Anti-Muslim sentiments are being spread under the cover of an epidemic

The case of Markaz Nizamuddin is being used to incite hatred and violence against the Muslim community. In this, the role of politicians, governments, media and social media are all being questioned.

In the last few years, cases of atrocities and violence against Muslims have increased in India, but no one had imagined that these cases will continue even at a time when not only India, the whole world is in the grip of an epidemic. Now it seems that those who spread anti-Muslim hysteria has got another excuse because of the epidemic.

Recently, after an episode of Coronavirus infection spreading in large numbers, such activities caught fire. Thousands of people from all over the country and abroad came to attend a conference in the middle of March in ‘Markaz Nizamuddin’, the Delhi headquarters of a Muslim religious organization called Tablighi Jamaat in Nizamuddin area of ​​ South Delhi. Officials are assuming that the coronavirus came here through the passenger who came to this conference from abroad and then came to the conference and spread his infection among people. When the infected people went out of Delhi to their home in different states, the infection spread to other states as well.

The Central Government and some State Governments also featured this case in specific. In the daily press conference of the central government, the figures related to Markaz started being given separately. So far, the Delhi government gives separate figures related to Markaj daily. The Central Government had even said that out of all the cases of infection in the whole country, more than 30 per cent of the cases are related to Markaz. It was never told how many cases related to Markaz have been investigated and how many per cent of them have been found infected.

It was also not taken into consideration that the number of investigations that took place in the whole country was very less. In the country of 133 crore people, only 12–13 thousand samples were being examined every day. Union Minister for Minority Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi even said that the members of the Jamaat have committed ‘Talibani crime’. READ MORE

A section of the media in India has identified itself as being anti-Muslim in the last few years. This faction was also added to this campaign. Some newspapers, news agencies and TV channels started getting unverified news stories showing the people of Tablighi Jamaat in a bad light every day. Many reports had to be denied to the police itself.

These reports then started to be consumed by high-level debates on some TV news channels every evening and the hashtag of Corona Jihad started.

Social media and WhatsApp further increased this campaign. Various false and inflammatory messages and videos started being sent.

What effect all these had on the minds of the people in the country is now coming to the fore. An entire anti-Muslim sentiment has been born. If people of the Muslim community are not being allowed to come to the colonies, then gruesome incidents are happening elsewhere.

The news came from Hoshiarpur in Punjab that they have been expelled from their village after beating up many Muslim Gujjar families there, simply because they are Muslims. In compulsion, these families living at the bottom of the Swan River complain that ever since the news of Nizamuddin Markaz spread, people from nearby villages have also been harassing them, even though they have never been to Delhi.

On Saturday, April 4, four youths opened fire on the mosque of their village in Dhankot village, Gurgaon, adjacent to Delhi. The youth has now been taken into custody by the police. Police say that the four youths were upset after hearing about the Nizamuddin Markaz case and went to the mosque to make sure that there was no hiding there. According to the police, the youth had seen on social media a few days ago that people are hiding in their village mosque like Markaz.

On April 5, a Muslim youth was beaten up badly by some youths in Bawana area of ​​ Delhi as they suspected that they were infected with the Coronavirus and were deliberately spreading the infection. The Muslim youth was later rescued and the youth who attacked him has been taken into custody by the police.

On April 6, a Muslim youth was beaten to death after a rumour spread in Gumla, Jharkhand. The young man was rescued but a day later, some people from Muslim and tribal communities got beaten up again for the same assault in which an Adivasi youth lost his life and many people were badly injured.

According to a report in the local media, a rumour was sparked that some people were entering the village and spreading Coronavirus and spitting in the well, throwing spit notes and sneezing. The market of such rumours is still hot. There is still the news of clashes in Gumla due to rumours. READ MORE

Targeting the Muslim the community has become such a big problem at this time that leaders and governments have to officially appeal to the people against it and also have to warn. Chief Ministers of Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh issued a statement saying that the virus does not see religion and people should not communalize the epidemic. BJP National President JP Nadda made a similar appeal to all party members.

Even the United Nations took cognizance of these incidents. According to a media report, at a recent meeting of the NITI Aayog, the United Nations Resident Coordinator Renata Lok-Desaliye said in India that people of certain special communities are being stigmatized and there is a need to take steps against this. The next day, the Health Ministry also issued an advisory for people not to do so. At the same time, India has called it UN intervention in India’s personal affairs and has expressed objection to it.

Originally published at https://www.mubahisa.in.