Atrocities against Muslims in India
Dr.Syed Mehboob
India is a country with 1.35 billion population and is the second largest populous country after China. It also boasts itself as the largest democracy in the world although impartial intellectuals call Indian democracy as a mockery. It is also the seventh largest country by area. According to estimates Muslims are about 15 % of total population which means with current Indian population it is about 192.5 million Muslims live in India which is the world’s largest minority. The growth of Muslims in India was 24.6 % from 2001 to 2011. This growth is the largest one in India as compared to Hindus 16.8%, Christianity 15.26 %, and Sikh 8.4 %. This growth was matter of concern for Indian extremists. India has the largest Muslim population in the world outside Muslims majority countries.
There were several riots against Muslims since partition. But the most famous were Bhilwandi riots 1984, Gujrat riots 185, Bhagalpur riots 1989, Gujrat riots in 2002, Mozafar Nagar riots 2013 and Delhi massacre in 2020. It is unfortunate that India which claims so called world’s largest democracy and secular country but in India those who massacred, killed, raped Muslim women, humiliated Muslims they are considered “ Heroes “ in India. Gujrat massacre in 2002 was the most heinous, most organized one, preplanned and state sponsored and supported massacre, genocide and butchery. At that time Narender Modi was chief minister of Gujrat and he was called , “ Butcher of Gujrat” . This organized killings of Muslims gave popularity to Modi and he was considered a victorious and hero and paved the way in his victory in general elections. Besides Israel ,India is the second country in the world where an extremist and terrorist is ruling and so called human rights champions kept silent. It was Gujrat police which gave lists of Muslims and their properties to terrorists which continued massacre for three days and Muslims were totally on the mercy of terrorists. Those impartial and neutral police officers were, they were transferred by Modi and he gave a free hand to extremists to kill Muslims. According to Brass, the only conclusion from the evidence which is available points to a methodical program, which was carried out with “exceptional brutality and was highly coordinated. In 2007 Tehelka magazine released, “ The Truth Gujrat”. This report stated that the mass scale killings in Gujrat was highly organized and extra ordinarily coordinated. There are many Muslims who played vital role in development, progress, prosperity of India. Maulana Abul ul Kalam Azad a prominent Muslim scholar preferred to remain in Congress and after independence he was elected as first Indian Education Minister. Dr. Abdul Kalam was the one made India a nuclear power and whole Indian are proud of him. Extremism in India is a century long and was existed before partition. It was Nathu Ram Godse a RSS extremist who killed Ghandi, a great leader and originator of India. Things become worst when Narender Modi became Chief Minister of Gujrat. He allowed organized killing and was called" Butcher of Gujrat". He was banned to visit America but surprisingly when he became Prime Minister of India he became dear and near of Trump. It is Modi who made situation worst in Kashmir. After abolishing article 370 and 35 A he gave India totally at the hands of separatists.
Despite the Muslims contribution in independence of India, Muslims are treated as slaves. Amnesty International India reported that there was an alarming number of alleged hate crimes, including assault, rape According to the report, a majority of the crimes were against Dalits and Muslims. News Media reported that an Indian village had banned Muslim practice including sporting, making breads, praying in public or giving children Islamic names. In the wake of the death of a female calf, allegedly killed by a Muslim boy, the elders’ council (Panchayat) in Titoli village made the decree while barring the youth from the village for life.
The outbreak of COVID 19 in India has presented yet another opportunity to launch a fresh attack on the Muslim community. Physical, verbal and psychological warfare is being waged against Muslims, pushing further their ostracisation in Indian society.
Violent attacks on Muslims perceived to be carriers of the virus have been reported from different parts of the country. There have been reports of meetings in gated communities discussing the prohibition on Muslims being allowed in. Elsewhere, gangs of youth have been manning the entry points of villages to prevent the entry of Muslims. Muslim vendors have also been asked to stop selling on the streets. There has been a sudden surge in Islamophobic hash tags and posts on different social media platforms accusing Muslims of purposefully spreading the virus. A new term, "corona jihad", has been coined to describe this conspiracy. Videos showing Muslims spitting on vegetables and fruit, licking plates and smearing surfaces with their saliva are being circulated widely.
