Hate rape of a Muslim girl condemned
September 03, 2002
It is being reported by the Associated Press and the Mercury News that Sanjay Nair, an 18 year old Hindu, raped a fifteen year old girl in Palo Alto, CA on Friday, August 30th. According to these news reports the Palo Alto police is calling the rape a hate crime, because the rapist allegedly made anti-Muslim comments during the rape.
We condemn this heinous act of rape in the strongest possible terms. Rape is a grave crime and the fact that it was committed against a minor and as a hate crime, magnifies its severity many folds.
If it is true that the rapist uttered anti-Muslim statements while he raped the under age girl, as reported by the police, then it brings home to the Indian community the pain of hundreds of girls gang raped in Gujarat, India and then brutally killed at the hands of Hindutva-fascists.
It underscores the fears of the Indian community in the U.S. that the Hindutva-fascists have been running indoctrination camps for Hindu youth all over America, similar to the camps in India and the rapist might have learned this hatred in these camps like the racists in Gujarat did. Bay Area is considered one of the centers of Hindutva-fascists in the U.S.
We commend the police at the promptness of the action. American law-enforcement agencies should not allow these fascists to import their hatred into the U.S. and harm U.S. citizens.
We hope that Mr. Vajpayee, the Prime Minister of India, who will be visiting the U.S later this month will, at last, now be forced take action against the rapists and killers of Gujarat. We demand that the Hindutva-fascist groups in the U.S. condemn this heinous crime and disband their hate camps in the U.S.
We reaffirm our commitment to maintain inter-religious solidarity with all Indians. We must remember that the Hindutva-fascist groups have been involved in hate mongering on the occasion of the anniversary of the terrorist attacks of September 11 and are busy trying to polarize the Indian community in the U.S. their chief propagandist, Sadhavi Rithambara has recently toured the United States.
We strongly request that the distinction between Hinduism which is a religion and Hindutva which is a fascist and racist political ideology be remembered and we urge the Muslim and Hindu communities in the bay area and all over the country to make sure that this dastardly hate crime will not cause any deterioration of relations between the two communities.
Indian Muslim Council-USA is a national organization of American Muslims of Indian origin. IMC-USA is involved in education and advocacy work for Indian minorities.
Contact Person: Dr. Shaik Ubaid
Tel: (516) 567-0783
