Police in India Publicly Flogged Nine Muslims

UN and human rights organizations criticize the Indian government for its reluctance to take actions to stop discrimination against Muslims (Flickr)

Just two months after India warranted diplomatic outrage from Muslim-majority countries for its derogatory remarks about the Prophet Muhammad, the country home to over 200 million Muslims is facing new accusations of human rights violation against this minority population. Local policemen publicly tortured nine Muslims who were allegedly arrested for disrupting the Hindu Garba event in Kheda District, Gujarati on October 4. 

The video footage of the incident shows that a group of policemen tied at least four Muslim men to an electricity pole and flogged them with sticks while a crowd chanted “maro, maro” or “beat them.” According to the district’s senior superintendent of police, Rajesh Gadhiya, Muslisms opposed to the Hindu festival being held near a mosque were arrested for throwing stones at devotees. The Police Department filed a case against 43 people and arrested 18, all of whom were Muslims. When asked whether the police had the legal authority of flogging, Gadhiya responded that an investigation was launched. 

This event followed the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s derogatory remarks about Islam that triggered Arab countries’ protest against India two months ago. Later, more than 15 countries joined the list and condemned the ruling party’s deep prejudice against the nation’s minorities. 

This is not the first time communal clashes and police punishment against Muslims has occurred. During other Hindu festivals, police reportedly took no action while armed Hindu men shoutedanti-Muslim slogans in front of mosques. In states ruled by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), policemen have demolished homes and other properties in Muslim communities without legal authorization. Local authorities in these states reportedly claimed that the structures were constructed illegally and stressed the need to punish “miscreants” for stoning religious ceremonies. 

In June, the UN rapporteurs wrote to the Indian government that “some of these evictions have been carried out as a form of collective and arbitrary punishment against the Muslim minority and low-income communities for alleged intercommunal violence, while authorities reportedly failed to investigate these incidentes.” Meenakshi Gangula, South Asia Director of Human Rights Watch, warned that “if the Indian government does not take immediate action to roll back discriminatory laws, policies, and actions targeting minorities, rule of law will be replaced by bulldozers and sticks.”

Some observers note that such intercommunal polarization has been deliberately invoked and instrumentalized for the upcoming assembly elections. “What point is the Gujarat Police trying to prove by thrashing these Muslim men in public?” Congress leader of Gujarat State Jignesh Mevani shared on Twitter. “Is this done to please their political bosses or is this done upon instructions of their masters?” Meanwhile, Gujarat minister Harsh Sanghvi defended the police by directing attention to the human rights of the Hindu devotees who were hit by the stones.“Now people of the state can play Garba late at night because of Gujarat Police,” he commented. “People should express their gratitude towards them on social media.”