NEW YORK, Aug 17 : Indian Muslim and other faith-based organizations have called on organizers of Sunday’s parade in New York marking India’s independence day to remove a float featuring Ram Mandir, saying it is considered as a symbol glorifying the destruction of mosques and violence against the Muslims in the South Asian country.
The float depicts the controversial Ram Mandir, which was consecrated earlier this year in Ayodhya, claimed to be the Hindu god’s birthplace. But its site has long been bitterly contested between Hindus and Muslims, and in the early 1990s the Babri mosque that stood there was razed by a Hindu fundamentalist mob.
The mosque’s destruction was followed by nationwide riots that killed some 2,000 people, mainly Muslims. In 2019, the Indian Supreme Court handed over the land to Hindus.
On their part, the parade organizers have rejected calls to remove the float, saying it celebrates the inauguration of a sacred landmark that is significant to hundreds of millions of Hindus.
Several U.S.-based organizations have written a letter to New York City Mayor Eric Adams and New York Governor Kathy Hochul, calling the float anti-Muslim and saying it glorified the mosque’s destruction.
Among groups who signed the letter were the Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC), the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), and Hindus for Human Rights.
Other group signing the letter were: the Federation of Indian American Churches of North America (FIACONA), Muslim Public Affairs Council, New York State Council of Churches, Genocide Watch, Center for Pluralism, India’s Civil Watch International, American Muslim Institution, and Association of Indian Muslims in America.
“This float’s presence represents these groups’ desire to conflate Hindu nationalist ideology with Indian identity…” the letter said.
“We implore you to take immediate and decisive measures to prevent inclusion of a polarizing and divisive float in this parade.”
Mohammed Jawad, president of the Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC), said, “[The mandir] is widely understood as a monument to Hindu supremacist ideology, one that highlights Modi’s goal of creating a Hindu ethno-state, and reinvigorates the Indian right’s goal of taking over and destroying mosques across the country.”
Jawad added, “It is an anti-Muslim symbol, and those who celebrated the Ram Temple’s consecration are very much aware of this … we can’t allow this to slide in a city like New York, where diversity is cause for celebration and communities of all backgrounds coexist.”
“There’s no room for hate,“ Mayor Adams said at a press conference earlier this week. “If there is a float or a person in the parade that’s promoting hate, they should not.
Mayor Adams’ office later told the Associated Press, the American news agency, that the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment right to free speech prevents the city from denying a permit or requiring that a float or parade’s message be changed simply because it does not agree with the content.
Human rights experts say India has seen a rise in attacks, including violence and discrimination, on Muslims and other minorities in recent years under Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Meanwhile, the Pakistan Day Parade Committee announced that the event will take place in New York City on August 25.
Follow the PNI Facebook page for the latest news and updates.
