Austrian Economist Gunther Fehlinger-Jahn's X account blocked in India after his outrageous ‘dismantle India’ post
Gunther Fehlinger-Jahn's provocative map and comments calling for the dismantling of India have led to his X account being blocked in the country. The backlash from Indian politicians and netizens highlights the sensitive nature of territorial integrity and political discourse in the digital age.
The Union government has blocked the X (formerly Twitter) account of Austrian economist Gunther Fehlinger-Jahn after he posted a controversial post calling to ‘dismantle India,’ accompanied by the so-called map of Khalistan.
According to reports, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology flagged the viral post and directed X to withhold access to the account for Indian users. The account has since been disabled in India.
"I call to dismantle India into ExIndia. @narendramodi is Russia's man. We need friends of freedom for @KhalistanNet." Fehlinger-Jahn wrote in the controversial post, eliciting angry reactions on social media.
A screenshot of Gunther’s post on X went viral, drawing condemnation from Indian political leaders and netizens after he shared a map depicting Indian territories belonging to Pakistan, Khalistan, Nepal and Bangladesh.
In his controversial map of India, Gunther showed most Indian territories as part of Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Khalistan. The screenshot sparked intense outrage among netizens, who labelled Gunther a “troll."
Shiv Sena (UBT) Rajya Sabha MP Priyanka Chaturvedi responded to a post that shared the screenshot by saying, “What insanity is this? @MEAIndia must take this up with the Austrian Embassy," she asked.
Who is Gunther Fehlinger-Jahn?
Fehlinger-Jahn is an Austrian economist, social media personality and political activist. He is the President of the Austrian Committee for NATO Membership of Ukraine, Kosovo, Bosnia, and Austria and sits on the board of the Action Group for Regional Economic Integration of the Southern Balkans.
Fehlinger-Jahn is known for his assertive advocacy for Western support for Ukraine, NATO and EU expansion, and a very hardline stance against Russia and other enemies of the "West" including China and India, regularly calling for their balkanisations.
In 2023, his post on X expressing support for Congress leader Rahul Gandhi as the next Prime Minister of India also went viral. Gunther had then criticised PM Narendra Modi, calling him pro-Russia and pro-China in the old posts on X.