By Abu Saif Shaikh
Muslims in India are facing constant atrocities from the state, and what is alarming is that average Indians are normalizing this. A recent incident in Chhatarpur, Madhya Pradesh, is one example of this systematic oppression. Many Indians seem to take satisfaction from the idea that “Muslims ki chudi tight ho rahi hai”, meaning the “bangles of Muslims are getting tight.”
An average Indian, typically a Hindu, appears more concerned with taking away everything from Muslims than with addressing issues like unemployment, the economy, or rising crime. The silence of opposition parties has played a significant role in enabling this. It feels like there is no longer an opposition or civil society left who will speak for Muslims. The normalization of atrocities against Muslims is so widespread that even the largest opposition party, the Indian National Congress (INC), hesitates to address it head-on.
When INC President Mallikarjun Kharge, a Dalit politician, stated that “minorities are targeted,” on the incident of a Chhatarpur one must ask: are all minorities really being targeted? The answer is no. Jain houses are not being demolished, Parsi homes are not being bulldozed—only Muslim houses are being targeted. Yet the INC and other parties are afraid to say this outright, fearing they might offend Hindus and lose their votes.
What kind of values are they promoting when they are afraid to raise their voices for Muslims in fear of Hindus? And why should Hindus feel offended or upset by the truth about the atrocities happening to Muslims?
Even Rahul Gandhi’s much-publicized “Muhabbat Ki Dukaan” (shop of love) is not working in Congress-ruled states like Himachal Pradesh, where a mob looted a Muslim-owned shop. Hindu mobs have threatened Muslims over the alleged construction of illegal mosques and raising slogans like “Mulle Katwe nahi chalenge” and “Awaidh masjid ko giraana hoga” which translates to “The illegal mosque will have to be demolished” These mobs include children to women.
What Congress is doing in their own state? did they take any action against the mob? While Congress ministers in the state assembly of HP discuss the supposed rise of “Love Jihad.” The minister went so far as to accuse Muslims of engaging in “illegal activities” by building a five-story mosque, calling for an investigation into the matter. This is one of the latest ones by INC, there are a number of incidents like this.
How many times Rahul Gandhi, Akhilesh Yadav and all other big faces of the opposition have spoken for atrocities and hatred against Muslims? Its zero,1,2 and that too when the incidents were very grave and got media attention in India and the world like the Chhatarpur and Mumbai train incident.
Similar incidents of anti-Muslim atrocities have occurred in Congress-ruled Rajasthan before the BJP came to power, as well as in alliance-run states like Jharkhand and Delhi. It seems there is no real difference between these states and those ruled by the BJP when it comes to the treatment of Muslims. There is no difference between an INDIA alliance-ruled state like Delhi and a BJP-ruled state like MP when it comes to Muslims.
Worst of all, no opposition party or politician is directly acknowledging that Muslims are being systematically targeted, whether in states governed by the BJP or other parties. Even when they (the opposition) release a statement, and try to show that we are with Muslims, the opposition leaders often offer vague, balancing statements like “attacks on minorities” or “hatred has spread too much” or “targeting minorities means targeting the Constitution.”
No, sir! Muslims are being targeted—just say it. Do not be so inhuman that you cannot even admit Muslims are being bulldozed and lynched. And let’s not even get into the microaggressions, the daily humiliation, and hatred that Muslims face every day. These opposition leaders, in their fear or indifference, can’t even bring themselves to say the word “Muslim.”
As for civil society in India, it barely exists—what good is your condemnation when it’s doing nothing to stop Muslims from being killed, bulldozed, and subjected to hate crimes?
By avoiding naming the community that is suffering, the opposition is enabling the invisibilization of atrocities against Muslims. The issue is not just that the government or state machinery is anti-Muslim; the real concern is that the average Indian is indifferent to what’s happening to the Muslims of this country.
Muslims are being lynched, their houses demolished, and even children are facing discrimination.
