The media is also engaged in anti-Muslim propaganda and Muslim fishermen are at the receiving end and being prevented from airing their side of the story
Syed Ali Mujtaba | Clarion India
CHENNAI — A case of harassment of two Muslim fishermen in Kadaiyakudi village in Thoothukudi district of Tamil Nadu has come to light. The case involves the continued tormenting of Muhammad Frango and Eesa Jebastian by three fishermen societies, backed by Christian missionaries. The main reason for the badgering is the duo’s conversion to Islam.
The Christian societies have threatened the Muslim fishermen to leave Kadaiyakudi village as none other than Roman Catholics can live there. The other option is to renounce Islam, rejoin the Christian faith and seek forgiveness from the Church.
The Christian societies are harassing Muslim fishermen by not renting out tractors to them to push their boats from the shore to the sea. It is impossible to push any boat into the sea without tractors.
The societies claim that tractors are only meant for Christians and cannot be used by Muslims.
Eesa Jebastian, who is secretary of one of the Christian societies’, was ousted on the ground that he has ceased to be a Christian.
This controversy has resulted in the formation of an anti-Muslim syndicate comprising members of all three Christian fishermen societies and members of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Thereafter a complete social boycott of Muslim fishermen started in Kadaiyakudi and their livelihood has been blocked since June 2023.
Earlier, a fisherman named Meno received the same treatment after he embraced Islam. He had to leave Kadaiyakudi and also abandoned his fishing profession.
At the intervention of the district administration, a solution was found to arrange money to purchase a new tractor for all communities so that this dispute ends and the livelihood issues of fishermen get resolved.
However, when the tractor was given to Muslim fishermen, the move was opposed by the syndicate claiming that a ‘Muslim tractor’ would not be allowed in Kadaiyakudi.
The district administration again intervened and the syndicate agreed on the use of tractors by all communities and also allowed the selling of fish by other communities in the same market as others.
But the very next day the syndicate declared an indefinite strike, stating that there would be a law and order situation in Kadaiyakudi because of the ‘Muslim’ tractor. As a result, the use of the tractor is still been denied to Muslim fishermen.
The media is also engaged in anti-Muslim propaganda and Muslim fishermen are at the receiving end and being prevented from airing their side of the story.
Talking to Clarion India, the two Muslim fishermen said their income has stopped for almost a year. They said they were forced to sell the boat of their engine and a few other things for their survival.