Prayer diary: India

India’s religious diversity may be greater than any other country in the world. Yet concerns around religious freedom in India have grown in recent months, following the outbreak of violence against Muslims in Muzaffarnagar in September 2013, and the election of Narendra Modi as Prime Minister, representing the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Mr Modi is stoutly unapologetic for the communal violence which engulfed Gujarat during the early months of his tenure as chief minister in 2002, in which 2,000 people died, mostly Muslims.

Perpetrators of communal violence in India often go unpunished, due to state negligence or complicity. Although the government has taken steps towards drafting legislation to prevent, control, and deal with the aftermath of communal violence in an effective way, the Prevention of Communal and Targeted Violence Bill, the result of an extensive consultation with civil society, has not been made law due to a lack of political will.

This week…

• Pray that Prime Minister Narendra Modi would not introduce discriminatory legislation that would violate freedom of religion;
• Pray that victims of communal violence would be able to access justice, and that perpetrators would be brought to justice;
• Pray that problematic anti-conversion legislation in certain states would be reformed or repealed, and would not be extended into other states;
• Pray that the work of the CSW South Asia team on building the capacity of human rights defenders in South Asia will be fruitful;
• Pray for CSW’s partners, the All India Christian Council (aicc), as they seek to find ways to raise religious freedom concerns with the new government;
• Give thanks for pioneering projects being run by local activists which give religious minorities a voice;
• Remember all the victims (and their families) who were affected by the large scale incidents of communal violence that erupted in Muzaffarnagar (2013), Kandhamal (2008), Gujarat (2002), Southern Rajasthan (1998); and the ongoing systematic attacks on religious minorities in Karnataka State.