A 7-year-old Muslim child was expelled from Hilton Public School in Amroha for allegedly bringing non-veg food. The principal reportedly said, “We can’t educate kids who break our temples, harm Hindus, talk about converting all Hindus and destroying Ram Mandir.”
This growing indifference among Indians, who are quick to care for minorities in Bangladesh while normalizing the genocide of their own Muslim minority, is alarming. To make matters worse, many Hindus blame Muslims themselves for the violence and discrimination they face.
A 55-year-old Muslim woman, Razia, died from a “panic attack” in Uttar Pradesh’s Bijnor after a police team stormed her residence and reportedly misbehaved with her following a tip-off that beef was stored in her house.
Amid reports of violence against Hindu minorities in Bangladesh, volunteers of the Hindu Raksha Dal allegedly assaulted Muslim families and set their huts ablaze in a slum in Uttar Pradesh’s Ghaziabad on August 9. The attackers labelled the Muslim residents as “Bangladeshi.” Following the attack at the Guldhar slum in Bapudham, the right-wing outfit’s president, Pinky Chaudhary alias Bhupendra Sharma, released a video on social media saying, “I am giving an ultimatum to Modi Ji to pressure Bangladesh so that atrocities on Hindus stop. Otherwise, if the attacks on Hindus in Bangladesh do not stop within 24 hours, he will not spare Bangladeshis living across the country.”
Islamophobia is at its peak. In another video, a Maulana and a woman in whose room Hindu extremists entered and threatened them for imparting religious and worldly education to children in the woman’s own house.
In Munger, Bihar, a 17-year-old Muslim girl was harassed by ophthalmic assistant Vikas Mandal. In a video, Mandal is seen demanding the girl remove her burqa under the pretext of checking her eyes. When she refused, he inappropriately touched her, placing his hand on her chest. The girl’s protests led to a commotion in the hospital, during which she fainted. Despite the uproar, Mandal managed to escape with the help of a security guard. The victim, who had come to the hospital to assist her grandmother, is currently receiving treatment.
In Charkhi Dadri, Haryana, an incident of mob lynching occurred. A Muslim migrant named Sabir, who had come from West Bengal, was beaten to death by a Hindu mob on suspicion of consuming beef in Hanswas Khurd.
As seen in another video from Haryana, cow vigilantes forcibly entered Muslim homes in a slum area, accusing them of cooking beef. They assaulted several individuals, confiscated cooking utensils, and called the police.
In Sivasagar District, Assam, 15 Muslim labourers from West Bengal were stripped and beaten. They were forced to chant slogans praising Assam (“Joi Ai Asom”) and local indigenous organizations (“AASU Zindabad,” “Lachit Sena Zindabad”). Is this the beginning of another Nellie for Assam’s Muslims?
These are just glimpses of incidents which were reported and unreported in the last month and it does not include all reported and unreported incidents.
From the Prime Minister to local politicians and even the administration, anti-Muslim injustice has become pervasive, with little difference between states ruled by the BJP or the INDIA alliance. Lynchings are taking place in Jharkhand, a state ruled by the tribal INDIA alliance, where Muslims are beaten by mobs and police simply for being Bengali-speaking migrants from West Bengal in revenge of Bangladeshi Hindus.
Despite Muslims voting for the INDIA alliance, they are still treated as mere “minorities” by Congress leaders. Muslim lives are deemed unworthy, not even discussed by these so-called “mohabbat ke dukan” (shop of love) leaders. Muslim homes are razed, Muslim lives are lynched, and yet, there is complete silence from the opposition, civil society, Hindu society and even the judiciary.
What is concerning is that when 9/11 happened, the whole world turned against Muslims (despite the theory that it was orchestrated by the U.S. to justify invading the Middle East). The entire world blamed Muslims, and then Muslims were forced to prove that this was not Islam. This is where the notion of “good Muslim” and “bad Muslim” began. People forget what the U.S. did in retaliation to the Middle East and Muslims in general. That “good and bad” distinction still exists, but only for Muslims. Why not for Christians? Why didn’t “good Christians” come forward to say that whatever the U.S. is doing does not represent Christianity or Christians? Why not “good Americans” and “bad Americans”?
