IMC-USA congratulates India’s electorate for defeating religious extremism

May 14, 2004

New York, N.Y., Indian Muslim Council-USA, an advocacy group committed to protecting India’s democracy and pluralism, congratulated the people of India for voting the ruling Hindutva-fascist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) out of power.

According to poll results carried by various media outlets, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and its allies suffered an electoral defeat the scale of which no pundit or exit poll had predicted.

Dr. Shaik Ubaid, the President of IMC-USA, called the results an important victory for secularism and a testament to the work of grassroots social and secular organizations and the ethos of the country. He said, "India has always been a secular country and the overwhelming majority of its citizens want to live in peace and harmony with each other. The rejection of the BJP and its Hindutva-fascist ideology serves notice to those espousing hatred that Indians will never accept another genocide in Gujarat or anywhere else in India."

Dr. Ubaid however warned Indians and the Indian diaspora not to let their guard down in the euphoria of BJP’s defeat. He reminded people that the work of detoxifying young minds contaminated with the Hindutva-fascist ideology is yet to begin, as is the campaign to roll back the hate propaganda that permeated the Indian educational system during the rule of the BJP.

Dr. Ubaid also said he was particularly delighted at the maturity of the Indian Muslim voter. He said, "The days of the self-proclaimed and BJP-blessed leaders trying to mislead the Muslims for their own personal benefit is over." In this election, Dr Ubaid added, Indian Muslims voted according to their conscience and rejected the appeal of Mr. Arif Mohammed Khan, Mr. Waheed Uddin Khan and Mr. Ahmed Bukhari, the Imam of the Jama Masjid in New Delhi, to vote for the BJP.

SEE ALSO:
India