New Delhi, May 17 (IANS) The Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind has expressed serious concern over what it described as “rising communalism”, the “silence” of constitutional institutions and an increasing “politics of intimidation” allegedly directed at Muslims and Islamic symbols in the country, calling the current situation “extremely alarming”.

The remarks were made during the organisation’s two-day Working Committee meeting, following which Jamiat chief Arshad Madani shared the declaration adopted at the gathering through a post on X.

Sharing the statement, Madani said, “The current situation in the country, the rising communalism, the silence of constitutional institutions, the increasing measures against Muslims and Islamic symbols, and politics based on hatred are extremely alarming. However, Muslims have never bowed down and will never bow down. They may bow out of love, but they can never be subdued through force, threats, or oppression.”

According to the declaration released after the meeting, the organisation alleged that politics rooted in “hatred” has now evolved into a “politics of intimidation”, aimed at creating fear among Muslims and forcing them to live under imposed social and political conditions.

“For the sake of power, a dangerous game is being played with peace and unity, resulting in a continuous rise in religious extremism and hatred, while the guardians of law remain silent spectators,” Madani said while quoting the declaration adopted by the Working Committee.

The organisation also referred to the political developments following the recently concluded Assembly elections, claiming that the “obsession” among certain political leaders to gain and retain power through communal polarisation had intensified further.

According to the declaration, religious sentiments are allegedly being used to “pit the majority against the minority”, despite the constitutional principle that governments are expected to function through justice, fairness and equality rather than fear or intimidation.

The Muslim body also referred to remarks allegedly made by West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Akhikar after his electoral victory, accusing him of promoting “hatred” through divisive political messaging.

“In the same way, the statement of the newly elected Chief Minister of West Bengal that he would ‘work only for Hindus’ is completely against constitutional and democratic values, because every Chief Minister takes an oath to uphold justice for all citizens. Those in power are responsible for protecting the constitutional rights of every citizen, not for promoting hatred and divisive politics against any particular community,” the declaration stated.

The Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind further alleged that there was a “planned attempt” underway to transform the country into what it termed an “ideological state”. The organisation claimed that several recent policy initiatives and legal measures form part of a larger pattern aimed at altering the constitutional and secular framework of the country.

“Measures such as the Uniform Civil Code, making ‘Vande Mataram’ mandatory, actions against mosques and madrasas, and depriving genuine citizens of voting rights under the guise of SIR are all links in the same chain,” the declaration said.

The organisation added that it would continue to pursue what it described as a legal and democratic struggle against such measures.

The declaration also compared the present political environment with previous governments, stating that while earlier administrations may have caused social, educational, political and economic harm to Muslims, the current situation was “far more dangerous”.

“Earlier, only Muslims were targeted; now Islam itself has become a target. The laws enacted after 2014 and the recent measures are clear evidence that the present government seeks to harm not only Muslims but Islam as well,” the declaration alleged.

The Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind further claimed that anti-Islam propaganda was also being carried out at the global level in an organised manner. However, the organisation asserted that such efforts would ultimately fail.

“However, history bears witness that those who sought to erase Islam themselves vanished; Islam was alive, remains alive, and will remain alive until the Day of Judgment,” the declaration stated.

Calling for broader social and political unity, Madani appealed to opposition parties, civil society groups and citizens to jointly resist what he termed “communal and fascist forces”.

“We appeal to all justice-loving parties, social organisations, and patriotic citizens to unite against communal and fascist forces at the democratic and social levels, and to jointly struggle for brotherhood, tolerance, justice, and the supremacy of the Constitution in the country,” Madani said while sharing the declaration.

–IANS

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