India is a country with various ethnic groups, religions, languages, and cultures. Soon after independence in 1947, a secular constitution was adopted that kept the state separate from religion. The idea of everyone being treated equally, no matter what religion they follow, started to fade because the major political parties wanted more power. Many Muslims, Christians, and people from other religious minorities in India started feeling unsafe. Most of the religious minorities in India include Muslims, Sikhs, and Christians, which make up about 20 to 25 percent of the population of India. Even before 1947, there were times when religious minorities were targeted with violence and treated with brutality. But since Modi became the leader in 2014, things have gotten worse for minorities.
India has a variety of ethnic, cultural, and linguistic minorities, which in and of itself is not a problem. However, India faces challenges with how it treats these minority groups, despite declaring itself a secular country. In fact, Hinduism plays a big role in how the country is run, which can cause complications for minorities. Pakistan and Bangladesh were once part of the subcontinent but separated off because of religious and ethnic differences. India is now taking advantage of its position of power compared to Pakistan, especially when it comes to managing water resources. Powerful countries around the world are favoring India in this, which makes things harder for Pakistan. Pakistan’s voice is being suppressed more and more each day, either through terrorism or other means. The Muslim community in India, being one of the largest minorities, is facing negative effects from certain Hindu customs and policies in various social, economic, and political matters. The Indian government, led by the Bharti Janata Party (BJP), has been promoting Hindu nationalism for years, supporting Hindu beliefs over others and sometimes ignoring human values. They see Islam as a threat and prioritize Hinduism, which has led to more differentiation and violence. Under Modi’s leadership, there has been a push for the idea of “Hindu Rashtra,” which has increased tensions.
India’s parliament approved a Citizenship Amendment Bill in 2019. This bill offers amnesty to non-Muslim illegal immigrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan. In August 2019, the government also removed the constitutional autonomy granted to the only Muslim-majority state, Jammu and Kashmir. It imposed sanctions in violation of people’s basic rights. The BJP claims that this bill will help those escaping religious oppression. It allows members of six religious minority groups—Hindu, Sikh, Jain, Buddhist, Parsi, and Christian—to live and work in India for six years to be allowed citizenship by naturalization. Most recently, three BJP-ruled states have approved an anti-conversion law, which in practice targets Muslim men who marry Hindu women. Critics argue that this is part of a BJP scheme to marginalize Muslims. The bill has caused protests across the country, leading to violence, the destruction of homes, and arrests. As a result, there were over 53 deaths and 45 Muslim casualties.
The UN human rights office said the Citizenship Amendment Act is fundamentally discriminatory because India is a country of diverse religions. Muslim countries like Iran, Kuwait, and Qatar complained about India in 2022 because some Indian officials said hateful things about Islam. The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), an organization of fifty-seven countries, asked India to stop spreading hate and saying bad things about Islam. They also said India is treating its Muslim citizens and other minorities badly.
Human Rights Watch said:
Authorities in India have adopted laws and policies that systematically discriminate against Muslims and stigmatize critics of the government.
The BJP faces criticism for discrimination among religious minorities, which resulted in Sikh protests against 2020 farm laws. The government didn’t pay attention to these issues, which rapidly increased tensions. Many human rights activists, organizations, and groups that stand up for human rights criticized the BJP government for not protecting human rights and not doing enough for minorities. According to the UN Human Rights Report of 2017, India failed to protect minority rights, life, freedom, and security. The other international report from Human Rights Watch said that the BJP government failed to protect minorities’ rights and enforce Supreme Court orders to investigate attacks on minorities.
Human Rights Watch said:
Since Modi’s BJP came to power in 2014, it has taken various legislative and other actions that have legitimized discrimination against religious minorities and enabled violent Hindu nationals.
Many foreign governments and international institutions have criticized the BJP’s discrimination against Muslims and treating other minorities unfairly, citing actions in Kashmir, the Citizenship Amendment Act, and anti-Muslim rhetoric as particular concerns. The US didn’t talk openly about India’s oppression of minorities, as they wanted to improve their relations with the country. For example, when President Donald Trump visited India in February 2020, he didn’t mention the attacks and violence in Delhi and praised the Modi government for supporting religious freedom. In 2020, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, an independent government group, declared India a “country of particular concern” for the first time since 2004.
The situation in India relating to minorities’ rights is deeply concerning. Despite the country’s secular constitution, minorities’, particularly the Muslim community of India, have been kept deprived from the very beginning. The Constitution fails to work where the concern is for Muslims as well as other minorities. Policymakers neglect the Muslim community as a larger minority. of India, deprived them from basic rights. It is challenging for India as BJP government faces criticism particularly from Muslim countries and other Human Rights Organizations for suppressing religious minorities.
The writer the member of PYDIR and a student of “BS Political Science” at “International Islamic University Islamabad”.