TEHRAN – An Iranian lawmaker said that Tehran needs to adopt more serious measures regarding the violence against Muslims in India.

“Although the country is dealing with the coronavirus outbreak, our officials should be more vigilant towards the Indian Muslims’ situation and adopt measures beyond summoning the Indian ambassador,” Alaeddin Boroujerdi, a member of Parliament National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, told Mehr News Agency on Tuesday. 

“It is necessary to recall the Iranian ambassador to Tehran and to hold consultations with him about further decisions. Also, Iranian President and Foreign Minister should adopt serious actions via the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to solve the problem,” he highlighted.

Last month, in the worst communal violence in decades in New Delhi, nearly 50 people were killed and over 100 wounded as groups chanting Hindu nationalist slogans torched mosques and dozens of Muslim houses. The violence began on the eve of a state visit by US President Donald Trump, infamous for his anti-Muslim rhetoric and policies.

Anti-Muslim violence started in India amid widespread protests over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist government introduced in December, offering a path to Indian citizenship for six religious groups from neighboring countries, specifically excluding Muslims.

“Given that at least 200 million of India's population are Muslim, the country’s constitution has respected Muslim rights and the equality of all people, however, the current Indian government, that is an extremist body affiliated to Hindus, tried to introduce some changes in the constitution through the Parliament, disrupting decades of peace in the society,” said Boroujerdi.

 “The traditional constitutional structure in India must continue because otherwise Muslims in India will take similar actions against violent behavior and this will not be in the interest of Indian society,” said the MP, adding, “This will harm India’s national security."

Pointing to the US’ role in the situation, Boroujerdi said that “US policy in the region, and especially in developing countries such as India, is causing to fail, and they are doing everything they can to prevent these countries from succeeding. Although US officials have always claimed to support human rights, they are witnessing the brutal treatment of Indian Muslims and have remained silent while they should act responsibly according to their claims.”

“We should not let the barbaric killing of and violence against Muslims continue because Muslims played a major role in gaining independence from British colonialism,” he added.