ISLAMABAD: Chairperson of Peace and Culture Organisation Mushaal Hussein Mullick said an international report about arbitrary arrests, extra-judicial killings and violence against religious minorities in India had exposed “the ugly and fascist face of Narendra Modi before the world.”

The report painted a grim picture of the condition of human rights of minorities in India and Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), she said, adding the US State Department’s 2021 HR Report revealed the curbs on free expression and media continued in India.

The gravity of this situation could be judged from the fact that over 2,300 people have been booked under a draconian law since 2019, she said, adding Muslims in India were vulnerable to communal violence and discrimination due to the lack of accountability and widespread impunity enjoyed by brutal forces.

Ms Mushaal expressed alarm over intolerance towards Muslims in India and IIOJK, adding both places had become a “living hell” for minorities.

The Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) have been diligently working on their Hindutva ideology since 2014 which is driven by hate as they treated Muslims and other minorities as second class citizens, she said.

“The fascist BJP government is trampling upon fundamental freedoms of religious minorities and becoming a threat for peace and security of South Asia which is why organisations should not just release reports but also take steps to stop Mr Modi’s government from committing genocide of Muslims,” she added.

Published in Dawn, April 16th, 2022