Qaisar Mansoor
Indian Minorities Rights Day is observed every year on 18 December to safeguard the Constitutionally-guaranteed rights of religious minorities in the country. Whereas, Indian government led by BJP promotes Hindu nationalist policies resulting in systematic and ongoing egregious violations of freedom which negatively impact religious communities, including Muslims, Christians, Sikhs and Dalits. Modi government continues to indiscriminately target the minorities with over 300 attacks in the first nine months of this year against Christians, making the country one of the worst for the community to live.
Recently, at least 100 members of Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal vandalized a missionary school in Madhya Pradesh’s Vidisha district, Ganj Bedos and shouted ‘Jai Shri Ram’ and “Bharat Mata Ki Jai” slogans. Be they are Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, or Dalits, Hindutva mindset is poised to the cleansing of all non-Hindu communities not only through policy measures but also the use of force through RSS goons.
As evident from the recent incidents which exposed Indian mindset includes, discriminatory marking against Dalit Student in interview for PHD, vandalized BR Ambedkar’s Statue in Tamil Nadu and many more. In annual report for 2021, US Commission on International Religious Freedom recommended India be placed on a religious freedom blacklist for the second year in a row. It also recommended to US president, US Congress, and Department of State, called for India to be designated as a “country of particular concern” (CPC) for “egregious religious freedom violations”.
The report also recommended that US Secretary of State Blinken should impose targeted sanctions on Indian government, agencies and officials responsible for the “severe religious freedom violations” by freezing their assets, including barring their entry into US. Violence against Muslims in India has seen a rise under fascist Modi government pursuing Hindutva ideology.
Assam is Modi’s grand laboratory, where he is putting Muslims to the litmus test. Hindu Groups continue to disrupt Muslim’s prayers in Gurgaon, UP. With rising hate crimes against Muslims all around India, it is important to understand incidents of hate crime are a part of the systematic genocide of Muslims in India which has only strengthened with Hindutva politicians holding offices of power.
Hindutva narrative is now a dangerously growing trend in world’s so-called largest democracy. Violence, intimidation and harassment against minorities have become order of the day in India. Members of minority communities are being treated as second class citizens in Modi’s India.
Hate crimes against Muslims and other minorities have increased alarmingly ever since Narendra Modi came into power in 2014. It said that Modi’s ultimate goal is to make India a Hindu Rashtara.
