Minorities in India face discrimination and intimidation
India is one of the most populous countries of the world with 1.2 billion people and thus the giant neighbour of Pakistan that looms large over it. No matter how much Pakistan would like to avoid the influence of India, the sheer size of it makes it inevitable. While partition had envisioned all Muslims living in Pakistan, that is not what happened, as a significant number remained behind in India. It was then the duty of the Indian state to look after these persons along with other religious minorities, but the fact of the matter is that minorities in India have to face persecution.
India is religiously diverse; while its Hindu population is nearly 80 percent of its total population, there are an estimated 172.2 million Muslims living there. Additionally, there are an estimated 27.8 million Christians, 20.8 million Sikhs, and 4.5 million Jains. The Indian government often ignores its constitutional commitments to protect the rights of religious minorities. National and state laws are used to violate the religious freedom of minority communities. Violence against religious minorities, discrimination, forced conversions, and environments with increased instances of harassment and intimidation of religious minorities are not new phenomenon. Minorities face discrimination and persecution due to a combination of overly broad or ill-defined laws, an inefficient criminal justice system, and a lack of jurisprudential consistency.
India is not really secular for if it were it would not differentiate or discriminate on the basis of race or religion. While the Constitution of India may not allow the state to favour any religion it is not actually practiced when it comes to laws or the application of rules and mores. There is also a ban on religious conversion in place; if the state were truly secular it would not impose on the right of an individual to choose his or her own religion. On the other hand reconversion to Hinduism is promoted. The double standards in place are deplorable.
Let us take the example of cows which are considered to be sacred in Hinduism; this will reveal the abject apathy of the Indian state. Article 48 of the Indian Constitution and most Indian states significantly restrict or ban cow slaughter. Those found guilty of cow slaughter are subject to fines, imprisonment, or both. Cow slaughter in India has remained a perpetual source of tension between Hindu and Muslim and Dalit communities. Beef is a critical source of nutrition for various minority communities, including Dalits, Christians, and Muslims. Slaughtering animals, including cows, for Eid-ul-Adha is also an essential practice in Islam. The ban on cow slaughter has been challenged on various occasions in Indian courts but to no avail.
One of the most recent and clear examples of Muslim persecution through the politics of cow protection is the killing of Mohammad Akhlaq by Hindu mobs in September 2015. Mr. Akhlaq, age 50, was dragged from his home in the village of Bisara and beaten to death by an angry Hindu mob due to rumours that his family had been eating beef and storing the meat in their home. Radical right-wing Hindu groups have started their own gangs, known as Gau Raksha Dal (Cow Protection Front), across India to further harass people.
A surprising fact is that Sikhism, Jainism and Buddhism are considered part of Hinduism which is odd for these are completely separate religions. Article 25, sub-clause 1 of the Indian Constitution guarantees that “subject to public order, morality and health, all persons are equally entitled to freedom of conscience and the right to freely to profess, practice and propagate religion.” However, sub-clause 2 (B) and the corresponding Explanation II of the same are considered very controversial. Explanation II in sub-clause 2 (B) states, “Hindus shall be construed as including a reference to persons professing the Sikh, Jain or Buddhist religion, and the reference to Hindu religious institutions shall be construed accordingly.” This has led to discriminatory laws such as Hindu Succession Act (1956), Hindu Marriage Act (1955), Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act (1956), and Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act (1956). These laws are largely viewed to force legal assimilation of these religions into Hinduism, rather than recognising them as distinct religious identities. Because of this they also suffer when it comes to their personal laws.
The Dalits or untouchables are another section of society that has suffered for long in India. Society is just not accepting of them and prejudices against them exist till date. While laws exist to protect Dalits they are not practiced as the caste system is a fundamental part of Hinduism. Caste system is entrenched in society and is strictly adhered to.
From all this it is very much apparent that India does not comply with international standards of freedom of religion or belief, including Article 18 of the UN Declaration of Human Rights and Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Religious minority communities and Dalits have both faced discrimination and persecution due to a combination of overly broad or ill-defined laws, an inefficient criminal justice system, and a lack of jurisprudential consistency. In particular, since 2014, hate crimes, social boycotts, assaults, and forced conversion have escalated dramatically.
It is no wonder then that Muslims in India feel insecure and oppressed. They along with other minorities feel like outsiders in their own country which does not allow them to live fulfilling lives, the potential of many is lost as they are shackled by the state. The Hindu majority holds all the power and privilege and uses it to further harass the minorities. The voices of the lower castes and minorities go unheard. This is a sad state of affairs and the international community must bring to light these grave human rights violations and to try and impress upon India that religious freedom is a basic human right and that the rights of minorities must be protected.
What about minorities in pakistan?? What was the percent of their population to total at the time of independence? How are Hindus treated in Pakistan? Forced conversions, abductions … Shouldn’t the international community look at that? Isn’t this article hypocritic and like pot calling the kettle black? And please, those living in a glass House should not throw stones.
Have you ever come across the term DHARMIC religion? If not then its an umbrella term encompassing Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism as one religion left out are Christians and Muslims whose religion are quite a bit younger and synthetic
No country is fully secular or fully fundamentalist. India is 80% secular (that is why muslims are not leaving for Pakistan) and Pakistan is 20% secular. Let us understand this sliding scale.
See who is giving a lecture .. the mere country born on intolerance against Hindus , born on the name of hatred, where minority were 10% at the time of false making of this state and today not even 1%
have you seen the rise in the no. of minorities in India? its growth percentage is more than the majority.
and no matter how much you try to call your self the illegitimate children of Arabs ..you are all Hindus converted forcibly to Islam.
you might forget your ancestor but the fact remains fact.
India is not for just Hindus and Hindu is not a religion. its the smell its the culture its the tolerance its the co-existence.
so every one in India and Pakistan is a Hindu apart from some ridiculous creatures in Pakistan who produce terrorist.
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