The Systematic Oppression of Muslims in India (2019–2024): A Global Call to End Injustice

A Reign of Terror: Hate Crimes and Mob Lynchings

Muslims in India have been subjected to brutal violence fueled by extremist ideology.

• Between 2010 and 2021, 86% of victims in cow-related violence were Muslims (Human Rights Watch, 2021).
• In 2022 alone, 90 hate-fueled attacks on Muslims were recorded, a 14% increase from the previous year (IndiaSpend, 2022).

These mob lynchings are not isolated incidents but a coordinated reign of terror enabled by a state that systematically fails to protect its minorities. Accusations of cow slaughter or beef consumption have been weaponized to justify public executions, with perpetrators often celebrated as heroes.

?

Discriminatory Laws: Legalizing Exclusion

The passage of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in 2019 represents a direct assault on the secular fabric of India. Coupled with the National Register of Citizens (NRC), this legislation creates a framework for the mass disenfranchisement of Muslims:

• In Assam alone, 1.9 million people were excluded from the NRC, with 72% of those affected being Muslims (Oxfam India, 2023).
• Nationwide anti-CAA protests were met with state violence, leaving 25 Muslims dead and hundreds injured.

This legal apartheid is a clear attempt to strip Muslims of their rights and render them stateless in their own country. It is a betrayal of India's constitution and international human rights law.

?

Economic Apartheid: Exclusion from Opportunity

Muslims, who make up 14.2% of India’s population, are systematically excluded from economic progress:

• Muslim unemployment stands at 9.8%, significantly higher than the national average of 6.4% (Periodic Labour Force Survey, 2022).
• Muslim representation in higher education remains abysmally low, with a Gross Enrollment Ratio (GER) of 5.3%, compared to the national average of 26.3% (AISHE, 2021–22).

Housing discrimination further entrenches this economic apartheid. In Mumbai and Delhi, over 50% of Muslims report being denied housing in Hindu-majority areas. These patterns of exclusion are not accidental—they are deliberate tools of oppression designed to keep Muslims marginalized and impoverished.

Weaponized Propaganda: Islamophobia in Media

India's media landscape has become a weapon against its Muslim citizens, spreading propaganda that incites violence and normalizes discrimination:

• During the COVID-19 pandemic, Muslims were scapegoated through hashtags like #CoronaJihad, which surged by 600%, leading to over 200 assaults on Muslims (BBC, 2020).
• Muslims have been vilified as terrorists, traitors, and disease carriers, perpetuating narratives that dehumanize them.

The complicity of the media in this campaign of hate is a direct violation of journalistic ethics and human rights, fueling the fires of Islamophobia across the nation.

?Communal Carnage: The Delhi Pogrom of 2020

The Delhi Riots of February 2020 were not spontaneous acts of violence but a premeditated pogrom targeting Muslims:

• 38 of the 53 fatalities were Muslims, accounting for 72% of the deaths (FactChecker India, 2021).
• 500 homes, 200 shops, and 13 mosques were destroyed in Muslim-majority areas.

Despite overwhelming evidence of state complicity and police inaction, justice remains elusive. This massacre stands as a chilling reminder of the state’s willingness to use violence to silence dissent and suppress minorities.

Global Implications: The Cost of Silence

The systematic oppression of Muslims in India is a gross violation of universal human rights. It has sparked global outrage, but international condemnation has yet to translate into meaningful action:

• The United Nations has repeatedly called for accountability, yet the Indian government continues to deny and deflect criticism.
• The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has recommended sanctions against Indian officials, but these recommendations have been largely ignored.

The world’s inaction sends a dangerous message: that India can suppress its minorities with impunity. This emboldens authoritarian regimes globally, undermining the international human rights framework.

? Call for Justice

The time for polite diplomacy is over. The world must take decisive action:

1. Impose Sanctions: Nations must impose targeted sanctions on Indian officials and entities complicit in human rights abuses.
2. Boycott Complicity: International corporations operating in India must be held accountable for supporting a regime that perpetuates oppression.
3. Mobilize Civil Society: Global civil society must unite to amplify the voices of Indian Muslims and provide resources for legal, financial, and social support.
4. Establish Accountability Mechanisms: The international community must push for an independent investigation into hate crimes and communal violence in India.
5. Promote Resistance: Human rights activists and organizations must support grassroots resistance movements in India that fight against this systemic oppression.

?Conclusion: Justice Delayed is Justice Denied

India is at a crossroads, and so is the global community. Will we stand by as an entire population is systematically oppressed, or will we rise to defend the principles of justice, equality, and human dignity?

This is not just a fight for Indian Muslims—it is a fight for the soul of humanity. The time for half-measures and hollow condemnations has passed. The world must act decisively, or history will judge us complicit in this tragedy.

The clock is ticking, and justice cannot wait.

References

1. Amnesty International (2020). India: Human Rights in the Context of Citizenship Amendment Act.
2. Human Rights Watch (2021). India: Wave of Hate Crimes Against Muslims.
3. IndiaSpend (2021). Cow-Related Violence in India.
4. Oxfam India (2023). Inequality Report: Focus on Religion.
5. Pew Research Center (2021). Religious Discrimination in India.
6. Al Jazeera (2020). Delhi Riots: Anatomy of Violence.
7. The Wire (2022). Housing Discrimination in Urban India.
8. BBC (2020). Islamophobia and COVID-19 in India.
9. FactChecker India (2021). Delhi Riots: Who Suffered the Most?.
10. United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (2021). Annual Report on Religious Freedom in India.

?