‘People beat Muslims, police beat Muslims’: Rights defenders decry ‘hate crimes’ in India

ISTANBUL (AA) – A video showing Muslim men tied to poles and being beaten by the state police in the western Indian state of Gujarat has emerged. The victims were targeted for allegedly throwing stones at a Hindu religious event last week.

Indian Muslims have increasingly been subjected to systematic police violence, lynching by radical groups and political discrimination. Human rights activists and Muslim leaders have criticized the way perpetrators of attacks on Muslims are not punished and Islamophobic politicians are promoted. Police officers committing violence against Muslims are also not disciplined.

“These people who are doing the beating are plainclothes police, not ordinary people,” Zafarul Islam Khan, editor-in-chief of the English-language Milli Gazette newspaper, said. “These youth were accused of throwing stones at some Hindu procession — but the accusation was not proven, just claimed,” he said.

Khan said that since Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power in 2014, there have been over 700 lynching incidents. However, in none of the cases did the police take any action.

“Ordinary people are beating Muslims. Police are beating Muslims outside, in police stations, even in jails. So it’s happening almost every single day,” he said.

“Muslim houses are being demolished over the smallest excuse. If you quarrel with a Hindu, he will go and bring some officer with a bulldozer and demolish your home.”

Official who called for killing of Muslims promoted

Khan also said that the participation in lynching groups has increased and that both police violence and lynching by radical Hindu groups are rising every day.

He said that in February 2020, during election campaigning, the then-Minister of State for Finance and Corporate Affairs Anurag Thakur had called for the killing of Muslims. “Nothing happened to him,” he added.

“He even got a promotion. He was minister of state, but now he’s a minister (for information and broadcasting). This is government policy. They don’t say it openly, but this is their policy.”

Khan added: “Hindus must have the upper hand, and Muslims are second-class citizens. Muslims must keep quiet. They should not protest, they should not come out, they should not demonstrate. This is the situation here in India under Mr. Modi.”

Reacting to the beating of Muslim men, Amnesty International said: “The Gujarat police’s use of striking devices such as lathis [sticks] to beat Muslim men who were tied to a pole by the police is a serious human rights violation and shows their utter disrespect towards the rule of law.”

Indian Muslim leader and parliamentarian Asaduddin Owaisi also criticized the police violence, saying: “Every day, there is more evidence of mass radicalization. Floggings and mob violence by cops have become common. Targeted violence against Muslims is treated as ‘justice’,” Owaisi said.