NEW DELHI, 3 October — Some 300 Muslim activists courted arrest here yesterday to protest large-scale atrocities being committed against Indian Muslims, particularly during the Gujarat carnage early this year.
The symbolic move was part of a nationwide campaign initiated by Jamiat-ul-Ulama-e-Hind to awaken the Indian consciousness about the plight of Muslims in independent India, despite their having played a crucial role in the country’s freedom struggle. The drive will be marked by hundreds of Muslims courting arrests daily until Oct. 15.
Addressing groups of Muslims who gathered at Kali Masjid at Nizamuddin to join the protest, JUH chief Maulana Asaad Madani said, "We, the Indian Muslims, have suffered excessive atrocities. Neither our lives nor our property have been spared. Hundreds of thousands have perished in riots and we have lost property worth millions. Yet, the government appears to be interested in causing greater harm to our religious and educational causes."
He asked to whom Muslims should turn for justice when the government itself was ignoring their plight.
Mualana Arshad Madani of Darul Uloom, Deoband, said: "The very madrassas which played a crucial role in the country’s freedom struggle ... are now being treated as breeding grounds of terrorism."
Police blocked the protesters at Khusro Park, near Nizamuddin police station, as they prepared to move toward the Parliament House. Traffic was disrupted in the area for nearly two hours. At least 300 people were arrested, but were released after two hours.
Before launching the campaign, Asaad Madani had written to Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee apprising him of the condition of Indian Muslims. "We are appalled by the vicious anti-Muslim and anti-Islam propaganda that has been going on particularly since the present government assumed power. The organizations indulging in this sinister campaign have had a free play as they had never before. The minority institutions have been accused of harboring anti-national elements and fostering anti-national culture without a shred of evidence," the letter said.
