{"id":29901,"date":"2020-06-15T10:56:58","date_gmt":"2020-06-15T05:56:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jworldtimes.com\/old-site\/?p=29901"},"modified":"2020-06-15T10:56:58","modified_gmt":"2020-06-15T05:56:58","slug":"religious-intolerance-in-india-uscirf-recommends-imposition-of-targeted-sanctions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jworldtimes.com\/old-site\/internationalaffairs\/religious-intolerance-in-india-uscirf-recommends-imposition-of-targeted-sanctions\/","title":{"rendered":"Religious Intolerance in India USCIRF recommends imposition of \u2018targeted sanctions\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Modi.0\"<\/a><\/h1>\n

Religious Intolerance in India<\/strong><\/span><\/h1>\n

USCIRF recommends imposition of \u2018targeted sanctions\u2019<\/span><\/h1>\n

Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India\u2019s religious bigotry has seen an exponential growth, Religious minorities, especially the Muslims, are being subjected to persecution under state patronage. This dangerously growing trend is now projecting the real image of the country to the international community. Religious intolerance and persecution of minorities has reached to such heights the world seem no longer ready to give India a carte blanche to go n with its severe violations of human rights in the country. It is in this context that the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has placed India on its list of \u2018countries of particular concern\u2019 (CPC) in its annual report. Following is the excerpt from the report related to India:<\/p>\n

Key Findings <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

In 2019, religious freedom conditions in India experienced a drastic turn downward, with religious minorities under increasing assault. Following the Bharatiya Janata Party\u2019s (BJP) re-election in May, the national government used its strengthened parliamentary majority to institute national level policies violating religious freedom across India, especially for Muslims. The national government allowed violence against minorities and their houses of worship to continue with impunity, and also engaged in and tolerated hate speech and incitement to violence.\"Sanatan<\/a><\/p>\n

Significantly, the BJP-led government enacted the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA)\u2014a fast track to citizenship for non-Muslim migrants from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan already residing in India\u2014and approved a National Population Register (NPR) as a first step toward a nation-wide National Register of Citizens (NRC). The border state of Assam, under mandate of the Supreme Court, implemented a state-wide NRC to identify illegal migrants within Assam. When the state-wide NRC was released in August, 1.9 million residents\u2014both Muslims and Hindus\u2014were excluded. Those excluded live in fear of the consequences: three<\/p>\n

United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteurs warned that exclusion from the NRC could result in \u201cstatelessness, deportation, or prolonged detention.\u201d Indeed, Home Minister Amit Shah referred to migrants as \u201ctermites\u201d to be eradicated. Troubled that Hindus were excluded from Assam\u2019s NRC, he and other BJP officials advocated for the CAA as a corrective measure to protect Hindus. The CAA provides listed non-Muslim religious communities a path to restore their citizenship and avoid detention or deportation. In its wake, BJP leaders have continued to advocate for a nation-wide NRC; the citizenship of millions would be placed under question,\u00a0 but, with the CAA in place, Muslims alone would bear the indignities and consequences of potential statelessness.\"16india-sub-videoSixteenByNine3000\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The CAA\u2019s passage in December sparked nationwide protests that police and government-aligned groups met with violence; in Uttar Pradesh (UP), the BJP chief minister Yogi Adityanath pledged \u201crevenge\u201d against anti-CAA protestors and stated they should be fed \u201cbullets not biryani.\u201d In December, close to 25 people died in attacks against protestors and universities in UP alone. According to reports, police action specifically targeted Muslims.<\/p>\n

Throughout 2019, government action\u2014including the CAA, continued enforcement of cow slaughter and anti-conversion laws, and the November Supreme Court ruling on the Babri Masjid site\u2014created a culture of impunity for nationwide campaigns of harassment and violence against religious minorities. In August, the government also revoked the autonomy of Muslim-majority state Jammu and Kashmir and imposed restrictions that negatively impacted religious freedom.<\/p>\n

Mob lynching of persons suspected of cow slaughter or consuming beef continued, with most attacks occurring within BJP-ruled states.\u00a0 Lynch mobs often took on overtly Hindu nationalist tones. In June, in Jharkand, a mob attacked a Muslim, Tabrez Ansari, forcing him to chant \u201cJai Shri Ram (Hail Lord Ram)\u201d as they beat him to death.<\/p>\n

Police often arrest those attacked for cow slaughter or conversion activities rather than the perpetrators. Violence against Christians also increased, with at least 328 violent incidents, often under accusations of forced conversions. These attacks frequently targeted prayer services and led to the widespread shuttering or destruction of churches.<\/p>\n

In 2018, the Supreme Court urged the central and state governments to combat lynchings with stricter laws. When, by July 2019, the central government and 10 states had failed to take appropriate action, the Supreme Court again directed them to do so. Rather than comply, Home Minister Shah called existing laws sufficient and denied lynchings had increased, while the Home Ministry instructed the National Crime Records Bureau to omit lynchings from the 2019 crime data report.<\/p>\n

During 2019, discriminatory policies, inflammatory rhetoric, and tolerance for violence against minorities at the national, state, and local level increased the climate of fear among non-Hindu communities. After the reporting period, India continued on this negative trajectory. In February 2020, three days of violence erupted in Delhi with mobs attacking Muslim neighborhoods. There were reports of Delhi police, operating under the Home Ministry\u2019s authority, failing to halt attacks and even directly participating in the violence. At least 50 people were killed.<\/p>\n

