India – FoRB in Full

Reflections on my beloved India in an election year

Posted on 09/05/202409/05/2024 by cswpress in Asia, India

India is currently holding general elections in seven phases which are due to run from 19 April to 1 June 2024. CSW’s India Researcher, whose name has been withheld for security reasons, lives in Tamil Nadu state in the south of the country. Here she offers some reflections on what is at stake for the future of the nation.

A day before my state Tamil Nadu went to elections, I was browsing social media when I noticed an image posted by an old friend of mine who studied with me in a Christian school. The image was of a women dressed in a white sari who represented an Indian Hindu. Around her were four other men – a Christian, a communist, a Muslim and a member of the Dravidian political party – all with weapons in their hand trying to stab a visibly scared Hindu woman. The caption said ‘vote wisely’ – an apparent warning message to all the Hindus in his friend list that they are in danger and they need to vote for the party that claims to protect them.

I was quite surprised. Yes, I know thousands of radical Hindus in India genuinely believe that their religion is under threat. But to see someone who I knew, who had his whole education in a Christian school and still remained a Hindu, actually succumb to the false narrative that Hinduism is under threat – that was surprising. In the last few years, I have sadly come across many other Hindu friends and acquaintances who have come to believe that.

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‘Emperor of Hindu hearts’: Narendra Modi rebranded

Posted on 31/01/202431/01/2024 by cswpress in Asia, India

Millions of Hindus in India and across the world watched with pride as India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the grand Ram Mandir (Ram temple) in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh on 22 January.

It was a historic moment that many devotees had been waiting to witness for decades. This is the site that is believed to be the birthplace of one of the most revered Hindu deities, Ram, and the inauguration of the temple or the Pran Pratishta ceremony (the act of consecrating the idol in the temple and bringing it to life) held deep religious significance.

More than 7,000 people were invited as guests, including top Bollywood celebrities, cricketers, large business owners and about 4,000 Hindu priests. There were seas of saffron not just in Ayodhya but across the country where people gathered in smaller local temples to celebrate the occasion.

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Daffodils in front of the UK Houses of Parliament

Combatting impunity is essential for the realisation of the right to freedom of religion or belief

Posted on 28/11/2023 by cswpress in China, India, International Arenas, Nigeria, UK Government

Violations of freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) take many forms: harassment, discrimination, threats, imprisonment or even death on account of one’s religion or belief. The impunity that generally surrounds these violations undercuts the rule of law, denies justice to victims, and perpetuates an environment conducive to further violations. The issue is multifaceted and nuanced, with socio-political, legal, and psychological dimensions.

Socio-political implications

When state or non-state actors perpetrate FoRB violations without facing repercussions, it critically erodes public trust in the institutions responsible for upholding the rule of law. This erosion of trust threatens social cohesion and contributes to societal fragmentation.

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Members of the Dalit community celebrating of the festival of Holi in India.

A Uniform Civil Code: What is it and could it work in India today?

Posted on 28/09/202328/09/2023 by cswpress in Asia, India

A Uniform Civil Code (UCC) means that all citizens shall be governed by a common law, irrespective of their religious background. This includes personal laws that apply to marriage, divorce, inheritance, succession of property, maintenance and adoption. In India, the debate over a UCC for all citizens of India has been a contentious issue since the colonial era, and has remained so despite independence and the creation of the modern Indian state.

Every few years, the subject is brought to the fore and debated hotly by proponents and opponents before retreating to simmer in the background of public discourse.

In June 2023, public debate was reignited when the 22nd Law Commission of India solicited public opinion and comments from selected religious organisations on the subject of the UCC. Then, on 27 June Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a strong public pitch for the UCC for all citizens, garnering strong reactions from several opposition parties and religious groups.

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‘We don’t know how we can restart our lives’ – stories from Manipur

Posted on 19/07/2023 by cswpress in Asia, India

‘On 3 May, around 10pm, we heard people throwing stones at our house. We didn’t understand what was happening. In the morning, we woke up and we were cooking. We saw that there was a frenzy outside. Everyone was walking out of their homes with their bags packed. They asked us why we were still at home and explained the situation. We were scared.’
Runa, Imphal

India’s Manipur State has been engulfed in violence for two and a half months now. Sparked by a protest on 3 May in which an estimated 60,000 people marched in opposition to the Manipur High Court’s request to the state government to send a recommendation to the central government to include the non-tribal Meitei community in the Scheduled Tribe (ST) category, the unrest has claimed at least 100 lives, with local sources suggesting that the death toll is significantly higher.

Thousands of homes have been burned down and tens of thousands of people have been forcibly displaced in a dispute over whether the predominantly Hindu Meitei community should be granted access to the same benefits afforded to the state’s typically more disadvantaged tribal communities.

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