Condemning Mosque Survey and State-Sanctioned Violence in Sambhal
December 9th, 2024
Justice For All Canada strongly denounces the violent police actions in Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh, where four individuals, including a 19-year-old, were killed while peacefully protesting the survey of the Shahi Jama Masjid.
According to a court-ordered “archeological survey” of the Shahi Jama Masjid, Hindutva groups have alleged that the mosque was built atop a Hindu temple. Such surveys are frequently carried out without regard for transparency or consultation, and are widely considered as attempts to delegitimize Muslim places of worship. These surveys also violate the Places of Worship Act, 1991, a law designed to protect India’s religious diversity.
Uttar Pradesh is one of several Indian states where government apparatus is increasingly used to suppress dissent and marginalize minorities. Under Chief Yogi Adityanath’s leadership, Uttar Pradesh has historically espoused discriminatory policies and impunity for anti-minority violence. The most notorious example of these policies, home demolitions, have instilled intense fear among minority communities.
While Prime Minister Narendra Modi remains silent on such incidents, right-wing supporters of his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) continue to exploit this lack of accountability to pursue their Islamophobia agenda unchecked.
Hindutva ideology, as advanced by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and its affiliates, envisions India as an exclusively Hindu nation. This agenda is actively eroding the foundations of India’s pluralistic democracy, as attacks on mosques, churches, and other minority religious sites escalate. Chilling parallels between the Shahi Jama Masjid and the Babri Masjid’s demolition in 1992 are undeniable. The Shahi Jama Masjid is now at risk of becoming another flashpoint in India’s fraught communal history.
According to human rights groups, the systematic targeting of Muslim heritage sites by bogus legal petitions and court-ordered surveys is a calculated effort to displace communities and stoke division. Such actions are cloaked in the legitimacy of law, yet harm the affected communities and broader principles of justice and equality in India.
Justice For All Canada urges the Canadian government to act decisively in addressing these escalating human rights violations:
The killings in Sambhal expose larger systemic issues in Uttar Pradesh, including a dangerous climate facing India’s Muslim communities. The shocking loss of Muslim lives in Sambhal is not an isolated incident, but a broader pattern of systemic oppression faced by religious minorities in India. Justice For All Canada stands in solidarity with the victims, their families, and all those fighting for justice and accountability. We call on Canada, global human rights advocates and allied governments to pressure India into fulfilling its constitutional promise of religious freedom and ensuring the safety and dignity of all its citizens, regardless of religion and belief.
Justice For All Canada strongly denounces the violent police actions in Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh, where four individuals, including a 19-year-old, were killed while peacefully protesting the survey of the Shahi Jama Masjid.
According to a court-ordered “archeological survey” of the Shahi Jama Masjid, Hindutva groups have alleged that the mosque was built atop a Hindu temple. Such surveys are frequently carried out without regard for transparency or consultation, and are widely considered as attempts to delegitimize Muslim places of worship. These surveys also violate the Places of Worship Act, 1991, a law designed to protect India’s religious diversity.
Uttar Pradesh is one of several Indian states where government apparatus is increasingly used to suppress dissent and marginalize minorities. Under Chief Yogi Adityanath’s leadership, Uttar Pradesh has historically espoused discriminatory policies and impunity for anti-minority violence. The most notorious example of these policies, home demolitions, have instilled intense fear among minority communities.
While Prime Minister Narendra Modi remains silent on such incidents, right-wing supporters of his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) continue to exploit this lack of accountability to pursue their Islamophobia agenda unchecked.
Hindutva ideology, as advanced by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and its affiliates, envisions India as an exclusively Hindu nation. This agenda is actively eroding the foundations of India’s pluralistic democracy, as attacks on mosques, churches, and other minority religious sites escalate. Chilling parallels between the Shahi Jama Masjid and the Babri Masjid’s demolition in 1992 are undeniable. The Shahi Jama Masjid is now at risk of becoming another flashpoint in India’s fraught communal history.
According to human rights groups, the systematic targeting of Muslim heritage sites by bogus legal petitions and court-ordered surveys is a calculated effort to displace communities and stoke division. Such actions are cloaked in the legitimacy of law, yet harm the affected communities and broader principles of justice and equality in India.
Justice For All Canada urges the Canadian government to act decisively in addressing these escalating human rights violations:
- To protect South Asian diaspora communities in Canada, strengthen safeguards against transnational repression and ensure they do not face harassment nor intimidation linked to extremist groups operating across borders.
- Impose targeted sanctions on complicit Indian officials by using use existing legal frameworks, such as the Canada’s Special Economic Measures Act (SEMA). This can include travel bans on leaders like Yogi Adityanath, who have overseen genocide incitement and gross human rights violations.
- Issue a formal statement urging India to uphold its own Places of Worship Act and halt actions targeting minority religious sites.
The killings in Sambhal expose larger systemic issues in Uttar Pradesh, including a dangerous climate facing India’s Muslim communities. The shocking loss of Muslim lives in Sambhal is not an isolated incident, but a broader pattern of systemic oppression faced by religious minorities in India. Justice For All Canada stands in solidarity with the victims, their families, and all those fighting for justice and accountability. We call on Canada, global human rights advocates and allied governments to pressure India into fulfilling its constitutional promise of religious freedom and ensuring the safety and dignity of all its citizens, regardless of religion and belief.