The Constitution provides for freedom of religion; however, some state level laws
and policies restricted this freedom.
The National Government generally respected religious freedom in practice; however,
some state and local governments imposed limits on this freedom. There was no change
in the status of respect for religious freedom by the National Government during
the period covered by this report; however, problems remained in some areas. Some
state governments enacted and amended "anti-conversion" laws and police
and enforcement agencies often did not act swiftly to effectively counter communal
attacks, including attacks against religious minorities.
During the reporting period, the Government of Rajasthan passed an "anti-conversion
law" that, similar to other laws of its kind, restricts and regulates religious
proselytism. However, at the end of the reporting period, the Governor had not yet
signed the new law.
During the reporting period, the State of Gujarat implemented its "Freedom
of Religion" Law initially passed in 2003 and withdrew an amendment that would
have defined "conversions" as occurring only between denominations and
not between religions and would have classified Jains and Buddhists as denominations
of Hinduism. This law requires prior permission from the Gujarat Government for
a conversion ceremony.
The vast majority of persons of every religious group lived in peaceful coexistence;
however, there were organized communal attacks against minority religious groups,
particularly in states governed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). In Orissa,
governed by a coalition government that includes the BJP and the Biju Janata Dal
(BJD), Hindu extremists attacked Christian villagers and churches in the Kandhamal
district over the Christmas holidays. Approximately 100 churches and Christian institutions
were damaged, 700 Christian homes were destroyed causing villagers to flee to nearby
forests, and 22 Christian-owned businesses were affected.
Some nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) reported that communal violence against
religious minorities is part of a larger Hindu nationalist agenda and corresponds
with ongoing state electoral politics. In May 2008 a terrorist attack killed almost
100 persons and injured more than 400 in Jaipur, Rajasthan. Six bombs exploded within
15 minutes in busy marketplaces close to crowded Hindu temples. This was a second
attack in Rajasthan within a year and possibly a response to the October 2007 attack
on Ajmer Shrief, an Islamic religious shrine, in which two persons were killed and
several others injured. These recent attacks reflect a soft target focus, which
terror groups hope will lead to violent communal flare-ups.
During the reporting period, communal violence continued between Hindus and Muslims
over disputed places of worship. However, in contrast to previous reporting periods,
there were no clashes at the Bhojshala complex in Dhar, Madhya Pradesh, where both
Hindus and Muslims have disputed the right of the other group to offer prayers.
Hundreds of court cases remained unsettled in connection with the 2002 Gujarat violence.
The U.S. Embassy and its consulates promoted religious freedom in their discussions
with the country's senior leadership, as well as with state and local officials,
and supported initiatives to encourage religious and communal harmony. During meetings
with key leaders of all significant religious communities, senior U.S. officials
discussed reports of harassment of minority groups, converts, and missionaries,
as well as state-level legislation restricting conversion, the 2002 communal riots
in Gujarat, and the plight of displaced Kashmiri Pandits.
India is a multiparty, federal, parliamentary democracy with a bicameral parliament
and a population of approximately 1.1 billion with an active civil society. Manmohan
Singh became prime minister following his Congress Party-led coalition's victory
in the 2004 general elections, which were considered free and fair, despite scattered
instances of violence. Serious internal conflicts affected the states of Jammu and
Kashmir, as well as several states in the north and east. While civilian authorities
generally maintained effective control of the security forces, security forces occasionally
acted independently of government authority during incidents of communal tensions
in states such as Karnataka.
The government generally respected the rights of its citizens; however, serious
problems remained. Major problems included extrajudicial killings of persons in
custody, disappearances, and torture and rape by police and other security forces.
Investigations into individual abuses and legal punishment for perpetrators occurred,
but for the majority of abuses, the lack of accountability created an atmosphere
of impunity. Poor prison conditions and lengthy detentions during both pretrial
and trial proceedings remained significant problems. Officials used special antiterrorism
legislation to justify the excessive use of force. Corruption existed at all levels
of government and police. The government applied restrictions to the travel and
activities of visiting experts and scholars. Significant restrictions remained on
the funding and activities of NGOs. Increasing attacks against religious minorities
and the promulgation of antireligious conversion laws were concerns. Violence associated
with caste-based discrimination occurred. Domestic violence, child marriage, dowry-related
deaths, honor crimes, female infanticide and feticide remain serious problems. Trafficking
in persons and exploitation of indentured, bonded, and child labor were continuing
problems.
