Oppressing the Minority Communities in India

By Sajjad Shaukat

Since Narendar Modi, the fanatic leader of the extremist ruling party BJP, became Indian Prime Minister, the BJP and other similar parties started implementing Ideology of Hindutva (Hindu nationalism) as various developments like unprecedented rise of Hindu extremism, persecution of religious minorities such as Muslims Christians, Sikhs etc., and even lower-caste Hindus like Dalits have been intensified by the prejudiced Hindus.

Notably, Indian Constitution declares India to be a secular and democratic state, which safeguards the rights of religious minorities, but, under the Modi-led government, discrimination especially against the Muslim and Christian communities, including Sikhs—assaults on their places of worships and property—forced conversion of religious minorities into Hindus, creation of war-like situation with Pakistan etc. have clearly proved that Hindu fundamentalist outfits such as BJP, RSS VHP, Bajrang Dal and Shiv Sena have been promoting religious and ethnic chauvinism in India by propagating the Hindutva ideology.

It is intimated that the OHCHR (Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights) Complaints Procedure Branch has issued an official communication to New Delhi, and expressed concerns regarding the obstruction and discrimination against Muslim-Christian owned minorities’ businesses.

It pointed out that in March-April 2022; “Multiple calls by Hindu organizations were made to boycott Muslim and some Christian owned businesses in the states of Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh. Particularly, these calls for the economic boycott of Muslim minority have been supported by state representatives and respective state governments”.

Some other discriminatory policies and moves against the Muslims such as the Indian Citizenship Amendment Act 2019 (CAA), passed by the Indian Parliament coupled with the National Register of Citizens (NRC)—mainly against the Muslim immigrants particularly from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan—In December 15, 2019, despite daily mass protests, across every state against the CAA and the NRC, which resulted into killing of more than 300 persons-mostly Muslims by the police and prejudiced Hindus, Modi-led regime has not withdrawn the CAA/NRC—attacks on Muslims, their shops, burning of their houses and recently on a mosque etc. might also be cited as example.

While, protests by members of the Muslim minority in response to the decision of the Karnataka High Court to uphold a governmental ban on Muslim girls, wearing the hijab in educational institutions are also notable.

It is mentionable that RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat had said on October 8, 2019: “Bharat is Hindu Rashtra and all Bharatiyas are Hindus.”

At present, drastic situation against the Christians in the Indian state of Manipur and Muslims in the state of Haryana is of particular attention.

In fact, under Modi’s fanatic government led by biased Hindu parties, India has become a fascist country. In this context, The New York Times wrote on August 9, 2023: “In Manipur, Christians are bearing the brunt as the state’s B.J.P. government stokes the insecurities of the majority ethnic Meitei, who are predominantly Hindu. State leaders have branded the Kuki tribes who populate are mostly Christian—have blamed them for poppy cultivation intended for the drug trade and evicted some of them from their forest habitats. The specific trigger for the current violence was a court ruling in the state in favor of granting the Meitei affirmative action provisions and other benefits that have long been enjoyed by the Kuki and other tribes, which sparked a protest by tribal communities opposed to the ruling. Emboldened by the state government’s rhetoric, Meitei militias in Manipur have gone on a rampage of raping, pillaging, looting police armories and burning villages. More than 250 churches have been burned down”.

Besides, Indian authorities imposed a curfew in various parts of northern Haryana state after the violence began on July 31, this year. Nonetheless, Manipur-like bloody game is being played by the biased Hindus against the Muslims. Recently, extremist Hindus have boycotted the Muslims and stop purchasing their products in Haryana.

Recently, instead of decreasing, diplomatic tensions between India and Canada have been increasing over the killing of the leading Canadian Sikh leader of the Khalistan’s movement Hardeep Singh Nijjar on 18 June, 2023 in a Sikh temple in British Columbia’s Surrey, as several events and incidences of demonstration and protest have erupted by the Khalistan supporters.

On October 2, 2023, Khalistan supporters gathered outside the Indian High Commission in London, staging a protest. The demonstration came days after Sikhs blocked a planned visit of Indian High Commissioner Vikram Doraiswami to a city. New Delhi’s diplomatic mission in London fabricated a story that Vikram Doraiswami had been invited to the Sikh temple, (gurdwara) in Scotland’s biggest city to discuss community and consular issues.

However, very tensions accelerated between Canada and India on September 18, this year when Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in the parliament that Canada was investigating “credible allegations” linking India to the June killing of Canadian citizen and prominent Sikh leader, Nijjar. 

He elaborated: “He brought up the slaying with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the G20…told Modi that any Indian government involvement would be unacceptable and that he asked for cooperation in the investigation”.

Trudeau added: “Over the past number of weeks, Canadian security agencies have been actively pursuing credible allegations of a potential link between agents of the government of India and the killing of Nijjar.” 

Canada has also kicked out an Indian diplomat whom foreign affairs minister Mélanie Joly described as the head of the Indian intelligence agency in the country.

Regarding the death of Nijjar, Canadian local police had pointed out that he was gunned down in his truck by two masked individuals.

Foremost pro-Khalistan’s separatist group Sikhs For Justice (SFJ) General Counsel Gurpatwant Singh Pannun had revealed that the “Indian intelligence agency Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), acting under the instructions of Narendra Modi—his close associates Amit Shah and Ajit Doval assassinated Hardeep Singh Nijjar—the incharge of Khalistan Referendum in Canada”.

