New Delhi: The Indian government must ensure that there is no impunity for those responsible for public lynchings and other hate crimes against Muslims in several states, said Amnesty International India today.
Since April 2017, at least ten Muslim men have been lynched or killed in public in suspected hate crimes, amid a rising tide of Islamophobia in the country. The attacks have contributed to a growing sense of insecurity for many Muslims, and intensified religious tensions. On 28 June, demonstrations against the attacks on Muslims are being held in several cities across India.
“The pattern of hate crimes committed against Muslims with seeming impunity – many of them in states where the Bharatiya Janata Party is in power – is deeply worrying. Unfortunately both the Prime Minister and various Chief Ministers have done little to show that they disapprove of this violence,” said Aakar Patel, Executive Director, Amnesty International India.
“The BJP’s campaign for cow protection appears to have emboldened vigilante groups, who seem to be operating in some cases with the tacit approval of state authorities. BJP leaders have ignored, or worse, even justified the attacks at times.
“This growing trend of Islamophobia needs to be stopped in its tracks. The Indian Prime Minister, senior BJP leaders and Chief Ministers must break their silence and unequivocally condemn the attacks. State police departments must ensure that those responsible are brought to justice.
“Mob violence has occurred in other cases too, including attacks on Dalits suspected of illegally transporting cows, the killing of alleged child traffickers in Jharkhand, and the lynching of a police officer at a mosque in Kashmir. All these attacks are deplorable, and seem to indicate a weakening of the rule of law.”
Recent hate crimes against Muslims
Jharkhand, 27 June