Religious freedom conditions worsened considerably in India this year — particularly in the months prior to and immediately following a national election.
The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom offered that assessment in an October update on India that provided an overview of religious freedom violations occurring in 2024.
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“In addition to the enforcement of discriminatory state-level legislation and propagation of hateful rhetoric, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government made a concerted effort to implement election promises that negatively and disproportionately impacted religious minorities and their ability to practice their faith,” the commission report states.
From January to March, 161 reported incidents of violence against Christians in India occurred. They ranged from violent attacks on churches and prayer meetings to physical assault, harassment and false allegations of forced conversions.
“In March, a group of U.N. experts raised alarm about the level of violence and hate crimes against religious minorities in the leadup to the national elections, including vigilante violence, targeted and arbitrary killings, demolition of property and harassment,” the commission report states.
Anti-conversion laws target minorities
Local authorities in 12 of India’s 28 states use anti-conversion laws — often punishable by significant fines and prison terms — to target religious minorities, the commission report notes.
“Since the beginning of the year, authorities have arrested dozens of Christians on allegations of conducting or participating in forced conversions,” the update states.
In June, police in Uttar Pradesh detained 13 Christians, including four pastors. The following month, seven Christians were accused of violating the state’s anti-conversion law in two separate incidents.
Top government officials have fomented violence against religious minorities, the report notes.
“In the leadup to the June 2024 elections, political officials increasingly wielded hate speech and discriminatory rhetoric against Muslims and other religious minorities,” the commission update states.
Prime Minister Modi referred to Muslims as “infiltrators” and repeatedly asserted the opposition party would “wipe out” the Hindu faith in India and make Hindus “second-class citizens in their own country.”
Modi and the BJP continued to support a Uniform Civil Code to overrule existing personal laws integrated with religious beliefs, including matters such as marriage, divorce, adoption, inheritance and succession.
In February, the legislative assembly of Uttarakhand passed a state-level Uniform Civil Code, “widely considered to represent a template for other states to adopt,” the commission update states.
‘Cow vigilantism’ occurred
Twenty states in India enforce laws that prohibit the slaughter of cows and calves, considered sacred by Hindus.
“Vigilante groups and self-proclaimed ‘cow protectors’ frequently exploit such laws to target religious minorities, including Muslims, Christians and Dalits,” the update states.
About a dozen attacks involving “cow vigilantism” occurred following India’s elections in June. In August, a vigilante group beat to death a Muslim migrant worker after falsely accusing him of eating beef and violently attacked a 72-year-old Muslim man because they thought he was carrying beef in a bag.
That same month, “cow protectors” shot and killed a 19-year-old Hindu student because they mistakenly thought he was a Muslim smuggling cows.
Government-sanctioned destruction of non-Hindu places of worship also continued in 2024, the commission update notes.
“Since the beginning of 2024, Indian authorities have facilitated the expropriation of places of worship, including the construction of Hindu temples on the sites of mosques,” the update states.
In January, Prime Minister Narendra Modi fulfilled a campaign pledge by leading in the construction of the Hindu Ram Temple in Ayondhya. The temple was built on top of the ruins of the Babri Masjid mosque, which a Hindu mob demolished in 1992.
In February, the Delhi Development Authority demolished the 600-year-old Akhoondji Mosque, and it announced plans to demolish 20 religious buildings — including 16 Muslim shrines — in Sanjay Van. That same month, police and government officials demolished a mosque and Muslim seminary in Uttarakhand.
Citizenship laws exclude Muslim refugees
In May, the government published rules for implementing the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, which critics assert “violates the Indian constitution’s principles prohibiting religious discrimination and its guarantees of equal protection under the law.”
The amended citizenship rules established a religious criterion for non-Muslim immigrants fleeing neighboring Muslim-majority countries, including Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan. Only individuals who lived or worked in India prior to Dec. 31, 2024, can apply.
“The law excludes Muslim refugees, including Rohingya Muslims from Burma and Ahmadyya Muslims from Pakistan and Afghanistan, as well as Tamil Hindus from Sri Lanka,” the update states.
The update also expresses concern about India’s National Register of Citizens, first piloted in Assam in 2018. It requires residents to prove they or their ancestors entered Assam prior to March 24, 1971, or face expulsion from the register.
Human rights advocates assert the National Register of Citizens and Citizenship (Amendment) Act “would allow the Indian government to expel those it deemed noncitizens, posing particular risk to the country’s Muslim population,” the commission update states.
Antiterrorism laws exploited
Indian authorities also “continued to exploit antiterror and financing laws … to crack down on civil society organizations, religious minorities, human rights defenders, and journalists reporting on religious freedom,” the commission update notes.
This year, several religious minorities and human rights activists faced detention without trial under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, which allows the government to designate individuals as “terrorists” without due process.
The commission update concludes religious freedom conditions in India have continued “to follow a deteriorating and concerning trajectory” in 2024.
“The Indian government continues to repress and restrict religious communities through the enforcement of discriminatory legislation like anti-conversion laws, cow slaughter laws and antiterrorism laws,” the update states.
“In doing so, authorities have arbitrarily detained individuals highlighting violations of religious freedom, including religious leaders, journalists and human rights activists, without due process — in some cases for years.
“Indian officials have repeatedly employed hateful and derogatory rhetoric and misinformation to perpetuate false narratives about religious minorities, inciting widespread violence, lynchings and demolition of places of worship.”
Election impact remains to be seen
The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom in its most recent annual report recommended the U.S. Department of State designate India as a Country of Particular Concern for systematic, ongoing and egregious violations of religious freedom.
The commission issued its update on India at a time when elections were taking place in India’s northern Jammu and Kahmir areas. Modi had tripped Jammu and Kahmir of statehood and reorganized the area as two union territories under the control of the central government.
International Christian Concern — a human rights organization focused on the persecution of Christians — noted the election handed the BJP “a surprising defeat” and placed the local legislature under the control of a coalition of the National Conference Party and National Congress Party.
“Still, the BJP-led national government will maintain much control over the area through its centrally appointed governor,” ICC stated.
In an Oct. 11 email to supporters, ICC observed Modi’s influence “was tempered by a surprisingly tepid performance in national elections earlier this year,” but the threat of discriminatory policies remains “as Modi settles into his third term as prime minister.”
“How effectively an electorally reduced Modi will be able to continue his nationalist persecution of Christians remains to be seen, but conditions remain grim for religious minority communities across India,” ICC stated.
EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was written by Ken Camp and originally published by Baptist Standard.
