Executive summary
This briefing is concerned principally with recent trends of communal violence against Christians, state responses (sections 5-6), and ongoing infringements of religious freedom in law (section 4). India has a long history of religious diversity, and compulsions towards mutual respect and violent intolerance exist in parallel. Violence and discrimination against religious minorities are most commonly fostered by the extremist Hindu nationalist movement and are justified by their strong opposition to religious conversions.
Communal violence against religious minorities is seen as being most likely to occur in the context of long-standing antagonism along religious lines, with a sense among perpetrators that violence is justifiable and that police reactions would be absent, partisan or ineffective.
The worst case of communal violence faced by Christians in post-independence India took place in Orissa state in 2008, including brutal murders and rapes, widespread destruction of churches and property, and forcible conversions to Hinduism. The situation in the aftermath of this violence still gives considerable cause for concern, three aspects in particular (section 5). The first is rehabilitation: most relief camps closed through 2009, but many victims continue to live in poor conditions in makeshift shelters or displacement camps with no clear idea of whether or when they will be able to return, and while government compensation has been delivered to some extent, it is rarely commensurate with needs, a factor which could accentuate the disenfranchised status of victims. The second is impunity: this is the result of endemic bias and dereliction of duty among police, granting of bail in important cases, and the judicial system being ill-equipped to deal with the contingencies of the situation. The third is reconciliation: there is no viable means of community reconciliation, and many victims still live in fear.
Religiously-motivated attacks against Christian targets continued throughout 2009, most frequently in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh states. Although there was no concentrated period of mob violence, the regular, frequent attacks nevertheless amounted to a significant problem of communal violence. Avenues of legal redress are theoretically strong in India, but the implementation of the law is weak, and negligent police responses are particularly common in cases of religiously-motivated violence. Absent, ineffective or negligent police responses have reinforced a culture of impunity, which needs to be reversed in order to ensure that inciters and perpetrators of communal violence expect to be brought to justice.
The government should address systemic problems underlying this pattern of violence, including by investigating the activities of extremist organisations responsible for instigating the widespread violence against religious minorities, and by tackling the failings of law enforcement authorities in response to such violence. The government has introduced a bill to prevent, control and deal with the aftermath of communal violence (section 4.5), which is welcomed in principle, but there are legitimate concerns over the substance of this proposed legislation, and a need for further consultation with religious minority groups affected by communal violence.
Overall, India boasts an excellent constitution and a strong body of legislation providing for the right to freedom of religion and belief, proscribing discrimination based on religion, and protecting the rights of religious minorities. However, there are a number of problematic areas of legislation. These include the de facto penalisation of Dalits who convert to religions other than Hinduism, Sikhism or Buddhism (section 4.3), which several Indian bodies and two UN committees have recommended be changed, and state-level 'anti-conversion laws' (section 4.4), described by the UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief as raising "serious human rights concerns".