At least 25 injured as Indian police attack anti-Waqf law protesters in Kerala
Trivandrum: At least 25 Muslim protesters, including students, were injured after police in the southern Indian state of Kerala launched a violent crackdown on a peaceful demonstration against the Waqf Amendment Act.
According to Kashmir Media Service, the protesters were part of a rally led by the Students Islamic Organisation of India (SIO), marching peacefully towards the Kozhikode International Airport when they were intercepted by police. Without provocation, the police deployed stun grenades, tear gas, and water cannons to disperse the protesters, injuring at least 25 people, many of whom required hospital treatment.
Muhammed Rabah, an SIO activist from Vypin in Ernakulam, recounted the ordeal: “We were marching peacefully when the police blocked us with barricades and began beating us with lathis. One officer hit me hard on the hand, and moments later, they fired tear gas directly at us.”
The protest was inaugurated by Malik Mothasim Khan, Vice President of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind and member of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board. In a fiery address, he condemned the Waqf Act amendments as unconstitutional and dangerous to the Muslim community’s religious and economic autonomy. He said the RSS, the ideological mentor of the ruling BJP, was not only an enemy of Muslims but also Christians in the country. Calling the law unconstitutional, he praised the protesters for standing firm in the face of police brutality.
Later, in a statement, SIO condemned the police action describing it as the hypocrisy of the Communist Party of India (Marxist)-led government. “This violent crackdown is a blatant attack on democratic dissent. We stand in unwavering solidarity with our cadre and all those courageously resisting this repression,” it added.
Earlier, the SIO had outright rejected the Waqf Amendment Act, calling it a state-backed attack on Muslim religious and charitable institutions. “The move to dismantle Waqf autonomy while leaving similar institutions of other faiths untouched is proof of the BJP’s deep-rooted bias and its deceptive narrative of Muslim welfare,” the organisation stated.
