderi, over 70 Muslims were killed, with their bodies being mutilated. And in Bhaglapur’s Logain Village, 116 Muslims were killed by a mob led by police officer Ramchander Singh. Their bodies were buried with cauliflower saplings being planted over the graves to cover up the killings. This came to be known as the cauliflower massacre.
Their bodies were buried with cauliflower saplings being planted over the graves to cover up the killings. This came to be known as the cauliflower massacre.
According to the People’s Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR) report, 93% of the dead were Muslims.
This story was originally published in feminisminindia.com. Read the full story here.