Sifat Kabir

The diplomatic tensions between India and Bangladesh over the treatment of minority communities have shed light on a broader and more complex issue: the state of minority rights within each country. While India raises concerns about incidents in Bangladesh, its domestic record has come under scrutiny, with reports of escalating violence and discrimination against minorities, particularly Muslims, in recent years.

India has recently expressed deep concerns about the treatment of minority communities in Bangladesh. In response, the Bangladeshi government firmly stated that no rights have been violated within its borders.

However, tensions escalated, with reports of incidents such as an attack on the Bangladeshi Deputy Mission in Agartala, harassment of Bangladeshi tourists both mentally and physically, denial of hotel accommodations, and threats to withhold medical treatment for Bangladeshi patients in Kolkata. These developments have strained relations further and sparked wider discussions on diplomatic and humanitarian considerations.

When India raises concerns about the situation of minorities in Bangladesh, it naturally prompts reflections on the state of minority rights within India itself. Exploring this perspective, it’s worth considering what global media and human rights organizations, like Human Rights Watch, have reported on the experiences of minority communities in India. Let’s take a closer look at these discussions to understand the broader context and nuances surrounding the issue.

Between 2016 and 2024, India witnessed a troubling rise in violence against its Muslim minority, a trend that has drawn widespread international attention. Attacks on Muslim men and women have escalated, fueled by communal tensions, inflammatory rhetoric, and legislation that critics argue targets Muslims.

According to a report published by Al Jazeera, on 13 July 2022, titled ‘Why Muslims are fleeing a small town in India’s Uttarakhand state’ reported that entire Muslim communities have been asked by Hindu groups to abandon their livelihoods and the homes they have lived in for generations.

The report said, about a dozen families have fled to a small town in northern India’s Uttarkashi district in Uttarakhand state, after notices were served on homes and businesses asking them to vacate the town.

This entire community was not handed sown any reason for the shift instead they were threatened by two far-right Hindu groups – the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and its youth wing, the Bajrang Dal.

According to an Al Jazeera report, both the VHP and Bajrang Dal are in turn affiliated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the far-right ideological mentor of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) which aims to create an ethnic Hindu state out of a constitutionally secular India.

Although attacks on minorities continue in small towns across India, but the Delhi riots were a major blow to Muslims in recent years, according to the Guardian report, on 16 March, 2020, since the riots broke out in Delhi at the end of February, the worst religious conflict to engulf the capital in decades, questions have persisted about the role that the Delhi police played in enabling the violence, which was predominately Hindu mobs attacking Muslims. Of the 51 people who died, at least three-quarters were Muslim, and many Muslims are still missing.

Another report published on Al Jazeera, on September 27, 2021, said on September 23, two Muslim men in Mathura, a temple town in Uttar Pradesh, were badly beaten up for carrying meat, as past earlier month the government decided to make a large part of the city alcohol- and meat-free.

The report alleged about a month ago, in Indore city of Madhya Pradesh state, also governed by the BJP, a Muslim bangle-seller, Tasleem Ali, was beaten up because he was selling his wares in a “Hindu locality” allegedly under an assumed Hindu name.

Within a week or so, in Ujjain city in the same state, a Muslim scrap dealer was forced to shout “Jai Shri Ram” (Victory be to Lord Ram), a war cry used by Hindu supremacist groups.

Similar incidents were reported in Uttar Pradesh as well in the same month.

The owner of a horse carriage in Lucknow was forced to chant “Death to Pakistan” on the basis of a fake claim that he had hoisted a Pakistani flag on his carriage.

Then again, in Mathura, a Muslim eatery owner was forced to change its name from “Shrinath Dosa” to “American Dosa Corner” because right-wing groups objected to him using the name of a Hindu god.

Following these incidents, Human Rights Watch (HRW) has documented instances of violence and discrimination against Muslims in India during the period from 2016 to 2024. These reports focus on discriminatory policies, inflammatory rhetoric by political leaders, and instances of communal violence often fueled by religious processions and majoritarian politics..

Key observations of the HRW include:

Violence during Religious festivals: HRW reports highlighted communal violence during Hindu festivals like Ram Navami, where processions passing through Muslim neighborhoods led to clashes. Such events were exacerbated by mobs chanting anti-Muslim slogans and vandalizing properties. The HRW noted that these incidents often occurred with tacit political support, creating a climate of impunity.

Discriminatory Actions: HRW documented the demolition of properties belonging to Muslims in BJP-ruled states without due legal process. These actions, often justified as punitive measures for alleged involvement in clashes, were criticized for targeting one community disproportionately.

Hate Speech and Political Rhetoric: HRW criticized inflammatory rhetoric by BJP leaders, including Prime Minister Modi, which they argued normalized hostility toward Muslims. These speeches included false claims and narratives designed to portray Muslims as threats to the Hindu majority.

HRW has several times called on Indian authorities to uphold their commitments to international human rights standards, emphasizing the need for impartial investigations and accountability to ensure justice for victims of discrimination and violence.