Reflection

Discrimination and violence against the religious minorities, especially the Muslims and Christians have reached its point of no return in India.In the last one decade, violence against Christians and Muslims has increased leaps and bounds. These acts of violence include attack on religious personnel, arson of places of worship, physical violence, sexual assault, rape, murder, destruction of religious objects, restrictions of certain food, imposing dress code, destruction of minority institutions like mosques and churches, schools, shops, and cemeteries.

Violence against Tribal/Indigenous Christians is carried out through another forced practice of ‘ghar vapasi’ or re-conversion. This goes to the murderous extent of tonsuring the Christian Tribals in the name of reconversion, a practice which is abhorring to the Tribals. On 27^th September 2021, seven Tribal Christians were tonsured, in a village in Jharkhand for following their religious beliefs. Fearing backlash, the Christian Tribals did not even report the matter to the police. Even if they reported, the police and government machinery will not take action. Thus, the rights and dignities of the religious minority Muslim and Christians are violated with no redressal for the violence committed on them.

On 5^th December 2021 the Hindu outfits barged into the St Joseph’s School in Madhya Pradesh and pelted stones and vandalized property in the school premises. The attackers alleged that the school was engaged in converting eight poor Hindu children. It is significant to note that the attack took place when the students were writing their exams. The attackers forgot the fact that even on a Sunday this Christian school was open to provide educational opportunities to the children who are 99% Hindus.

In April 2020, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom listed India as a “country of particular concern” for the first time since 2004. The decision reflects increased religious hostility and sectarian conflict in India, which have been stoked further by the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) passed last December. This attempt by the present Indian government to discriminate based on fabricated criteria for citizenship had sparked widespread opposition and protest both within India and abroad. However, while controversial, it is far from an isolated policy. It connects to a steady increase in religious discrimination and violence within India, raising important questions for policymakers, administrators, judiciary, civil society and common citizens of the country.

The United Christian Forum reported over 305 incidents of violence against Christians in 273 days of 2021. Under the false allegation of converting Hindus to Christianity, 288 extremely violent incidents were unleashed by mobs led by politicians and religious personnel.When cases were registered against the perpetrators of crime, no action was taken. Since the police, administration, politicians and government maintain a studied silence when violence is committed against the religious minorities; religious bigots gain more courage and become extra-constitutional authorities to violate their rights.

Erstwhile untouchables or Scheduled Castes or Dalits who got converted to Christianity and Islam or denied their constitutional rights for special provisions like scholarship for education, reservation or affirmative action in employment, government departments and membership in legislature. This denial is from 1953 while their counterparts, that is, those who embraced Hinduism, Sikhism and Buddhism are entitled to all these. Thus, millions of Dalit Christians and Dalit Muslims are denied of their constitutional rights and forced to live an undignified life.

The religious minorities like the marginalized of this country, hoped against hope that the national annual budget for 2022-23 will address their crucial issues like education, employment, livelihood, agricultural revival, skill development among women and youth. But the striking feature of this budget was that it was a pro-corporate and upper class and caste oriented. Religious minorities constitute 19.3% of the population. Hence, there was a demand of ₹ 100,000 billion ($ 1.3 billion) in this year’s budget. However, they got only ₹ 5.2 billion ($ 66.7 million). This is a serious violation of the rights of the minorities who already suffer many other discrimination.

These days, India has been reeling under the discrimination of not permitting religious minorities to practice and to follow their faith and practices, food and dress, place of worship and residence. The denial to wear Hijab or head scarf while going to school and colleges has been banned only for the Muslims. When they opposed this, the Hindu boys and girls were provided with ‘Hindu flag coloured clothes as scarf’ and were asked to demonstrate against the freedom to wear Hijab by Muslim girls. While students of Muslim communities are denied access to education, politicians and rulers of this country wear religious garbs and are exhibiting their one sided stand for a particular religion. The Prime Minister of the country is leading this unconstitutional behaviour from the front.

Religious differences, religious segregation, religious intolerance, religious discrimination and religious violence have been there in India as in many other parts of the world. But what India is witnessing is an unprecedented religious discrimination and violence without recourse to any legal, judicial and governance institutions for those whose rights and dignities are violated. Thus, the religious minorities in India are subjected to discrimination and violence in social, political, economic, cultural, religious, educational, linguistic and livelihood dimensions.

In contrast to the emerging embittered India, the framers of the Constitution were focused on protecting the fundamental rights of all the citizens. The Constitution also makes special provisions to protect and promote the rights and dignity of the minorities who are integral part of the country. Article 15 of the Constitution which is part of the Fundamental Rights makes this provision, “Prohibition of discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth.—(1) The State shall not discriminate against any citizen on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth or any of them… Article 25, goes further and makes provisions for, “Freedom of conscience and free profession, practice and propagation of religion…”. This goes to state that all the citizens have fundamental rights and within this broader framework, while the minorities in addition have special provisions.

Along with Fundamental Rights, Fundamental Duties are given in Article 51 A that demand, “(e) to promote harmony and the spirit of common brotherhood amongst all the people of India transcending religious, linguistic and regional or sectional diversities; to renounce practices derogatory to the dignity of women; (f) to value and preserve the rich heritage of our composite culture…”. Thus, the Fundamental Duties demand from all protection of the beliefs and practices, culture and heritage, rights and dignities of the minorities. This is even more true of the government which is duty bearer to the rights holders, the minorities. But every day one hears of not only denying special provisions but violating their lives, dignity and rights. This is all the more detestable since the government is the violator by its omission and commission.

Those Indians who want religious harmony are looking for resources from their own religions and the Constitution. But the upper caste and class Brahmins (priests) and Banias (businessmen) want to divide the Indians on the basis of religion for their political ends. The common and conscious Indians are for development, peace, rights, justice and cultural cum religious harmony. It is time to think together and act together.

• To promote religious harmony, we need to believe in the Constitution of India
• To promote religious harmony, we need to uphold the Constitution of India
• To promote religious harmony, we need to respect all the religions
• To promote religious harmony, we need to respect people of all religions
• To promote religious harmony, we need to engage in inculcating scientific temper so that the future generation does not get carried out by false propaganda
• To promote religious harmony, we need to promote justice, peace and development for all.