Undermining Indian values may not help Muslim outfit, especially when it falls in line to support terror modules, their handlers
Since its inception, Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has made serious moves to interfere in India’s affairs periodically to constructed inaccurate, selective and misleading narrative that contravenes facts.
During the recent violence heaped on peaceful Ram Navami processions last week, OIC came into the ring denouncing one side and following a set pattern.
In the statement, OIC general secretariat said, “It has followed with deep concern the acts of violence and vandalism targeting the Muslim community in several states in India during the Ram Navami processions, including the burning of a madrasa and its library by an extremist Hindu mob in Bihar Sharif on March 31, 2023.”
It continued, “The OIC General Secretary denounces such provocative acts of violence and vandalism, which are a vivid manifestation of mounting Islamophobia and systemic targeting of the Muslim community in India. The OIC General Secretary calls upon the Indian authorities to take firm actions against the instigators and perpetrators of such acts and to ensure the safety, security, rights and dignity of the Muslim community in the country.”
In a befitting reply to these unwarranted one sided comments, official spokesperson of Ministry of External Affairs, Arindam Bagchi, said on April 4, 2023, “We strongly condemn the statement issued by OIC secretariat today regarding India. This is one more example of their communal mind set and anti-India agenda. OIC does its reputation damage by being constantly manipulated by anti-India forces”.
Facts were contrary to what OIC said in its press statement. Across states like Bihar, West Bengal, Maharastra and Jharkhand, islamists had targeted peaceful Ram navami processions when they passed through muslim majority areas provoking reaction from the faithful Hindus in a couple of places.
On March 30, 2023, Ram Navami procession near Panjrigar mohalla in the Vadodara district of Gujarat was attacked by Islamists who pelted stones at the procession.
In Uttar Pradesh, an incident of stone-pelting on a Ram Navami procession passing in front of a mosque was reported in the state’s capital Lucknow.
In Maharashtra, Hindu processions were attacked in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Jalgaon, and Mumbai. A Ram Navami procession in the Malvai region of Mumbai’s Malad suburb was attacked by an Islamist mob as it passed by a Masjid near gate no. 7 area.
In West Bengal, clashes broke out between two communities during a Ram Navami procession in the Dalkhola area of Islampur town of North Dinajpur. One person was killed and 5-6 policemen were injured in clashes in a Muslim-dominated area.
Failure of the muslim religious and political leadership to rein in the rioters and violence perpetrators from their side seems to be root cause of violence, arson and friction. One key question is why does violence always happen during Hindu festivals that denote tolerance, bonhomie and boisterous with bhajans, singing and dance? Why’s it that violence invariably happens in Muslim majority areas? And, why’s it that Muslim leadership maintains a deafening silence on violence by jihadists and islamists of every hue and colour?
This is not the first time OIC made attempts to interfere in India’s internal affairs violating global norms of diplomacy, decency and engagement in sane manner.
Previously OIC had come up with a dubious statement on purported ban on Muslim female students from wearing hijab in the state of Karnataka. The statement had read, ‘the continued attacks targeting Muslims and their places of worship, the recent trend of anti-Muslim legislations in different states and rising incidents of violence against Muslims on flimsy pretexts are indicative of the growing trend of Islamophobia.’
Here again, the issue was misrepresented. Karnataka state government had only asked all students including female Muslims to adhere to uniform code set for colleges and schools. The issue was blown out of proportion after about half a dozen girls made hijab an issue as activists of banned organization, Popular Front of India (PFI).
OIC also seems least bothered about partial or complete ban on hijab imposed by some of top Islamic countries. Chad, Egypt, Cameroon, Morocco, Algeria, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Tunisia, Uzbekistan, and Gabon are some of the prominent Islamic countries that are members of OIC that have not made wearing of hijab mandatory.
Prior to that, the notorious organisation trumpeted its concern on reported Haridwar hate speech describing that as a public call for genocide of Muslims by Hindu followers. Muslims genocide has never ever happened in India’s history of millennia. In fact, it was the other way round. In Kashmir, thousands of Hindus had to migrate out over last three decades owing to constant attacks, humiliation, loot, rapes and abuse at the hands of muslim terror outfits fanned, funded and indoctrinated by Pakistani ISI.
OIC, in its meeting on the side lines of 76th U.N General Assembly, pressed India to reverse its decision to remove Jammu and Kashmir’s special status. In fact, abrogation of article 370 of Indian Constitution was an internal administrative decision of the duly elected sovereign government through a due process of law enacted by Parliament, the highest democratic institution in the country.
In 2020, Delhi riots, OIC selectively said that riots had caused arson and vandalism of Muslim-owned properties. On the contrary, facts have come to fore where Hindus lost lives, properties and got severely abused at the hands of gun trotting Muslim terrorists.
Way back in 1969, Muslim world collaborated to form its own international organisation to act as collective voice of Muslim world named the Organisation of the Islamic Conference, later renamed as Organisation of the Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in 2011.
After United Nations, OIC is the world’s second-largest international body with 57 member countries, all of which are Islamic nations or countries with Muslim majority. India, despite being home to second-largest Muslim population country in the world with over 210 million muslims is not a part of the OIC.
OIC is managed by Saudi Arabia, although Pakistan, as the only Islamic country with nuclear weapons has had wielded significant influence since its formation. Over the years, OIC had issued several statements on Indian minorities or Jammu & Kashmir that were essentially fuelled by Pakistan, a country with an abominable record on religious tolerance, radicalism and persecution of minorities.
OIC has sadly towed a line in sync with Pakistan on India’s internal affairs or Anti-India propaganda through biased and one-sided resolutions. In the past, India has cautioned OIC that its platform should not be distorted by “vested interests”.
India has had excellent relations individually with most member nations of the OIC. In recent years, ties with the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, in particular, have improved significantly especially at strategic level and economic ties.
In 2019, India made its first appearance as a “guest of honour” at the OIC Foreign Ministers Meeting. Former External minister Sushma Swaraj was invited by the then UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan to address the inaugural plenary in Abu Dhabi.
The invitation was in recognition of India’s 210 million Muslims, their contribution to its pluralistic ethos and India’s contribution to Islamic world. Pakistan foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi lobbied hard to retract the invitation. But, UAE refused to buckle under Islamabad pressure to retract an invite to Sushma Swaraj. While Shah Mahmood Qureshi and Pakistan stayed away from the OIC plenary, it was a diplomatic victory for India.
Sushma Swaraj, in her speech had said that India was a beacon of peace. Home to several religious minorities and emerged as one of the largest economies of the world. India was one of the most diverse nations in the world. People of all faiths and religions live in harmony in India. It was perhaps because of thuis diversity that people have not taken to radicalisation. People knew how to live in harmony with each other.
She added that fight against terrorism was not in conflict with any religion. She said the menace was caused by a distortion of religion and misguided belief. If humanity was to be saved, states that provided shelter and funding to terrorists should dismantle the infrastructure of the terrorist camps, stop providing funding and shelter to terror organisations based in that country.
OIC, time and again had made attempts to challenge India’s sovereignty; its resolutions, statement show a communal mind set, time and again raised questions about the polity and ethos of Indian values.
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