Dr Muhammad Khan
ON 28 April 2020, the United States Commission for International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) launched its annual report. The report declared India as the most dangerous country for religious minorities. This is first time in the history of USCIRF that, it directly categories India as the dangerous country for minorities. Apart from it being dangerous, USCIRF recommends to “United Sates” State Department that, India should be designated as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC). It is to be noted that, CPC countries are the ones where the states and govts engage themselves in targeting minorities through religious victimization and severe violations of religious freedom. USCIRF has asked the US State Department to place India on Special Watch List (SWL). The countries placed on SWL are found involved in severe violations of religious freedom, thus need to be put under economic and financial sanctions including ban on visas and travel abroad of key persons involved in violations.
The report recommends the US Government to “increase the use of targeted sanctions to deter religious persecution by using human rights-related financial and visa authorities to impose asset freezes and/or visa bans on individual officials, agencies, and military units for severe religious freedom violations, citing specific abuses”. Indian MPs, its government officials, its military and intelligence and security agencies have been found officially involved in the persecution of minorities to the level of killings, torture, rapes and alienation of the minorities. India has a history of religious intolerance and severe violations on account of belief and cast system. Owing to its narrow minded Hindu majority, India has always been a very dangerous country for other religious minorities. The Hindus of India even claims that being “Hindu” they have exclusive right over the land known as Hindustan and people from other religions have no right over this vast landmass. In recent years, this narrow minded approach is being pursued through Hindutva ideology.
Though the ruling BJP has been officially following Hindutva as its ideology for decades, however majority of the upper Hindu class have conceded this ideology as their religious, nationalistic, cultural and political philosophy. The famous Palampur resolution-1989 set the formal agenda against the major religious minority (Muslims) in India. The Palampur resolution decided decisive phase of Hindu unity against Muslims and announcement for the construction of Ram Temple at Ayodhya. It is worth mention that, Canadian politicians have been the target of Indian Intelligence Covert Influence Operation. Stewart Bell, a Canadian investigative journalist revealed that Canadian security officials suspected two Indian intelligence agencies; RAW and IB to target the Canadian politicians to support Indian interests in Canada and in North America. These Indian agencies are working against Muslims and Pakistani in Canada. besides, Indian diaspora has been found in financial and visa frauds schemes in US, Canada and many EU states. Indians have attained mastery to exploit loop holes in the policies, the student visa scams, duping millions of dollars through fake ‘Call Centers’ in US and their latest presentation in Canada is ensnaring Canadians through fake tax network scam.
Since its independence in 1947, this country of 1.3 billion populations has been hiding itself behind the mantra of secularism and world’s biggest democracy. Though exposed by USCIRF for the first time, successive Indian governments and their militant wings have been exploiting the minorities throughout. Through a well-planned strategy, the areas inhabited with people other than Hindu majority were kept backward and deprived of basic facilities of life. The worst among all was the economic deprivation and providing no facilities for the basic education for these poor religious minorities. Besides, Sikhs forming approximately 1.9% of Indian total population are being discriminated and relegated in all sphere of life in Hindu dominated India. In the post 1980s campaign, the Sikhs are looked down and considered as anti-state and anti-India. Today, RSS is directly targeting the Sikh community in India. Christian forming almost 3% of Indian population are equally discriminated and humiliated in India. They are also facing the fanatic onslaught of the RSS for conversion into Hinduism. Through a massive campaign against Muslim, the major minority group in India, forming over 15% of total population, Indian Muslim are discriminated, humiliated and forced to convert into Hinduism or else leave India. The New York Times in its Opinion page of August 17, 2017 wrote an article, entitled, “India’s Muslims and the Price of Partition”. The prestigious newspaper mentioned salient of the Indian policies towards Indian Muslims. As per the contents of this article, the Modi’s India demand Muslims that, “They should reconvert to Hinduism” this is a unanimous call from the Hindus, the BJP and its militant wing, the RSS in particular.
The logic, Hindu majority has, since Indian Muslims were converted from Hinduism during Muslims rule in India, therefore, they have to reconvert into Hinduism. Very recently, a Hindu group, known as, “Hindu Jagran Manch” indeed an offshoot of the RSS, has started a campaign to marry the Muslim girls with Hindu boys. As per Pew Research Centre analysis- 2018, out of 198 countries, India ranked as fourth worst in the world for religious intolerance. The 2020 USCIRF report is an eye opener for the civilized world. Amnesty International and other human rights organizations including have been highlighting the massive human rights violations, committed by India as a state policy. In 2018 and 2019, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has accused India of massive human rights violation in the Indian occupied Kashmir. In 2019 and 2020, India has massively violated the rights of religious minorities under the philosophy of Hinutva. New Delhi has made special constitutional amendments like CAA-2019 to target the minorities in India. The world community must reconcile its relationship and massive economic investment in India since followers of Hindutva have no place for the followers of other religions.
— The writer is Professor of Politics and IR at International Islamic University, Islamabad.
