The meeting of renowned Indian YouTuber and social media analyst Dhruv Rathi with a Pakistani digital media marketer in Dubai has garnered a lot of attention on social media.
The meeting went viral when Pakistani digital marketer Thaban Tariq shared a video on his Instagram account, in which he is seen shaking hands with Dhruv Rathi and praising his work.
In the video, Thaban Tariq also raises a sensitive and controversial question during the conversation. He said that he and many people like him watch Dhruv Rathi’s videos with enthusiasm, but he has reservations about a video made after ‘Operation Sindoor’.
According to Thaban, the references given in this video were mostly based on Indian media, which gave the impression that the video was probably made in a hurry.
Thaban Tariq also referred to another video in this regard, in which Dhruvathi mentioned the reporting of Indian media in which claims like the occupation of Karachi port were being made. He asked whether this material was also presented without full verification.
To this, Dhruv Rathi replied with a smile that he has been criticizing the Indian media, especially the news channels, but according to him, not every news published in the newspapers can be declared completely wrong. The opinions of the video viewers were clearly divided on his answer.
After the video went viral, a large number of Pakistani social media users opined that Dhruv Rathi had failed to give a clear and satisfactory answer to the question. Following this backlash, Thaban Tariq released another video, in which he said that he had not asked the question in a personal capacity but as a representative of the Pakistani people, but the answer did not meet their expectations.
Some users also criticized that Thaban Tariq should have taken a stronger stance in the conversation. Explaining this, Thaban said that despite the difference, politeness is necessary. According to him, although the person in front of him belongs to an opposing country, it does not mean that one should adopt a rude or aggressive attitude.
This debate has once again come to the fore in the backdrop of some Indian media channels allegedly broadcasting fabricated and unverified news during the limited tension between Pakistan and India in May last year. During this time, claims of occupation of several Pakistani cities, including Islamabad, Karachi, Faisalabad, and Sialkot, were made, which were later proven to be baseless.
Dhruv Rathi is known as a leading YouTuber, social media influencer, and political and social analyst in India. He is very popular among the youth due to his simple and reasoned presentation of complex political, social, and environmental topics. He has more than 30 million subscribers on YouTube, while his content revolves around topics such as Indian politics, government policies, democracy, economy, and fake news, due to which he faces both praise and criticism at the same time.