Rising Islamophobia In India

A Yasir
At the time of independence, Muslims were given a right to either join india or Muslim dominated Pakistan. Most of the muslims who had also taken part in freedom struggle choose India. Despite being warned of dire consequences in future, they braved all odds. They did what they deemed fit. They thought that Indian nation was based on secularism and equality where no discrimination on any base would be made. For some time, the situation seemed to be peaceful but as the time faded away, minorities especially started Muslims started to face the situation they were warned of. They started bearing hardships with which time grew at an unprecedented rate. There have been many instances of mass killings of muslims in India, from Gujrat riots to Jammu massacre, all we saw was Anti-Muslim in post independent India. The new wave of Islamophobia started from Narendra Modi led NDA government. From lynching to hate mongering, the present day government has left no stone unturned to defenestrate Muslims.
It is high time for both Government and media to stop this vicious campaign of hate mongering against muslims. Situation demands less religious differences and fights and more unity than ever before as the saying goes “United we stand, divided we fall”.
It has done nothing as far as developmental works are concerned, the GDP is all times low, the unemployment rate is highest in 45 years ,industries are witnessing job losses and what not, now to hide it’s failures and to manipulate the minds of masses, it is using religion to divert people’s attention towards real issues. In the present circumstances, when the whole world is battling COVID-19 eliminating tens of thousands of people round the world, and affecting India also, what we all needed was the unity and cooperation to eliminate this disease but to ponder over, certain Media outlets and govt officials have once again attributed this medical disaster to Muslims. Blaming Muslims even in these crucial times shows how ill conceived the govt and it’s puppet media is. There could be a possibility that some individuals among them might have got infected and spread it to others (that is natural),demoralizing and defaming whole religion or group will yield nothing but hatred and intolerance. This rise in Islamophobia has attracted the attention of world community especially in Muslim world towards India. It has raised grave and serious concerns over repeated anti- muslim policies. India is facing a sharp criticism all over the world and this has dented it’s secular image. It is high time for both Government and media to stop this vicious campaign of hate mongering against muslims. Situation demands less religious differences and fights and more unity than ever before as the saying goes “United we stand, divided we fall”.
(The Author is a freelancer. Views are his own, [email protected])