Muslim hate crime protests
Teen’s killing for carrying beef sparks global outrage
ANEW campaign #NotInMyName is sweeping India and some major international cities against a recent spate of Muslim killings near the Indian capital. The campaign was started three days ago by Saba Dewan, a New Delhi-based film-maker, and two other film-makers and activists, Rahul Roy and Sanjay Kak. As part of the campaign, protests against the hate crimes were planned for yesterday in Indian cities, including Delhi, Lucknow, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Kolkata, as well as London, Toronto, and Boston.
The movement was sparked by national outrage after a Muslim teenager was stabbed to death last week on suspicion of possessing beef, an officer said on Sunday. Police arrested an alleged attacker. Cow slaughter is banned in most Indian states whose predominantly Hindu population consider the animal to be sacred.
But Hindu hard-liners and cow vigilante groups have taken to enforcing the law since Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist government came to power in 2014.
Last Thursday, 16-year-old Junaid Khan was killed and three others injured in a fight that erupted on a train soon after it left Delhi for Mathura.
A group of more than a dozen men accused Junaid and his family, who were returning home after shopping for Eid, of having beef in their bags. A group of 10 to 12 young Hindu men pulled out knives and stabbed the three brothers.
The attack was the latest against Muslims who make up about 14% of India’s 1.3 billion population. Opposition groups have criticised Modi for failing to speak out against the violence targeted at Muslims, accusing his party of sectarian bias.
The recent attack brought Dewan to tears. “Junaid’s killing was completely shattering. That really agitated me. I thought if someone will not speak up, I’ll protest.”
Dewan turned to Facebook, creating an event page. “In that emotional moment, I wrote on Facebook, asking shouldn’t we all be protesting as citizens,” she said.
Dewan got an overwhelming response. More than 5 000 people in the New Delhi chapter of the movement are expected to join, including families of victims.
Following the killing of Junaid and others, Muslims all over India observed #BlackEid, marking the end of the holy month of Ramadaan by wearing black armbands during prayers in solidarity with the victims of the religious hate crimes.
Junaid’s death was met with silence from the ruling right-wing Bhartiya Janta Party. A day after the killing, not one minister attended the president’s Iftar, a religious observance of Ramadaan where the community breaks the fast together. – teleSUR and Reuters