Actor Muhammad Ali’s (late) services for Pakistan’s cinema holds distinctive value as he showcased his acting skills by starring in innumerable movies. He was given the title of ‘Shehenshah-e-jazbaat’ for his unmatched acting skills. A particular part of his movie ‘Insaan Aur Aadmi’ is quite famous in which his character is seen arguing with a court judge and demands to be compensated for the 25 years he had spent behind bars. His character demands to be compensated for the days spent in incarceration when he was young. Today this specific sequence from the aforementioned movie has once again secured significant relevance as more than one hundred Muslims are reported to have been incarcerated for 19 years, for a crime they didn’t even commit in the so-called secular India which also claims to be “world’s largest democracy”; the Muslim prisoners have recently been released after 19-year long illegal incarceration.
According to the reports pertaining to this matter, these Muslims were apprehended during a seminar on Muslim education in the Indian state of Gujrat. Police had accused them of being associated with ‘Students’ Islamic Movement India’ (a banned outfit). They were also accused of planning a terrorist attack and possessing weapons and explosive materials. The seminar from which they were apprehended, was organized by the All India Minority Education Board of which an Associate Professor of Jodhpur’s Jai Narain Vyas University was also a member. The three-day event was expected to be attended by 400 Muslim scholars, community leaders from all across India. The police raided the Band Theatre’s Rajshree Hall on the very first day of the seminar at around 11 am and apprehended 127 people. For the following 19 years, police failed to produce a single witness or piece of evidence against the accused.
The fact that 127 innocent Muslims were imprisoned for 19 years on the basis of a fake case and false accusation is incomparable and unimaginable in modern times. These Muslims have every right to demand compensation from India’s judicial system for the last 19 years that they spent incarcerated. Indian society cannot be termed ‘civilized’ in any way whatsoever, in fact, it is savage and ruthless and comprises of Hindutva extremists are ‘butchers’ who subjugate and exploit religious minorities, especially Muslims. The situation is further exacerbated as these Hindutva extremists are supported and backed by the government itself, whereas Indian laws also support such entities and elements.
The world knows that only India’s Hindu majority population is entitled to basic rights, whereas the country’s religious minorities are vulnerable to all kinds of atrocities and brutalities. India is a country that echoes of minorities’ outcry citing innumerable hardships and sufferings.
Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) a primary example of atrocities subjected to minorities in India. The disputed valley has been illegally occupied by Indian forces for the past 73 years, who have committed innumerable human rights violations and war crimes during this period. More than 125,000 Kashmiris have been martyred by the Indian forces. Indian troops have utilized every available means and resources in order to suppress Kashmiri Muslims’ struggle for their right to self-determination; however, India has met with failure in its attempt to fulfil its nefarious goals. Kashmiri Muslims living in the disputed valley have been deprived of freedom and basic rights by the occupying Indian forces.
Why the so-called ‘champions’ of human rights have failed to take notice of the grave human rights violations in the disputed valley? Whey they have blatantly refused to take any substantial action against India? These questions demand to be answered as civilized societies and relevant organizations are responsible for ensuring justice for these 127 Indian Muslims. Atrocities carried out by Hindus against minorities need to be duly addressed along with the provision of rights for the oppressed. Hindu extremists should be effectively ‘restrained’, whereas atrocities and brutalities in IIOJK must also be put to an end with the provision of freedom and rights for the valley’s Muslim majority population. Kashmir issue must be solved via the United Nations (UN) Resolutions. Failure to address these issues by relevant organizations and countries that claim to be ‘civilized’ will in fact be interpreted as aiding and supporting such atrocious acts.
