What's going on in India?

In this article, Diya examines the rise of Islamophobia and persecution of Muslims in modern India.

India is recognized as the home to four major religions -Hinduism, Islam, Sikhism, and Christianity. Hinduism is considered supple, private, and a way of life. The religion allows individuals to worship diverse gods. Each of these gods symbolizes a particular aspect of nature. From about the 4th century CE, Hinduism had a dominant presence in South East Asia. India was sub-divided before the arrival of Muslims during the 8th century. Muslim rulers from Afghanistan established control of various parts of India. The development of the Islamic Sultanate led to the dominance of Islam in the areas by the Muslim leaders. India claims to be a secular state with a secure environment for every religion.However, there has always been a continuous wave of hatred between Muslims and Hindus. The concept of Islamophobia in India is not new. It has a long history of power and control and the struggle of the people in the subcontinent during and after the partition in 1947. Muslims in India have been increasingly at risk since the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi achieved passage of the discriminatory Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) on December 12, 2019.Under the act, for the first time in India, religion is a basis for granting citizenship. According to the CAA, Hindu, Christian, Buddhist, Jain, Sikh and Parsi migrants who have entered India illegally-that is, without a visa-on or before December 31, 2014, from the Muslim-majority countries of Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh and have stayed in the country for five years, are eligible to apply for Indian citizenship. Why is the provision extended only to people of six religions, and not Muslims, and why does it apply only to people coming from these three countries? The Union government claims that people of these six faiths have faced persecution in these three Islamic countries, Muslims haven't. It is, therefore India's moral obligation to shelter them. The Union home ministry had framed the rules for a nationwide NRC following an amendment to the Citizenship Act. These rules categorically state that the central government shall, for the purpose of the NRC, carry out a house-to-house enumeration for collection of specified particulars relating to each family and individual residing in a local area, including the citizenship status. Throughout the country, Indians of all faiths protested peacefully against the law, singing songs, reciting poetry, and reading aloud from the constitution, which commits to secularism and equality. On December 15, several students of Jamia Millia Islamia University were injured during a confrontation with the Delhi police. Hundreds of police officers allegedly entered the campus forcefully and detained more than a hundred students. They were alleged to have used batons and tear gas to disperse anti-CAA protesters. Over 200 people were injured,ed, and admitted to Delhi's All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) and Holy Family Hospital.The attack on students triggered nationwide protests. Most of the protests were peaceful, barring a few incidents of stone-pelting and burning of vehicles. Peaceful protests in Delhi's Shaheen Bagh, led mostly by women drew a lot of attention, especially before the Delhi Assembly election of February 2020, and became a symbol of women-led anti-CAA protests across the country. At least 52 more people were killed in the three days of communal violence that broke out in India's capital. Over 200 were injured, properties destroyed, and communities displaced in targeted attacks by Hindu mobs. While a policeman and some Hindus were also killed, the majority of victims were Muslims The Ministry of Home Affairs has not yet notified the rules that will make the Act operational. There are several petitions against the Act which are to be heard in the Supreme Court. A lot of people are still not educated on the topic thus creating more confusion among the people. Another instance is of the destruction of the Babri Mosque which sparked Muslim outrage around the country, provoking several months of inter-communal rioting in which Hindus and Muslims attacked one another, burning and looting homes, shops and places of worship. The disputed structure was brought down by kar sevaks and a makeshift temple was put in place on 6 December 1992. The court decision of9 November 2019 put 1he dispute to rest by ordering the land to be handed over to the Hindus, and the setting up of a trust to construct the temple there. Muslims infuriated went onto the streets to protest, finding, in several states, that the police were using considerable force against them. As religious hatred engulfed the nation and over 1,000 people died. In Ahmedabad alone, 28 of the 37 Muslims who died were killed by police bullets. There is no evidence to show that political parties were involved. As the news of the demolition arrived, Bajrang Dal and VHP workers celebrated by bursting crackers and distributing sweets. ln Assam, the worst affected were the districts dominated by immigrant Muslims. The state Government said only 68 persons had died in the week of massaercs but local newspapers put the figure much higher. As Saeed Hameed, editor of Tanveer Weekly in Bombay, said: "The feeling was that the police didn't even raise a lathi when kar sevaks demolished the mosque but are shooting us when we protest against the destruction "