Trump praises India’s religious freedom while Muslim-Hindu violence erupts

The violence that broke out Sunday and continued through Tuesday was one of the deadliest clashes the Indian capital has seen in decades.

A TALE OF TWO CITIES PHOTO ESSAY
Two very different scenes played out in New Delhi and across India this week.
By Sigal Samuel and Kainaz Amaria Feb 25, 2020 VOX

President Trump leaves a ‘Namaste Trump’ rally at a giant 

cricket stadium on the outskirts of Ahmedabad, India, on

 February 24, 2020. Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images

MODI AND TRUMP ARE ARYAN NATIONALISTS

President Donald Trump wrapped up his first official visit to India on Tuesday, after touring the Taj Mahal in Agra, addressing huge crowds of fans at a stadium in Ahmedabad, and meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss trade and politics in New Delhi.

At one point, Trump praised the Indian leader for “working very hard on religious freedom.”

But just 10 miles away, in the capital’s working-class neighborhood of Maujpur, tensions boiled over into violence. At least 13 people, including Muslims and Hindus, were killed. Dozens more were badly injured. Residents attacked each other with petrol bombs, clubs, and rocks. Muslim-owned shops and mosques were looted, burned down, and vandalized.

Police officers and paramilitary troops were called in, but some Muslims said the security forces didn’t intervene to stop the Hindu mobs. The violence, which broke out Sunday and continued through Tuesday, was the deadliest communal clash the Indian capital has seen in decades.

Yet Trump and Modi carried on with their scheduled lunch and meetings on Tuesday as if all was well. The American president refused to comment on the Hindu-Muslim violence or the controversial new citizenship law that triggered it, saying only, “I want to leave that to India. And hopefully they’re going to make the right decision for the people.”

Hundreds of thousands of Indians are in their third month of protests against a citizenship law that will fast-track citizenship for migrants from many religious minorities, but not for Muslims. Human rights advocates have been challenging it in the Supreme Court on the grounds that it’s unconstitutional.

India is home to 200 million Muslims, or 14 percent of the Hindu-majority country. Under Modi, they are facing mounting threats to their status and safety.

The new law is closely linked with the National Register of Citizens, part of the government’s effort to weed out people it claims are illegal immigrants in the northeastern state of Assam. Residents there have a limited time to prove that they are legitimate citizens — or risk being rounded up into massive new detention camps and, ultimately, deported.

Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party has said it plans to extend the NRC process to the whole country. With so many people facing the threat of detention and deportation, the United Nations and Human Rights Watch are warning that this could soon turn into a humanitarian crisis of horrifying proportions.

All this has turned India into a tinderbox ready to ignite. The killing this week in New Delhi threatens to set off a larger conflagration in a country with a long history of Hindu-Muslim riots.

The contrast between events that happened in parallel — a buzzy sightseeing tour for powerful leaders and a clash that’s left more than a dozen people dead — is perhaps best conveyed by photographs. We’ve selected a few below.

President Trump, first lady Melania Trump and India’s Prime

 Minister Narendra Modi attend the “Namaste Trump” rally 

on the outskirts of Ahmedabad, on February 24, 2020. 

Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images

“We will always remember this remarkable hospitality,” 

Trump said of the rally held in his honor at a gigantic 

cricket stadium. “We will remember it forever.”

 Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images

Police detain an activist from the Center of Indian Trade 

Unions during a protest against President Trump’s visit

 to India in Hyderabad. Noah Seelam/AFP via Getty Images

“We think we’re at a point where our relationship is so special

 with India, it has never been as good as it is now,” Trump 

said at the rally in Ahmedabad, where he shook hands with 

Modi. Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images

An activist from the Center of Indian Trade Unions is detained

 during a protest in Hyderabad.

Noah Seelam/AFP via Getty Images

White House senior advisers Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner

 attend the “Namaste Trump” rally. Over 100,000 people 

attended the rally. Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images

Activists from All India Democratic Students Organization 

protest against the arrival of President Trump in New Delhi.

 Yawar Nazir/Getty Images

Members of the US Secret Service and Indian Special 

Protection Group (SPG) stand guard during the 

“Namaste Trump” rally. Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images

Activists protest in Guwahati, India, against President

 Trump’s visit. Anuwar Ali Hazarika/Barcroft Media 

via Getty Images

President Trump and Melania Trump visit the Taj Mahal 

in Agra on February 24, 2020. Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images

Indian police and paramilitary forces react to clashes between

 groups over the Citizenship Amendment Act in New Delhi, 

on February 24, 2020 Yawar Nazir/ Getty Images

India’s President Ram Nath Kovind and his wife Savita Kovind 

greet President Trump and Melania Trump as they arrive

 at the Presidential Palace in New Delhi, on February 25, 2020. 

