The hashtag #ArrestAarfaKhanam has been trending on top on X for over 24 hours, amassing approximately 500,000 posts, as netizens demand action against Okhla-based Supreme Court advocate and Congress leader Aarfa Khanam for a now-deleted Eid-Al-Adha post that hurt religious sentiments of Hindus.
The controversy began when Khanam shared a post on X related to Eid-Al-Adha, which was clearly offensive to Hindu sentiments. She posted an illustration of a Muslim kid in skullcap with a cow, with the message Eid-Ul-Adha Mubarak on it. It clearly meant that the cow was being taken for slaughter as part of the Bakrid or Eid-Ul-Adha, the Islamic festival where animals are sacrificed in the name of the messenger of Allah.
Hindus start tagging Bar Council India Chairman @MishraManan01 & request to cancel the Practice licence of Adv Aarfa Khan @Adv_AarfaKhanam pic.twitter.com/yxRClfAjcK
— Vikram Pratap Singh (@VIKRAMPRATAPSIN) June 7, 2025
Screenshots of the deleted post spread rapidly, fuelling outrage and prompting the hashtag to surge to the top of India’s trending topics by Saturday afternoon.
हर बार हिंदू आस्था का अपमान, फिर ट्वीट डिलीट कर भाग जाना — यही इनका चरित्र है#ArrestAarfaKhanam pic.twitter.com/xZmeOegWpg
— Gaurav Bhatia गौरव भाटिया
(@gauravbhatiabjp) June 7, 2025
X users urged the police to register an FIR against Aarfa Khanam for hurting Hindu sentiments.
In response to the outrage, Khanam issued a public apology on Saturday, claiming that she had no intention of hurting the sentiments of any religion including Hindus. She said that she removed the post immediately after she realised her ‘mistake’.
ईद-उल-अज़हा के अवसर पर मेरे साथ x अकाउंट से एक पोस्ट साझा हुई थी, जिसमें किसी भी धर्म या समुदाय की भावनाओं को ठेस पहुँचाने का कोई उद्देश्य नहीं था। लेकिन अगर उस पोस्ट से किसी को ठेस पहुँची हो — विशेष रूप से हिन्दू समुदाय के किसी भी सदस्य की भावना आहत हुई हो — तो मैं उसके लिए दिल… pic.twitter.com/PZq4BNB4Y9
— Aarfa Khanam (@Adv_AarfaKhanam) June 7, 2025
She posted, “On the occasion of Eid-ul-Azha, a post was shared with me from x account, which had no intention of hurting the sentiments of any religion or community. But if that post has hurt anyone – especially the sentiments of any member of the Hindu community – then I sincerely apologize for that. I have full respect for all religions and beliefs. As soon as I realised my mistake, I removed it immediately. My intention was only to share festival wishes and not to hurt anyone’s religious sentiments. Let us all join together to promote harmony, peace and mutual respect.”
She accompanied the apology with a video message, reiterating her lack of intent to offend.
But, despite the ‘apology’ and saying the post was a mistake, she reposted several posts claiming that the image was not offensive.
#ArrestAarfaKhanam के खिलाफ दिल्ली में लिखित शिकायत दर्ज करवाई गई है भाई @ActivistSuryaa के द्वारा तत्काल प्रभाव से संज्ञान में लें @CPDelhi व दिल्ली सरकार में कानून मंत्री @KapilMishra_IND जी। pic.twitter.com/7Gb509H8t0
— कल्पना श्रीवास्तव
Complaints have been lodged against Khanam by several people in different places. However, there is no update on any police action on her so far.
