New Delhi: Mumbai-based ‘Bebaak Collective’ has described the recent surge in hate towards Muslims and the consequent attacks against them in different parts of the country as an attempt by Hindu extremists to erase and undo every aspect of the life of Indian Muslims.
In a press statement issued by the Collective and signed by several activists, journalists, academics, filmmakers and civil society organizations have condemned recent anti-Muslim violence reported during Ram Navami celebrations in various parts of the country.
The statement observed that “these incidents need to be looked at within a wider pattern of concerted attempts to erase, demolish, attack and transform visible symbols and practices of religious coexistence.” The recent string of communal riots was a testament to the “politically engineered social hatred of the right wing organizations like RSS and Bajrang Dal”.
The signatories said that the idea of “Hindus in danger” has become a mobilizing cry for anti-Muslim violence. “The Hindu nationalist suspicion towards Muslims as true citizens and patriots, a narrative which came up constantly during the anti-CAA-NRC movement has devolved into a cultural assertion against the very existence of Muslims.”
BJP leader Kapil Mishra, who was central in inciting the pogrom at North East Delhi, was also present in ‘Ram Navami’ procession in Khargone, Madhya Pradesh, where shops were demolished and at least 10 houses were burnt down. The statement has also questioned the “complicity of the police” during recent instances of communal violence. “They have chosen to let the violence play out and actively targeted Muslim youth with arrests, while the perpetrators are free.” Web Desk
