International Muslim students residing in Gujarat University’s (GU) hostel allegedly faced physical attacks from a Hindutva mob for issuing Namaz at the hostel on Saturday night, March 16.
Students were issuing Taraweeh at their hostel, sparking significant backlash. Videos of the incident surfaced online.
Taraweeh prayers are special prayers offered by Muslims who congregate during the holy month of Ramzan, once a year.
The students alleged that the mob chanted Islamophobic and Hindu religious slogans like ‘Jai Shri Ram’ and carried various weapons such as knives, cricket bats, and stones to attack them.
They claimed that although the police were present, they allowed the attackers to leave without taking any action.
In the videos that emerged online, the security guard of the hostel can be seen trying to stop the mob but fails to stop the attackers.
Also, the assaulters in saffron shawls can be seen vandalising the two-wheelers of the foreign students parked outside the hostel.
Five students injured
According to reports, five students got injured and have been admitted to SVP Hospital in Ahmedabad.
Those admitted are Haroon Jabbar from Afghanistan, Azad from Turkmenistan, and a Christian student Mario from Sri Lanka, the other two students are from African countries, a report by maktoobmedia said.
Ahmad Waris Sakha, a student of cyber security, told Maktoob, “As there are no mosques inside the university campus or the hostel premises. This was the temporary solution we found to offer our prayers on time. The mosque in the town is very far away. So we congregate in our hostel ground. We are 12 Muslim students from Asian and African countries.”
Sakha said that when they stood to offer Taraweeh prayers in A – block of the hostel, allotted to international students, they started hearing the chants of Jai Shree Ram.
“A mob, some of them wearing saffron scarves, came and started pushing us and asked questions like who allowed us to pray there and that they won’t let us pray in the hostel. By the time we could understand anything, they started beating and attacking us with the weapons they had. With knives, stones, and cricket bats, many of our fellow students got injured,” said Sakha.
The student also stated that despite contacting one of the officials, Dr Jyoti, who is responsible for looking after the foreign students, they got a response opposite to his expectations.
“She said, this is not our responsibility”, said Sakha.
“Their (Mob) numbers were increasing, in a quick matter of time there were at least 200 of them. We then called the police and it took them more than an hour to reach our hostel. Upon hearing the siren of police vehicles and learning that the police had arrived, most of them ran while some of them were present on the premises. Police saw them, but did nothing to them. In front of the police, they managed to escape and the police let them go.”
The attacked students urged the Government of India to take measures ensuring their safety in the varsity and the country. The students are also planning to file a police complaint in the matter, the report said.
These International students are studying in India as a part of the scholarship program offered by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) initiated by the Government of India.
It offers annual scholarships to foreign students interested in various degree programs and disciplines in Indian central universities.
Owaisi reacts
AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi condemned the incident and called it “mass radicalisation”.
“What a shame. When your devotion & religious slogans only come out when Muslims peacefully practice their religion. When you become unexplainably angry at the mere sight of Muslims. What is this, if not mass radicalisation? This is the home state of @AmitShah & @narendramodi, will they intervene to send a strong message? I am not holding my breath. @DrSJaishankar domestic anti-Muslim hatred is destroying India’s goodwill,” he said in a post on X.
(This is a developing story. The latest version will be updated)
