Hadia Ibrar, Intern
India is a country with distinct ethnic groups, religions, languages, and cultures. With this division in mind, a secular constitution was adopted shortly after independence in 1947, establishing a moral separation of state and religion. However, the genuine spirit of secularism gradually eroded due to power struggles among major political parties. Millions of Indian Muslims, Christians, and members of other religious minorities tend to feel more insecure as a result of this phenomenon. The majority religious minority in India is its Muslim population, followed by Sikhs and Christians. The history of violence against religious minorities predates 1947, but under the Modi regime, the situation has gotten worse since 2014.
The Indian government, led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), has been saffronising India for years, promoting Hindu nationalism and promoting Hindutva-driven policies, disregarding human values. Hindutva views Islam as a threat and elevates Hinduism above all other religions, leading to increased majoritarianism, violence, and discrimination. Under Modi's rule, the concept of "Hindu Rashtra" intensified tensions, with some Hindu nationalists envisioning India as a Hindu nation. Political scientist Christophe Jaffrelot argues that Hindu majoritarianism results from sustained efforts by fundamentalists and nonpartisan Hindus supporting nationalist ideas. Hindu majoritarianism in India has disrupted the country's cultural and religious traditions and set 1.4 billion people astray. The BJP's Hindutva policies have helped Modi win re-election in 2019 but also exploited ethnic and religious divides, resembling fascist leadership, and potentially gaining political influence.
The BJP gained significant Hindu support after approving the Ram Mandir construction in Ayodhya, following the 1992 demolition of the Babri Masjid by Hindu extremist factions. After winning the elections of 2019, the BJP began construction of Ram Mandir, causing disappointment among Indian Muslims. The decision of the Indian Supreme Court in 2019, favouring the BJP intensified tensions.
The abrogation of Article 370 in Kashmir in 2019, changing its constitutional status, heightened tensions between India and Pakistan and created unrest among Kashmiri Muslims. Hindu nationalist mobs attacked Kashmiris, leading to prolonged curfews and internet shutdowns causing immense hardship for the people.
India's parliament has passed a Citizenship Amendment bill in 2019 offering amnesty to non-Muslim illegal immigrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan. The BJP claims this will provide sanctuary for people fleeing religious persecution. It allows members of six religious minority communities Hindu, Sikh, Jain, Buddhist, Parsi and Christian to live or work in India for six years to be eligible for citizenship by naturalisation. Critics argue that this is part of a BJP agenda to marginalize Muslims. The bill has led to nationwide protests, violence, house demolition, and arrests, resulting in over 53 deaths and 45 Muslim casualties.
The "Muslim Marriage Act" of 2019 further fuelled tensions, criminalizing Triple Divorce and setting the legal marrying age at 18. This move led to widespread protests within the Muslim community, resulting in thousands of arrests.
Human Rights Watch report of 2019 named "Violent Cow Protection Groups in India" reveals that BJP members used communal rhetoric to incite a violent vigilante campaign against the beef and cattle trade, resulting in 44 deaths between 2015 and 2018 based on suspicion of cow smuggling.
The BJP government faced international criticism for its handling of religious minorities, leading to protests against the 2020 farm laws from the Sikh community. The lack of government attention escalated the tensions, with activists facing arrests and blocked social media accounts.
In 2021, over 9,000 hate crimes and acts of violence against Adivasis and Dalits were reported without penalty, while over 50,000-suspected crimes against scheduled castes were also reported. The Christian community in India has been targeted by violent Hindu extremists. There have been 525 recorded attacks against Christians in the first eight months of 2023. In the state of Manipur, Hindu fundamentalists destroyed 249 churches in less than three days in May 2023. The government's perceived inaction during violent incidents led to criticism and accusations of being a silent spectator. The violence displaced families and resulted in over 150 deaths, with many cases unreported.
Many human rights groups have criticized the BJP government for not doing enough to protect minorities in the country. The UN Human Rights Report of 2017 highlighted the country's failure to protect its right to security, liberty, and life. The Human Rights Watch's report in 2019 alleged that the BJP government failed to enforce Supreme Court directives to prevent and investigate mob attacks on religious minorities and vulnerable communities. Indian government has been urged to implement UN member states' recommendations from the Universal Periodic Review of November 2022, which address minority community protection, gender-based violence and human rights. However, India has ignored these recommendations, leading to increased violence against religious minorities and a regression in human rights since 2017 under BJP rule. Notably, 21 countries have urged India to improve protection for freedom of religion and religious minorities.
The relationship between India and Pakistan are extremely strained, with heightened nationalist emotions and the Kashmir issue serving as a focal point. In order to divert public attention from internal issues and for domestic political gains, BJP Government can always engage into blame game leading to military conflict with Pakistan. The stability of South Asia is seriously threatened by the polarizing nature of Indian society, which affects India’s diplomatic ties not only with Pakistan but also with other neighbouring countries. This underscores the critical need for international cooperation and communication to address the underlying causes of communal unrest and advance regional peace.
It is also interesting to note that the rise of BJP being a Hindutva driven, RSS influenced and a nationalist party directly corresponds with enhanced strategic realignment of India with the US led West against their common rival China. In other words, extremist BJP is supported by the West against China and correspondingly the US led West also exercise greater leverage as far as internal stability of India is concerned.