A study on Muslim women in Northeast Delhi, the region in the national capital that had witnessed severe communal riots in February, conducted by the Delhi Minorities Commission dispels the narrative of ‘Muslims under threat’ quite effectively. The report was edited by Zafarul Islam-Khan, the controversial chief of the Commission who had made incendiary comments recently.
The report says that 592 of the 600 women surveyed said that people from other communities did not discriminate against them. Only 8 said they did. Furthermore, the eight that did say they were discriminated against admitted that only few people from other communities discriminated against them while they had very cordial relationships with the rest.
The report states, “Only a very thin minority (1.3%) of the respondents said that other community persons discriminate against them on the basis of religion, while the rest (98.7%) respondents did not experience any discrimination from other community persons on the basis of religion. The respondents who felt discrimination on the basis of religion from other community persons said that very few individuals from other communities discriminated against them while the rest of them had very cordial relationship.”
The report further says that of the 600 women surveyed, 560 of them said that people from other communities are cordial with them while only 40 answered the question in the negative. The report said, “A vast majority (93.3%) of the respondents were of the opinion that people of other community are cordial with them. However, there were 6.7% of the respondents who opined that people of other community are not cordial with them and they are not talking with them in right manner or language.”
The findings of the study commissioned by the Delhi Minorities Commission dispels the narrative that its Chairman has been trying to create. Recently, while certain misguided characters in the Arab world were trying to persecute Hindus living in Gulf countries, Zafarul Islam-Khan had thanked Kuwait for “standing with the Indian Muslims” and attacked Hindus by referring to them as “Hindutva bigots”, who according to him miscalculated the reaction of the Arab world about the “persecution of Muslims in India”.
“Mind you, bigots, Indian Muslims have opted until now not to complain to the Arab and Muslim world about your hate campaigns and lynchings and riots. The day they are pushed to do that, bigots will face avalanche,” he added. Subsequently, he was booked on charges of sedition by Delhi Police. However, he refused to apologise for his remarks and said that he stands firmly by his comments.
