Protesters blame the ruling BJP for slow prosecution of the accused.

Indian groups on Wednesday protested in Washington and New York against the rape and murder of a child in Kathua, Jammu and Kashmir, and the rape of a 17-year-old, allegedly by a BJP MLA in Unnao, Uttar Pradesh, and sought speedy justice for the victims.

The protesters blamed the ruling BJP for slow prosecution of the accused. “These protests represent the shared anguish of the entire Indian diaspora over the state of human rights and religious freedom in India,” said Ahsan Khan, president of Indian-American Muslim Council. “They also represent our collective resolve to stand in solidarity with the oppressed, regardless of caste, creed or political affiliations,” he observed.

‘Shared outrage this’

The Council and Alliance for Justice and Accountability, a federation of different Indian-American groups, organised a protest march at the Gandhi statue in front of the Indian Embassy in Washington and handed over a petition to embassy officials seeking swift justice for the victims.

Suhail Syed, one of the organisers of the protest in Washington DC, said the presence of members of various faiths, including Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims, at the protest was an indication of their shared outrage.

“The Kathua and Unnao rapes are about the challenges to our shared humanity, from an ideology that seeks to impose its hegemony through violence and fear,” he said. “Our protest is a pledge that we will not allow intimidation to overpower us in the struggle to save the soul of India and its Constitution,” he said.

Candle light vigil

In New York City, the Indian Students Association at Columbia and other groups are organising a teach-in and candle light vigil on Friday evening, The groups will gather at Earl Hall and march towards the Low Library steps at Columbia. Ruchira Gupta, Founder of ApneAap and Visiting Professor at New York University, will lead a teach-in against violence targeting women in India.

“The gross violence against women and the reprehensible reactions by BJP politicians over the past few days not only fills us with rage and despair but leaves us helpless about the intermingling of a spectrum of violence[s] where gender, caste, and religion occupy the center stage,” a Facebook page of New York protestors said.

What about Hindu girl’s rape in Bihar, asks Hindu American Foundation

The Hindu American Foundation (HAF), while “unequivocally” condemning “all of these atrocities,” said it was “also deeply disturbed by increasing efforts in broadcast, print, and social media to perversely connect the rapes to the Hindu religion as a whole.”

“The details of rape and sexual assault cases being reported in Kathua, Jammu and Kashmir which saw a 7-year-old Muslim girl brutally raped and killed, and Unnao, Uttar Pradesh where the victim was a teenager preyed upon by a state legislator, are shocking. The gruesome details of both incidents have sparked outrage and protest in India, and headlines globally. On the other hand, the rape of a 6-year old Hindu girl in the state of Bihar this week, where the police similarly dragged their feet in reporting the crime, has drawn little nationwide attention or international condemnation. That all of these crimes were committed by men in power against victims who were children and possibly victimized because of their religious identities make these crimes all the more heinous,” a statement from the HAF said.

The BJP is in power in all three States, and the party stands accused of protecting perpetrators in the first two cases. In the third — the case from Bihar cited in the HAF statement — the accused is a Muslim tailor.

BJP promoting Hindu vigilantism: FIACONA

Federation of Indian American Christian Organizations (FIACONA) said the ruling BJP was encouraging Hindu vigilantism in India. “FIACONA believes that these are the tell-tale signs of total lawlessness under Modi & Company. These incidents show that the law and order has completely broken down by armed Hindu vigilantes roaming the streets.” the organisation said in a statement.