We all know what the U.S. has done to the Middle East in the name of democracy! Yet, we do not label them as “democratic extremists” or “liberal extremists.” Why don’t we say, “good Christian” and “bad Christian” when any person from the Christian faith or supremacists commits atrocities? Do we say? No!
The same situation applies here in India. Where are the “good Hindus” who will come out on the streets and say, “This is wrong. What is happening in our name and in the name of our gods is unacceptable.” But the question is: has any Hindu come out in rage, pressuring the government to stop anti-Muslim activities? No! By not raising their voices, they are complicit in the normalization of genocide in their country and do you think that it can happen without implicit support from the judiciary?
How can they then ask Muslims to condemn atrocities committed by some Muslims in the name of Islam when they themselves remain silent? It’s clear – this is the marginalization and invisibilization of atrocities against Muslims by the government, the administration, the opposition, the civilians, civil society, Hindus, and all those who claim to be good human beings.
By not taking a stand, what are Hindus trying to convey? That it’s acceptable to kill Muslims in the name of Ram? That you can demolish a Muslim’s home without due process if he’s accused? That you can lynch Muslims, beat elderly Muslims, sell Muslim women, and use love traps on Muslim women?
Hindu men are encouraged with financial support and housing to marry Muslim girls, while Muslim men who marry Hindu girls get lynched! Is it acceptable to deliver hate speeches every day and call for genocide, economic boycott, social boycott, every place, every platform, and by everyone from local goon to PM call for genocide, and commit acts that demonize and harm Muslims physically, mentally, emotionally, and in every possible way?
Is this what Hinduism stands for? Is this the teaching—beating, abusing, and killing Muslims in the name of “Jai Shree Ram”— a teaching of Hinduism? The question remains the same: where are the good Hindus?
The recent mob lynching of a 72-year-old man on a train by 40-50 Hindu youths is deeply disturbing, but did we see any outrage from the Hindu community? Did anyone say, “They do not represent us, they are not Hindus!”?
By staying silent, you are supporting this behaviour as part of Hinduism. And if it’s not, then why aren’t you standing up? I don’t want to delve into the argument that “Hinduism and Hindutva are different” because do you apply the same logic when it comes to Muslims? Even so-called liberals and secularists blame the entire Muslim community.
If I don’t say that Hindus, by not taking a stand, are normalizing this, then how can I identify which Hindu is good and won’t harm me? How can I know who is a good Hindu and who is a bad Hindu?
Hindutva supporters are attacking an elderly Muslim man, and others are standing by and supporting it. How can Hindus allow this—to kill and beat an elderly man in the name of cows? How does the Hindu community allow the promotion of rape and the trapping of Muslim women? How can Hindu society allow Muslims to be killed just because they are Muslim? Many communities in India consume beef, but these terrorists don’t target them! Their target is Muslims only, so the problem is not beef—it’s Muslims.
If a Muslim is accused, he gets all the negative attention, and the entire community comes under scrutiny. His house will be demolished, and he will be publicly humiliated with chants like “Police is your father.” The media will deliberately repeat his name again and again.
If all these is Hindutva, so where are Hindus? Aren’t they doing all of this in the name of Hinduism?
Who will come and say that those are Hindutva people which is not Hinduism and we are different Hindus, did we see anything like this, from any Hindu group or civil society? No! but what we saw is the celebration of the rapists of Bilkis Bano and Tri colour march in favour of the rapist of 8-year-old Asifa.
So my question is simple: where are good Hindus? Who will come forward and say, “This is not Hinduism”? When will good Hindus protest against these atrocities being committed in the name of their religion? And please, reflect—do I truly have the freedom to express what’s on my mind? Do Muslims have the freedom to think, to write, to express what they feel? Ask yourself that.
The information presented in this article represents the personal viewpoints of the author and does not necessarily reflect the opinions of The Observer Post.
