By Shayne R. Burnham
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

NEW DELHI, India – After last month’s bombing of New Delhi, Indian Muslim leaders protested unfair targeting by the police.  They demand that the Indian government protect their community from persecution.

Muslims accused police of conducting witch hunts, forcing innocent young men from their homes, and reinforcing stereotypes about Muslims.

Maulana Syed Ahmed Bukhari, leader of the largest mosque in north India, the Jama Masjid, stated, “Today, with the injustice and harassment, Islam and Muslims in this country are under threat.”  “We have been quiet a long time, but we cannot take this anymore.  We too have rights.”

The impact of the persecution has become an issue with the upcoming 2009 election.  The attacks on Christians and Muslims are polarizing a secular government and Hindu-nationalist opposition.  Bukhari said that Congress nor the oppsing Bharatiya Janata (BJP) would work for the Muslims.  Some say that the Muslim leaders are using these events to their advantage.  “Just as the congress and the BJP use terrorism to secure their voter base, the Muslim leaders are also using it to secure their position,” said Ajai Sahni, executive director of the Institute for Conflict Management.

The election commission stated that it would hold five state elections in the months of November and December in order to gauge the current political climate leading up to the early 2009 election.
However, with the Congress party in power and losing ground to the BJP, Bukhari stated that the Congress party cannot be trusted to do justice to the Muslims.  Although it is trying to reestablish itself as the frontrunning party, a number of smaller regional parties are reaching out to the Muslims in order to put pressure on Congress.

The government held a National Integration Council meeting last Monday, the first meeting since 2005, to discuss the communal tension.

For more information, please see:

Daily Times – Indian Muslims Angry for Being Targeted in Bomb Probe – 17 September 2008

Reuters – Indian Muslim Leaders Slam Government on Crackdown – 14 October 2008

The Times of India – Terror Attacks:  Muslim Leaders Call for Introspection – 12 October 2008