Background<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

India\u2019s population is 79.8 percent Hindu, 14.2 percent Muslim, 2.3 percent Christian, 1.7 percent Sikh, 0.7 percent Buddhist, and 0.4 percent Jain; smaller groups include Zoroastrians (Parsis), Jews, and Baha\u2019is. India\u2019s constitution defines the nation as secular and protects freedom of religion or belief\u2014including the right to proselytize. However, religious freedom is \u201csubject to public order,\u201d a vague phrase allowing the suspension of rights to protect social \u201ctranquility.\u201d This qualification was used to justify anti-conversion laws in the 1977 Supreme Court case Rev. Stainislaus v. State of Madhya Pradesh and Orissa. The BJP has challenged the secular principles of the constitution by implementing policies reflecting Hindu nationalist ideology, or Hindutva.<\/p>\n

The Citizenship (Amendment) Act and the National Register of Citizens<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

In December 2019, parliament passed the CAA, providing a pathway to citizenship for non-Muslim migrants already in India from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan by treating them as refugees fleeing religious persecution. The CAA would be even more problematic in conjunction with a nationwide NRC, which could be modeled after the statewide NRC in Assam, and is a goal outlined in the BJP\u2019s manifesto and repeatedly promised by BJP leadership. The NRC process in Assam raised significant concerns: impoverished families could not present the necessary documents due to poor record keeping or illiteracy. Even with documentation, citizens were excluded because of minor inconsistencies; some were excluded despite using the same documents as included relatives. The Foreigners\u2019 Tribunals that adjudicate citizenship status have been critiqued for their anti-minority bias. In December, the Parliament approved an NPR to collect residents\u2019 citizenship data. According to government statements and under the Citizenship Rules, 2003, the NPR\u2014which allows residents to be marked as \u201cdoubtful citizens\u201d and placed under scrutiny\u2014is the first step toward a nation-wide NRC.\"Title\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Cow Slaughter Laws<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

In Hinduism, the cow is considered sacred. Article 48 of India\u2019s constitution directs the state to \u201ctake steps . . . prohibiting the slaughter of cows and calves,\u201d and 21 states criminalize cow slaughter in various forms. Cow protection has been promoted as a key issue by the BJP and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). Lynch mobs, often organized over social media, have attacked minorities\u2014including Muslims, Christians, and Dalits\u2014under suspicion of eating beef, slaughtering cows, or transporting cattle for slaughter. Since the BJP came to power in 2014, there have been over 100 attacks, amounting to over 98 percent of such attacks since 2010. Lynching victims, rather than the perpetrators, are often arrested under these laws.<\/p>\n

Anti-Conversion Laws<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

While the constitution protects the right to proselytize, 10 states have anti-conversion laws criminalizing conversion using force, allurement, inducement, or fraud, but many use vague language that can be interpreted as prohibiting consensual conversions. In 2019, BJPruled Himachal Pradesh increased the penalties for forced conversions.<\/p>\n

Authorities predominately arrest Muslims and Christians for conversion activities. To date, however, there are no known convictions for forced conversion. Hindutva groups pursue mass conversions through ceremonies known as ghar wapsi (homecoming), without interference from authorities. Empowered by anti-conversion laws and often with the police\u2019s complicity, Hindutva groups also conduct campaigns of harassment, social exclusion, and violence against Christians, Muslims, and other religious minorities across the country. Following attacks by Hindutva groups against religious minorities for conversion activities, the police often arrest the religious minorities who have been attacked.<\/p>\n

In September 2019, the Home Ministry introduced new rules under the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act requiring all members of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to sign an affidavit affirming they have \u201cnot been prosecuted or convicted for indulging in forced religious conversion or creating communal tensions\u201d to receive foreign funding. Faith-based NGOs, in particular Christian organizations, expressed fear that this is intended to limit their activities.<\/p>\n

\"Bengaluru:<\/a><\/p>\n

Religious Freedom in Jammu and Kashmir<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

In August 2019, the government stripped Muslim-majority Jammu and Kashmir\u2019s autonomy and imposed security measures, including restricting freedom of movement and assembly, cutting Internet and phone access, and arresting Kashmiri leaders, including religious leaders. The restrictions on movement and assembly limited the ability to attend prayers and religious ceremonies. USCIRF also received several reports of mosques being closed, imams and Muslim leaders arrested and detained, and threats and violence by extremist groups.<\/p>\n

Key U.S. Policy <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

During 2019, the United States and India strengthened their relationship, especially in security and defense. In December, the two governments signed an agreement for defense technology transfers during a 2+2 ministerial dialogue. President Donald J. Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi appeared together at the September \u201cHowdy Modi\u201d event in Houston, Texas, during which the President praised this relationship. Amid these positive developments, U.S. officials highlighted concerns with India\u2019s religious freedom violations through public statements, congressional hearings, and bilateral engagements. In October, U.S. Ambassador-at Large for Religious Freedom Samuel D. Brownback traveled to India. The Indian government, however, continued to reject the State Department\u2019s and USCIRF\u2019s reporting on religious freedom violations in India.<\/p>\n

Recommendations to the US Government<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Designate India as a \u201ccountry of particular concern,\u201d or CPC, for engaging in and tolerating systematic, ongoing, and egregious religious freedom violations, as defined by the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA);<\/p>\n