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India Day Rally
An August 14 rally in Edison, NJ, organized by the Indian Business Association to celebrate India’s Independence Day, ran into a firestorm of protest from residents after a bulldozer was included in the parade.
To many Muslims and minorities in India the bulldozer is a divisive symbol of sectarian oppression, used to suppress the voice of dissent and perpetuate communalism. In India, some state governments have used the bulldozer to illegally demolish homes, businesses and places of worship of minority communities.
The Edison parade featured a bulldozer with a picture of Yogi Adityanath, the Hindu nationalist UP chief minister, and a placard that read “Baba Bulldozer.” Adityanath earned the nickname for using the machine as a campaign symbol against ‘unsocial elements,’ and to menace opposition and minority communities.
So, when a bulldozer festooned with images of Hindu nationalism rolled out in Edison’s India Day Parade, it promptly triggered a backlash against the organizers.
IAMC Demands Anti Hate Action
In an exclusive interview with India Currents, Ajit Sahi, National Advocacy Director of the Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC), explained the IAMC had demanded immediate action from the US Department of Justice, the New Jersey Attorney General, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
IAMC, a DC-based US-based human rights organization, filed a formal complaint with the Edison Police Department and asked the US Department of Justice to cancel the visa of Sambit Patra, a BJP representative, who served as Grand Marshal at the rally. On August 21, IAMC organized a press conference to announce its actions.
At a Council Meeting with IAMC and its allies, residents from Woodbridge and Edison demanded answers from their town officials and mayors about how a public event was allowed to display a symbol of hate in a parade meant to celebrate freedom.
The Trauma of Persecution
Sahi said that Indian American Muslims who live in the US have been traumatized by the systematic persecution of Muslims in India over the last eight years. They worry about their families in India getting arrested or simply being lynched on the streets if they are discovered to be Muslim.
“If Islamophobic hate can be imported from India to the streets of New Jersey, then you never know what’s going to happen next,” Sahi added.
At the Town Council, Indian American Muslim residents shared their fears for their families.
“Now I worry for my wife and my daughters who wear a hijab and are going out in Edison, in Woodbridge, in NJ,” a resident said.
This story was originally published in indiacurrents.com . Read the full story here