Religious discrimination and violence against Christians in India 31/12/2006
The widespread ongoing discrimination against Dalits and tribals forms the context for substantial social and political animosity towards religious conversions in India. Although impinging on all religious groups, the religiously-sanctioned caste system is associated primarily with Hinduism, and is perceived by Hindu nationalist or extremist groups, known collectively as the Sangh Parivar, to be proper to Indian society. Therefore, the embracement of other religions by Dalits and ‘low’ castes, in attempts to escape the stigma, dehumanisation and discrimination associated with their caste, attracts considerable opposition, which is manifested in legislative restrictions upon religious freedom, and social pressures, which often erupt into violence.
Despite India’s secular constitution and detailed legislative provisions for religious freedom and tolerance, such ideals remain distant from the political agenda of the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which in 2006 held power in the state governments of Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan and formed part of ruling coalitions in Bihar, Karnataka and Orissa. Each of the states in which the BJP held sole power either introduced (in the case of Rajasthan) or strengthened existing anti-conversion legislation in 2006, and there was a correlation between these states and those in which anti-minority violence was at its worst, prompting widespread suggestions that the nature of BJP governance has facilitated and fuelled anti-minority prejudices and attacks. The ideology of ‘Hindutva’, espoused by the BJP and its parent organisation, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), encompasses a vision of India as a Hindu nation in which minorities must be assimilated to the Hindu religion, race and culture.
However, despite the avowed opposition of the Congress Party to the passage of anti-conversion legislation in BJP-ruled states, the Congress government of Himachal Pradesh state passed an anti-conversion law on 29 December 2006. This led to a loss of confidence among religious minorities in the secular credentials of the Congress Party, and prompted suggestions that it was sympathetic to a ‘soft’ Hindutva agenda.
Political commentators in India have increasingly suggested recently that the Sangh Parivar has developed a special focus on the issue of religious conversions from Hinduism, as part of its strategy to regain political ascendancy. The result, particularly in the states in which the BJP holds power, has been the vilification, alienation, discrimination and persecution of the religious minorities perceived as foreign to Indian culture; that is, Islam and Christianity. The Christian minority has suffered widespread attacks, particularly in BJP-administered states, where there is a culture of impunity for religiously-motivated violence.
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