India and Intolerance

Tejaswi Ravinder is a journalist and activist based in India, who researches and writes on politics, religion, society and culture. She is particularly known for her coverage of atrocities against India’s Christian minorities. We talked to her about these issues, and where India is going under the current government. What would you say to people in the UK who would like to know more about India’s religious minorities and the problems they face? Religious minorities feel unsafe in India since BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party), the political arm of [the Hindu nationalist movement] RSS, has come to power in 2014. Incidents of persecution, intolerance, mob violence have risen in numbers.

The constitution declares India as a sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic republic based on the democratic ideas of justice, liberty, equality and fraternity. But in the current scenario, with a Hindu fundamentalist/Hindutva government in power, not condemning the acts of Hindu extremists… this has emboldened [the extremists] to attack religious minorities especially the Christians and Muslims.

Do you think government policies or society’s attitudes are the biggest issue for minority communities?

Some state governments have passed anti-conversion laws called Freedom of Religion Acts, mainly to prohibit conversions by force, inducement, allurement and fraudulent means. In states where these acts are in force, Hindu extremists falsely accuse Christians and put pressure on police to charge them. It takes days to weeks to raise bail, and the families of the arrested Christians meanwhile are put through lot of suffering; as the sole breadwinner of the family is jailed, they are deprived of basic resources. They endure insults and humiliation from relatives, neighbours and society as well.

In Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, states which reported highest number of incidents of Christian persecution [in 2018], mobs led by RSS or its affiliates forcefully enter the house churches shouting Hindu slogans, disrupting the prayer services, attacking the pastors and believers and forcing police to file cases against Christians.

What story has touched you the most? Each story is heartbreaking. In Tamil Nadu, a noted Hindutva leader’s aide attempted to rape a pastor’s wife. The Christian was kicked in her abdomen, her saree was stripped off and she was kicked to the floor. But police registered a counter case against the victim based on the complaint given by the [would be] rapist. The network of Christian lawyers, synod leaders, and the victim’s family contacted the superintendent of police seeking fair investigation and justice, yet the victim and her husband were charged under non-bailable sections of Indian penal code.

How do you see the situation for India’s religious minorities developing in the next five to ten years?

India is going for general elections in 2019, and situation for religious minorities over the next five years would largely depend on who comes to power. Good governance is important to uphold the constitutional values of secularism and equality. India needs leaders who understand that protection of religious rights is protection of citizens and individuals.