The Islamic Association for Peace, a Calcutta-based Muslim organisation, protested outside the Chinese consulate in Salt Lake here on Saturday morning against Beijing's alleged mistreatment of Muslim Uyghurs in Xinjiang.

The protestors also decried China's "cartographic aggression", pointing to the inclusion of the entire Arunachal Pradesh as Chinese territory in the 2023 Standard Map released by the Ministry of Natural Resources.

According to police, around 50 protestors stood outside the Chinese consulate with banners and also raised slogans.

“They protested outside the Chinese consulate for one hour and then left the
place,” a senior officer said.

Najib Ullah, chairman of the Islamic Association of Peace (IAP), said: “The Muslim Uyghurs in Xinjiang province are subject to religious persecution and we want to voice our protest in solidarity with our brothers and sisters in China.”

There have been accounts of the Chinese government apprehending numerous Muslim Uyghurs in Xinjiang province. However, official statements from the Chinese government remain scarce on the matter.

The demonstrators also spoke out against China's "aggression" in Arunachal Pradesh.

“We strongly oppose China's aggressive policy of acquiring our portion of the country in Arunachal Pradesh,” Najib Ullah said.

Although there have been several protests in front of the Chinese consulate, including by the BJP and affiliated groups and the pro-Tibetan groups, this is the first time the Muslims in Calcutta have protested against the persecution of Uyghurs in China's Xinjiang province. There are about 12 million Uyghurs, mostly Muslim, living in Xinjiang, which is officially known as the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR).