By Arun Kumar, IANS
Washington : The US has given India’s United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government a clean chit for “generally respecting” right of freedom of religion, but criticised some Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ruled states for enacting “anti-conversion” laws.
A report sent to the US Congress by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice noted that the vast majority of Indians of every religious group lived in peaceful coexistence. However, there were reports of organised societal attacks against minority religious groups, particularly in states ruled by the BJP.
State governments of Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh come in for criticism for enacting or amending “anti-conversion” laws in the US state department’s report on international religious freedom released here Friday.
Some NGOs claim that societal violence against religious minorities is part of a larger Hindu nationalist agenda and corresponds with ongoing state electoral politics, said the report while noting that President Pratibha Patil as governor of Rajasthan refused to sign her state’s “anti-conversion” law, effectively nullifying it.
State police and enforcement agencies often did not act swiftly enough to effectively counter societal attacks, it said. “Despite government efforts to foster communal harmony, some extremists continued to view ineffective investigation and prosecution of attacks as a signal that they could commit such violence with impunity,” the report added.
It also noted numerous cases are in the courts, including cases in connection with the 2002 Gujarat violence, the 1984 Sikh riots, and attacks against Christians.
“The national government, led by the United Progressive Alliance (UPA), continued to implement an inclusive and secular platform that included respect for the right to religious freedom,” noted the Congressionally mandated annual exercise giving India “generally respected” grade – the highest rating given in a dynamic situation.
But “despite the national government’s rejection of ‘Hindutva’, the ideology that espouses the inculcation of Hindu religious and cultural norms above other religious norms, it continued to influence some government policies and actions at the state and local levels,” it said.
Taking note of state-level “anti-conversion” laws, the report said “although these laws do not explicitly ban conversions, many NGOs argue that in practice, ‘anti-conversion’ laws, both by their design and implementation, infringe upon the individual’s right to convert, favour Hinduism over minority religions, and represent a significant challenge to Indian secularism.”
During meetings with key leaders of all significant religious communities, US senior officials had discussed reports of harassment of minority groups, converts and missionaries, as well as state-level legislation restricting conversion, the 2002 communal riots in Gujarat, and the plight of displaced Kashmiri Pandits, the report said.
“The opposition BJP, the political wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a Hindu nationalist organisation, held power in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, and Uttarakhand and is part of the ruling coalition in Punjab, Karnataka, Bihar and Orissa,” the report said.
Several NGOs alleged that the BJP stoked communally sensitive matters as state elections drew near, the report said, noting there are active “anti-conversion” laws in four of the 28 states: Orissa, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh. However, there were no reports of convictions under these laws.
Gujarat and Arunachal Pradesh have inactive “anti-conversion” laws awaiting accompanying regulations needed for enforcement. The Rajasthan law that was passed by the state assembly was refused twice by the governor and forwarded to the president on June 20, 2007, for legal review and guidance on its constitutional merit.
While there were no reports accusing the national government of committing abuses of religious freedom, human rights activists criticised it for alleged indifference and inaction in the face of abuses committed by state and local authorities and private citizens.
“The opposition party BJP, the RSS and other affiliated organisations (collectively known as the Sangh Parivar) claimed to respect and tolerate other religious groups. However, the RSS opposed conversions from Hinduism and expressed the view that all citizens, regardless of their religious affiliation, should adhere to Hindu cultural values,” the report said.
The BJP continued to advocate for contentious measures such as the passage of “anti-conversion” legislation in all states in the country, the construction of a Hindu temple in the Ayodhya site and the enactment of a uniform civil code, it said.
Terrorist groups perpetrated atrocities against civilians, including minority Hindu members of the Pandit (Hindu Brahmin) community in the long-lasting insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir, including car bombings, forced housing of terrorists, executions and sexual assaults.
Retaliatory killings by terrorists were also common. Security forces used targeted but at times excessive force to suppress them, with civilians frequently becoming the victims, the report said.