Display of ultra-extremist flag at India Day Parade condemned

-Flag belonged to Bajrang Dal, a far-right extremist group accused of violence against Muslims and Christians in India.

EDISON, NJ — The Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC) has condemned the display of a Hindu nationalist group’s flag during the India Day Parade in Edison, New Jersey.

India celebrated its 77th Independence Day on Tuesday.

The flag belonged to the Bajrang Dal, a far-right extremist group accused of violence against Muslims and Christians in India.

The IAMC said the Bajrang Dal flag was waved in front of Indian Muslims participating in the parade.

The group also said that displaying the flag detracted from the meaning of the parade and promoted division and intolerance within the community.

Edison police intervened and asked those waving the flag to leave.

The matter is currently under investigation by the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office.

This is not the first time the Bajrang Dal has made headlines for its activities in the United States.

The presence of the Bajrang Dal flag at the Edison parade comes weeks after widespread violence in the Indian state of Haryana where a mosque was set on fire and a Muslim cleric killed during the clashes.

The violence broke out during a procession taken out by the Bajrang Dal and Vishwa Hindu Parishad in Nuh, Haryana. A member of the Bajrang Dal was arrested by Indian authorities in connection with the violence.

Last year, the group was criticized for its participation in a parade in Edison that included a bulldozer that has become synonymous with destroying the homes of Muslims and critics of the right-wing Indian government.

The IAMC said it is important to learn from the hate incidents of last year and this year to ensure they are not repeated.

The group called on the Edison community to come together and stand against all forms of intolerance and discrimination.

Global human rights watchdog, Human Rights Watch (HRW) has documented the role of Bajrang Dal in the demolition of Babri Masjid in 1992 and then in 2002 anti-Muslim riots in Gujarat. The HRW has also reported its involvement in the 1998 attacks on Christians in southeastern Gujarat, where dozens of Churches were burnt down.

Bajrang Dal has been accused of not allowing Muslims to own land in parts of Gujarat by attacking traders who sell to Muslims, attacking Muslim homes, and forcing the sale of house or flats. This has created a ghettoization of large cities in Gujarat, like Ahmedabad and Vadodara.

“Waving a Bajrang Dal flag at an Indian Independence Day parade is just like waving a KKK flag on July 4th: absolutely unacceptable,” IAMC New Jersey Vice President Niyaz Khan said.

“Such actions not only tarnish the significance of the parade but also promote divisiveness and intolerance within the community and celebrate a group involved in numerous acts of brutal violence against India’s minorities, particularly Muslims and Christians.”

This year, as a show of unity, Indian American Muslims participated in the parade. But waving of the Bajrang Dal flag was a means to intimidate Muslims attending the parade, the IAMC said.

“We thank the local law enforcement officials and the county prosecutor’s office for taking swift action against these fringe groups that attended the parade to spread their hateful rhetoric and divisive ideology in the communities here,” said IAMC President Mohammad Jawad.

“When people wave Bajrang Dal flags, these constitute explicit threats to Muslim Americans,” said Minhaj Khan, an Indian American community leader who was part of the parade.