It all started when news spread that people who had attended a large gathering of Tablighi Jamaat, a Muslim missionary movement, at its premises in New Delhi had tested positive for the novel coronavirus. People travelled from outside India to attend this event and it is suspected that they may have introduced the virus into the congregation. The Tablighi Jamaat was blamed for organizing this event in the middle of March, ignoring the threat of the spread of the virus. Very soon, reports started pouring in from different parts of India suggesting that the largest number of positive cases could be traced back to the event.
This became a justification for the government to create a separate column of Tablighi Jamaat-related cases in its daily briefings. It has created an impression that the Muslim movement is the main culprit. Extremists believe that Muslims are hatching conspiracy against Hindus and spreading Corona deliberately. They also called it CORONA JIHAD. New Citizenship Law and The national Register of Citizen are such discriminatory law which aimed to wash out Muslims from India. Muslims are hardly present in the formal sector of the economy and their number is insignificant in the state services. The largest working population of Muslims is in the informal sector. This campaign is pushing to make them "untouchable" for non-Muslims, which would certainly push them out of a variety of economic activities. Muslims have been disenfranchised politically, now this campaign can break them economically and make their survival impossible.
It is disheartening to see the world watching silently this continuous persecution of the largest religious minority in India. It would go down as yet another dark chapter in the making of a new kind of apartheid against Muslims in the biggest democracy in the world.
There are number of extremist organizations functioning in India which are involved in killing of Muslims and running a campaign of hatred against Muslims. India's governing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has issued a notice to one of its leaders after a video showing him asking people not to buy vegetables from Muslims surfaced amid a nationwide coronavirus lockdown.
"Keep one thing in mind. I am telling everyone openly. There is no need to buy vegetables from 'miyans' [Muslims]," legislator Suresh Tiwari from Deoria town in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh was heard saying in the mobile phone video that went viral on Tuesday. Despite issuing notice no action has been taken against him.
Rashtriya Swayamsevak or RSS is an extremist and terrorist organization and militant group of which Narender Modi is life member is the most active one running hate campaign against Muslims. It was founded on 27th September, 1925. Its activist Nathu Ram Godse killed Ghandi. Present Indian government is fully working on RSS philosophy. While Muslims were running the campaign of “ Khilfat Movement” and there was a Hindu Muslim unity atmosphere when Ghandi and Maulana Muhammad Ali jauhur joined hands to struggle against British it this time RSS and British made a secrete alliance and RSS was used to sabotage Hindu Muslim unity and was involved in violence against Muslims. RSS was used to take out processions with music while prayer was going on in Masjids. This triggered tension and violence between Hindus and Muslims. RSS leaders isolated themselves from independence movement and their attitude strengthened British. This is the reason that some analysts believes that RSS enjoyed British support because RSS weakened Hindu Muslim unity and their activities had negative impact on independence movement. RSS did not recognize tri color flag of India. RSS initially did not recognize Indian constitution and criticized it. In January, 1948 an RSS activist Nathuram Godse killed Ghandi. The RSS activists were joyed and made a “Jashan “on Ghandi’s killings. In 1971 in war against Pakistan RSS provided its support to Indian forces and Mukti Bahni and fought voluntarily in East Bengal. It is the mission of RS that non-Hindu people of Hindustan must either adopt Hindu culture and languages, must learn and respect and hold in reverence the Hindu religion, must entertain no idea but of those of glorification of the Hindu race and culture ... in a word they must cease to be foreigners; or may stay in the country, wholly subordinated to the Hindu nation, claiming nothing, deserving no privileges, far less any preferential treatment—not even citizens' rights. RSS, Bajrang Dal and Vishwa Hindu Preshad were responsible of demolishing Babri Masjid.
Analysts believed that unprecedented, extra ordinary, organized butchery and atrocities against Muslims weakened India and Muslims sentiments are increasing against growing extremism. Some Muslims believe that they should start armed movement against extremists to save their lives and honour. They think that Indian constitution and Indian courts bitterly failed to provide the justice. If Afghan Taliban and Mujahedeen can defeat Russia and America they can defeat Indians. However, still majority of Muslims believed under the leadership of Asadu din Awaisi that they should continue their struggle within the law and constitution of India. It is however the sense of deprivation is increasing amid COVID 19 and lockdown in Kashmir and if Indian leaders failed to understand these feelings then another Pakistan is emerging within India on the basis of TWO NATION THEORY and Indian themselves