Freedom of religion in India

Freedom of religion in India is a fundamental right guaranteed by the country's constitution. Every citizen of India has a right to practice and promote their religions peacefully. However there have been many incidents of religious intolerance which resulted in riots and pogroms.

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 and the Indian constitution's preamble states that India is a secular state.

India has a Hindu President Mrs. Pratibha Patil, Muslim Vice President Mr. M. Hamid Ansari, a Sikh Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and an atheist (Christian by birth) Defence Minister A.K.Antony. The leader of the largest party, Indian National Congress, Sonia Gandhi is a Christian, while the leader of the opposition is L.K. Advani, a Hindu. India's ex-President APJ Abdul Kalam was a Muslim. 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.

Historic

Historical tradition of religious freedom

The plural nature of the society in India was encapsulated in an inscription of Asoka:

"King Piyadasi (Ashoka) dear to the Gods, honours all sects, the ascetics (hermits) or those who dwell at home, he honours them with charity and in other ways. But the King, dear to the Gods, attributes less importance to this charity and these honours than to the vow of seeing the reign of virtues, which constitutes the essential part of them. For all these virtues there is a common source, modesty of speech. That is to say, One must not exalt one’s creed discrediting all others, nor must one degrade these others Without legitimate reasons. One must, on the contrary, render to other creeds the honour befitting them.”

King Kharvela (born in the family of Rajarshi Vasu) declares himself in his inscription (approx 2nd cent. BCE) [1]:

sava pasaNDa-puujako, sava devaayatan-sa.nskaarako

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):

"Hindus who, when young, had from pressure become Musalmans, were allowed to go back to the faith of their fathers. No man should be interfered with on account of his religion, and every one should be allowed to change his religion, if he liked. ... People should not be molested, if they wished to build churches and prayer rooms, or idol temples, or fire temples."

Refuge from religious persecution

India, with its traditional tolerance, has served as a refuge for groups that have encountered persecution elsewhere.

• Christians: Christianity is believed to have come to India in the 1st century.
• Parsi: The Zoroastrians from Iran arrived in India fleeing from religious persecution in their native Iran in the 9th century. They flourished in India and in 18-19th centuries intervened on behalf of their co-religionists in still in Iran. They have produced India's pioneering industrialist house of Tatas and one of the only two Indian Field Marshals in S. F. Manekshaw.
• Jews: Jews in India were granted lands and trading rights.The oldest of the three longest-established Jewish communities in India, traders from Judea and Israel arrived in the city of Cochin, in what is now Kerala, 2,500 years ago and are now known as Cochin Jews. According to recordings by Jews, the date of the first arrival is given at 562 BC. In 68 AD, more Jews fled to Kerala to escape attacks by the Romans on Jerusalem.
• Tibetan Buddhists: India is now home to the Dalai Lama, the revered head of the Vajrayana Buddhism of Tibet.

Religious disturbances and conflicts in India before 1947

Incidents of religious intolerance, conflicts and riots have occurred at several points in time.

• Islamic invaders such as Mahmud of Ghazni committed iconoclasm and genocide of Hindus.
• Various rulers of the Mughal era (such as Aurangzeb) are regarded as perpetrators of religious intolerance towards Hindus through acts such as imposition of jizya.
• The Goa Inquisition was carried out against the Hindu, Muslim and Jewish populations of Goa by Christian Missionaries.
• The Jews of Kerala were nearly exterminated by the Portuguese in the 16th century (see Christianity and anti-Semitism#Christian anti-Semitism in India)

Controversy

A US congressional body has put India on a list of countries which have failed to protect its religious minorities adequately. The US Commission on International Religious Freedom says India was added to the list because of a "disturbing increase" in religious violence. The US Commission on International Religious Freedom has been criticised by Indian Christians about this list. It mentioned the anti-Christian and anti-Muslim riots in Orissa and Gujarat in 2008 and 2002 respectively.

Laws against Conversions

The US State Department has claimed that the recent wave of anti-conversion laws in various Indian states passed by some states is seen as gradual and continuous institutionalization of Hindutva. 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. A consolidation of various Anti-conversion or "Freedom of Religion" Laws has been done by the All Indian Christian Council.

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.

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.

In February, 2007, Himachal Pradesh became the first Congress Party ruled state to adopt legislation banning illegal religious conversions.

Cases of religious violence

Many Ahmedabad's buildings were set on fire during 2002 Gujarat violence

• The National Liberation Front of Tripura, an organization (presently almost disbanded), regarded as a Christian/Nationalist terrorist group operating in Northeastern India, have committed mass-murders on the Hindu population of the region.
• The Ghanchi Muslims of Gujarat have frequently carried out pogroms against Hindus, most notably the Sindhi riots in the 1960s.
• The murder of Indira Gandhi had triggered a riot against the Sikhs, often regarded as a Congress Party and its then leader Rajiv Gandhi supported pogrom (for details see 1984 Anti-Sikh riots).
• The riots against Muslims in Gujarat in 2002, triggered by Godhra train burning(for details see 2002 Gujarat violence).
• Hindus in Kashmir have frequently been murdered and ethnically cleansed from the region by Islamic extremists.(see Kashmiri Pandit)

Situation of Muslims

File:Babri rearview.jpg

The 16th-century Babri Mosque in India was destroyed by a mob of Hindu activists in 1992.

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 out 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 the Godhra train burning, in which 58 Hindus, returning from pilgrimage and including 25 women and 15 children, were burnt alive, after the train had been stopped by a Muslim mob. This perceived act of extreme violence against generally peaceful Hindus provoked mass scale riots. One of the most serious instances of violence was the Best Bakery incident, which incident involved the gruesome killing of 14 people. According to the official report, in total the riots led to the death of 1044 people in total (including those from the train fire), 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. One Reuters article speaks of more than 2000 dead Muslims.

Situation of Christians

Main article: Anti-Christian violence in India

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 offensive 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 rich in donations from other countries and use that money to lure people into their faith..

August 23, 2008, Orissa once again made the news after a Hindu religious preacher was murdered in the eastern State of Orissa. Hindus in their response resorted to large scale, mob violence against Christians. (see: Religious violence in Orissa) 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. In Mangalore, Christians blocked roads and marched against police stations.

See also

• Partition of India
• 2002 Gujarat violence
• Persecution of Christians
• Persecution of Hindus
• Persecution of Muslims

References

• RELIGIOUS DEMOGRAPHY OF INDIA: A.P. Joshi, M.D. Srinivas, J.K. Bajaj; Centre for Policy Studies.

External links

• "International Religious Freedom Report 2006 - India". U.S. Department of State. Retrieved 2006-11-08. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |accessyear=, |month=, and |coauthors= (help)
• US REPORT ON RELIGIOUS FREEDOM IN INDIA, a critique
• International Religious Freedom Report - India
• Hindu Genocide
• [European Imperialism - http://www.hinduwisdom.info/European_Imperialism.htm and Islamic Onslaught on India - http://www.hinduwisdom.info/Islamic_Onslaught.htm]