On Saturday, April 12, Tripura witnessed a disturbing episode of Islamism masked as a protest against the recently enacted Waqf Amendment Act. In the Unakoti district, a violent mob of Muslims launched an attack on police personnel stationed along the Kailashahar highway. The incident occurred when authorities attempted to halt an unauthorized procession citing security concerns. The group, reportedly agitated after being stopped at Kubjar, had planned to march from Tilabazar to the former SDM’s office. Instead of heeding police advice, the mob chose violence. A scuffle broke out, during which stones were hurled and policemen attacked. At least two officers — Constable Debjit Das and SDPO Kailashahar Jayanta Karmakar were injured. The police, outnumbered and ambushed, were forced to resort to a lathi charge.
Seven of the attackers were arrested as reinforcements from the TSR, CRPF, and BSF were rushed in under the direction of DIG Rathiranjan Debnath. The situation has since been brought under control, but the message was loud and clear: Islamists are willing to resort to violence if their religious-political narrative is challenged — even if it means assaulting state forces. What’s worse is the political cover these mobs often enjoy. It has emerged that the protest was spearheaded by local Congress leader Badruj Jaman, highlighting the disturbing nexus between political opportunism and Islamist aggression. Such alliances provide dangerous legitimacy to those seeking to destabilize democratic institutions.
A similar picture unfolded just a day earlier in West Bengal’s Murshidabad district. What began as post-Friday prayer “protests” against the Waqf Amendment Act quickly turned into full-blown Islamist rioting. Vehicles were torched, trains attacked, railway stations vandalized, and stones pelted at police. Even a police van carrying prisoners wasn’t spared. Over 5,000 people blocked National Highway-12 and train lines, forcing the cancellation of major trains like the Kamakhya–Puri Express.
Let’s call it what it is not a protest, but a premeditated Islamist riot. These mobs aren’t voicing democratic dissent; they are displaying ideological rage, emboldened by decades of appeasement politics. The violence in Tripura and West Bengal should serve as a wake-up call. When Islamist mobs feel empowered enough to attack law enforcement and damage public property, the very idea of democratic India is threatened. The Waqf Amendment Act, aimed at streamlining and bringing transparency to Waqf properties, has become a convenient excuse for Islamists to unleash terror.
