India on Tuesday condemned the “motivated and misleading statement” made by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), which expressed deep concerns over what it called “continued attacks on Muslims in India” and called upon the international community to take necessary measures.
“The General Secretariat of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation expresses deep concern over recent public calls for genocide of Muslims by the ‘Hindutva’ proponents in Haridwar in the state of Uttarakhand and reported incidents of harassment of Muslim women on social media sites as well as banning of Muslim girl students from wearing hijab in the state of Karnataka,” read a statement by the Jeddah-based outfit.
“The continued attacks targeting Muslims and their places of worship, the recent trend of anti-Muslim legislations in different states and rising incidents of violence against Muslims on flimsy pretexts by ‘Hindutva’ groups with impunity, are indicative of the growing trend of Islamophobia,” it added.
Hitting back at the OIC, external affairs ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said: “Issues in India are considered and resolved in accordance with our constitutional framework and mechanisms, as well as democratic ethos and polity. The communal mindset of the OIC Secretariat does not allow for a proper appreciation of these realities. OIC continues to be hijacked by vested interests to further their nefarious propaganda against India. As a result, it has only harmed its own reputation.”
Besides calling upon the international community to take action, the OIC further urged “India to ensure the safety, security and well-being of the Muslim community… and to bring the instigators and perpetrators of acts of violence and hate crimes against them to justice”.
This is not the first time that the OIC has commented on India’s internal matters.
The OIC had asked India to reverse its decision of scrapping Article 370, which gave special status to the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir, during the sidelines of 76th UN General Assembly.
In response, India conveyed its message to the OIC to refrain from making such comments on matters which are internal to the country.
(With inputs from agencies)