The Indian Business Association in New Jersey has issued an apology after it was criticised for bringing a bulldozer to the Indian Independence Day celebrations in Edison. The group in its letter said that it offered sincere apologies because certain "aspects of the parade reflected poorly" on the organisation and "offended" the Indian minority groups, especially Muslims.
Controversial bulldozer
The presence of the bulldozer with photos of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uttar Pradesh chief minister during the 'India Day' parade in New Jersey's Edison had become a widely discussed issue during town council meetings last week. Several residents had called it a symbol of "hate and fascism" and prompted the Edison mayor to condemn it.
Bulldozers — being used to demolish alleged 'illegal structures' in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, mostly properties belonging to Muslims — were deemed a symbol of bigotry by many organisations and residents of Edison.
Edison mayor Samip Joshi criticised the presence of the bulldozer during the rally saying, "Although the India Day parade is independently run and not a Township sponsored event, my office was made aware that a bulldozer was used as a symbol of division and discrimination. I want to be clear that any symbol or action that represents discrimination is unwelcome in Edison Township as we are committed to celebrating and working in harmony with people from all cultures."
Earlier this year, bulldozers were used to demolish structures in New Delhi's Jahangirpuri even after the Supreme Court had stayed the action. Bulldozers have also been used by the UP govt, with the police even adding them to its flag march in Aligarh in June. The houses of several Muslim activists were razed using bulldozers in Uttar Pradesh after protests over Nupur Shara's disparaging remarks against Prophet Mohamed.
Several human and civil rights organisations in the United States had condemned the presence of a bulldozer during the India Day celebrations in New Jersey on August 15. Groups like the New Jersey chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and Hindus for Human Rights had condemned the presence of bulldozers at the Independence Day parade and had written to the mayor of Edison.
"The bulldozer, which has become a symbol of Muslim home demolitions in India, was decorated with the images of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Provincial Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, both of whom espouse Islamophobic Hindu nationalist ideologies and serve as active leaders of India's ruling party, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)," the New Jersey chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) said in a statement.
The organisation took to Twitter and said, "We condemn this glorification of ethnic cleansing and anti-Muslim violence and urge the mayors of Edison & Woodbridge Sami Joshi & John McCormac as well as @SpeakerCoughlin, who attended the parade, to do the same." Hindus for Human Rights had also written to the Edison Mayor asking him to condemn the event. "We just contacted @EdisonNJ Mayor @SamipJoshi and the Edison Township Council to express our disgust at the recent parade by Hindu nationalists in Edison, and urging them to publicly condemn this brazen display of hate."