IAMC Report: State of Religious Minorities in India (May 2022)
The Hindu right-wing orchestrated brutal violence against Muslims during the Hindu festival of Ramanavami and the subsequent police crackdown on Muslim victims, and use of bulldozers to destroy Muslim homes and livelihoods in states ruled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’ss Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) that peaked in April continued throughout May.
Observers and human rights advocates assert that since the PM Modi-led federal government came to power, its approach toward its minorities especially Muslims have exacerbated hatred and communal polarisation. Many scholars and activists have expressed concerns over the massive surge in hate crimes and peaking of genocidal sentiment against the Muslims.
This report examines and analyses the continued rise in hate crimes, genocidal speeches, vandalism, destruction, and assaults on the bodies and property of Muslims and Christians during the month of May. This report also chronicles the frequent assertion of Hindutva (Hindu nationalist) groups over the historical architecture preserved by the country’s Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), mainly mosques, which they falsely claim were temples and purportedly destroyed by Muslim rulers in the past.
In addition, the role of the police over the years, particularly in 2022, demonstrates the institutionalisation of violence against Muslims. This report focuses further on the police’s role in not just downplaying violent attacks on minorities but also actively participating in the acts of violence. Discriminatory laws against Muslims have become increasingly prevalent in states where the BJP is in power. Minorities are being pushed to the side even more by the aggressive use of laws that go clearly against the spirit of the Indian constitution.
Here is the report:
