India Has Failed Completely to Protect Its Minorities: Nahid Islam

Md. Nahid Islam, convener of the National Citizen Party and Opposition Chief Whip, stated that the current administration in India has completely failed to safeguard its minorities. In a press statement issued on Wednesday night, he strongly condemned the demolition of more than 1,100 homes belonging to Bengali Muslims and approximately 10 mosques during an eviction drive in Assam.

The statement emphasized that while authorities framed the operation as an anti-encroachment drive, many affected families had resided there long before the partition of India. Deprived of any resettlement, numerous victims were rendered homeless, with some reportedly moved to detention centers. He highlighted reports showing nearly 19,000 families displaced over the past decade under similar pretexts.

Nahid Islam alleged that these systematic drives represent a deliberate political agenda to marginalize Bengali Muslims, stripping them of civic and human rights. He remarked that razing fifty-year-old mosques evokes memories of the 1992 Babri Masjid demolition. He added that alongside Muslims, other marginalized communities including Christians, Sikhs, and Dalits also face systemic vulnerabilities.

Concluding his statement, he urged the international community to take immediate cognizance of the situation to defend religious freedom and basic human rights. He asserted that the Indian government must be held accountable globally and ensure equal dignity and constitutional justice for all its citizens regardless of religious identity.