Dear MEL Topic Readers,
India: Hindu event calling for genocide of Muslims sparks outrage
It is estimated that of India’s 1.4 billion population, approximately 80% believe in Hinduism and 14% are followers of Islam. In fact, India has the third-largest Muslim population, which is the largest for a non-Muslim majority country. However, they are still a minority in the Hindu majority country. Many in the Muslim community claim they have been increasingly suffering from attacks and threats since Modi, a hardline leader of the BJP, a right-wing party whose policy has historically reflected Hindu nationalist positions, came to power in 2014.
Recently, Hindu religious leaders in the northern Uttarakhand state of India called for the mass killings and use of weapons against Muslims at a Hindu event. A speaker said that such killing wouldn’t face criminal charges and another called for a cleansing of Muslims. The videos of the gathering went viral on social media. The police chief of the state said Indian law prohibits promoting enmity among different groups on grounds of religion. The prime minister and his ruling party BJP haven’t made any comment yet. This article is created by Aljazeera, a Qatari government-funded international news channel, which is perceived to present Islamist perspectives.
Who made the video go viral, supporters or opponents?
Read the article and think about what secular politics and governance could mean in a democratic state.
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