INDIA claims to be the biggest democracy of the world and a champion of human rights but frequent incidents of violence against minorities, their exploitation and their status expose the myth of Indian secularism. All minorities in India are exposed to almost similar dangers and threats but the plight of Muslims is all the more deplorable.
It was in this backdrop that thousands of Muslims rallied in New Delhi on Thursday to protest killing and imprisonment of Muslims, saying innocent members of the community became targets after bomb attacks in India in recent years. The constitutional and legal measures for the protection of rights of the minorities do provide protection to minority population against the exploitation and violation of their rights as well as equal opportunities for their advancement and development, however, the plight of Muslims in India is found to be grim which has been well depicted in the report of high power committee under the Chairmanship of Justice Rajinder Sachar. In terms of numbers, the Muslims are only next to the Hindus, constituting about 20 per cent of the population, yet they are considered by the Hindus even less important than the Jains and Buddhists who are only 0.43 and 0.41 per cent of the population respectively. The representation of Muslims in Parliament, state legislatures, administrative services, armed forces, police and paramilitary forces, educational institutions and the private and public sectors is far below their proportion. A prominant Hindu writer S. Harrison admits that the dominant note in the Hindus attitude towards Muslims today is that, "Hindus have a natural right to rule in modern India as a form of long overdue retribution for the sins of the Mughal overlords. The cumulative outcome of all this is that according to Jai Prakash Narayan, "The Muslim population has been so much cowed and demoralized that they are not acting according to their convictions. They are afraid that if they expressed their real feelings, their loyalty will be suspected." These are just glimpses of how Muslims have been treated in India since long but their conditions are highly pathetic because of growing Hindu extremism and terrorism. Apart from being made to suffer a host of disabilities, political, cultural and economic, the Indian Muslims are subjected to a campaign of interference with their religion as well. It usually takes the form of slanderous attacks on Islam made in school text books, or in the press, desecration of mosques and shrines, or deliberate incitement of feelings of religious hatred against the Muslims. Despite the fact that most of the bomb blasts and terrorists attacks in India are carried out either by Hindu extremists or sponsored by state intelligence agencies, the wrath falls on the Muslims. The latest admission of Lt. Col. Shrikant Purohit, who carried out bombing of Samjhota Express, that he had active links with Hindu extremists also confirms it beyond any doubt that extremism in India is on the rise and the prime targets are Muslims. The world community should, therefore, also take notice of what is happening to minorities especially to Muslims in India. Extremists, Hindu Militants, IncredibleIndia, Secular, Violence
