Released in October 2023, the MCC report titled ‘TARGETED: DOCUMENTING INCIDENTS AFFECTING MINORITIES IN GUJARAT’ was the result of collaboration between seventy leaders from different parts of the state to gather, organize, and analyze data for the study.
According to the committee, the purpose of the study was “to expose the truth” about how minorities are “pushed” to the periphery of society and “targeted” in particular.
According to a report published by the Minority Coordination Committee (MCC), Gujarat experienced an astounding 55 attacks directed towards minority communities in 2022.
The study detailed 55 disturbing occurrences, 53 of which were attacks on Muslims and two of which were on Christians. These findings prompted a more thorough investigation into the difficulties minority groups in the state face.
The most recent incident, which took place on December 30, 2022, involved BJP leader Raman Vora from the Junagadh district allegedly making threats to members of the Muslim community in public. The report recorded 55 instances of atrocities against minorities.
“In Junagadh, BJP leader Raman Vora openly stated that for those Muslims who will not vote for the BJP, their water and electricity connections will be cut and demolition will be done in their areas.”
As mentioned in the MCC report
“When attempting to stop the people who were encroaching on the land in Pavijetpur, Vadodara, the Muslim landowner was threatened. The encroacher has said ‘That earlier he [Muslim land owner] was spared during the Godhra incident but now he will not be spared’.”
As mentioned in the MCC report
The report noted a number of incidents that targeted minority religious sites. While some incidents were caused by fringe Hindutva elements seeking to disturb communal harmony, other incidents were the result of actions taken by government and law enforcement officials.
“In Gosabara village of Porbandar, 600 Muslim fishermen, fed up with continuous government harassment, filed a petition in the Gujarat High Court demanding euthanasia.”
“The factories of 18 Muslims in front of the sub-jail of Radhari Extension of Khambhat were demolished with bulldozers within 24 hours of serving the encroachment notice; they were not even given a chance to present their case. This action rendered 200 people working in such factories unemployed.”
The next two incidents demonstrate how the police have attacked minorities and their right to be treated with dignity as Indian citizens, as well as their inaction and negligence.
“Three Christian boys of New Shahibaug were brutally beaten by the traffic police at Tapovan Circle. The victims have filed an FIR, the news is published in Ahmedabad Mirror.”
On October 4, 2022, “In Undhela village of Kheda district, the police tied Muslim boys to a pole and beat them up and asked the people present there to make a video of it.”
MCC’s primary goal is to integrate marginalized minority groups into society’s mainstream and give them more power. To “promote and protect the rights of minority communities and advance social justice, equity, and inclusion for all” is another of its stated objectives.
The organization was established in 2016 to address issues of protection, deprivation of basic amenities, and discrimination against minorities. The organization’s goal is to comprehend and evaluate the current state of untouchability, discrimination, and inequality against minorities.