Dubai: A Muslim neighbourhood in the Indian capital of Delhi resembles a ghost town after violent rioters burnt the city down following the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, Twitter videos show.
Clips of the Shiv Vihar area in Delhi show charred buildings and abandoned streets. The death toll in the Delhi’s communal violence has gone up to 42 after clashes broke out last week between two groups of people - those who are for and against the country’s new controversial citizenship law.
Twitter user @teamxecutor, who posted one such video, wrote: “... Shiv Vihar resembles like a ghost town burnt down by hindutva (right wing extremists) fascists. Some reports claim police has sealed off the area and not letting anyone to document what happened and how many burnt bodies still inside the homes. #Delhigenocide”
Shiv Vihar is a Hindu-dominated neighbourhood with a sizeable Muslim population, where the two communities have co-existed peacefully for decades. Twitter users discussed how all that has now changed.
Indian journalist @anubhabhonsle also shared a video on Twitter, and wrote: “Lane after lane has emptied out. Houses torched. Residents (Muslims) have run away with nothing but just clothes on their back. #DelhiRiot2020”
Reportedly, in the nearby area of Indira Vihar, a large hall belonging to a Muslim businessman has been turned into a refuge for those displaced in the riots. Others in the area have also come forward to help by turning their residence into shelter homes.
The area has been sealed off and
Meanwhile, volunteers of charity organisations are trying to deliver food and medical supplies to those affected. However, anti-social elements are not letting them function properly, snatching relief material and threatening those who are trying to help.
What happened in Delhi
Last week, tweeps shared videos from Delhi, that showed how Muslims in some Delhi areas, their homes, mosques, and shops were being targeted by violent mobs.
The clashes first broke out in Delhi last Sunday between two groups of people - those who are for the country’s new controversial citizenship law, and those against it.
Two days before the anti-Muslim riots began, a member of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s cabinet said Muslims should have been sent to Pakistan in 1947 during the partition of India.
Another lawmaker belonging to Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party, Kapil Mishra, made a provocative speech in New Delhi condemning the Shaheen Bagh protestors demonstrating against the discriminatory CAA. Either the cops must clear them out, he said, or we will take things into our own hands.
Soon mobs, some carrying saffron flags, vandalised mosques and set fire to properties belonging to Muslims.
Shockingly, an 85-year-old woman was burned alive while the mob outside chanted Jai Shri Ram (Hail deity Ram).
PM Modi not doing enough, say tweeps
It took the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi three days after the riots began, to finally address the issue and tweet that Delhi Police were doing everything to bring the situation under control. Clearly not enough is being done, say tweeps.
@DrOsamaSiddique posted: “Modi the murderer. Anyone still mouthing explanations and justifications is as complicit as the ghoulish Delhi policemen here. Youth assaulted by cops in viral ‘national anthem’ video dies.”
Tweep @Anupbhatia7 posted: “Four mosques burnt in Delhi not a word of remorse from Amit Shah or Modi their silence on burning of mosques is testimony that they support such actions. Secular India’s constitution is dead.”
Addressing the evident hatred being seen in the country tweep @incommonworld wrote: “It seems Indians can no longer live together in peace and harmony... fanned on by #Modi nationalism. India was where we once went to learn about universal love. #Delhi”
