Muslim-majority districts cut off from basic resources: Report
Ten districts with Muslim-majority populations across four states remain cut off from basic resources compared to other regions of the country, a report by SPECT Foundation, a non-profit outfit, has found.
The report, titled, “Marginalisation of Muslims in Ten Minority Concentration Districts: Bringing the Equity Question Back Into the Political Discourse” looked at the socioeconomic struggles of 10 Muslim-majority districts in the states of Bihar, Assam, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal.
The selected districts have a population of around 14 million Muslims.
The report’s findings are grim. The literacy rates in these areas are lower than the state average and the student-teacher ratio in schools is much higher than the state average, indicating an abysmal education infrastructure. The report also found evidence of systematic discrimination against minorities in the distribution of government schemes.
“The socioeconomic marginalization of Muslims is part of the larger process of persecution of the community. It is also against the basic ethos of democracy if a community is systematically left underdeveloped and affirmative actions for its social welfare are intentionally and vindictively stymied,” the report stated.
Accused rapists released on bail set minor Dalit victim’s house on fire
Two men accused of taking part in the gang-rape of a 13-year-old Dalit girl in Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-ruled Uttar Pradesh state have set fire to the victim’s house after her family refused to settle for a compromise in the case. Two infants, the rape victim, and her mother have sustained burn injuries.
The rape victim and her mother said that the accused rapists had come to their house while out on bail and tried to pressure the family into a compromise. When the victim refused, the two men attacked, beating the victim and her mother with sticks and later on setting the house on fire.
Last year, five men in Uttar Pradesh state’s Unnao district raped the victim when she was only 13 years old, after which she became pregnant. Only three of the rapists – Aman, Arun, and Satish – were imprisoned, but despite the severity of their crime, they were released from jail last month.
Hindu supremacists attack truck, threaten to kill those who transport cattle
Hindu supremacists in Kishangarh city of Rajasthan state attacked a truck over suspicions of cattle transport amid chants of “Jai Shri Ram,” a Hindu religious slogan turned warcry by Hindu supremacists.
As part of the incident, local Hindu militant leader Jasveer Singh Kharwa vowed on video to kill those involved in transporting cattle.
In the past few months alone, Hindu extremist mobs have carried out several cow vigilante attacks and lynchings throughout India. This includes the brutal murder of two Muslim men, Junaid and Nasir, who were kidnapped, lynched, and set ablaze by a mob of violent Hindu extremists, triggering massive outrage. Other states have also seen brutal cow vigilante violence in the past month.
