NEW DEHLI: Despite being a secular country, India has witnessed recurring incidents of violence against religious and ethnic minorities.
The ascent of the Hindu nationalist movement, particularly the mainstreaming of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), has created a political environment conducive to hate speech and communal violence.
India experiences hundreds of episodes of communal violence annually, with the National Crime Records Bureau reporting over 4,500 instances of communal or religious riots from 2016 to 2019. This report underscores the influence of the BJP and the broader Hindu nationalist movement in shaping the nation’s political climate and its impact on the safety and security of minority communities.
NDTV, (before being taken over by Modi’s ally Gautam Adani) conducted a survey revealing a sharp increase in hate speech by public figures in India. The study focused on “statements that are clearly communal, casteist, and calls to violence” made by politicians and public figures. It found that hate speech incidents surged by 490% during the first four years of BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) rule, with a striking 90% of the politicians involved being members of the BJP.
India, constitutionally a secular state, is home to a diverse religious population. Hindus make up the majority at 80%, while Muslims constitute the largest minority group at 14%. Other religious communities include Christians (2.3%), Sikhs (1.72%), Jains (0.37%), and others or those with no religious affiliation, collectively accounting for less than 1% of the population. This report underscores concerns over the rise in divisive rhetoric in the country.
Hate speech, often propagated by Hindu nationalist leaders,
India has witnessed significant incidents of communal violence, with notable cases including the 1984 anti-Sikh pogrom and the 2008 anti-Christian riots in the state of Orissa. Hate speech, often propagated by Hindu nationalist leaders, reflects an exclusionary agenda.
Statements such as BJP and RSS leader Rajeshwar Singh’s claim that ‘Muslims and Christians will be wiped out of India by December 31, 2021,’ have raised alarm. The use of terms like ‘wiping out’ has been interpreted by observers as an ominous statement of intent for ethnic cleansing.
In 2016, Ananth Kumar Hedge, a BJP Member of Parliament from Karnataka, stated that ‘As long as we have Islam in the world, there will be no end to terrorism. If we are unable to end Islam, we won’t be able to end terrorism.’ Surprisingly, instead of reprimanding him, the BJP central leadership appointed him as Union Minister of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship in 2017. While only a small percentage of communal riots escalate to large-scale violence and displacement, episodes like the Hindu‒Muslim violence in Mumbai in 1992 and Gujarat in 2002 share consistent socio-political dynamics. Additionally, the controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Act of 2019, which excludes Muslims, has sparked controversy for its perceived targeting of Muslim communities and violation of Article 14 of the Indian Constitution, guaranteeing the right to equality, and undermining India’s secular status.
National Register of Citizens
The rollout of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in India’s Assam state and the broader Northeastern Region led to the exclusion of millions from the formal register, primarily affecting impoverished citizens lacking proper registration documents or facing minor documentation irregularities, labeled as doubtful citizens. United Nations experts not only questioned the legality of this practice but also called on the Indian government to take decisive measures to review the NRC and similar processes, ensuring they do not lead to statelessness, discriminatory denial of nationality, mass expulsion, or arbitrary detention. If extended nationwide alongside the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), the NRC poses a precarious situation for millions of Muslims who would be required to provide legal documentation to prove their Indian citizenship, in a country where the system of birth registration and formal documentation is unreliable.
‘Goli Maro Saalon Ko’
Mass protests against India’s controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) were labeled as anti-national, particularly anti-Hindu, by the ruling authorities. Mainstream media played a role in amplifying government narratives and exacerbating communal tensions.
The slogan ‘Goli Maro Saalon Ko’ became associated with incidents of violence, stemming from hate speech and inflammatory media coverage of anti-government and anti-CAA protests.
A pivotal moment in the escalation of violence was BJP leader Kapil Mishra’s speech on February 23, where he threatened to take the law into his own hands if the Delhi police did not clear roads of anti-CAA protesters.
Hate Speech Targeting Christian Minorities
Christian persecution in India, marked by inflammatory hate speech, intimidation, and direct acts of violence, has seen a notable increase since the ascent of the BJP to power in 2014. The Evangelical Fellowship of India’s Religious Liberty Commission (EFIRLC) documented a 57% surge in hate speech and violence targeting Christian minorities in 2018, revealing a concerning escalation of religiously motivated violence nationwide.
Furthermore, instances of harassment, intimidation, and even lynching of Christians witnessed a significant uptick during the pandemic lockdown. Persecution Relief, an organization dedicated to monitoring such incidents, reported a 41% increase in hate crimes against Christians in the first half of 2020 compared to the same period in 2019, with a total of 293 recorded cases. These findings underscore the growing challenges faced by Christian communities in India and the pressing need for measures to address religious persecution.
