UYGUR NEWS - First Uyghur association established in India

The below article was originally published by Uygur News, photo credit: Indian Uyghur Society

The Indian Uyghur Society was established to support the Uyghur community in India and to carry out programs and cultural activities to explain the Chinese genocide of Uyghurs to the Indian public.

In early September this year, a Uyghur association was established in India to carry out programs and cultural activities to support the Uyghur community in India and raise awareness of the oppression Uygurs face from the Chinese government among the Indian public. Wasim Abdullah, a Uyghur living in India, was elected as the president of the Indian Uyghur Society, the first Uyghur Association in India.

According to a statement on the society’s official website, “Indian Uyghur Society is an initiative established with the joint effort of the Uyghur ethnic community in India to achieve social prosperity and community unity to introduce Uyghur culture to the Indian public, utilizing India’s unique harmony and diversity. The primary aim of the Indian Uyghur Society is to strengthen the unity and integration of the Uyghur community into Indian society while building relationships with Uyghurs in other countries.

Indian Uyghur Society also intends to gain innovative platforms for the promotion of Uyghur culture and trends relevant to the welfare, safety, and free of the Uyghur nation through multidimensional communication, cultural exchanges, representation among the Indian public, religious communities, academic entities on the grounds of goodwill, unity, justice, and integrity.“

Mr. Enver Can, a veteran diaspira Uyghur activist, welcoming the creation of the Indian Uyghur Association, says “this is an important step in strengthening the friendly relation betwen Uyghur and Indian peoples, and surely it will contribute o attract more attention of Indian publics‘ attention to the situation of neighboring Uyghurs who had historical cultural ties with Indian Nation.”

Mr. Can, also thanks the Indian government recalling a historical event in which the Indian government gave shelter to Uyghur&Kazakh refugees led by late Muhammed Emin Bugra and Isa Yusuf Alptekin, who fled to India after their homeland was occupied by the Communist Chinese army at the end of 1949.