Reports suggest that Nijjar had been warned by Canada’s spy agency about threats against him.

Nijjar’s death came few days after a close aide of Amritpal Singh Avtar Singh Khanda died in the UK. In this connection, India Today disclosed on June 15, 2023: “Khanda, who helped Amritpal Singh was suspected of being poisoned.”

Meanwhile, India’s top investigation agency NIA confiscated the properties of Pannun—believed to be based in Canada.

Sikhs have, also, been the target of numerous violent attacks and hate crimes arson—desecration of Gurdwaras (Sikh places of worship), perpetrated by individuals or groups influenced by Hindu supremacist ideologies.

As Sikh community has accelerated their struggle for Khalistan, therefore, notable leaders of Sikh diaspora are on the hit list of Modi regime. The killing of another Sikh leader Sukhdool Singh, popularly known as Sukha Duneke—an active campaigner for Khalistan by unidentified people on September 20, 2023 in Canada also verified it.

Nevertheless, the Sikhs are fighting for a separate homeland since 1947, but the movement attained impetus after the brutal operation Blue Star launched by the Indian Army in 1984 at highly sacred Sikh religious place-the Golden Temple complex (Harmandir Sahib) in Amritsar, Punjab where their spiritual leader Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale had taken shelter.

It is of particular attention that on August 5, 2019, Modi-led government abrogated articles 35A and 370 of the Constitution, which gave a special status to the disputed territory of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK). New Delhi bifurcated Jammu and Kashmir into two union territories—Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh to be ruled by the federal government. On the same day, strict military lockdown was imposed in the IIOJK which continues unabated.

In this respect, the deployment of more than 900,000 military troops in the IIOJK, who have martyred tens of thousands of the Kashmiris, including women and children through brutal tactics-fake encounters, while closure of mosques, shortage of foods, medicines for the patients have further increased the plight of the Kashmiris.

And under a well-planned hidden agenda, Modi-led regime has intensified, bringing ethno- demographic changes in IIOJK. In this context, Indian various moves such as introduction of new laws, amendment of the laws to facilitate non-Kashmiris and outsiders in order to usurp the rights of the Muslim Kashmiris—issuance of domicile certificates to more than 800000 non-Kashmiris, registration of almost 2.5 million new non-local voters in the IIOJK—failure of fake drama to host G-20 summit on May 22-24, 2023 in the IIOJK, from time to time, violations of the Line of Control (LoC) by shelling inside Pakistanis side of Kashmir—in violation of the ceasefire agreement of 2003 might be cited as instance.

In this recent past, the unique peaceful protest was held in front of UN Headquarters Geneva, made by placing, standees’ posters and banners bearing details of Indian gross human rights violations. The depicted pictorial messages displayed persecution of Christians, state sponsored terror attacks on minorities, maltreatment of lower-caste Dalits including burning of Christian churches and religious preachers. The protest coincided during the latest session of the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC).

In this context, a disturbing video showing a group of men dragging a woman by her hair, brutally kicking and assaulting her with sticks, while she screams and cries surrounded by onlookers is going viral on social media platforms—the footage of the violent incident took place in Uttar Pradesh where a Dalit girl is being subjected to extreme violence,  taking place in an open field near a water body, on the charges of her bathing in the nearby water;  making the water impure/de-sanctifying it for upper class Hindus.

It is worth-mentioning that the teacher of a private school in Uttar Pradesh state instructed students to hit the seven-year-old Muslim, allegedly for getting his times tables wrong. The video went viral on social media, and has triggered widespread dismay and condemnation by the Muslims.

India’s opposition leader Rahul Gandhi blamed the government for stoking religious intolerance, saying: “There’s nothing worse a teacher can do for the country…This is the same kerosene spread by the BJP that has set every corner of India on fire.”

Moreover, there has been another incident of a terror attack against Muslims in a train from Jaipur to Mumbai killing four people.

As regards the previous general elections in India, situation has rapidly changed due to fanatic strategy and undemocratic moves of the PM Modi. In this respect, there were wide expectations for Modi to win the third term as well. But, it came as a shock for the BJP when it lost elections in May, this year to the major opposition Congress Party in Karnataka state, setting the pace for the secular and democratic opposition which is likely to present a serious challenge to the saffron party in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

Leaders of twenty-six opposition political parties in India have bonded together in a coalition—Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance to defeat Modi. The coalition also aims at curbing the hostility against minorities. In fact, politics is an ever-changing process with no permanent positions and stances. Despite Modi achieved success through his hardcore nationalistic policies in the past, the tables might be turned against him this time.

As part of anti-Muslim campaign especially led by Amit Shah and Modi—Amit Shah has boasted that Muslim reservations would be scrapped if the BJP comes back to power. He has warned that if Congress wins, riots will erupt in Karnataka.

Nonetheless, highly rising violent incidents against minorities are shaking India’s image. It is not long before the threshold is crossed. Modi’s anti-minority policies may backfire causing greater loss for the BJP in the long run.

Sajjad Shaukat writes on international affairs and is author of the book: US vs Islamic Militants, Invisible Balance of Power: Dangerous Shift in International Relations

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