By TwoCircles.net staff reporter,
Lucknow : Several prominent social activists, intellectuals and NGOs have condemned the trend whereby Muslims are targeted following a terrorist attack. They also expressed concern over increase in illegal arrests and torture in custody.
Speaking at a seminar organized here, some prominent personalities objected to the government attitude to name without any inquiry some Muslim denominations or their organizations immediately after any terrorist attack. Organizer of the seminar renowned social activist Shabnam Hashimi said such an attitude will be very harmful for the society. She said Muslims have been targeted regularly on pretext of terrorism and internal security. Whenever anything happens, Muslims are blamed for it, innocent people are picked up and tortured, though in the end police fails to prove any allegation against the detained. Yet, the authorities repeat the same when such act takes place next time. After recent bomb blasts in Jaipur, a large number of people have been arrested.
Shabnam Hashimi added that certain ideological organizations of Hindus have also been involved in destructive activities, so, it is not correct to target only one community. The way communalism has spread during last fifteen years, it has not left even security agencies, police and judiciary untouched. Sixty years passed on but Indian Muslims are still not accepted as a part of the country. She asked why it is that no action is taken against those ideological organizations of Hindus whose involvement in terrorism has been established.
Human rights activist Kavita Srivastava said, “Police have arrested poor labourers on pretext of terrorism.” She said although police remains unable to name true hands behind the blasts, havoc of Islamic terrorism has been created. She said certain parties are politicizing bomb explosions in the same way as communal riots have been politicized earlier.
Managing editor of Hyderabad’s reputed Urdu newspaper ‘Siyasat’ Zaheer Ali Khan said increasing number of arrest of Muslims, especially their youths, in Hyderabad, Jaipur, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Assam and other places of the country smacks of a grave issue that should be addressed immediately. Some of the participants opined that the news regarding terrorism floated in Indian media is usually one-sided.
Social activist from Jaipur Sneha Singh said it seems that news on terrorism is written in police stations. Another social activist Arundhati Kulkshetra suggested that media needs to be cautious with regard to terrorism. She said if any particular community is named repeatedly, it creates hatred but it appears from the news in media that all Maulvis are terrorists and all madrasas and mosques are havens of terrorism whereas this is not true at all. About 250 delegates comprising journalists, social activists and students from several states including Jammu & Kashmir, Gujarat, Karnataka, Assam, Maharashtra and Hyderabad attended the programme.