Money Sharma/AFP via Getty Images

Student activists protest against President Trump’s visit to 

India, in Kolkata. Dibyangshu Sarkar/AFP via Getty Images

An Indian police officer and a civilian were killed as clashes 

between groups over the Citizenship Amendment Act, 

a controversial law that will fast-track citizenship for 

migrants from many religious minorities, but not for Muslims. 

Yawar Nazir/Getty Images

Demonstrations were held in Shaheen Bagh, a Muslim-majority

 area in New Delhi, where hundreds of women have been

 holding a sit-in protest over the past two months. 

Yawar Nazir/Getty Images

Indian police stand guard in front of damaged vehicles and 

shops in New Delhi. Yawar Nazir/Getty Images

The violence that broke out Sunday and continued through 

Tuesday was one of the deadliest clashes the Indian capital

 has seen in decades. Yawar Nazir/Getty Image

President Trump and Melania Trump stand with India’s

 President Ram Nath Kovind and his wife Savita Kovind 

during a state banquet at Rashtrapati Bhavan, the 

Presidential Palace in New Delhi on February 25, 2020. 

Alex Brandon/AFP via Getty Images 

While the Trumps had a sumptuous banquet at the Presidential 

Palace in New Delhi, havoc overtook the streets outside. 

Yawar Nazir/Getty Images

Melania Trump visits a government school in New Delhi.

 Sanchit Khanna/Hindustan Times via Getty Images

Women flee from an area where violence erupted in Delhi. 

Yawar Nazir/Getty Images

Trump, flanked by the first lady and Indian Prime Minister 

Narendra Modi, pose for reporters prior to a meeting at 

Hyderabad House in New Delhi. Imtiyaz Khan/Anadolu

 Agency via Getty Images

Protesters walk in traffic demonstrating against the arrival 

of Trump in Kolkata, India. Indranil Aditya/NurPhoto 

via Getty Images 

Donald and Melania Trump wave as they board Air Force

 One in Agra, India. Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images

At least 20 killed in violent clashes in India's capital

Three days of clashes in India's capital city of New Delhi between opponents and supporters of India's new citizenship law left at least 20 dead and more than 150 injured. The violence erupted during and after President Trump's first official visit to the subcontinent.

HINDU NATIONALISTS HINDUTVA ATTACK MUSLIM NEIGHBOURHOODS
The clashes involved Hindus and Muslims in Muslim-majority neighborhoods about 11 miles from where Mr. Trump stayed and conducted meetings.

Authorities have started releasing the details of those killed in the clashes, said New Delhi Television (NDTV), and four have been identified. Two men, an auto rickshaw driver and a handicrafts trader were Muslim, while two others, a marketing executive and a policeman, were Hindu.

The demonstrations against the law have led to other violent protests since it passed in December, but demonstrations had been mostly peaceful in New Delhi. 

11 SLIDES 
© Adnan Abidi/Reuters © Sajjad Hussain/AFP © Prakash Singh/AFP 
© Danish Siddiqui/Reuters © Manish Rajput/SOPA Images/LightRocket/Getty Images
 

1/11 SLIDES © Sajjad Hussain/AFP/Getty Images

A firefighter walks past damaged shops at a tyre market after they were set on fire by a mob in a riot affected area after clashes erupted between people demonstrating for and against a new citizenship law in New Delhi, India, February 26, 2020.

 

2/11 SLIDES © Sajjad Hussain/AFP/Getty Images
Local residents look at burnt-out vehicles following clashes in New Delhi, on Feb. 26.
3/11 SLIDES © Sajjad Hussain/AFP/Getty Images
A Hindu religious flag is seen on a minaret of a burnt-out mosque following clashes between people supporting and opposing a contentious amendment to India's citizenship law, in New Delhi, on Feb. 26.

4/11 SLIDES © Adnan Abidi/Reuters
Firefighters douse the burning wreckage of a shop at a tyre market after it was set on fire by a mob during the riot, in New Delhi, on Feb. 26.

