Muslim scholars sentenced to life imprisonment on charges of forced conversion
A court in BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh’s Lucknow sentenced 12 people, including prominent Islamic scholars Maulana Kaleem Siddiqui and Umar Gautam, to life imprisonment, accusing them of being involved in forcibly converting non-Muslims to Islam.
A number of prominent Indians, including parliamentarians, lawmakers, community leaders, and activists, condemned Siddiqui’s arrest in 2021, saying that the detention violated the veteran Muslim leader’s constitutional rights. His arrest was also condemned by the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom.
Officials demolish minarets of mosque after Hindu extremists protest
Tensions have escalated in BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh’s Bareilly after the construction of three minarets at the Mansoori Mosque, which Hindu supremacist organizations allege were built illegally overnight. Hindu extremists in the region organized protests against the construction of the minarets, resulting in civic officials initiating the demolition of the minarets.
Opposition names ex-BJP leader who supported child rapists as candidate in Jammu and Kashmir
India’s opposition Congress Party has named Lal Singh, a former BJP leader who led a rally in support of the gang-rapists of an 8-year-old Muslim girl, as a candidate for the upcoming elections in Jammu and Kashmir.
In 2018, an 8-year-old Muslim girl from Jammu and Kashmir’s Kathua was brutally gangraped and murdered. Soon after, widespread protests were held demanding justice for the victim. However, Singh led a rally in favor of the accused and openly supported him. This led to public outrage, eventually leading to his resignation. Singh later joined the Congress in 2019.
Federal minister, 30 former judges attend meet organized by Vishwa Hindu Parishad
Around 30 retired judges of the Supreme Court and several high courts participated in a meeting organized by the legal cell of the Hindu militant group Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP). Federal law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal was also present at the meeting.
The VHP, a Hindu militant organization, has been criticized and accused of orchestrating anti-Muslim riots and hate campaigns.
The participation of retired judges in an event organized by the VHP is cause for significant concern, given the fact that issues such as the outfit’s claims over the Gyanvapi mosque in Varanasi and the Shahi Idgah in Mathura are presently in court.
Hindu militants disrupt Christian prayer meeting over alleged forced conversion
In Chattisgarh’s Surajpur, Hindu militants from the Bajrang Dal and BJP workers disrupted a Christian prayer meeting over baseless allegations that they were forcing Hindus to convert to Christianity. In a similar incident in Uttar Pradesh’s Fatehpur, members of Hindu supremacist groups disrupted a Christian prayer meeting.
Attacks on Christians have become common under several Indian states’ draconian anti-conversion laws, which criminalize conversion away from Hinduism.
