ISLAMABAD: The state-sponsored persecution of minorities and mob violence has put India today on the brink of tearing itself apart.
The violence and hate crimes against minorities, including Muslims, Dalits, Christians, and others, were increasingly being provoked by ruling BJP leaders, supporting the discriminatory laws and also stamped by the judiciary.
Since Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s reelection in 2019, the government has introduced controversial policies that explicitly ignore the rights of Muslims and are intended to disenfranchise millions of them.
About two hundred million Muslims account for around 15% of the population – by far the largest minority group in the country.
The religious persecution has massively accelerated under Narendra Modi, who rose to power through the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, a paramilitary organization promoting Hindu supremacy.
Report on India
US-based Cato Institute’s senior fellow Doug Bandow wrote in an article that the reality of India includes largely uncontrolled, often state-encouraged violence against religious minorities. Muslims are frequently targeted. Christians are also brutally mistreated.
He said Modi had gained political success and tightened control of Indian politics by inflaming Hindu nationalism.
In its latest annual report, US Commission on International Religious Freedom found a considerable deterioration in freedom of religion in the country.
It said that the Indian government escalated its enforcement and promotion of policies that negatively affect Muslims, Sikhs, Dalits, Christians, and other religious minorities.
Last year, the Indian government intensified and broadened its crackdown on activist outfits and the media last year. The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party-led government used discriminatory and abusive policies to repress Muslims and other religious minorities, the report said.
