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Status of religious freedom in India |
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This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (July 2006) |
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India is one of the most diverse nations in terms of religion. Even though Hindus form close to 80 percent of the population, the Indian Muslims form the third largest Muslim population in the world, and the country also has large Sikh, Christian and Zoroastrian populations. It is home to the holiest shrines of four world religions: Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism.
Modern India came into existence in 1947 as a secular nation, two of the large sections of India, were partitioned into a new Islamic nation, Pakistan (East Pakistan later became Bangladesh). In Pakistan, the Hindu population declined from 24% to about 1.5%, in Bangladesh the Hindus declined from 39% to 10%. The Muslims in India have increased from 10.3% to 13.4% . The Indian constitution's preamble states that India is a secular state. Freedom of religion is a fundamental right guaranteed by the constitution. Every citizen of India has a right to practice and promote their religions peacefully. However there have been many incidence of religious intolerance which resulted in riots, although the issues which caused these riots have been investigated and dealt withcitation needed.
India has a Hindu President Mrs. Pratibha Patil, Muslim Vice President Mr. M. Hamid Ansari, a Sikh Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and a Catholic Defence Minister A.K.Antony. The powerful leader of the Congress Partry Sonia Gandhi is a Christian, while the leader of the opposition is L.K. Advani, a Hindu. India had a prominent former Defence Minister George Fernandes, a Christian (though not practicing) and a Hindu minister controlling foreign affairs. India's IAF Chief Fali H. Major is a Parsi.
India has been generally stated to have religious tolerance and people of different faiths can equally practice their religion publicly.
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The plural nature of the society in India was encapsulated in an inscription of Asoka:
King Kharvela (born in the family of Rajarshi Vasu) declares himself in his inscription (approx 2nd cent. BCE) [1]:
Translation: I am worshipper of all sects, restorer of all shrines.
Kharvela's self-description must be contrasted with other rulers around the world, who took pride in calling themselves "but-shikan" or "defender of the (only true) faith"
Badayuni in his Muntakhab-ut-Tawáríkh reports that the Mughal Emperor Akbar, who had established the Din-i-Ilahi faith, decreed the following in AH 1000 (1951-1952 CE):
India, with its traditional tolerance, has served as a refuge for groups that have encountered persecution elsewhere.
Incidents of religious intolerance, conflicts and riots have occurred at several points in time.
Recent wave of anti-conversion laws in various Indian states passed by some states is actually seen as gradual and continuous institutionalization of Hindutva.1 Christian missionaries are accused of using inducements such as schooling, money, and even motorcycles and bicycles to lure poor people to the faith, and have also launched movements to reconvert many tribal Christians back to Hinduism.
Most of the Anti-conversion laws are brief and leave a lot of ambiguity, which can be misused for inflicting persecution. Legal experts believe that wilful trespass by missionaries upon the sacred spaces of other faiths can be prosecuted under Section 295A of the Indian Penal Code, and as such there is no need for anti-conversion laws by individual states and they should be repealed.citation needed A consolidation of various Anti-conversion or "Freedom of Religion" Laws has been done by the All Indian Christian Council.2
In the past, several Indian states passed anti-conversion bills primarily to preventing people from converting to Christianity. Arunachal Pradesh passed a bill in 1978. In 2003, Gujarat State, after religious riots in 2002 (see 2002 Gujarat violence), passed an anti-conversion bill in 2003.
In July, 2006, Madhya Pradesh government passed legislation requiring people who desire to convert to a different religion to provide the government with one-month's notice, or face fines and penalties.3
In August, 2006, the Chhattisgarh State Assembly passed similar legislation requiring anyone who desires to convert to another religion to give 30 days' notice to, and seek permission from, the district magistrate.4
In February, 2007, Himachal Pradesh became the first Congress Party ruled state to adopt legislation banning illegal religious conversions.5
There were widespread riots during the Partition of India in 1947, with attacks on Muslim minorities by Hindu and Sikh mobs in response to attacks, killing, raping and violence of Hindus and Sikhs in Pakistan.
In 1992, the Babri Mosque was demolished by Hindu mob on the basis of their assertion that this was built on the birthplace of God Raam (one of the most revered avatar of Vishnu) and a temple existed at the site before the erection of the Mosque.
The Sangh Parivar family of organisations, has allegedly been involved in encouraging negative stereotyping of Muslims. However most of these allegations were founded on historic facts where Muslim rulers had destroyed temples and places of religious importance to Hindus. In recent history also, Muslim terrorists in Kashmir had forced millions of Hindus our of their own land in their own country. The seeds of hatred against Muslims were deeply embedded in history.
The 2002 Gujarat violence was result of Muslim mob setting ablaze a rail coach that was full of Hindu devotes returning from pilgrimage. Many children were burned alive along with women and others. This act of extreme violence against generally peaceful Hindus provoked mass scale violence against Muslims. Subsequent riots led to the death of 754 Muslims. In another incident at Best Bakery, in the city of Baroda, a family of 12 was massacred and burnt.
The Gujarat riots officially led to the death of 1044 people, 754 Muslims and 290 Hindus.Human Rights Watch puts the death toll at higher figures, with 2000 deaths, mostly Muslim, but with attacks against Hindus by Muslim mobs as well.6
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Hindu extremist attacks against Christians, especially in the states of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, and Orissa, have occurred in recent years in response to missionary activity by evangelical Christians. These missionaries have been involved in aggressive conversion techniques such as spreading disgusting and demeaning stories about Hindu Gods and Goddesses, along with tricks of miraculous curing by Christian healers as claimed by Hindu groups. They also state that these missionaries are loaded with money in donations from other countries and use that to lure people into their faith. 7.
August 23rd 2008, Orissa once again made the news after a Hindu religious preacher was mercilessly murdered in the eastern State of Orissa. Hindus in their response resorted to large scale, mob violence against Christians. Within weeks attacks against Christians spread to the south Indian state of Karnataka, where an Evangelical outfit called The New Light Church distributed vulgar pamphlets about Hindu gods. In several cities throughout the State, right-wing Hindu militant mobs attacked churches and Christian-owned businesses.8 In Mangalore, Christians blocked roads and marched against Police Stations.
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