#MuslimLivesMatter: Shock and Anger at Protests in New Delhi

Protest outside Bikaner House and Central Park, CP.

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The National Capital saw two protests after a Bengal native was publicly hacked and burnt to death in Rajasthan. Several student organisations gathered outside Bikaner house (above) on 9 December, while another silent protest took place outside Central Park in Connaught Place (below).

The Quint spoke to some of those present at these protests, who unequivocally expressed shock and anger at the killing.

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We are deeply concerned about the series of murders which are happening and being justified and glorified. The killers are being given impunity and the entire system machinery has been totally communalised. The social fabric of the country is being broken.

Mrigank, Indian Federation of Trade Unions

We are here to protest the barbaric murder and the way the video is being circulated on social media. We are also protesting against the silence of the state machinery on the issue and the communalisation of the state machinery. Also the way the institutions like police, judiciary are being communalised, the way patriarchy is being patronized in the society, that needs to be condemned. We want action against Afrazul’s murderers and we demand the PM and Vasundhara Raje to break their silence (on the issue).

Poonam, General Secretary, Pragratisheel Mahila Sangathan

Since the time Modi Government has come into power, more than 24 incidents of lynching have taken place on (members of) the Muslim community. It is because of the RSS ideology that BJP follows, which considers Muslims to be a foreign entity as they keep calling Muslims progeny of Babar. All the lynchings that have happened have followed a systematic way: after the killings, videos are uploaded to create fear in the minds. Strong action should be taken against the perpetrators of the crime.

Aejaz, PhD student JNU 

I was hoping there would be more people here. The safety of minorities, especially of Muslims, is under great threat. The way India was conceived as a home for all, the situation today is making a mockery of the Constitution. The lives of Muslims here are not guaranteed anymore and I’m protesting today as an Indian who’s proud of the Constitution.

Saba Dewan, Filmmaker

The video which has emerged of Afrazul’s killing is not of an angry mob going and killing in a fit of rage, but it was very calculated and filled with hatred.  There is an atmosphere of hatred, but we have come out in protest of that to spread the message that Humanity is still alive. 

Azram, MPhil History, DU

The Rajasthan incident was very horrifying, but the State and Centre haven’t spoken about it.  The incidents of lynching are a result of hate mongering by BJP workers in the country; so BJP and RSS are answerable for these actions. People need to mobilise and put pressure on BJP for them to break their silence and take action.

Sehba Farooqu, CPI(M)

It is important that no matter what the form of protest — be it in the form of human chains or even at Bikaner House, it’s very important that you register your resistance and rage against the brutality of the murder. I don’t acknowledge the fact that the killer was unstable mentally, because the point that he was trying to make while making the video of the murder was that he was trying to send across the message of fear and that Indian Muslims are second-class citizens who have a lesser right to live with dignity than the majority of Indians who are Hindus. We have to counter this message in whatever way we can (through the different forms of protest) and we have to be part of the protests otherwise we can’t criticise the government in power. It is time to call a spade a spade and call Hindutva terror for what it is and not do balancing acts anymore. 

Apeksha, JNU 

I think every citizen should speak out against the atrocities that are happening particularly as a result of the hate campaign that is being unleashed by the RSS and the ruling party against minorities. Muslims are being targeted through some excuse or the other and no actions are being taken against the culprits, instead they are being rewarded. All this is the reason why these killings are happening with impunity and now they’re being shot and displayed in public. Can we sink any lower? If any of us cares about the society, our country, we should be out on the streets protesting and saying, “NO MORE! STOP THIS IMMEDIATELY!”

Nandita Narain, DU Professor 

Small kids are being told to make violent videos of a man being murdered and then set on fire. I am standing here to defend my constitution — as it is says this country belongs to everyone and is a secular country. I am here for my humanity.

Kamla Bhasin

We have organised ‘Muslim Lives Matter-Human Chain’ as a resistance to oppression by the RSS who has invisibilised the Muslims in India and are also attacking the ones who raise their voice in support of the community. Naming the Muslims in the contemporary scenarios as the ‘oppressed’ is essential because of the rampant violence against them. Standing with the Muslims is important for ensuring the secular and democratic constitution of India.

Ovais Sultan Khan, Anhad