BJP-ruled Assam targets Muslims, arrests over 2,500 on vague charges of child marriage
The Hindu supremacist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Assam state has arrested over 2,500 men, mostly Muslim under the vague pretext of them indulging in “child marriages.”
The massive crackdown has come in for severe criticism from legal luminaries, political leaders, and social media users who believe that it is part of the Hindu supremacist government’s larger motive to demonize and harass Muslims.
Slamming the move, Asaduddin Owaisi, a prominent Muslim leader, said there was a “malicious motive behind all the action that is being taken.”
Muslim advocate Junaid Khalid said that these arrests were made without framing any rules and regulations. Khalid pointed out that the biggest problem with the crackdown is that they have arrested the men. “Now who will take care of their families?”
“Indiscriminate arrests are not a solution to child marriage. Laws must be accompanied by a comprehensive approach with policy and programs focusing on redressal and not mere punishment,” said Sumaiya Roshan, another activist.
Despite the outrage, Chief Minister Himanata Biswa Sarma, who has a track record of ordering crackdowns against Muslims in Assam, vowed to continue the unjust arrests.
Violent Hindu extremists stab mosque imam, Muslim man on chest
A mob of Hindu extremists brutally stabbed two Muslims, including the imam of a mosque, while they were on their way to the mosque in Khandwa city in BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh.
The violent hate crime occurred late Sunday night, and Imam Sheikh Uzefa and 20-year-old Mohammad Talha have been hospitalized.
The Hindu extremists threw chili powder in the imam’s eyes and stabbed him in the chest. While running away, the men also stabbed Talha in the chest.
Police have arrested five people, including four minors.
Supreme Court slams police for inaction against anti-Muslim hate crime
In a commendable but increasingly uncommon move to protect victims of Hindu supremacist hatred, the Supreme Court slammed police in Uttar Pradesh state for their inaction against an anti-Muslim hate crime in Noida city.
Justices K. M. Joseph and B. V. Nagarathna made the statement on a plea filed by a 62-year-old Muslim man who was assaulted and abused by Hindu extremists due to his religious identity in 2021. He has also complained of inaction from the Uttar Pradesh Police.
“Will you not acknowledge that there is a hate crime and you will sweep it under the carpet?” Justice KM Joseph asked.
The court emphasized that the state cannot whitewash incidents of hate crime. “There is absolutely no room for this…if it is a hate crime, we have to face it frontally and take swift action.”
Advocate Huzaifa Ahmadi, appearing on behalf of the petitioner, said that the police denied that the incident was a hate crime. “On July 5, 2021, a police patrol had come to my [his client’s] house and asked not to press for hate crime angle,” said.
Justice Joseph added that inaction against hate crimes fosters a dangerous atmosphere in society.
