New Delhi, March 20 (IANS) Congress leader and former Union minister Mani Shankar Aiyar, while extending Eid greetings on Friday, alleged that Muslims across the world, “starting with India”, are often targeted by communal forces.

“This has been an extremely difficult year for the Muslim community. Muslims around the world are facing many challenges and struggles. In India too, the Muslim community is often seen as victims of communal tension,” said the 84-year-old politician in a video message posted on YouTube.

Titled “Eid in a Time of War: Gaza, Iran & West Asia Crisis”, the message was shared on his YouTube platform ‘Mani Talk’, which described it as a “special Eid message at a time when the world is witnessing devastating wars and humanitarian crises”.

“From the tragedy in Gaza to the ongoing war in Iran and the wider conflict in West Asia, this message reflects on the importance of peace, compassion, and shared humanity in troubled times,” the platform description stated.

In the seven-minute message, delivered in both Hindi and English, Aiyar claimed that across the world, including India, Muslims are often made targets of communal forces.

He alleged that this extends “across West Asia, from Iran to the Gulf states, Saudi Arabia and Syria, as well as in Central Asia, in South Ossetia, Abkhazia, Chechnya, and in Iran as well. Including Somalia, Libya, and Tunisia, the Muslim ‘millat’ is being subjected to all kinds of atrocities, particularly over the last year”.

Aiyar has been involved in several controversies over the years, including remarks on party colleagues and statements on national leaders and historical issues.

He has earlier criticised the Congress leadership publicly, at one point describing himself as “Gandhian, Nehruvian, Rajivian, but not a Rahulian”.

He had also made remarks about party colleagues, including calling Shashi Tharoor an “unprincipled careerist”, K.C. Venugopal a “rowdy”, and Pawan Khera a “tattu” (pony), which drew criticism.

During the 2024 election campaign, he sparked controversy by stating that China had “allegedly invaded India” in October 1962, a remark criticised by the BJP as historical revisionism; Aiyar later apologised.

“My family and I convey our sympathies and hope that Allah will ensure peace and tranquillity for the Muslim ‘millat’ in the year to come,” he added.

“One only hopes that in the years ahead, peace, harmony, tranquillity, and democracy will be re-established in the Islamic world,” he further said.

“The needless pursuit of material greatness at the expense of spiritual values, and the neglect of our composite culture, is harming our global reputation,” he claimed.

“So, on this holy and auspicious occasion of Eid, I wish my Muslim brethren across the world — from Southeast Asia to northwest Africa and beyond — the very best, and hope that peace, harmony, and tranquillity will prevail sooner rather than later among the entire Muslim ‘millat’,” he said.

–IANS

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