Asma Mujahid
Recently, a Muslim labourer has been brutally murdered by a Hindu extremist in the northern Indian state of Rajasthan after he was accused of ‘love jihad’ a term used by right wing groups which believe that Muslim men attempt to convert non-Muslim women after seducing them. The brutal nature of the man’s murder and subsequent sharing of a video depicting the incident has led to a suspension of internet services in the town of Rajsamand to prevent further proliferation of the video. According to the state’s home minister, the brutal murderer, Shambhu Lal, has been arrested. Ironically, more than 700 people from across India deposited £3,473 into the account. “The accused wanted to become a Hindu hero after killing a Muslim man, his main aim was to collect money after committing the hate crime,” said a police officer. The killing is the latest to roil India’s Muslims who have faced attacks from mobs who accuse them of killing cows, which Hindus consider sacred. Hindu fringe groups also campaign against Muslim men marrying Hindus.
In another incident, a Muslim woman has complained that a government doctor forced her to chant “Krishna Krishna” to carry out a tubectomy surgery on her. The doctor, the woman claimed in her police complaint, threatened to cancel her surgery if she did not obey his order. According to the complainant, Naseema Banu (22), a resident of Nandini Layout in Yeshwanthpur, she and her husband had decided that Naseema would undergo tubectomy surgery after the birth of their second daughter 10 months ago. According to Human Rights Watch’s report limits on free speech and attacks on religious minorities, often led by vigilante groups that claim to be supporters of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), are an increasing concern in India. In 2016, students were accused of sedition for expressing their views; people who raised concerns over challenges to civil liberties were deemed anti-Indian; Dalits and Muslims were attacked on suspicion they had killed, stolen, or sold cows for beef; and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) came under pressure due to India’s restrictive foreign funding regulations.
Mostly, Muslims live in India deprived of basic necessities such as electricity, roads and municipal services. In some States such as Mahrashtra, banks denied loans to Muslim businessmen. Muslim face worse discrimination in respect of jobs. The Sachar Committee prepared its report in November 2006 and presented it to the Parliament on 30 November 2006. The report highlighted miserable socio-economic conditions of Muslims in the field of education, employment, access to credit, infrastructural facilities and political representation and made a strong case for improving the socio economic situation of Muslims. The data gathered by the Sachar Committee showed that Muslims now constitute India’s new underclass. The Sachar Committee data from 12 states where Muslim share in total population 15.4 percent showed that their representation in government jobs was only 5.7 percent. In Police, administrative and diplomatic services their representations varies from 1.6 to 3.4 percent. Muslims are poorly presented in Judiciary and Military. From the beginning the Muslims are under represented in the Indian Armed Forces. The Indian leaders have also confessed this fact. Mr Nehru once said in 1953 that in our defence services, there are hardly any Muslim left. The Muslims are totally absent from Intelligence Agencies such as Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) and National Security Guard (NSG) as they are mistrusted.
Moreover, the prejudice towards Muslims is also reflected at political level. Muslims have consistently been under represented in the Lok Sabha and all States Assemblies since independence. In India, Muslims are not elected as legislator according to their population’s share. Ironically, Muslims are over represented in prisons only. Rajiv Bhargava, a political theorist attached to the Center for Study of Developing Societies in Delhi has said that the plain, bitter truth is that Muslims’ have long been the target of systematic exclusion and discrimination. They face institutionalized religious prejudice, just as ethnic minorities from the former colonies face institutionalized racism in Western Europe, or Blacks do in the United States. The roots of Muslim rage run deep in India, nourished by a long held sense of injustice over what many Indian Muslims believe is institutionalized discrimination against the country’s largest minority group. The disparities between Muslims, who make up 13.4% of the population, and India’s Hindus, who hover at around 80%, are striking. Indian Muslims have shorter life spans, worse health, lower literacy levels and lower-paying jobs. In a nutshell, Indian Muslims lives on sufferance. Usually, the qualification demanded is that to show himself as patriotic. In India, this is a term which comes out of the negative sentiment. To be a patriotic Indian, one is not required to be taxpaying, law-abiding, well-meaning or philanthropic. Patriotism is demonstrated through hating a particular country.
India is in a big mess; its internal decay is advancing at an alarming pace. The government’s authority is being challenged by the Hindu extremist forces, which have become more assertive and are able to impose their will on the State. Truly, these problems and threats are of indigenous nature. The country’s security agencies have failed to evolve a clear and comprehensive strategy to combat homegrown terrorism. So, instead of blaming Pakistan for every ill that takes place in India, New Delhi should take steps to tackle its own terrorism in an efficient manner. Also, it is foolish to think that a country, with diverse cultures, many separatist movements and extremist Hindus, has terror threats only from outside and not from within.
