Kolkata: In December 2020 first major genocide call against Indian Muslims was given by right-wing Hindutva leaders and religious figures in Haridwar. While attacks on Muslims is not a new thing in India and country is witnessed it time to time especially after 2015, when Akhlaque Ahmed of Dadri was lynched in Uttar Pradesh, but after the call, now Muslims are being attacked almost every day at some or other part of the country.
On Friday also, a genocide call was given in Karnataka in response to the resistance shown by the Muslims on the anti-hijab row.
Amid all these, 20 Indian diaspora organizations around the world have planned to have three days– Global Conference: India on the Brink – Preventing Genocide, beginning from February 26, 2022.
A press communique has been issued by the organizers which stated, “The rapid escalation of human rights abuses against India’s religious minorities and marginalized communities has reached a breaking point. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s anti-Muslim policies, the daily incidents of violence and hate speech against Muslims and minorities, and government apathy over open calls for genocide of Muslims have created a deeply repressive and dangerous situation for India’s 200 million Muslims.”
It further mentioned, “Experts from leading global human rights watchdogs such as Amnesty International USA, Genocide Watch and the US Holocaust Memorial Museum have said the government’s Hindutva driven agenda is pushing India further down the abyss of hate and violence and creating conditions where a genocide of Muslims and Christians has become a real possibility.”
India on the brink – Preventing Genocide
The press release pointed out why 20 organizations come together for the summit, “In this backdrop, Indian diaspora organizations around the world are partnering with globally acclaimed human rights organizations to host a three-day virtual summit titled ‘India on the brink – Preventing Genocide.’ The Summit, co-sponsored by a global coalition of over 20 organizations, is joined by leading international human rights lawyers, genocide prevention experts, faith leaders, activists, lawmakers and human right defenders from around the world.”
The goal of the summit, according to the organizers, is to bring awareness to the situation in India, to advance the discourse on the international community’s role in safeguarding lives, and to facilitate deeper conversations about a vision for India that builds on its longstanding tradition of pluralism and respect for diversity.
It also quoted Dr Gregory Stanton, who had predicted genocide earlier also and now saying the same for India, against Muslims, “The international community has a moral obligation to act now to prevent a cataclysmic turn of events in India, where millions of Muslims and other marginalized communities are already living in fear and experiencing the rapidly shrinking space for civil rights and religious freedom,” said Dr Stanton, President of Genocide Watch and a co-chair of the Summit.
The release included some more quotes, “The far-right political leadership in India has fueled the ongoing crisis with vitriol and the dehumanized representation of Indian Muslims,” said Dr Ritumbra Manuvie, Executive Director of Stichting The London Story, a Europe based human rights organization, and a co-chair of the Summit. “It will bring credible and authoritative voices from around the world to shine a light on India’s rapid descent into fascism,” added Dr Manuvie.
“This Summit is an urgent call to action to safeguard peace, pluralism and justice for all Indians,” said Rasheed Ahmed, Executive Director of the Indian American Muslim Council, and co-chair of the Summit. “We yearn for a better world where religion and spirituality are wellsprings of love, compassion and a shared ethic of the sanctity of life, and not of hate and mass violence,” added Ahmed.