The capital of India, Delhi has faced the worst sectarian violence in decades after the clashes between people supporting and opposing the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC). The death toll from several days of rioting has reached to 17.(Pictured) A firefighter walks past damaged shops at a tyre market after they were set on fire by a mob in a riot affected area after clashes erupted between people demonstrating for and against a new citizenship law in New Delhi, India, on Feb. 26.
The Citizenship Amendment Act provides a path to citizenship for some immigrants from India's neighboring nations — as long as they're non-Muslim. The Indian government says the law's aim is to protect other religious minorities and that most of its Muslim immigrants come primarily from other Muslim countries. Opponents argue the law goes against the country's constitution, which states India is a secular nation. Critics of the law say that means India cannot exclude immigrants based on religion.

When asked about the attacks at a news conference Tuesday, Mr. Trump said he hadn't discussed individual attacks with Prime Minister Modi and that it was "up to India."

"If we look back and look at what's going relative to other places especially, they have really worked hard on religious freedom," Mr. Trump said.

© Provided by CBS News Security personnel patrol an area following clashes between supporters and opponents of a new citizenship law in New Delhi on February 25, 2020.

NDTV reported that three of its reporters and a cameraman had been attacked in the clashes, and were asked to "prove their religion." The network said more than 150 people, including a child, had been injured as armed mobs swept through sections of northeast Delhi with reports of stone throwing, arson, and vandalism.

There were also reports of tear gas being fired at protesters, and violent clashes between protesters and the outnumbered police.

The government issued orders late Monday evening in India banning large gatherings across the northeast area of the city.

Police were initially slow to respond to the demonstrations, according to NDTV.

After reports that police were stopping ambulances from going into the affected areas, the Delhi High Court ordered police to ensure the safe transport of injured people to hospitals.

The areas in northeast Delhi where the clashes happened looked like a war zone— roads were covered with bricks and stones and several shops and houses were gutted.


Indian security management held several meetings Wednesday morning. Despite assurances by police Tuesday that the "situation is in control," the clashes didn't stop and the death toll kept rising. 
 
Slide 5 of 11: Men make their way around burnt-out vehicles following clashes between people supporting and opposing a contentious amendment to India's citizenship law, in New Delhi on February 26, 2020. - Four more people have died in some of the worst sectarian violence in decades in New Delhi, a hospital source told AFP, which takes the death toll from several days of rioting to 17. 

6/11 SLIDES © Prakash Singh/AFP

Security personnel patrol on a street near burnt-out vehicles following clashes between people supporting and opposing a contentious amendment to India's citizenship law, in New Delhi on February 26, 2020. - Four more people have died in some of the worst sectarian violence in decades in New Delhi, a hospital source told AFP, which takes the death toll from several days of rioting to 17

7/11 SLIDES © Sajjad Hussain/AFP/Getty Images

A man speaks on his mobile phone as he walks past a 

burnt-out mosque and shops, in New Delhi, on Feb. 26.

 

8/11 SLIDES © Sajjad Hussain/AFP/Getty Images

A man speaks on a mobile phone as he looks at a burnt-out gas station in New Delhi, on Feb. 26.

9/11 SLIDES © Danish Siddiqui/Reuters

A woman speaks with a police officer during a sit-in protest in a riot affected area in New Delhi, on Feb. 25.

10/11 SLIDES © Danish Siddiqui/Reuters

A police vehicle moves past burning debris that was set on fire by demonstrators in a riot affected area in New Delhi, on Feb. 25.

11/11 SLIDES © Manish Rajput/SOPA Images/LightRocket/Getty Images

Paramilitary troopers patrol streets during the protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC) at Jaffrabad, in New Delhi, on Feb. 25.

Worst communal violence in Delhi in decades leaves 20 dead as Trump visits India


Joanna Slater, Niha Masih, Tania Dutta

NEW DELHI —Rioters roamed the streets with iron rods and wooden sticks, demanding to know whether people were Hindus or Muslims. Mosques were damaged and shops were set ablaze, sending smoke billowing high into the air. People with gunshot wounds and blunt trauma from hurled stones rushed into a nearby hospital.

Two days of communal violence in the northeastern part of Delhi have left at least 17 people dead and 150 injured in the worst such clashes in India’s capital in decades.

The violence happened to unfold as President Trump made his first official visit to India and conducted meetings Tuesday in the tony central area of the city home to central government buildings and embassies.

The riots represent a serious escalation of tensions after months of protests in response to a controversial citizenship law and growing frictions between supporters and opponents of the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Since winning reelection last year in a landslide victory, Modi has moved swiftly to implement his party’s agenda of Hindu primacy in India, a multireligious democracy founded as a secular nation. The citizenship law, which provides a fast track to citizenship for migrants from six religions — excluding Islam — is the most contentious step yet. While India is a Hindu-majority nation, Muslims make up about 14 percent of its 1.3 billion people.