Separatist guerrillas and terrorists in Kashmir, the Northeast, and the Naxalite
belt committed numerous serious abuses, including killing armed forces personnel,
police, government officials, judges, and civilians. Insurgents engaged in widespread
torture, rape, beheadings, kidnapping, and extortion; however, the number of incidents
declined compared to the previous year.
Religious Freedom 2008.
The law provides for secular government and the protection of religious freedom,
and the central government generally respected these provisions in practice. While
the law generally provides remedy for violations of religious freedom, it was not
enforced rigorously or effectively in many cases of religiously oriented violence.
Some Hindu hardliners interpreted ineffective investigation and prosecution of their
attacks on religious minorities, particularly at the state and local levels, as
evidence that they could commit such violence with impunity. The country's federal
political system accords state governments exclusive jurisdiction over maintenance
of law and order, which limits the national government's capacity to deal directly
with state-level abuses, including abuses of religious freedom.
Legally mandated benefits were assigned to certain groups, including some defined
by their religion. For example, the government allowed educational institutions
administered by minority religions to reserve seats for their coreligionists even
when they received government funding. Article 17 of the constitution outlawed untouchability;
however, members of lower castes remained in a disadvantageous position. A quota
system reserved government jobs and places in higher education institutions for
Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST) members belonging to the Hindu,
Sikh, and Buddhist religious groups, but not for Christians or Muslims. Christian
groups filed a court case demanding that SC converts to Christianity and Islam enjoy
the same access to "reservations" as other SC groups. The case was appealed
to the Supreme Court, which had not ruled by the end of the reporting period.
The Religious Institutions (Prevention of Misuse) Act of 1988 criminalizes the use
of all religious sites for political purposes or the use of temples to harbor persons
accused or convicted of crimes. The Religious Buildings and Places Act requires
a state government permit before construction of any religious building. The act's
supporters claimed that its aim is to curb the use of Muslim institutions by Islamist
extremist groups, but the measure became a controversial political issue among Muslims.
The states of Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, and Orissa
have laws against conversion by force, enticement, or coercion. Arunachal Pradesh
has a similar law that has not been implemented. On March 20, the government of
Rajasthan passed a law that restricts and regulates religious proselytism. On April
1, the state of Gujarat published the rules and regulations necessary to activate
its "Freedom of Religion Law," which was adopted by the legislature in
2003.
In May 2007 the Andhra Pradesh government enacted a law that sharply limits the
"propagation of other religion in places of worship or prayer." The law
forbids the distribution of literature of one religion within the vicinity of designated
places of worship of a different religion. The Andhra Pradesh assembly passed an
act modeled on this ordinance in July 2007.
Faith-based NGOs and media reported that under the Penal Code, the Criminal Procedure
Code, and state anti-conversion laws, there were 17 arrests in Andhra Pradesh, six
in Chhattisgarh, 25 in Madhya Pradesh, and two in Uttar Pradesh through October
14. In most cases police released on bail those arrested after a night in jail.
Faith-based NGOs alleged that this was a systematic strategy to discourage Christian
prayer meetings.
There is no national law barring a person from professing or propagating his or
her religious beliefs; however, the law prohibits international visitors on tourist
visas from engaging in religious proselytizing without prior permission from the
Ministry of Home Affairs. Travel by any foreigner to some of the northeastern states
is granted on a case-by-case basis due to political instability and security concerns
in the region. Missionaries and religious organizations must comply with the Foreign
Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA) of 1976, which restricts funding from abroad.
The government can ban a religious organization that violates the FCRA, provokes
intercommunity friction, or has been involved in terrorism or sedition.
The legal system accommodates minority religions' personal status laws by providing
for different personal laws for different religious communities. Religion-specific
laws are paramount in matters of marriage, divorce, adoption, and inheritance. The
personal status laws of the religious communities sometimes discriminated against
women.
The law limits inheritance, alimony payments, and property ownership of persons
from interfaith marriages and prohibits the use of churches to celebrate marriage
ceremonies in which one party is a non-Christian. Clergymen who break the law could
face up to 10 years' imprisonment. However, the act does not bar interfaith marriages.
