India Tomorrow
NEW DELHI—All India Muslim Majlis-e-Mushawarat (AIMMM), an apex body of Indian Muslims, has resolved to use “judicial, political and all other legally permitted avenues to protect and safeguard the constitutional and legal rights of all Indian citizens, particularly Muslims and those belonging to deprived and weaker sections.”
This was part of a declaration issued by the umbrella body of all Muslim organizations in the country last week.
The declaration was issued at the end of a two-day national convention in New Delhi, attended by community representatives from 18 states to discuss the changed political situations under which Muslims are being targeted by fringe Hindu elements with the state governments and police not doing enough to protect the life and property of the Muslims. Many a time, State itself sides with the radical elements that make Muslims helpless in seeking justice. To quote Delhi University professor Apoorvanand, a kind of war has been unleashed against Muslims in connivance with the state. The convention was organized to prepare a strategy to face the situation that has resulted in fear and disappointment among Muslims across the country.
The declaration pledged to “assist and stand by all the innocent victims of political vendetta who are imprisoned for fighting justice.”
About bulldozing Muslim properties in violation of laws and capturing mosques by radical elements of the majority community, the Mushawarat announced “to build pressure on the government and administration to protect mosques, safeguard the rights of innocent victims of communal violence and bulldozer politics.”
The Muslim organization also vowed to “rein in the rabid acts of inflammatory speeches, the overt threatening of genocide and hateful and provocative propaganda against Muslims and Islam on national or social media” by taking up these issues with the central and state governments.
The Mushawarat strongly condemned the section of media indulging in hate-mongering against Muslims and stirring up class and communal hatred. It asked Muslims to boycott such media houses.
The Muslim body announced to reduce differences among various Muslim groups and launch a programme to hold discussions with saner elements of the Hindu and other communities to establish communal peace and harmony in the country.
The Mushawarat also expressed its resolve to hold a “series of dialogues and discussions with the people of every class and creed to dispel all doubts and misgivings, to prevent any attempt to create divisiveness and frustrate the nefarious designs of the communal elements.”
With the help of “fair-minded citizens of all faiths” and “through constitutional and democratic means,”, the Mushawarat declared to “fight against the attempt to change or incapacitate the Constitution of India.” It pledged to protect the country from the “fire of hate and divisiveness.”
It resolved that Muslims would “unflinchingly and uncompromisingly continue to follow Islam, its principles and maintain their cultural identity”. It said that the “Hijab(veil) is not merely a symbolic identity of Muslim women but an important religious obligation which can never be compromised.”
Speakers in the two-day programme included AIMMM president Navaid Hamid, Jamaat-e-Islami Hind President Syed sadatullah Hussain, AIMMM vice-president Malik Moatasim Khan, AIMMM media coordinator Inamurrahman Khan, WElfare Party of India President SQR Ilyas, former minister and Ittehad-i-Millat Council Tuaqeer Raza Khan, Delhi University Professor Apoorvanand and Maulana Muhammad Yasin.
