The visible absence of government's inaction has emboldened Hindutva fanatics to brutally target the Muslim community
Syed Ali Mujtaba
There are two religious festivals in India during which Muslims are invariably killed each year under the current political dispensation. First is Ramnavmi, a Hindu religious festival and second is Eid-ul Azha or Bakraid, the Muslim festivity when domesticated animals are sacrificed as part of religious rituals.
The story of the killing of Muslims during Ramnavmi is a bit old now and, in all probability, will be repeated next year. Fresh is the Bakraid killings of Muslims.
Muhammad Zahiruddin, a 55-year-old disabled truck driver was lynched to death in Bihar by a Hindu extremist mob despite the presence of police at the site. This happened just days before Eid-ul Adha. The truck was carrying cattle bones to a factory that makes medicinal ingredients to be used to make gelatin for the pharmaceutical industry.
While others in the truck were able to flee the frenzied Hindu mob, Zahiruddin was unable to run due to a fracture in his leg that necessitated a metal rod.
The mob alleged that Zahiruddin was doing the business of bones and flesh. Some onlookers claimed that the local police arrived at the trouble spot but did not intervene.
Earlier, 32-year-old Affan Abdul Ansari was beaten to death by a brutal Hindu extremist mob in Maharashtra over suspicions of carrying cow meat. In another incident in the same state, 23-year-old Lukman Suleman Ansari was lynched to death by a Hindu extremist mob, media reports said.
Hindu militant mobs have increasingly been targeting Muslims over baseless accusations of transporting cattle ahead of Eid-ul Azha. These mobs, also known as cow vigilantes, are known for attacking and often lynching Muslims accusing them of transporting cattle or consuming beef with impunity.
Recently a Muslim couple was attacked by Hindu extremists for bringing home goats for Eid-ul Azha. The couple was called “terrorists” and attacked by a mob of Hindu extremists in Mumbai city after they brought goats meant for sacrifice into their housing complex.
Mohsin Khan and Yasmin Khan told the media that “If bringing the goats inside the housing colony was against the law, then they should have filed a police complaint against us. We were assaulted, molested, and mentally harassed by the mob.”
Yasmin Khan said: “They started manhandling us… During the scuffle they also tore my clothes, forcing me to call the police. They did not allow us to enter the [housing] society and called us terrorists… and said we should not be allowed to stay in the society.”
This Eid-ul Azha, Muslims in Uttarakhand were barred from offering Eid prayers and told to pray 25 miles away from the designated spot. Muslims from Badrinath town in Uttarakhand were instructed by police to not hold Eid prayers inside the town. They were ordered to offer Eid prayers in Joshimath, a neighbouring town, nearly 25 miles away from Badrinath.
Muslim residents of Badrinath are mostly migrant labourers working on reconstruction projects at temples. A meeting with members of the minority community, priests, and contractors engaged in the projects, was held with the police where they were asked to offer the namaz in Joshimath and not in Badrinath.”
Hindu militants in Uttarakhand state have called for the mass expulsion of Muslims and their ethnic cleansing over the past few weeks.
In Uttrakhand, there is an alarming rise in hate speech, vigilantism, and targeted communal violence against the Muslim community. Hindutva groups are openly inciting religious hatred and hostility and violence against Muslims. This is to instill fear in the hearts of Muslims so they move out.
The homes and shops of Muslims are marked with an ‘X’, and residents are forced to vacate the place. Many very old-time residents, including BJP’s minority cell leader, Mohammed Zaid, have fled their homes due to the threat of violence.
Newspapers have reported that a letter has been sent by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad to the Tehri District Magistrate giving an ultimatum to members of the Muslim community to leave Jaunpur valley and in particular the towns of Nainbagh, Jakhar, Nagtibba, Thatyur, Saklana, Damta, Purola, Barkot, and Uttarkashi.
Muslims have been asked to move out of their own volition. Else, the Hindu organisations have threatened them with eviction with force.
The government, the judiciary, and the media have not intervened in this matter in any proactive manner that prevents violent attacks against Muslims in Uttrakhand.
Recently, Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Washington denied that discrimination against Indian Muslims exists under his government. He was speaking at a joint press conference with US President Joe Biden at the White House.
Asked at the press conference what steps he was willing to take to improve the rights of Muslims and other minorities in India and to uphold free speech. Modi answered: “They did not need to be improved. The benefits of the Indian government’s policies are accessible to everyone.
“Our Constitution and our government, and we have proved democracy can deliver. When I say deliver – caste, creed, religion, gender, there is no space for any discrimination (in my government).”
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Syed Ali Mujtaba is a journalist based in Chennai. He can be contacted at syedalimujtaba2007@gmail.com. The views expressed here are author’s personal.
