Two men have been arrested in India on charges of beheading a tailor. This has led to riots and has triggered tensions in the country.
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The man identified as Kanhaiya Lalis said to have been killed for showing support for two spokesmen for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party.
Spokesmen made statements about the Prophet Mohammad, who has been perceived as insulting by Muslims in the country.
India’s main trading partners respond
The perpetrators are said to have been Muslim men, while the tailor was Hindu. This is probably a key reason for the strong reactions in India, and especially in Udaipur in Rajasthan where the killing took place.
Arild Engelsen Ruud, professor at the University of Oslo, tells VG that there are several things that have happened in India now.
– There has been a growing discrimination of Muslims in India since Modi came to power, but now it went so far that countries in the Middle East also reacted, he says.
–Some of India’s most important trading partners have condemned the killing and pulled its ambassadors out of India.
He adds that it is a key point that Sharma and Jindal were not deposed because of what they said, because these are statements that Hindu nationalists have made for a long time.
– India is dependent on economic cooperation with other countries, especially the Muslim countries in the Middle East. Sharma and Jindal were deposed so as not to disturb foreign policy, Ruud tells VG.
According to Al Jazeera, the national spokesperson, Nupur Sharma, was suspended from the ultranationalist Hindu party of Narendra Modi, Bharatiya Janata Party. The same was Naveen Kumar Jindal from the same party, for the statements about the Prophet Mohammad.
Ruud explains that after the removal, Hindu nationalists have shown support for Sharma and Jindal.
–– Then it tipped over for some, and since the tailor was an active supporter of Sharma and continued to spread her opinions on social media, he was beheaded.
He adds that it is very unfortunate for the tension between Hindus and Muslims in India, because the killing gives the government and Hindu nationalists another reason to discriminate against Muslims in the country, and to make associations between ordinary Muslim citizens and fundamentalists who committed the murder.
Picture shows the second before the tailor is killed
A video shows the two arrested men, identified by India Today as Gaus Mohammed and Riyaz Ahmed, going to the tailor. While one perpetrator lets Lal take aim at him, the other films. The perpetrator who is taken aim at then pulls a knife and kills Lal.
–It is alleged that the perpetrators have affiliation with the Islamist organizationDawat-e-Islami, i Karachi i Pakistan.
Why are people gathering in the streets now, what do they want to achieve with it?
– There are several things. They want to scare Muslims away from public places and the public conversation. This has been going on for a long time, and is one of the reasons why there are few Muslims in state assemblies and in parliament, says Ruud.
– In addition, Hindu nationalists want to dominate the public discourse, and that dissenters become anxious so the Muslims in India withdraw further away.
He adds that Hindu nationalists want to be a strong movement, and by using such opportunities one gets mobilized and shown their strength.
–Condemns the killings: “No one can take the law into their own hands”
According to Al Jazeera, Jamaat-e-Islami Hindi, a Muslim organization, has published a Twitter message where they condemned the murderand pointed out that Islam is not a violent religion.
Asaduddin Owaisi is a well-known politician in India, and leader of India’s second largest party, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen. On Twitter, he wrote that he condemns the killings, that no one can take the law into their own hands and asks the authorities to be strict with the punishment.
– What is Narendra Modi’s position on minority groups in India?
– He is perhaps the foremost who has played on anti-Muslim feelings.
Ruud adds that Modi was at one point denied entry to the United States because he failed to prevent the massacre of Muslims in Gujarat, India in 2002. Nevertheless, he is very popular.
– The fact that he is popular is probably about Modi’s ability to create enthusiasm and economic growth, but he is the one who has suffered minority oppression the longest in recent Indian history, Ruud concludes.
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