Hundreds of thousands of people have participated in peaceful protests against the law. Some protests have turned violent, and the government mounted a crackdown, storming university campuses and making widespread arrests. Nearly 20 people were killed in protests in India’s most populous state, Uttar Pradesh, in December.






The capital of India, Delhi has faced the worst sectarian violence in decades after the clashes between people supporting and opposing the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC). The death toll from several days of rioting has reached to 17.(Pictured) A firefighter walks past damaged shops at a tyre market after they were set on fire by a mob in a riot affected area after clashes erupted between people demonstrating for and against a new citizenship law in New Delhi, India, on Feb. 26.Slideshow by photo services

On Tuesday night, police had barricaded the road to Maujpur, a poor and densely populated neighborhood of narrow lanes that reported some of the worst violence. Isolated gunshots punctuated the tense silence. All of the shops were shuttered.

This week’s violence in northeastern Delhi is the worst in the capital since at least 1992, when there were nationwide riots, and possibly since the anti-Sikh riots of 1984.

The trigger for the clashes came when Kapil Mishra, a local leader of Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party, on Sunday threatened to clear a sit-in mounted by protesters, nearly all Muslim women, against the citizenship law. He said he would take no action while Trump was visiting but that if police did not move the protesters soon, he would take matters into his own hands.

What happened next remains unclear and chaotic, but groups of Hindus and Muslims hurled stones at one another Monday.

Adil Khan, 29, lives in the neighborhood of Kardampuri and said Muslims gathered in the street to defend themselves after a message went out that a mob was massing to attack. By the next morning, the mob was closer.

Buildings burn in New Delhi amid worst clashes in India’s capital in decades

“From our house, we could see the mobs burning vehicles and shops,” he said. “The mob was very close. I was scared for my life.”

In a nearby area, groups of Hindu activists wielding sticks roamed the streets below Bilal Rabbani’s house, pounding on the hoods of passing cars and forcing them to chant “Jai Shri Ram,” or “Victory to Lord Ram,” a favorite slogan of Modi’s Hindu nationalist ruling party. Rabbani said supporters of the citizenship law — who appeared to be outsiders, rather than people who lived in the neighborhood — also set fire to Muslim shops as police looked on.

“People used to say that things will change for Muslims if [Modi] wins and I never believed them,” said Rabbani, 25, who is training to be a librarian. “But I can see it now.”

Several journalists were attacked. Saurabh Shukla, a reporter with New Delhi Television, said he and a colleague were on an overpass filming damage to a mosque Tuesday when they were spotted by rioters. The rioters came and began punching and beating his colleague with sticks, damaging three of his teeth. He and his colleague were allowed to leave only after Shukla showed them a string of prayer beads to prove he was Hindu and deleted the footage from their phones, Shukla said




  SLIDES © Danish Siddiqui/Reuters

Police struggled to contain the violence, and witnesses said some joined in at points. A Reuters correspondent said he saw policemen encouraging supporters of the law to throw stones at Muslim protesters. Mohammad Sajid, 40, who works at a shop, said police arrived in his Muslim-dominated neighborhood on Tuesday afternoon and fired tear gas. When angry residents began to throw stones, the police opened fire, he said, hitting his younger brother in his back.

He said he saw five others with gunshot wounds. “It’s a dark day,” said Sajid. The “police shouldn’t have fired.” A spokesman for the Delhi police did not respond to calls and messages seeking comment on the incident.

On Tuesday night, nearly a dozen injured people arrived on motorbikes, rickshaws and ambulances at Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital, several with gunshot injuries. Rajesh Kumar Singh, 36, came with a gunshot wound in his thigh. Singh’s brother Amit said he was shot by masked men near his home and blamed Muslims for the attack.

“Why are they attacking us? If they are against the [citizenship] law, they should tell the government,” said Singh.

Sajid, the shop worker, said the area was plunged into bloodshed when members of the ruling party decided to confront opponents of the law. For two months, the protest against the citizenship law in the area had unfolded “without any violence,” he said. “Things turned ugly when the [law’s] supporters came.”

joanna.slater@washpost.com

niha.masih@washpost.com

Saurabh Sharma in Lucknow contributed to this report.
Slideshow by photo services

SEE https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/search?q=HINDUISM IS FASCISM, CASTISM AND RACISM