Misconceptions about Muslims and Christians in India are the main reason for violence against them
In July 2024, riots and disturbances took place in many cities of England. The main reason for these was fake news and anti-immigrant sentiments among the people. Most of the riot victims were Muslims. Mosques and places where immigrants were living were attacked. After these incidents, the UK’s ‘All Party Parliamentary Group’ released a report to prevent such violence in future. The report said that saying “Muslims spread Islam at the point of the sword” should be banned. This belief is also one of the things that is at the root of Islamophobia.
– Ram Puniyani*
This example is worth emulating in our country where this and many other misconceptions and prejudices are deeply ingrained in the minds of people. How did Islam spread? By giving the example of some Hindu kings being killed by Muslim kings (which were done for political reasons), the myth is spread that Islam spread at the point of the sword. The reality of the spread of Islam in India is very different from this.
Arab traders used to come to the Malabar coast of Kerala and the local people accepted Islam due to their contact. This is evident from the fact that the Cheraman Juma Mosque in the Malabar region of Kerala was built in the seventh century.
According to Swami Vivekananda, “The victory of Muslims in India was a message of liberation for the oppressed communities and the poor. This is the reason why every fifth person in our entire society became a Muslim. This did not happen at the point of the sword. It would be nothing but madness to think that this was done only by sword and force. The reality is that this was done to get freedom from the landlords and priests. This is the reason why the number of Muslims among the farmers in Bengal is more than that of Hindus because there were a lot of landlords there.” The truth is that apart from Emperor Ashoka, no other king worked to expand his religion. Only Ashoka sent his representatives far and wide to spread the message of Lord Gautam Buddha.
In today’s India, many misconceptions about Muslims and Christians are prevalent on a large scale and these are the main reasons for violence against them. These misconceptions have gained strength over time and have become a part of the wider view of society. They start with the thought that Muslim kings broke and destroyed Hindu temples. The result of this propaganda getting stronger was the demolition of Babri Masjid on 6 December 1992, the perpetrators of which have not been punished till date. Now the issue of Kashi and Mathura has also been added to the Babri Masjid case. Even the Taj Mahal is being described as a Shiva temple, which was later made the tomb of Jahangir’s queen Noor Jahan. Recently, the misconception that ‘cow is a sacred animal and Muslims are killing cows’ has gained momentum. On the one hand, vegetarianism is promoted on the basis of this belief, while on the other hand lynching is done.
“Between 2010 and 2017, 51 per cent of the victims of violence over cow-related issues were Muslims, and 83 per cent of the 28 Indian citizens killed in 63 such incidents were Muslims,” IndiaSpend reported. Only 3 per cent of the total incidents occurred before Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power in May 2014. IndiaSpend also reported that nearly half of the violence – 32 of the 63 – occurred in BJP-ruled states. Harsh Mander, a human rights activist and founder of Caravan-e-Mohabbat, visits families and neighbours of lynching victims to heal their wounds. “I shudder to see Monu Manesar’s social media accounts. He and his gang members live stream videos of themselves openly displaying modern weapons, sounding sirens modelled on police vehicles, firing at vehicles and brutally beating up people they catch,” he wrote in The Indian Express.
All these memories were refreshed when cow protectors killed a Hindu student Aryan Mishra on suspicion of cow smuggling. Aryan’s mother questioned the reason for the murder in her statement, saying “The accused killed him thinking he was a Muslim. Why? Are Muslims not human beings? What right do you have to kill Muslims”. We remember Akhlaq, Junaid, Rakbar Khan and many others who were killed on suspicion of being cow killers. Recently, while travelling by road from Amritsar to Palampur, my young colleague was shocked to see the plight of cows roaming on the roads and the road obstructions, accidents and losses to farmers due to stray cows.
Along with this, non-vegetarian food in tiffin is also becoming another reason for harassing Muslim students. In a recent incident, a third class student of a well-known school in Amroha brought biryani in his tiffin. Amrish Kumar Sharma, the principal of Hilton School, locked him in the store room saying, “I will not teach children who grow up to destroy temples.”
Hate speeches have also become a big problem for the country. There is a mechanism and procedure to control and punish hate speeches, but the ground reality is that those who make hate speeches generally not only escape punishment but are also promoted and given top positions in the party. The Chief Minister of Assam keeps making hateful remarks like ‘I will not let the Muslims take over Assam’ and uses words like flood jihad, electricity jihad and job jihad. He and other BJP leaders keep making such remarks to polarize society on the basis of religion.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is demolishing the houses and properties of Muslims through bulldozers. Other BJP Chief Ministers are also following him. Commenting on the havoc created by bulldozers, Justice B. R. “How can someone’s house be demolished just because he is an accused? Even if he is found guilty, it cannot be done without following due process of law,” Gavai remarked while hearing a petition related to the demolition drive in Jahangirpuri after the 2020 Delhi riots. But the question is, will the chief ministers of states agree to this remark?
The time has come for the government in India to form committees like the UK to ensure implementation of the agenda set to remove misunderstandings. These misunderstandings have spread to a very dangerous level in society. The work of removing hatred and misunderstanding in society should have started long ago so that we can avoid communal violence.
Courtesy : Hindi News