Global InformationReligious violence in India information
Religious violence in India includes acts of violence by followers of one religious group against followers and institutions of another religious group, often in the form of rioting.[1] Religious violence in India has generally involved Hindus and Muslims.[2][3]
Despite the secular and religiously tolerant constitution of India, broad religious representation in various aspects of society including the government, the active role played by autonomous bodies such as National Human Rights Commission of India and National Commission for Minorities, and the ground-level work being done by non-governmental organisations, sporadic and sometimes serious acts of religious violence tend to occur as the root causes of religious violence often run deep in history, religious activities, and politics of India.[4][5][6][7]
Along with domestic organizations, international human rights organisations such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch publish reports[8] on acts of religious violence in India. From 2005 to 2009, an average of 130 people died every year from communal violence,[9] or about 0.01 deaths per 100,000 population. The state of Maharashtra reported the highest total number of religious violence related fatalities over that five-year period, while Madhya Pradesh experienced the highest fatality rate per year per 100,000 population between 2005 and 2009.[10] Over 2012, a total of 97 people died across India from various riots related to religious violence.[11]
The US Commission on International Religious Freedom classified India as Tier-2 in persecuting religious minorities, the same as that of Iraq and Egypt. In a 2018 report, USCIRF charged Hindu nationalist groups for their campaign to "Saffronize" India through violence, intimidation, and harassment against non-Hindus.[12] Approximately one-third of state governments enforced anti-conversion and/or anti-cattle slaughter[13] laws against non-Hindus, and mobs engaged in violence against Muslims whose families have been engaged in the dairy, leather, or beef trades for generations, and against Christians for proselytizing. "Gau Rakshak" (Cow Protection) lynch mobs killed at least 10 victims in 2017.[12][14][15]
Many historians argue that religious violence in independent India is a legacy of the policy of divide and rule pursued by the British colonial authorities during the era of Britain's control over the Indian subcontinent, in which local administrators pitted Hindus and Muslims against one another, a tactic that eventually culminated in the partition of India.[16]
- ^ "Census of India: Population by religious communities". 2001.
- ^ Graff, Violette; Galonnier, Juliette (15 July 2013). "Hindu-Muslim Communal Riots in India I (1947–1986)". Mass Violence & Résistance. Sciences Po. ISSN 1961-9898. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
- ^ Graff, Violette; Galonnier, Juliette (20 August 2013). "Hindu-Muslim Communal Riots in India II (1986–2011)". Mass Violence & Résistance. Sciences Po. ISSN 1961-9898. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
- ^ Rao, K. Prabhakar (12 February 2007). "Should religions try to convert others?". Faith Commons. Archived from the original on 20 February 2007. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
- ^ Tomek, Vladimir (23 September 2006). "Teachings of religious tolerance and intolerance in world religions". ReligiousTolerance.
- ^ Subrahmaniam, Vidya (6 November 2003). "Ayodhya: India's endless curse". openDemocracy. Archived from the original on 3 July 2012. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
- ^ Baldauf, Scott (1 April 2005). "A new breed of missionary: A drive for conversions, not development, is stirring violent animosity in India". The Christian Science Monitor. Archived from the original on 23 April 2014. Retrieved 25 February 2021.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ "India:Events of 2007". Archived from the original on 4 April 2008. Retrieved 13 April 2008.
- ^ Vital Stats Communal Violence in India. PRS Legislative Research. 15 June 2011. p. 1.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
prsindiawas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Cite error: The named reference
toi2013was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ a b Annual Report of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (PDF) (Report). U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. April 2018. p. 37.
- ^ "States Where Cow Slaughter is Banned So Far, and States Where it Isn't". 26 May 2017.
- ^ "Tracking mob lynching in two charts". The Hindu. 3 July 2018.
- ^ "India's Got Beef With Beef: What You Need To Know About The Country's Controversial 'Beef Ban'". Forbes.
- ^ Pulsipher, Lydia Mihelic; Pulsipher, Alex (14 September 2007). World Regional Geography. Macmillan. p. 423. ISBN 978-0-7167-7792-2.
Many historians argue that the Partition could have been avoided had it not been for the "divide-and-rule" tactics the British used throughout the colonial era to heighten tensions between South Asian Muslims and Hindus, thus creating a role for themselves as indispensable and benevolent mediators. For example, British local administrators commonly favored the interests of minority communities in order to weaken the power of majorities that could have threatened British authority. The legacy of these "divide-and-rule" tactics includes not only the Partition, but also the repeated wars and skirmishes, strained relations, and ongoing arms race between India and Pakistan.