Jamaat-e-Islami Hind voices concern over rising hatred in India

 The Jamaat-e-Islami Hind (JIH) has expressed serious concern over the rising communal hatred, inflation and unemployment in India.

The JIH’s central advisory council (CAC) at a three-day session chaired by the organisation’s President Syed Sadatullah Husaini in New Delhi deliberated and adopted resolutions on the aforementioned issues.

The CAC was particularly intrigued by the controversial verdict of the Karnataka High Court banning the wearing of hijab by Muslim girl students in educational institutions.

Calling the Hijab verdict regrettable, the JIH pointed out its inherent contradictions. “On the one hand, this verdict stands in sharp contrast with Article 15 of the Constitution of India (which secures discrimination on the grounds of religion) while on the other, it violates other fundamental rights enshrined in Article 14 (right to equality), Article 19 (freedom of expression), Article 21 (privacy), and Article 25 (freedom of conscience), a resolution adopted by the CAC noted.

The resolution said creating such barriers for female students in the name of uniform is detrimental to the country’s progress. This verdict, it pointed out has thrown a question before the female students to choose between hijab and education. The resolution said the court ought not to become entangled with what is essential and what is not essential in a religion. It is up to the Ulema and religious scholars to decide such an issue, it added.

Articulating deep concern over the hatred being spread in the country in a well-planned manner, the JIH CAC noted that whether it is political, educational or cultural sphere or even media broadcasts, communal hatred can be seen thriving everywhere. “To spread hatred in the country, history is being trampled upon, misconceptions are being dished out to impressionable minds, and there are also deliberate attempts to widely spread blatant lies and fake news,” it said in a separate resolution.

At this critical juncture, the JIH said, the right thinking sections of the society need to take immediate notice of the situation and work together to promote peace, development and brotherhood and eradicate communal hatred at all levels. “Especially interfaith leaders have the utmost responsibility in this regard,” it added.