Mumbai: The Sufi Islamic Board (SIB), an organisation representing Sufi Muslims, has objected to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM)'s inclusion of India as a country at a 'high risk of mass killings'. The SIB also objected to the use of Holocaust terminology to refer to India.
Letter to USHMM
In its letter to the Board of Trustees of Simon-Skjodt Center for the Prevention of Genocide, USHMM, the Sufi group said that the report 'mischaracterised' the Indian Muslim experience. India is home to one of the largest Muslim populations in the world, which remains an integral part of the nation’s democratic, economic, and cultural fabric; to suggest that a 'holocaust' is imminent is to ignore the constitutional safeguards and the judicial oversight that the Indian government maintains, SIB stated.
USHMM had mentioned India in its 'Early Warning Project'. The letter added that while the SIB respects the USHMM’s mission to preserve the memory of the Shoah (Holocaust) and prevent future genocides, the application of these specific warnings to the Indian context is factually incorrect, sensationalist, and counter productive to the cause of communal harmony.
Narrative Weaponisation
The remarks, SIB said, are a weaponisation of narrative that comprises 'high-profile warnings' from international bodies to provide fuel to extremist elements outside India's borders who seek to radicalise Indian youth by promoting a 'victimhood complex'.
By using the term 'Holocaust'—the singular tragedy of the 20th century—to describe the political challenges of a functional democracy, the USHMM risks trivialising the actual Holocaust where an estimated six million Jews, Roma, gay people, Poles, political opponents, and others were killed by the Nazi regime, said Mansoor Khan, national president of SIB.
Call for Verification
The SIB asked the USHMM to conduct an on-ground verification by engaging with diverse voices within the Indian Muslim community, including the SIB, rather than relying solely on data sets and narratives provided by organisations that may have partisan interests. The survival of India’s pluralistic traditions for over a millennium is a testimonial to the country's tolerant ethos.
"Agencies such as USHMM pick up one or two articles filed by media outlets associated with the American deep state and publish such reports. They say Muslims will be massacred in India. So, Muslim voices have to condemn it," said Khan, who questioned the silence of Indian Muslim leaders on the USHMM report.
SIB said that while India, like other large democracies, faces challenges, the narrative of an impending genocide is a gross distortion.
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