WASHINGTON: US professor and Genocide Watch founder and chairman Dr Gregory H. Stanton has warned that India is approaching the final stages preceding genocide, arguing that widespread persecution of Muslims and Christians, including in Occupied Kashmir, coupled with religious extremism and discriminatory state policies, has created one of the world’s most alarming human rights situations.
Speaking in an interview with South Speaks, Stanton said India had not yet reached the stage of “full-scale extermination”, but insisted that the country was moving dangerously close to it under what he described as an exclusionary political and ideological framework.
Drawing on his internationally recognised Ten Stages of Genocide model, Stanton said several warning signs were already visible in India, including classification, symbolisation, discrimination, dehumanisation and persecution.
“There is widespread persecution of Muslims across India, and persecution is the stage immediately before extermination,” he said, adding that India was among the countries facing the highest risk of genocide if current trends continued.
Stanton maintained that the government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has pursued policies that marginalise Muslims, Christians and other minorities, stating that these communities were increasingly being treated as second-class citizens.
He cited the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and measures affecting Muslims in Assam as examples of discriminatory policies that, in his view, reflected early stages of the genocidal process.
Rejecting the argument that democratic states cannot commit genocide, Stanton said history demonstrated otherwise, pointing to the treatment of Native Americans and African Americans in the United States.
He maintained that democracy alone does not safeguard minorities if institutions are weakened and discriminatory ideologies gain political dominance.
Commenting on Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), Stanton said the region had experienced prolonged persecution through an extensive military presence, detention of political leaders and restrictions on civil liberties.
He argued that these developments placed Kashmir within the advanced stages of the genocidal process, although he stopped short of describing the situation as full-scale genocide.
Referring to ethnic violence in Manipur, Stanton said attacks against the predominantly Christian Kuki community, including reports of sexual violence, killings and forced displacement, reflected severe dehumanisation and persecution.
He argued that such abuses illustrated how communal hatred could escalate into mass atrocities if left unchecked. Stanton also criticised the ideology of Hindutva, describing it as the principal driver behind growing hostility towards religious minorities.
He characterised the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as a movement rooted in religious nationalism and stated that it sought to redefine Indian citizenship and identity by excluding Muslims and Christians from equal status.
According to Stanton, the combination of religious exclusivism and aggressive nationalism significantly increases the likelihood of mass atrocities.
Recalling his warning to Rwandan leaders before the 1994 genocide, Stanton said he would deliver the same message to India’s leadership if given the opportunity.
He noted that he had warned Rwanda’s president in 1989 that genocide could occur within five years unless urgent action was taken, a prediction that was tragically realised in 1994.
Stanton expressed doubt that Indian leaders would heed similar warnings, arguing that ideological extremism often prevents governments from recognising the dangers posed by their own policies.
Despite his criticism, Stanton said he retained some hope because democratic institutions and sections of Indian society continued to resist communal polarisation.
However, he stated that efforts to weaken judicial independence, media freedom and other democratic checks posed a serious threat to India’s future and increased the risk of further violence against minority communities.
Who is Dr Gregory H. Stanton
Dr Gregory H. Stanton is the founding president and chairman of Genocide Watch, an organisation dedicated to predicting, preventing, stopping and punishing genocide and mass atrocities.
He is a former Research Professor in Genocide Studies and Prevention at George Mason University, Virginia. Stanton holds degrees from Oberlin College, Harvard Divinity School, Yale Law School and the University of Chicago.
He served as a US State Department official from 1992 to 1999, where he contributed to drafting UN Security Council resolutions that established the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and other commissions. He founded the Cambodian Genocide Project and developed the widely cited Ten Stages of Genocide model.
