Hate targeting Muslims and Sikhs mars India’s Independence Day
Muslim girls paraded as ‘terrorists’ in Gujarat, hate posters appear in Bihar
New Delhi: The 78th Independence Day of India once again exposed the deep-rooted Islamophobia and communal hatred being promoted in Narendra Modi’s India, as two disturbing incidents in Gujarat and Bihar have sparked outrage and fear among Muslims and Sikhs.
According to Kashmir Media Service, in Gujarat’s Bhavnagar district, a school play at Kumbharwada School turned the celebration of freedom into humiliation when young Muslim girls were dressed in burqas and portrayed as “terrorists.”
The performance, staged before parents, children and local citizens, drew condemnation as a deliberate attempt to demonise Muslims and poison the minds of the next generation. Social activists said this was nothing but state-sponsored propaganda to normalise hate against India’s largest minority.
“This is not education, this is brainwashing. Children are being taught that Muslims are terrorists, that too on Independence Day,” said activist Shahid Khan. Rights groups have demanded accountability from the teachers and principal who allowed such a hateful act, warning that classrooms are being turned into breeding grounds for prejudice.
In a parallel incident in Bihar’s Darbhanga district, residents of Raza Chowk woke up on Independence Day to find objectionable posters openly calling for Muslims and Sikhs to “quit India.” The banners carried poisonous slogans branding both minorities as “terrorists,” demanding an end to azaan, and demonising Muslims for slaughtering cows on Eid. “Ahead of elections, communal forces are sowing hatred to divide people. This is not patriotism, this is a crime against India’s soul,” said former MLA Rishi Mishra.
The two incidents, taking place hundreds of miles apart but on the same day, have reinforced fears among minorities that India’s ruling dispensation and its ideological affiliates are using schools, streets, and public spaces to promote a Hindutva-driven narrative of exclusion.
Muslim and Sikh residents have vowed not to be cowed down. “Independence is meaningless if it is used to strip us of dignity,” said Zahida Sheikh, a women’s rights activist from Gujarat. In Darbhanga, Imam Barak Hasan Ansari declared: “We will not be divided. Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs will stand together against such hate.”
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