Tripura violence: India’s state machinery failed to protect Muslims, says Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Friday strongly condemned the vandalisation of several mosques, houses and shops of Muslims by radical Hindutva mobs in Tripura, India.

The statement from the Foreign Office came after a fresh spate of anti-Muslim violence in India, in which at least six mosques and over a dozen houses and shops belonging to Muslims were burnt in the BJP-led Tripura state during the last few days.

The attacks were reportedly carried out by Hindutva groups RSS, VHP and Bajrang Dal across the state during protests in retaliation to violence in Bangladesh.

The FO said the state machinery has reportedly not only failed to protect Muslims and their properties but remained non-responsive to desperate calls for help by the local Muslim organisations.

“It is reprehensible that the Hindutva driven BJP-RSS combine has a track record of conducting massacres and systemic human rights violations of Muslims under its watch, from Gujarat in 2002 to New Delhi in 2020. In today’s India, there is little space for minorities and their way of life,” it added.

The FO said that it is equally condemnable that targeted and brutal eviction of Muslims from their decades-old homes in Assam continues unabated.

In this regard, the Foreign Office called upon the international community to play its role to stop the rising tide of Islamophobia and attacks against minorities, particularly Muslims in India, and ensure their safety, security and well-being and protection of their places of worship and heritage sites.

Tripura violence

Photos and videos widely shared on social media show violent mobs wearing saffron and carrying swords raising anti-Muslim slogans during protests organised by Viswa Hindu Parishad, Hindu Jagran Manch, Bajrang Dal, and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.

The mosques in Krishnagar, Dharmanagar, Panisagar, Chandrapur were also vandalised by saffron-wearing youths on Friday night, according to Indian media.

The participants of a rally brought out by Vishwa Hindu Parishad broke window glasses and CCTV cameras of Krishnagar Jamia Masjid.

A mosque in Panisagar in the North Tripura district was burnt by a Hindu violent mob.

In Kailashahar, a locality near to Tripura’s capital city Agartala, a mob surrounding the mosque shouted “Jai Shri Ram” and placed a saffron flag.

The attack on a Muslim lawyer’s house in Dharmanagar in North Tripura district was widely condemned by the Muslim groups in the state.

In the same locality, Hindu groups placed a saffron flag in front of a house belonging to Abdul Mannan, a prominent businessman in the region.

The anti-Muslim attacks were well-planned, according to the local Muslim population.