Pakistan has strongly condemned vandalisation of several mosques, housesand shops of Muslims by radical Hindutva mobs in Tripura, India.
“These senseless attacks are continuing since last week. The statemachinery has reportedly not only failed to protect Muslims and theirproperties but remained non-responsive to desperate calls for help by thelocal Muslim organizations,” says a statement issued by the ForeignMinistry of Pakistan.
“It is reprehensible that the Hindutva driven BJP-RSS combine has a trackrecord of conducting massacres and systemic human rights violations ofMuslims under its watch, from Gujarat in 2002 to New Delhi in 2020. Intoday’s India, there is little space for minorities and their way of life,”the statement reads.
“It is equally condemnable that targeted and brutal eviction of Muslimsfrom their decades-old homes in Assam continues unabated. Pakistan callsupon the international community to play its role to stop the rising tideof Islamophobia and attacks against minorities particularly Muslims inIndia, and ensure their safety, security and well-being and protection oftheir places of worship and heritage sites,” the statement concludes.Tensions Rise In Tripura After Attacks Against Muslims
Tensions are high in parts of Tripura state after a string of attacksagainst minority Muslims, seen as retaliation for the violence againstHindus in neighbouring Bangladesh earlier this month.
Police said mosques, several shops and homes belonging to Muslims in thenorthern part of the state were vandalised.
Muslim leaders said that Hindu mobs attacked mosques and torched theirproperties following a protest rally led by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, orVHP, a hard-line Hindu nationalist group with ties to Prime MinisterNarendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party.
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Vinod Bansal, the VHP’s national spokesperson, denied that its members wereinvolved in the attacks. “We did not attack anyone. We were peacefullyprotesting against anti-Hindu attacks in Bangladesh,” he said.
“Some troublemakers are hellbent on disturbing peace and communal harmonyin Tripura,” said Senior Police Officer Bhanupada Chakraborty, adding thatthe situation was under control.
Mohammad Salam, a Muslim cleric in Panisagar town in northern Tripura, saidhundreds of VHP members chanting anti-Muslim slogans stormed a mosque andransacked it. He said they also burnt several Muslim properties. “We areliving in fear since then,” Salam said.
The fresh attacks are a jarring reminder of the rising religious tensionsin India. “There is a fear psychosis among the Muslims in Tripura after theincidents,” said Islamuddin, a Muslim opposition lawmaker from Tripura whogoes by one name. “The state authorities could have reacted a little morefaster to control the situation.”
On Thursday, the country’s main opposition Congress party leader RahulGandhi condemned the attacks. “Those who indulge in hatred and violence inthe name of Hinduism are not Hindus but hypocrites. For how long will thegovernment pretend to be blind and deaf?” he wrote on Twitter.