Two significant episodes of communal violence erupted in the Kandhamal district
of Orissa, on Christmas Day 2007 and again in August 2008. The December 2007 violence
was triggered by desecration of Christmas holiday displays and an attempt on the
life of Hindu religious leader Laxmanananda Saraswati. Five persons were killed
and a number of homes, businesses, and churches were damaged.
On August 23, unidentified individuals killed Laxmanananda Saraswati and four other
religious leaders. Their deaths caused revenge killings, assaults, and property
destruction in the district, with a few incidents located in surrounding districts.
According to government statistics, 40 persons died and 134 were injured, including
tribal Kandhas and ethnic Panas, Christians, and Hindus, although more than 80 percent
of the attacks were against Christians. Property disputes and social tensions also
played a role in the violence. The extent of the violence attracted worldwide media
attention, including the alleged August 25 rape of a Christian nun.
The majority of attacks occurred within the first week of violence when local police
were unable to control the situation. Attacks continued until mid-October. The police
arrested more than 1,200 persons and opened almost 1,000 criminal cases, although
the killers of the Hindu religious leaders had not been identified by year's end.
An estimated 9,500 individuals remained in temporary camps in Kandhamal and Gajapati
at year's end, wary of returning. Government sources calculated that at least 4,215
houses had been damaged or destroyed and that potentially 252 prayer halls and religious
places had been damaged. The government allocated funds to compensate next of kin
and repair damaged houses, businesses, and places of worship. A government commission
was established to investigate the killing of Laxmanananda and the resulting violence.
On September 14 and 15, militant Hindu activists attacked Christian churches in
and around Mangalore in Karnataka. Three Christians were critically injured and
more than a dozen others were assaulted. Mahendra Kumar, the local leader of the
Hindu Bajrang Dal organization, claimed responsibility, stating the attacks were
in response to "forced conversions" and insults towards Hindu deities.
Media and Christian groups reported that some police refused to intervene to protect
Christians and suppress the violence. There were also reports that police entered
and damaged at least three churches. The central government threatened to invoke
emergency provisions if the state government failed to take action. On September
18, police arrested Kumar, which sparked additional vandalism against churches in
the state. While the state government increased security around churches, occasional
acts of vandalism against churches and assaults on persons occurred sporadically
in Karnataka. The state initiated a judicial inquiry into the September 14-15 attacks,
which continued at year's end.
On July 3, Hindus and Muslims clashed in Indore, Madhya Pradesh when protests called
by Hindu nationalist parties BJP and VHP turned violent. The parties called the
protests in response to the government's revocation of its decision to transfer
land in the Muslim-occupied area of Kashmir to the Amarnath Shrine, a Hindu religious
site.
On August 6, the Supreme Court extended the ban on the Students Islamic Movement
of India (SIMI) for six weeks. The Delhi High Court had removed the ban after an
appeal by SIMI.
On August 15, MNS activists damaged a school in Pune for allegedly failing to celebrate
Independence Day. In August MNS activists damaged several shop fronts in Mumbai
for not having signs in the local language, Marathi. In both these incidents, the
police arrested MNS activists for vandalism.
On April 16, the Ministry of Home Affairs testified to the parliament that 4,356
victims' claims connected to the 1984 anti-Sikh riots following the assassination
of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi were pending with the various state governments.
So far, 27,916 claims had been settled. On August 27, the Delhi High Court sentenced
four persons to life imprisonment for their involvement in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.
A fine of 21,000 rupees (approximately $477) was imposed on Lal Bahadur, Ram Lal,
Virender, and Surinder Pal Singh after finding them guilty of rioting, murder, and
conspiracy. The verdict came 18 years after a trial court acquitted the four due
to lack of evidence.
On October 5, 10 persons were killed, 383 persons injured, 1,157 homes damaged,
and 400 homes destroyed during Hindu-Muslim violence in Dhule, Maharashtra.
At year's end Harkat-ul-Jehad-i-Islami activist Mohammed Abdul Sahed (alias Bilal)
remained the key suspect in the May 2007 bomb explosion in the Mecca Masjid in Hyderabad,
which killed nine persons and injured more than 50.
Two Catholic nuns, arrested in July 2007 in Mayurbhanj, Orissa, for allegedly forcibly
converting and torturing students in their school, were released on bail days after
their arrest.
