Violence against Muslims in Assam Escalating: Report
Media sources point to an escalation of violence by Hindu nationalists in Assam against Muslims, Aljazeera reported citing Le Monde.
The violence came under the excuse of expelling those who have been described as illegal Bangladeshi migrants. However, reports indicate that Muslims are being targeted despite the fact that most of them had already proven their Indian citizenship.
Different videos and photos of the violence against Muslims have gone viral these days. In one of the videos, a person who has been described as a photographer brutally attacks a civilian who had already been shot.
Meanwhile, Indian forces destroyed hundreds of houses in a rural area, killing a child and making thousands of other people homeless.
The French newspaper notes that these attacks against Muslims are intentional, signaling an anti-Muslim policy in India.
India’s ruling Hindu nationalist BJP party has been conducting a long-running campaign against Muslims in Assam, who make up one-third of the population of the northeastern state.
In 2018, the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi stripped millions of Muslims in Assam of Indian citizenship, claiming that they were illegal immigrants from Bangladesh.
Forced evictions in the state began on 20 September. Eight hundred families have been forced from their homes on the grounds they were "illegally constructed".
