We wish to announce the launch of our Second Hindu Human Rights Report documenting both systematic and episodic violations of human rights, including sanctioned discrimination against Hindus by the State. While our previous report documented incidents from 2015 and 2016 and was released in 2017, the current report focuses incidents of Hindu persecution in 2017 and 2018.

The report has been prepared by Subhodeep Mukhopadhyay, Sankrant Sanu and Nithin Sridhar. It is being launched today (July 27, 2019) at 3.15 PM in New Delhi at an event organized by Srijan Foundation.

Here are the Key Highlights from our Report:

• In 2017 and 2018, religious freedom conditions of Hindus continued to deteriorate in India and in Islamic countries across the globe where Hindus are a minority. This ongoing downward trend took place under the guise of protecting national security or promoting secularism or implementing religious code like Islamic Sharia.
• Foreign reports on India compiled by organizations such as the Amnesty and Human Rights Watch focus exclusively on human rights of non-Hindus, with the exception of ‘dalits’. This excludes a large percentage of the human rights violations on the mistaken assumption that rights violations in India can only take place by the ‘majority’ on the ‘minority’. Numbering at nearly 150 million, India may soon have the largest Muslim population in the world, which may also be considered a dominant minority in a land of minorities.
• The aim of this report on Hindu Human Rights in India is to address these lacunae in the Human Rights discourse, which fail to track violations against diverse communities, simply because they are classified as ‘Hindu’.
• Article 29 & 30 of India’s constitution discriminates against Hinduism on the basis of religion. This constitutional loophole allows the state & the central government to enact discriminatory laws, funding and programs which discriminate between citizens based on religious identity. This loophole also allows the Supreme Court of India to grant discriminatory exemptions, like the RTE exemption to the government aided minority schools, to non-Hindus and dismiss Hindu appeals against discriminatory laws.
• It is estimated that the governments have sold about 55% of the temple land. In some states, about 77% of the temple income is diverted to secular schemes like irrigation and anti-Hindu religious schemes like funding Madrassas and Churches.
• Both, the Government and the Judiciary, have misused article 30 of the constitution of India and a host of other laws like RTE act, to skew the playing field in the private education sector against Hindus.
• Central government allocated Rs. 17,232 crore i.e. $3.82 billion to non-Hindu schemes in the 12th five year plan 2012-2017. This amounts to an annual tax of Rs. 2757.12/taxpayer. A sizeable section of Christians and Muslims are tribal and OBC, respectively. Therefore, in addition to Rs. 17232 crore, non-Hindus also receive equal benefit from Rs. 40,430 crore i.e. $8.98 billion allocated for welfare of targeted groups like Tribal, SC, OBC.
• Central government as well as State governments of the many states have schemes specifically targeting the poor and needy of non-Hindu communities, while excluding the poor from Hindu community. Central government schemes such as Naya Savera, Nai Udaan, Seekho Aur Kamao, Maulana Azad National Fellowship, Nai Manzil, and Nai Roshni are some of the examples.
• There have been numerous instances of direct interference of judiciary into Hindu customs and traditions. When it comes to practices of other religions the Supreme Court often takes a hands-off position, recently refusing to hear a petition for entry of Muslim women in mosques, for instance. Supreme Court verdict in the Sabarimala case, Diwali Cracker Ban, Jallikattu Ban, restrictions on Dahi Handi are some of examples of such interference of judiciary into Hindu practices.
• 127 Hindu leaders have been killed in the last 30 years in Tamil Nadu. The investigation of Tamil Nadu police into the killings of Hindu leaders is lethargic, conviction is rare, media coverage sporadic and the government shows no zeal to ensure safety of Hindu leaders and activists.
• Hundreds of Hindu temples have been confiscated and are mismanaged by the Tamil Nadu state government under Tamil Nadu Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Act XXII of 1959. Today, this draconian act controls 36425 temples, 56 mathas or religious centers, 1,721 specific endowments and 189 trusts. This discriminatory act applies only to Hindu and Jain places of worship.
• In the last 35 years, about 100,053 Indians died due to terrorism. 99.87% of these terror deaths have been due to terrorism with non-Hindu affiliation.
• 111 people were killed and 2,384 others were injured in 822 communal incidents in the country in 2017. Union Minister of State for Home Hansraj Ahir said that the highest number of communal incidents in 2017 were reported in Uttar Pradesh where 44 people were killed and 542 others were injured in 195 communal incidents.
• In the 25 year period between 1992 and 2017, at least 1,200 ancient idols from temples in Tamil Nadu have been stolen and smuggled out.
• 40 cases of targeted politically motivated attacks on Hindus has been documented by us for 2017 and 2018. In West Bengal alone, 331 people have been injured (44 of them hospitalized) in 139 incidents of violence related to panchayat polls in the state, and 1 person is missing.
• In this report we have documented various incidents of human rights violations against Hindus. Do note that the documented cases are perhaps a tiny fraction of the real number of such incidents, due to severe under-reporting of such cases in mainstream media.
  • 100 instances of Love Jihad, Violence against Women and Rape
  • 32 instances of Islamic Attacks & Communal Clashes instigated by Muslims
  • 25 instances of Attacks on Hindu festivals and places of worship
  • 40 instances of Political Violence and Killing of Hindus
  • 32 instances of religious persecution
  • 25 instances of Dalit persecutions by Muslims

To Read the Full Report: Click Here

Featured Image: India Today

IndiaFacts Staff

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