Protests intensify against Modi’s government over its mistreatment of Muslims.
Protesters in New Delhi chanted slogans against the government of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi as officials and security forces mistreated Muslims.
Protesters in the Indian capital New Delhi on Saturday chanted slogans against the government of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying Muslims had been subjected to violence by authorities.
Police in riot gear stormed a rally on Sunday, removing hundreds of protesters by truck, according to Reuters. Local authorities demolished Muslim homes and shops in the capital of Madhya Pradesh, according to a police official who did not want to be named.
Opposition politicians have accused Modi-led right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party of fomenting tensions between the Hindu-Muslim majority in the states under their control.
Police in India’s most populous state of Uttar Pradesh on Friday arrested nine members of a Hindu extremist group suspected of setting fire to a Muslim man’s house.
At Saturday’s rally in New Delhi, which was attended by large numbers of people, Kavita Krishnan, a social activist, said India was moving from a constitutional democracy to a Hindu supremacist state.
Leaders of 13 opposition parties also issued a joint statement calling for peace and reconciliation following the religious clashes. “We are deeply saddened by the deliberate use of issues related to food, clothing, religion, festivals and language by sections of the ruling apparatus to polarize society,” the opposition leaders said.
The Indian government recently closed the headquarters of Islamic missionaries and accused Muslims of spreading the Corona virus in the country. New Delhi officials claimed that quarantine protocols were not being followed and that the negligence was a criminal act.
The passage of the Indian citizenship law sparked a wave of widespread protests in the country. Under the new law, only Afghans, Bangladeshis and non-Muslim Pakistanis who seek refuge in India can apply for citizenship. Following the passage of this law in India, there were many protests by Muslims, which were suppressed with unprecedented violence.
