New Delhi: The 57-member bloc of Islamic countries, Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, on Tuesday (April 4) expressed “deep concern” at the incidents of violence targeting Muslims during religious processions on Ram Navami last week. India condemned the statement as an example of OIC’s “communal mindset”.
The statement from OIC’s general secretariat expresses “deep concern the acts of violence and vandalism targeting Muslim community in several states in India during the Ram Navami processions, including the burning of a madrasa and its library by an extremist Hindu mob in Bihar Sharif on 31 March 2023”.
The group denounced the “provocative acts of violence and vandalism” as a “vivid manifestation of mounting Islamophobia and systemic targeting of the Muslim community in India”.
“The OIC General Secretariat calls upon the Indian authorities to take firm actions against the instigators and perpetrators of such acts and to ensure the safety, security, rights, and dignity of the Muslim community in the country,” the statement added.
In response, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi “strongly” condemned OIC’s statement. “This is one more example of their communal mindset and anti-India agenda. OIC only does its reputation damage by being consistently manipulated by anti-India forces,” he said.