Haryana violence: Who is Ahsan Mewati ‘Pakistani’, the YouTuber who has threatened to kill cow vigilante Monu Manesar?

Social media was the immediate trigger for the full-blown violence in Haryana's Nuh district.Among the provocative videos doing rounds on the internet is that of Ahsan Mewati, a YouTuber, who publicly threatened to kill Monu Manesar.Let's take a look.Also read: Haryana: How Nuh violence spread to Gurugram, where mosque was attackedAll about YouTuber Ahsan MewatiAccording to India Today, Ahsan described himself as a farmer and a YouTuber. He is a reasonably well-known YouTuber, according to his social media profiles. He has more than 80,000 YouTube subscribers as of 3 August and more than a lakh Facebook fans.In his videos that went viral on X.com (formerly Twitter), Ahsan publicly urged Muslims to kill Monu Manesar, while also professing hatred for Hindus.In February this year, two Muslim cattle traders were killed in Haryana's Bhiwani by Mohit Yadav alias Monu Manesar, a self-described cow vigilante, and he has been on the run since then. A day prior to the Shobha Yatra organised by the Bajrang Dal and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, he had uploaded a video confirming his attendance. On 31 July, ethnic violence took place in Nuh, which later spread to other regions.In another video, Ahsan can be seen praising the violence, while people questioned why the Haryana Police had not detained him.Also read: Nuh violence: Who is gau rakshak Monu Manesar at the centre of communal clashes?Indian or Pakistani?Ahsan Mewati is a YouTuber who listed Alwar, Rajasthan as his residence on his Facebook page, leading many to think that he was Indian. However, it was confusing for people as he had also added Kahror Pakka, a tehsil in Pakistan's Punjab.On the day of violence, Ahsan uploaded a video on YouTube where his location was listed as Pakistan. While speaking to India Today, he confirmed that he hails from Pakistan's Mewat region and has never been to India before.It is to be noted here that Pakistan does not have a place called Mewat. Some portions of unidentified "Mewat" were transferred to Pakistan during the Partition. The people who live there call themselves "Mewati." Mewat in India was renamed Nuh in 2016.He makes an effort to demonstrate "Pakistani Mewati Culture" on YouTube.According to Alt News, there is also a second YouTube channel linked to Pakistani national Ahsan's primary channel. According to the report, in one of his interviews with Riaz Noor, he admitted that his family had migrated from Alwar, Rajasthan, his village is Shahpur, and that he initially settled in Pakistan's Lodhran district in Punjab.Moreover, he also has a brother who is a Pakistani Police. In March 2022, he shared a Facebook post congratulating his older brother on joining the police force. On the man's uniform, the flag of the neighbouring country was embroidered on his shirt sleeve.As per his contact information on Facebook, the country code is +92, which is used in Pakistan. In some of his YouTube videos, Urdu boards with Pakistani contact numbers are also visible.Additionally, Alwar Police also responded to one of the tweets alleging that the person in the video is an Alwar resident. The police said that they have not yet discovered any relation between the person in the video and Alwar.In conclusion, the man in the viral video is Ahsan Mewati who hails from Pakistan, and not from Alwar, Rajasthan.From village vlogs to communal onesAhsan has produced several videos about rural life and the local culture on YouTube. However, he started posting politically charged videos on Mewat in India (formally known as Nuh district) in the past few months.Before this, he even posted offensive things to gain attention. Many of his video titles are also written in Hindi using the Devanagari alphabet, which may also interest Indian users.He claimed that the undivided Mewat was the origin of his ancestors. Speaking to India Today, he said that he belonged to the Meo community and that he was emotionally connected to Mewat. Thus, it is also possible that the YouTuber saw Nuh violence as an opportunity to gain popularity.Also read: Haryana communal violence: Did the police fail to act on time in Nuh?False Indian claimsIn an article about the viral video, right-wing propaganda outlet OpIndia identified the person as Pakistani YouTube Ahsan Mewati. They claimed that he lived in India."The video host who is a resident of Mewat region in Haryana seems to be in love with Pakistan as he has added 'Pakistani' to the name of his YouTube channel," it said.Similarly, a section of netizens also tweeted the video and alleged that the YouTuber was an Indian national.Also read: Haryana violence: How tensions have forced migrants to flee Gurugram, NuhNuh ViolenceEthnic tensions flared in the Nuh region of Haryana during a Hindutva procession led by the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) and the Bajrang Dal on Monday, 31 July. By the evening, reports of fresh incidents of clashes also came in from nearby regions, including Gurugram and Sohna.To date, there have been five fatalities due to violence, dozens are injured, and property worth crores have been destructed by enraged mobs.According to media reports, Manesar's video served as the immediate catalyst for the violence as he had urged his supporters to attend the procession.The yatra in question was a "Brajmandal" yatra, which is being held since 2021 by the VHP members on a massive scale.Despite having many supporters on social media and in Haryana, he is not well-known in Mewat because of his vigilantism-related videos.With inputs from agencies