AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): Recent incidents across India have intensified concerns over growing Islamophobia and shrinking democratic space, with human rights groups and opposition parties warning of mounting social and political polarization.
At a religious gathering in Meerut, a Hindu monk delivered Islamophobic remarks targeting Muslim women and family structures, sparking condemnation from community leaders. Rights organizations cautioned that such rhetoric fuels division and normalizes hate speech.
In Shahjahanpur, Uttar Pradesh, police arrested 200 Muslims for staging a peaceful protest against an offensive social media post insulting Prophet Muhammad (p.b.u.h). Demonstrators had called for action against the post, but authorities instead filed cases against them, a move community members described as evidence of legal discrimination.
Meanwhile, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) warned of an “intensified assault” on democracy under the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government, denouncing crackdowns in Jammu and Kashmir, targeting of Bengali-speaking Muslims, and curbs on citizens’ rights.
The party also condemned discriminatory remarks by the head of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), widely regarded as the ideological parent of the BJP, as well as ongoing atrocities in Gaza. It urged secular forces to unite against collective threats, authoritarianism, and religious hatred, underscoring fears that state policies and rhetoric are eroding India’s democratic and pluralistic foundations.
**************
End/ 345
