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Washington, DC (June 16, 2008). Hindu pilgrims gathering at Sagar Island, a sacred pilgrimage place on the Bay of Bengal, were attacked late last week by a mob of mostly Muslim men led by a leader of the local communist party, according to several press reports. Nearly a dozen Hindus and 15 policemen trying to protect the pilgrims were hospitalized in serious conditions, and several others are feared missing.
"According to a number of on the ground reports, a mob described as several thousand of well armed Muslims led a violent attack on Hindu pilgrims in this sacred area," said Ishani Chowdhury, HAF's Director of Public Policy. "We are very disturbed to hear that the police have arrested the victims of the attack, but have failed to detain the perpetrators. This is indeed a travesty of justice."
The Hindu American Foundation (HAF) vociferously condemned this attack on Hindus gathering at the behest of Hindu Samhati, a Hindu activist group, as unprovoked and pre-meditated, with political motives. The communist parties in the Indian state of West Bengal have seen an erosion in their support, especially after a notorious massacre of villagers in Nandigram last year, and are now accused of inciting Muslims to attack Hindus in a ploy to coalesce minority vote banks ahead of upcoming elections.
"The Hindu American Foundation calls for calm among both communities in the aftermath of this attack and upon the national government to begin a proper investigation into the circumstances and causes surrounding the violence," stated Samir Kalra, member of the HAF Executive Council, and co-author of the Foundation's annual human rights report. "The insidious game that the communist parties are playing in West Bengal--now manipulating the Muslim community--must be exposed, countered and stopped immediately, for the consequences of inaction at this sensitive juncture are enormous."
West Bengal, long ruled by the Communist Party of India (Marxist), has experienced increasing communal violence in the past month. On Thursday, more than 30 were injured and the army was called in to control clashes between Bengali and Nepali residents in the town of Siliguri.
The Hindu American Foundation is a 501(c)(3), non-profit, non-partisan organization promoting the Hindu and American ideals of understanding, tolerance and pluralism. Contact HAF at 1-301-770-7835 or on the web at www.HAFsite.org.
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