Indian Muslims continue to face state-sponsored violence in urban centers of the country. Pakistan has urged the international community including the United Nations (UN), the OIC (Organisation of Islamic Cooperation) and the Human Rights organizations to take practical steps to stop the Indian government from pursuing discriminatory and anti-minority policies. India is facing criticism from across the world for sponsoring violence against the Muslims. Apart from frequent cases of mob lynching, several mosques have been burnt in India.
UN, OIC should take serious note of minorities being persecuted in India: FO – https://t.co/CPg3KaMWUh pic.twitter.com/Irq9P58PJV
— NewsTeq (@NewsTeq) March 12, 2020
At her weekly news briefing in Islamabad on Thursday, Foreign Office Spokesperson Aisha Farooqui said the world community must ensure the protection of the minorities especially the Muslims and their places of worships and properties in India.
She said the large scale targeted violence against Muslims that took place in New Delhi in the backdrop of highly communal statements by the BJP leaders has been a matter of great concern for Pakistan and it is highly condemnable.
Read more: After OIC and Turkey, Iran slams India for “organized violence against Indian Muslims”
She also condemned the desecration and vandalization of places of worships in New Delhi. She said at least fourteen mosques and one Dargah were reportedly burnt down by Hindutva vigilantes within a span of three to four days. She said these sacred places were deliberately rampaged whilst copies of holy Quran were desecrated.
Iran condemns ‘Muslims massacre’
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei urged India on Thursday to “confront extremist Hindus” and “stop the massacre of Muslims”, adding to the international fallout over deadly violence in New Delhi.
At least 44 people were killed and hundreds injured in the worst communal riots in the Indian capital in decades.
“Iran condemns the wave of organized violence against Indian Muslims,” Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif tweeted on Monday, in response to which New Delhi summoned the Islamic Republic’s ambassador and lodged a protest.
“We do not expect such comments from a country like Iran,” ministry spokesman Raveesh Kumar said in a statement later.
They are trying to create a Hindu umbrella, which will shelter all these diverse traditions and give people a feeling of being part of a unified whole called Hinduism
The citizenship law provides non-Muslims from neighbouring countries a fast track to Indian citizenship.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist government says this is required to help minorities from those countries. Critics argue the law discriminates against Muslims and violates the spirit of India’s secular constitution.
OIC slams India
Recently, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in a two-part tweet condemned the violence in Delhi, “expressing its sincere condolences to the families of the victims” and describing the acts as “heinous”.
#OIC condemns the recent & alarming violence against Muslims in #India, resulting in the death & injury of innocent people & the arson and vandalism of mosques and Muslim-owned properties. It expresses its sincere condolences to the families of the victims of these heinous acts. pic.twitter.com/NQjKVoLgXQ
— OIC (@OIC_OCI) February 27, 2020
“The OIC calls on Indian authorities to bring the instigators and perpetrators of these acts of anti-Muslim violence to justice and to ensure the safety and security of all its Muslim citizens and the protection of Islamic holy places across the country,” the tweet said.
Turkish President grills PM Modi’s regime
Similarly, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan hit out on Thursday against “massacres” of Muslims in India after communal riots in New Delhi left at least 33 dead.“India right now has become a country where massacres are widespread. What massacres? Massacres of Muslims? By who? Hindus,” Erdogan said during a speech in Ankara after violence broke out this week between mobs of Hindus and Muslims over a citizenship law.
Erdogan’s growing fame as ‘mediator’ and a ‘peace maker’ is acknowledged worldwide. According to an annual popularity index of world political leaders released by Gallup International in collaboration with Gallup Pakistan, President Erdogan has emerged as the most popular Muslim leader in the world.
Read more: Indian Muslims pray under police after Delhi attacks
It is important to note that Indian politics is being shaped by the extremist politicians and strategists who intend to wipe out the Muslim minority from India. Dr. Moeed Pirzada, prominent political commentator and columnist, recently noted that “Ram Rath Yatra, Mandal Commission, Ram Janma Bhoni movement, Attack on Babri Mosque, Demolition of Babri Mosque, Bombay riots, Nuclear Explosions of 1997, Kargil Conflict, Attack on Indian Parliament, Mobilization against Pakistan, Gujrat Pogroms, Mumbai terrorism everything in one or the other was skillfully utilized in redefining Indian narrative and politics moving it ever closer to the realization of a Hindu Rashtra which now exists in reality though it still needs a legal and constitutional cover”.
The emerging trends in India offer us sufficient amount of evidence that the rise of identity politics in India is to overshadow Modi’s dismaying economic performance. This is wrong with identitarian politics in the age of populism.”
Similarly, while commenting on the state of the economy, Indian writer and human rights activist, Arundhati Roy notes that “while Modi has delivered on Hindu nationalism, he has stumbled badly on the free-market front. Through a series of blunders, he has brought India’s economy to its knees.
Read more: Sad but true! Violence against Muslims in India will continue
Apoorvanand, who teaches Hindi at the University of Delhi, believes that the BJP is attempting to hegemonise the diverse India which is likely to backfire. He opines that “the BJP and the RSS are trying to hegemonise diverse, regional and cultural spaces and paint them with a broad Hindu brush. Slowly and gradually, they are trying to gain control over institutions – religious and cultural – by putting their people there”.
He further notes that “they are trying to create a Hindu umbrella, which will shelter all these diverse traditions and give people a feeling of being part of a unified whole called Hinduism. They are also eyeing the tribal traditions. This entry into their holy and cultural spaces is now conspicuous”.