Team Clarion
NEW DELHI – The Jamaat-e-Islami Hind (JIH) has strongly condemned the detention of 28 Bengali-speaking Muslims, declared as foreigners by a Foreigners’ Tribunal, from Assam’s Barpeta district.
In a statement issued here on Thursday, JIH Vice President Malik Motassim Khan said the actions of branding Muslims as ‘illegal’ and ‘doubtful voters’ were nothing less than derogatory and dehumanising for the Muslim community.
“We vehemently condemn the unjust treatment meted out to these 28 Bengali-speaking Muslims of Barpeta district, who have been declared as foreigners and sent to transit camps. This amounts to a gross violation of their fundamental human rights and a textbook case of selective application of the law,” the statement said.
Most of those sent to the detention camp are unlettered and from the poverty-stricken and marginalised sections. They were not even aware of the cases against them and did not get the proper legal representation in the Foreigners’ Tribunal which ultimately led to their inhuman detention.
Khan further questioned the functioning of the tribunal, whose judgments are widely considered arbitrary and politically motivated. “The present situation demonstrates the disproportionate targeting of the Muslim community, particularly the Miya Muslims. Also, the Assam NRC process showed that two-thirds of those identified as foreigners were Hindus, and around one-third were Muslims. But while implementing these laws, especially in the enforcement, it has disproportionately targeted Muslims, leading to unjust harassment and detention of a large number of Muslims,” he added.
The tribunal has passed orders that cannot be acceptable as they undermine the established legal rights and protection guaranteed to the people, the statement said.
“We demand the immediate release of all 28 persons and an immediate stay on all the proceedings before the Foreigners’ Tribunal. This is not due process of law and is against the judicial principles of India,” emphasised Khan.
Jamaat-e-Islami Hind stands with those affected by the wrongful NRC implementation and will support the victims legally and morally, Khan said. The organisation calls upon civil society, mainstream media, and media nationwide to make people aware of this issue and push it to the forefront of national discussion.
“We demand the government immediately review these moves and ensure that no genuine citizen is branded a foreigner and harassed with detention. Dignity and rights of all individuals, irrespective of caste, creed or religion, must be protected,” Khan added.
