Two Muslim students of a local madarasa in the Paldi area of Gujarat were reportedly lynched by a Hindutva mob on Sunday night. The victims have sustained serious injuries and are hospitalised.
As per reports, 17-year-old Umar and 16-year-old Khizar were reportedly abused, kicked and smashed by the mob in front of a large crowd.
Umar’s father Mufti Abdul Qayyum was quoted by Maktoob Media, saying, “the assailants targeted them as they were wearing kurta pyjama and a skullcap.” He added that they thrashed them so brutally that Umar is still unconscious and Khizar is unable to talk due to the trauma.
Umar’s hand was twisted and he was repeatedly attacked on his head and he sustained severe injuries while Khizar has got stitches on both hands. Both the children were reportedly returning home on their scooter to Paldi.
Hate crimes against Muslims have recently been on the rise throughout the country, particularly in the Hindi belt. While the basis for any form of hate crime is unjustified, the arguments put forth by the perpetrators of the crime are worthy of notice.
The crimes were perpetrated by members of right-wing Hindutva groups, devotees of Yati Narasinghanand Saraswati, and in some cases even saw the presence and vociferous support from political leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party.
The reasons given by the perpetrators of these crimes vary from an inane desire to protect Hindu women, to an unfound fear of Muslims taking up jobs “meant for Hindus” which they call “economic jihad”.