The Edison community splits after a bulldozer appears in the town’s Indian Independence Day parade.
Many residents and advocates have demanded that someone be held accountable for using bulldozers, which is seen as a symbolic attack on Muslims.
Advocacy groups have accused the Indian government of doing so-called “bulldozer justice.” This is said to be an illegal demolition of property owned primarily by Muslims in India.
“The bulldozer symbol is a clear threatening message,” says Dylan Terpstra of the New Jersey Council on American Islamic Relations.
He said it was a threat to religious minorities in India. Most of India is Hindu. Terpstra also said the parade’s positive message indicated it had been hijacked.
“Not just this bulldozer, but the whole parade was about their political views in India, not necessarily all Indian Americans,” Terpstra says.
The parade has been celebrated in the community for over 30 years. It is run by the Indian Business Association. This downtown area is driving the local economy. However, the group’s president says he has not apologized.
Chandrakant Patel said, “Why should I apologize? We have done nothing wrong.
He says the situation has been misrepresented.
Several Edison residents showed up at a town council meeting on Wednesday.
Business groups say bulldozers in India are not caused by Muslims, but by lawbreakers. They say it’s just a pity that people don’t know about it.
“I’m sorry they feel wrong, so what can I do?” asks Patel.
But some residents say the industry group is just trying to downplay what happened.
“Their efforts are in vain because the message is out there. People know right and wrong,” says Edison resident Impiaz Siamwalla.
Edison Council President Joseph Coyle says there was no place for bulldozers at the parade. Many politicians marched in parades. They say they didn’t know there was a bulldozer there or what it symbolized.