Muslim community leaders from across India came together for a three-day national meeting to discuss the status of the Muslim minority in modern India.
They found that the minority is haunted by the fear of being harassed by law enforcement authorities.
Many Muslims complained that they are detained, abused and tortured to confess to terror crimes.
They cited that they could be sent behind bars and abused for no reason but being relatives to people suspected in terror activities.
Many Muslims told the gathering that they can be subjected to similar allegations of terror links, detention, torture and prolonged and biased trials.
Indian Muslims also accuse authorities of boosting stereotypes about their religion.
There are some 140 million Muslims in Hindu-majority India, the world's third-largest Muslim population after those of Indonesia and Pakistan.
Indian Muslims have suffered decades of social and economic neglect and oppression.
They have been decrying for years that they comprise only a tiny percentage of police, army officers, public servants and public university students.
They register lower educational levels and, as a consequence, higher unemployment rates than the majority Hindus and other minorities like Christians and Sikhs.
Fight Prejudice
The Muslim meeting suggested the formation of a high-power judicial commission to look into alleged terror charges and complaints of police harassment.
Those that seem doubtful or fabricated should be handed over to a special investigation team, the meeting recommended.
It should complete its task in a year so that prolonged detention of persons against whom there is little convincing evidence is not prolonged.
The attendees also called for prosecution of police officers fabricating evidence in terror cases and compensating the victims.
They further pressed for better representation of Muslims in the police, judiciary and civil administration.
The meeting also suggested the issuance of a law to fight communal violence.
Strong action should be taken under Section 153A of the Indian Penal Code against organisations which indulge in hate campaigns and communal propaganda.
The requirement of prior sanction of the State government before a complaint is registered under this Act should be waived.
Muslim leaders also proposed the enactment of a law against communal discrimination.
The Prime Minister should nominate a 10-member committee to undertake a nationwide campaign against communalisation of society, akin to the literacy campaign and temple entry campaigns of the past.
This committee should also study and document these social processes of structural discrimination, some of which came to light in the national meet.
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