IN India, with Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s (RSS) Hindutva inspired Modi-led BJP government since 1914, protecting faith and freedom for the followers of religions other than Hinduism, especially the Muslims and Christians, has become a question of life and death. The RSS advocates that the Hindutva concept does not accept Hindus’ conversion to other religions. Hence, since the BJP came to power in India in 1914, the Hindu nationalist organisations, the RSS and Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), implicitly supported by the BJP, have started Ghar Wapsi Movement in India (Hindi, meaning “Returning Home”), that is to reconvert the Muslims and Christians back to Hinduism.
According to the proponents of Hindutva, the Ghar Wapsi process is called “reconversion” of Christians and Muslims who were previously converted, during the olden Muslim rule and British rule of India and those who had converted even after independence of India since1947 through preaching by the Muslim scholars and the Christian missionaries. The fundamentalist Hindu organizations view the Ghar Wapsi as “purification” since they state that through Ghar Wapsi, people from the other religions are returning to their “true” religion.
Apart from preventing conversion to other religions from Hinduism, the Ghar Wapsi Movement is also being pursued intensely during Modi’s BJP rule, despite the fact that, as stated in the US Department of State, 2021 Report on International Religious Freedom, the Indian constitution provides for freedom of conscience and the right of all individuals to freely profess, practice and propagate religion; mandates a secular state; requires the state to treat all religions impartially; and prohibits discrimination based on religion.
And, during the Ghar Wapsi process those Christians and Muslims, who do not reconvert or resist that, are not allowed to worship or follow their religious precepts. Moreover, they are punished and their mosques, churches and houses are burnt and on this account many Muslims and Christian have been killed in India, by the mobs belonging to the above mentioned Hindu fundamentalist organizations. More so, the BJP’s central/state governments’ controlled and pressured Indian police and even judiciary do not look serious in punishing the culprits. The judicial decisions in such cases are much delayed and ultimately sympathetic to Hindus.
In the above context, following are some major examples of the violence used by the RSS and its allied Hindu fundamentalist groups to reconvert the Muslims and Christians to Hinduism. Due to the space limitation in this article, the examples are of only those violent acts, which were committed during the Years 2021 to 2023. As per the BBC news dated 31 October 2023, three people were killed and more than 50 injured in the blasts during the last day of a three days prayer session organised by Jehovah’s Witnesses in Kalamassery town, Kerala State, India, where more than 2,000 people were in attendance.
As per the Union of Catholic Asian news (UCA News) in Manipur, India, violence in 2023 has reportedly claimed close to 200 lives and displaced over 50,000 people, many of them now staying in relief camps and jungles. Two Christian women were paraded naked and one among them was gang raped. The violent mobs attacked hundreds of Churches/institutions.
According to the Front Line News dated 12 July 2023, these were over 400 anti-Christian attacks in 2023 only in 23 Indian States, with Uttar Pradesh leading with 155 incidents and remaining incidents occurred in other 22States.And the BJP government has denied such rising attacks on Christians.
According to the United Christian Forum (UCF), a Christian NGO, during January to June 2023, 29 Christians were arrested in three states on suspicion of forceful or fraudulent religious conversion. Some NGOs reported that the government failed to prevent or stop attacks on religious minorities.
As per the US Department of State, 2021 Report on International Religious Freedom, said that the violence in New Delhi in February 2020 following passage of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Registration of Citizens (NRC) resulted from a “feeling of discrimination” among the Muslim community.
According to the US, Commission on International Religious Freedom Report 2023, violent attacks were also perpetrated across India under the justification of protecting cows from slaughter or transport. Examples of violence against Christians, Muslims and Dalits around suspicions of cow smuggling were reported in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi. In August, BJP member Gyan Dev Ahuja was recorded publicly calling for his listeners to “kill anyone involved in cow slaughter.”
In June 2023, local authorities demolished the homes of three Muslim families in Uttar Pradesh. Hindu nationalists bulldozed a Catholic Centre near Mangalore in February and attacked, looted and destroyed the homes of hundreds of Christians in December for their refusal to convert to Hinduism. In addition, at least four Madaris (Islamic seminaries) were demolished following a statement in May 2023 from the Chief Minister of Assam that Madaris should be eliminated.
The above stated situation clearly proves that Hindu nationalism in India, during Modi-led BJP rule has become very dangerous for the Muslim and Christian minorities to protect their religion and freedom of living peacefully in their own country. And Hindu Fundamentalist mobs, boldly encouraged/covered by the BJP Government, are endangering the life and property of the Indian Muslims and Christians. And, Modi does not even condemn the persecution of Muslims and Christians.
In the above context, Modi appears to be highly influenced by his ally, Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, whose armed forces under his orders are carrying out genocide of the Palestinian Muslims in Gaza by bombing the defenceless civilian residences, refugee camps, hospitals, schools, ambulances, refuges moving on roads, water/food sources and have almost destroyed Gaza and killed more than 11000 people, including 6000 children and women, rather than fighting with the Hamas soldiers. Similarly, Modi’s soldiers are carrying out the genocide of the Kashmiris also, especially since 2019.
In view of the above discussion, it is important that the international community should take urgent action to address the rising tide of religious intolerance and violence in India. The Indian government must be held accountable for its human rights abuses and religious minorities must be protected from persecution.
—The writer is also a former Research Fellow of IPRI and Senior Research Fellow of SVI Islamabad.
Email: hanifsardar@hotmail.com
views expressed are writer’s own.
