In 2021, in Assam, 61% of the convicts and 49% of the undertrials were Muslims, while the population share of the community in the State was 34%, according to Prison Statistics of India.
Muslims in Assam -governed by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)- have been facing systematic discrimination, prejudice, and violence, despite constitutional protections.
Another shocking data from Assam is that since May 2021, soon after Sarma took over as chief minister of Assam, 161 incidents of police action took place across Assam resulting in the death of 51 people and injuries to 139 others.
The most killed belonged to ethnic or religious minorities in Assam, Maktoob analyzed. Out of the deceased people identified, at least 22 were Muslims.
The share of Muslim detainees was also disproportationate to the population share in states like Gujarat, U.P., Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir Union Territory.
According to the latest data, over 30% of all detenues in Indian prisons were Muslims in 2021. The Muslim community’s share in the country’s population is only 14.2% as of 2011.
This story was originally published in maktoobmedia.com . Read the full story here