An Indian government-appointed commission promoting the rights of religious minorities in India said on Thursday that police authority failed to protect Muslim minority campaigning against a new citizenship law during violent riots in Delhi this year.
At least 50 people, mostly Muslims, were killed, and nearly 200 people were injured in the worst communal violence in India since 1984 when more than 3,000 Sikh minority people were killed in Delhi. On Thursday, the Delhi Minority Commission said that during the days of the riots that also coincided with US President’s visit to the country, Muslim shops, homes, and vehicles were selectively targeted.
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- Delhi Riots: The politics of violence and the death of democracy
- Delhi Violence: CAA protest has become a fight between Hindu and Muslim
In February, the violence erupted after the political leaders from the ruling Hindu-nationalist BJP government and their supporters attacked peaceful sit-ins in northeast Delhi organized against the new controversial citizenship law.
In December, the Indian Lok Sabha passed the Citizenship Act that fast-tracked the citizenship for religious minorities from the neighboring nations except for Muslims. Human rights activists and critics have maintained that the law is against the spirit of India’s secular constitution.
Washington called the law ‘’ discriminatory’’, and it also triggered nationwide protests in India, mostly led by Muslim minority women, and posed the biggest political challenge to the incumbent Prime Minister Modi since his rise to power in 2014.
In all, five religious schools, eleven mosques, a graveyard, and a Muslim Sufi shrine were damaged and attacked, according to the Minority Commission’s report released on Thursday. However, the recommendations in the commission’s report for the protection of religious minorities are not binding for the Union government.
The report said that the pro-CAA protesters tried to crush the protesters with the help of police and local administration and worked out to trigger violence on a large scale. It further added that police authorities charged Muslim protesters for the violence and unrest even though they were the worst victims.
Anil Mittal, the spokesperson of the Delhi police categorically rejected the accusations of bias and said that the department acted fairly to curb the unrest. Meanwhile, critics of the Modi-led government say that it is promoting a Hindu dominated India and that the new citizenship law aimed to further marginalize the 170 million Muslim population in India.
However, the BJP government has denied the accusations, citing that they are against the appeasement of any community. Thursday’s report also said that some BJP leaders, including a former representative from Delhi, Kapil Mishra fueled the February violence.
