US: Muslim Group Slams ‘Hateful Display’ of Hindu Extremist Flag During Parade
During the Indian Day Parade in Edison on Sunday, some attendees displayed flags of the Hindu right-wing group Bajrang Dal. The group was not authorized to participate in the parade and the IAMC said they were there to intimidate the Muslim attendees.
In India, the Hindu nationalist group has a long history of violence and often engages in vigilante violence against minority groups.
On Sunday, the individuals waved the Bajrang Dal flag in front of Indian Muslims who were participating in the parade. Edison police immediately intervened, asking them to leave.
“Waving a Bajrang Dal flag at an Indian Independence Day parade is just like waving a KKK flag on July 4th: absolutely unacceptable,” IAMC New Jersey Vice President Niyaz Khan said.
“Such actions not only tarnish the significance of the parade but also promote divisiveness and intolerance within the community and celebrate a group involved in numerous acts of brutal violence against India’s minorities, particularly Muslims and Christians.”
The presence of the Bajrang Dal flag at the Edison parade comes weeks after widespread violence in the Indian state of Haryana where a mosque was set on fire and a Muslim cleric killed during the clashes.
The violence broke out during a procession taken out by the Bajrang Dal and Vishwa Hindu Parishad in Nuh, Haryana. A member of the Bajrang Dal was arrested by Indian authorities in connection with the violence.
Last year, the parade came under severe criticism for including a bulldozer with pictures of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.
The construction equipment has become synonymous with demolishing homes of Muslims and critics of India’s right-wing BJP government.
This year, as a show of unity, Indian American Muslims participated in the parade. But waving of the Bajrang Dal flag was a means to intimidate Muslims attending the parade, the IAMC said.
“We thank the local law enforcement officials and the county prosecutor’s office for taking swift action against these fringe groups that attended the parade to spread their hateful rhetoric and divisive ideology in the communities here,” said IAMC President Mohammad Jawad.
“The matter is currently under review by the Middlesex County prosecutor’s office.”
This year’s parade rules explicitly prohibited the display of anything other than Indian and American flags.
“When people wave Bajrang Dal flags, these constitute explicit threats to Muslim Americans,” said Minhaj Khan, an Indian American community leader who was part of the parade.
“We must learn from last year’s hate incident and this year in order to assure this never happens again.”
Source: patch.com
