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The riot took a violent turn and that led to a loss of 53 innocent lives and more than 200 people were injured. Numerous vehicles and public properties were destroyed. As the Citizenship Amendment Act was introduced, the nation saw various protests that resulted in clashes between two religious groups.
On 23rd February, a BJP leader, Kapil Mishra held a rally where protestors of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) were present, he delivered a series of hate speeches there and also gave Delhi Police the ultimatum to clear the crowd of Anti-CAA protestors.
This incident was the starting point of the communal riots that occurred in Delhi.
Atmosphere of Tension
Ever since the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) passed the Citizenship Amendment Bill in December 2019, there has been an atmosphere of tension, fear, and panic among the citizens of India mostly Muslims.
Atmosphere of Tension
Ever since the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) passed the Citizenship Amendment Bill in December 2019, there has been an atmosphere of tension, fear, and panic among the citizens of India mostly Muslims.
People belonging to the Muslim religion were mostly targeted in the CAA and they were concerned that the Indian government may take away their citizenship.
They were living under the constant fear that if they were unable to show their citizenship document, then they will be discriminated and the tag of a citizen of India will be snatched away from them.
They were living under the constant fear that if they were unable to show their citizenship document, then they will be discriminated and the tag of a citizen of India will be snatched away from them.
Except for the scared, rights activists, intellectuals and students came in huge numbers against the CAA. According to them, it was the religiously discriminatory nature of the act that went against the basic framework of the Constitution and made them protest. Thousands gathered pan-India and protests became the norm.
The government and the members of the Bharatiya Janata Party didn’t pay any heed to the protest movement and even refused to acknowledge the concerns and fear of protestors and termed the protestors as “Anti-Nationals”.
The BJP government decided to launch a vitriolic and violent campaign when elections in Delhi were around the corner.
Leaders of the BJP party led a Hindi slogan, ”shoot the bloody traitors” which acted as a catalyst for the riots. Although the BJP party lost in the Delhi elections, it made sure that anyone who criticizes the national government should be termed as a traitor.
Leaders of the BJP party led a Hindi slogan, ”shoot the bloody traitors” which acted as a catalyst for the riots. Although the BJP party lost in the Delhi elections, it made sure that anyone who criticizes the national government should be termed as a traitor.
Indifferent Police
The violence was communal, mobs targeted members of other communities with sticks, bullets, and bombs. Protest sites, religious places, universities were vandalized. Police didn’t do anything to stop the riot, moreover, it turned a blind eye to the violence and acted biased.
A committee was set up by the Delhi Minority Commission that accused Delhi police of being inactive during the peak of violence. In the charge sheet filed by the Delhi Police, charges were more for the Muslim Community, when among 53 people who were killed in the violence, 38 of them were Muslims.
The Muslim residents said that police didn’t help them and they took sides. Many disturbing videos surfaced online during the violence, one of them showed that police was assaulting five Muslim men and even forced them to sing the national anthem. One of the men, 35-year-old Faizan died in police custody, 36 hours later.
The Delhi police even claim that no leader belonging to the BJP government instigated the violence by spreading hate speech. Delhi police presented a different image and version of the riots and alleged that the riots were conspired by the Muslim community.
Among the people charged, one of them is a human rights activist, 2 people from a feminist student association, a councilor from a progressive political party, three Muslim student activists from Jamia Milia University, and a Sikh man who had set up a community kitchen.
A large number of people are charged under terrorism laws and it proves that the government led by BJP and the Delhi police are against the Muslim Community and any voices raised against the government will be shut down by forces and fear. Human rights activists are referring to this deadly riot as an “Organized Massacre”.
The policing culture that India follows since British rule is biased and against minority sections, However, under the current Modi government the situation turned worse and brutal as it is a Hindu -nationalist party. Many Muslim people left their houses after the riots fearing for their lives and having lost all hope in the police.
The government believes that the Muslim community and other minorities should live under perpetual fear. However, this is not the first time the government has shown its hatred towards the Muslim community.
In 2003, under the rule of the then CM Narendra Modi, several Hindu mobs lynched and massacred hundreds of Muslims. Mr.Modi was accused but he was cleared by the court. The current government believes in a Hindu nation and anyone opposing the ideology will be treated as a traitor.
Written by - Srijita Roy
Edited by - Rudransh Khurana
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