1000 families, mainly Muslim, evicted in BJP-ruled Assam after targeted eviction drive
Around 1000 families, the majority of them Muslim, were forcibly evicted from their homes after an eviction drive ordered by the Hindu supremacist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)- ruled Assam state government.
This drive was a clear, bigoted attempt to target Assam’s vulnerable Muslim villagers.
Assam has a disturbing track record of targeting Muslim-majority areas where families are already living in poverty, bulldozing their homes, and denying them their rights as Indian citizens simply because they do not have the means to obtain identification cards or paperwork.
In September 2021, a violent eviction drive aimed at driving mainly Bengali-speaking Muslims out of their homes left 800 families homeless and 4 religious structures destroyed. Two people were killed by police in the raid, one of them a 12-year-old boy.
Hindu religious scriptures to be included in school curriculum while Muslim traditions suppressed
The ruling Hindu supremacist BJP has announced that a Hindu religious scripture, the Bhagavad Geeta, will be used as a textbook for public school students regardless of their religion.
The text will be mandatory reading for grades 6 and 7, and parts of the scripture will be included in the textbooks for grades 11 and 12.
The move is a direct blow to secularism in the school system, prioritizing the expression of Hinduism while criminalizing the hijab and other Muslim practices.
The openly Hindu supremacist moves by the BJP come as a blow to the Muslim community, which has faced harassment and threats of violence over hijabi students demanding their right to wear their religious dress in schools.
Thousands of Christians protest Hindu supremacist violence in Chhattisgarh state
Thousands of Christians marched in Chhattisgarh state to protest against series of anti-Christian violence in Chhattisgarh villages by Hindu supremacist groups.
Violent extremists associated with the Hindu militant group Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) have been attacking Christians, vandalizing their properties and driving them out of their homes.
At least 60 Christian families were assaulted by Hindu extremists in the last two months. Around 200 Christian families have been evicted from their houses, and several prayer spaces were vandalized.
In total, Christians reported 20 attacks on December 18, alone; 41 incidents in December as a whole; 15 attacks in November; and three in October.
