AHMEDABAD: In a startling revelation, Gujarat bore witness to a staggering 55 attacks targeting minority communities in the year 2022, as detailed in a report by the Minority Coordination Committee (MCC).
The report documented a total of 55 unsettling incidents, with 53 assaults directed towards Muslims and two incidents targeting Christians, prompting a closer examination of the challenges faced by minority groups in the state.
The MCC report titled 'TARGETED: DOCUMENTING INCIDENTS AFFECTING MINORITIES IN GUJARAT' was released in October 2023, with seventy leaders from various areas of the state collaborating to acquire and compile material and produce the study.
The committee asserted that the study was undertaken "to expose the truth" concerning how the minority population is "targeted" and "pushed" to the margins of society.
The report documented 55 incidences of atrocities against minorities, the most recent of which occurred on December 30, 2022, when BJP Leader Raman Vora from the Junagadh district allegedly openly threatened members of the Muslim community.
“In Junagadh, BJP leader Raman Vora openly stated that for those Muslims who will not vote for the BJP, their water and electricity connections will be cut and demolition will be done in their areas."
As mentioned in the MCC report
In an incident highlighted in the report from April 16, 2022, a Muslim landowner faced threats from his alleged encroachers, asserting that he was "spared" during the infamous 2002 Gujarat riots and emphatically declaring that he "will not be spared" now.
"When attempting to stop the people who were encroaching on the land in Pavijetpur, Vadodara, the Muslim landowner was threatened. The encroacher has said 'That earlier he [Muslim land owner] was spared during the Godhra incident but now he will not be spared'."
As mentioned in the MCC report
Speaking to TNIE, MCC's convenor Mujaheed Nafees said, "Gujarat has been the epicentre of targeted violence against minorities. The nature of violence has now changed. Earlier, the violence was prominent in big cities, but it has now reached the villages. In particular, religious festivals, which are occasions of social harmony, were also used by communal organisations as opportunities for violence against minorities."
"MCC has gathered this information from a vernacular newspaper published by a trust run by a leader of the minority community. Through this report, we are bringing out the different incidents of 2022 in the hope that we understand these destructive designs and work better together for communal harmony and peace," he added.
Further, the MCC convenor said that the study had also documented the atrocities against Christians in Gujarat.
According to the report, a member of the Christian community in Vadodra had been attacked on December 21 of that year.
“Hindu fringe elements attacked a house of the Christian community in the Makarpura extension of Vadodara and killed a person dressed as Santa Claus."
As mentioned in the MCC report
"The report's goal is to preserve and promote the rights of the minority group while also fighting for social justice for its members. A comparable report will be issued every year to offer facts to the people from now on," said Mujaheed.
Read the comprehensive report here: