The US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), an independent bipartisan organisation that advises the president and Congress, has some home truths to tell about Indian secularism in its recent report on religious freedom in India. The report entitled "Constitutional and Legal Challenges Faced by Religious Minorities in India" notes that religious tolerance has deteriorated in that country since 2014. Which is not surprising given that was when the BJP led by Narendra Modi - who was denied visa by several Western countries for presiding over the 2002 anti-Muslim pogrom as chief minister of Gujarat state - became the country's prime minister. India is supposed to be a secular state under which followers of all religions have equal status, but the reality has always been very different for the minority communities, especially Muslims. Religion-based discrimination, as the report records in great detail, is now the officially sanctioned policy.
Observing that cow slaughter in the country has remained a perpetual source of tensions between Hindu and Muslim and Dalit communities, USCIRF points out that India's Home Minister Rajnath Singh had instructed the border security force to stop cow transport as a top priority, with the result that Indian army is said to be involved in various cases of torturing and lynching cattle traders. The policy is encouraging persecution through the politics of cow protection, prompting radical right wing Hindu groups to form their own gangs known as 'Gau Raksha Dal' (cow protection front). In September 2015, a 50-year-old Muslim was dragged by a Hindu mob from his home in a village not far from Delhi, and beaten to death over rumours his family had been eating beef and storing the meat in their home. A month later, BJP activists kicked and punched a Muslim member of the state assembly in IoK for serving beef at a party. In addition to such appalling incidents, freedom of religion laws are ignored when religious minorities are converted to Hinduism. These conversions are promoted as 'ghar wapsi' (home coming), the argument being that at some point in history they had converted from Hinduism to Islam or Christianity, and hence should return to their old faith. In short, the USCIRF found hate crimes, social boycotts, assaults, and forced conversions have escalated dramatically under the BJP rule, creating fear among minority communities.
There of course are saner elements in that country, but their voices are too weak to change things for the better. In fact rights activists are routinely harassed. The USCIRF has suggested several measures, including repeal of the discriminatory laws and compliance with the UN declaration on the rights of persons who belong to minority communities. Mere advice to do the right thing, though, is not going to have any effect on Hindutva ideology-inspired Modi government. What can have real impact is USCIRF's recommendation to its own government to link trade, aid, and diplomatic interaction with religious freedom and human rights in its relations with India. It remains to be seen if the new Trump administration pays heed to these recommendations.
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