NEW YORK, Aug 17 : Indian Muslim and other faith-based organizations have called on organizers of Sunday\u2019s parade in New York marking India\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
The float depicts the controversial Ram Mandir, which was consecrated earlier this year in Ayodhya, claimed to be the Hindu god\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
The mosque\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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\u2019s destruction.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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\u2019s Civil Watch International, American Muslim Institution, and Association of Indian Muslims in America.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis float\u2019s presence represents these groups\u2019 desire to conflate Hindu nationalist ideology with Indian identity\u2026\u201d the letter said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe implore you to take immediate and decisive measures to prevent inclusion of a polarizing and divisive float in this parade.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mohammed Jawad, president of the Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC), said, \u201c[The mandir] is widely understood as a monument to Hindu supremacist ideology, one that highlights Modi\u2019s goal of creating a Hindu ethno-state, and reinvigorates the Indian right\u2019s goal of taking over and destroying mosques across the country.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jawad added, \u201cIt is an anti-Muslim symbol, and those who celebrated the Ram Temple\u2019s consecration are very much aware of this \u2026 we can\u2019t allow this to slide in a city like New York, where diversity is cause for celebration and communities of all backgrounds coexist.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s no room for hate,\u201c Mayor Adams said at a press conference earlier this week. \u201cIf there is a float or a person in the parade that\u2019s promoting hate, they should not.<\/p>\n
Mayor Adams\u2019 office later told the Associated Press, the American news agency, that the U.S. Constitution\u2019s First Amendment right to free speech prevents the city from denying a permit or requiring that a float or parade\u2019s message be changed simply because it does not agree with the content.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the Pakistan Day Parade Committee announced that the event will take place in New York City on August 25.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
NEW YORK, Aug 17 : Indian Muslim and other faith-based organizations have called on organizers of Sunday\u2019s parade in New York marking India\u2019s independence day to remove a float featuring Ram Mandir, saying it is considered as a symbol glorifying the destruction of mosques and […]<\/p>\n
\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":112375,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[270],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-112374","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-top-news"],"yoast_head":"\n