Eid Advisory
Indian Muslim Advocacy Group Calls Indian Embassy Festivities Around Massacres' Anniversary A Stratagem Of Cover Up. Urges Boycott.
Washington D.C., 02/05/2003: Indian Muslim Council - USA (IMC-USA) has learnt that India's BJP-run government has instructed Indian Embassies in United States and other countries to hold well publicized Eid Parties on the occasion of the Muslim festival of Eid-ul-Adha.
This year, Eid-ul-Adha roughly coincides with the first anniversary of the State sponsored massacres of Muslims in Gujarat, India. The BJP government and its affiliate organizations are widely blamed for orchestrating these pogroms in which more than 2000 Muslims were killed, 800 women and young girls were raped and 200,000 were displaced from their homes. No serious effort has been made by the government of India to punish the guilty or rehabilitate and compensate the victims.
IMC-USA urges Indian Americans of conscience to refrain from participating in these official Eid celebrations that are being hosted as a stratagem of cover up. IMC-USA also urges the Indian Embassy in US to cancel these celebrations as a mark of respect for the victims of Gujarat massacres and divert the money for these festivities towards much needed relief and rehabilitation in Gujarat.
Commenting on the embassy proposal that Indian Muslims in the United States contribute financially to make this a memorable "celebration", Dr. Shaik Ubaid, President of IMC-USA said, "This is a slap on the face of the Indian Muslims. Due to BJP's own handiwork, tens of thousands of Muslims in Gujarat will have to observe Eid in a state of homelessness, hunger and humiliation. Does the BJP think that by hosting such celebrations their crimes against humanity will be washed away?"
Dr. Ubaid explained that Indian Muslims were not against participating in any function or occasion that fostered communal harmony or promoted goodwill, on the contrary IMC-USA would encourage Muslims to hold such functions, but to be hosted by private groups. He said, "The politics of official celebrations that have been mastered in India as a ploy to deflect criticism that the government is not protecting Indian religious minorities are now being promoted abroad. For years political leaders have held Ramadan and Eid parties that serve no purpose while genuine Muslim concerns about religious discrimination remain ignored.
He pointed out that the leaders of Hindutva-fascist parties like the RSS and World Hindu Council (VHP) are worried that the occasion of the first anniversary of Gujarat genocide will regenerate media interest in these terrible crimes against humanity and give impetus to a nascent international campaign to bring the perpetrators to justice. These militant groups who call themselves adherents of hindutva ideology of racial and religious supremacy, are called fascist by Human Rights organizations, Gandhians and centrist parties in India because their founders were inspired by Hitler and Mussolini and they openly espouse Hitler's genocidal policies
See Also:
"The Other Face of Fanaticism" By Pankaj Mishra, New York Times Magazine, February 2, 2003
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/02/magazine/02HINDU.html?pagewanted=1
"We Have No Orders to Save You" - Human Rights Watch Report, April 2002
http://hrw.org/reports/2002/india/
Contact:
Zahir Janmohamed
Indian Muslim Council-USA
265 Sunrise Highway,
1-355 Rockville Center, NY 11570
e-mail: info@imc-usa.org
Tel: (516) 567-0783