On July 8, a special riot court in Mumbai sentenced Madhukar Sarpotdar, Shiv Sena
leader and former member of parliament, to one year in prison in connection with
the 1993 Mumbai riots. The court sentenced two others to similar punishments and
a fine of 5,000 rupees (approximately $113).
In May the central government announced (approximately $80 million) in compensation
for victims of the 2002 post-Godhra riots in Gujarat. Approximately 1000 relatives
of those killed have received compensation, but property loss claims had not been
paid by year's end.
On September 18, the Gujarat state-organized Nanavati-Mehta Commission published
the first part of its report on the February 2002 Godhra train burning and subsequent
violence that killed more than one thousand persons, the majority of whom were Muslims.
The commission differed from other investigations in both exonerating Chief Minister
Narendra Modi for instigating anti-Muslim violence and finding the Godhra incident
to be premeditated and not accidental. The government of Gujarat granted a one-year
extension, to December 31, 2009, to the commission.
Societal Abuses and Discrimination
On May 9, the Ministry of Home Affairs testified to the parliament that 761 cases
of communal violence occurred in 2007, in which 77 persons were killed and 2,227
were injured. These attacks occurred against several different communities including
Christian, Hindu, and Muslim.
According to the NCRB, 75,027 persons were arrested for atrocities against STs and
SCs in 2006 and 2007. In 2007, 35,563 incidents were reported against STs and SCs.
In 2007 the average conviction rate for SCs was 27.6 percent and for STs, 28 percent.
In 2006 the Ministry, citing NCRB records, found that 13,449 persons faced conviction
for crimes against persons belonging to the SC/STs. The NCRB had not released updated
conviction rates by year's end.
Several human rights and religious freedom NGOs continued to express concern over
anti-Christian violence in several states governed by the BJP and claimed that some
attackers had affiliations with the Hindu extremist group Rashtriya Swayamsevak
Sangh (RSS).
During October 3-6, communal violence broke out between migrant Muslim settlers
and Bodos, killing 47 persons and leaving 86,000 persons homeless in two districts
in Assam. Twenty-two persons were killed by police fire.
NGOs reported that attacks against Christians occurred in many urban areas. On September
5, two nuns and children in their care were removed from a train in Chhattisgarh
by alleged VHP and Bajrang Dal activists, who claimed that the nuns were forcibly
converting the orphans. All were released after the local bishop interceded and
spoke to the governor.
In April a lawsuit seeking compensation for Muslim youths who were allegedly tortured
by police was filed in Hyderabad city civil court. Police detained a youth on suspicion
of involvement in the 2007 Hyderabad attacks. Hyderabad-based Muslim organizations
alleged that police detained innocent Muslim youths to link them to terrorist activities
in the state.
Muslims in some Hindu-dominated areas continued to experience intimidation and reported
poor government attention to their concerns, resulting in a lack of access to work,
residency, or education. In some areas, primarily in Gujarat, Hindutva groups displayed
signs stating "Hindus only" and "Muslim-free area." Hindutva
is the ideology that espouses politicized inculcation of Hindu religious and cultural
norms above other religious norms. There were also allegations of prohibitions on
the Muslim call to prayer.
Hindu organizations frequently alleged that Christian missionaries forced or lured
Hindus, particularly those of lower castes, to convert to Christianity. In Christian
majority areas, Christians reportedly harassed members of other communities.
From April to July, Hindu groups such as the Hindu Aikya Vedi organized violent
marches against Christian organizations and churches in Kerala. In April in Thiruvalla,
Pathanamthitta District, marchers threw stones at Christian buildings and in July,
protesters prevented Christians in Kottayam from meeting by throwing stones. No
serious injuries were reported.
Hearings in the 2007 Rizwanur Rehman killing case continued at Kolkata High Court.
The body of Rehman, a Muslim who had married the daughter of a Hindu businessman,
was discovered in 2007. While a CBI report had indicated "suicide prompted
by circumstances" was the cause of death, on October 1, three officers of the
Kolkata City Police were among seven persons charged by the CBI and sent to judicial
custody for Rehman's death. On October 28, the CBI raided the house of Ashok Todi,
father-in-law of Rehman. In December police arrested Todi and his brother.
Most Indian Jews emigrated to Israel in 1948. There are believed to be only 13 Indian-born
Jews from seven families still living in Kochi and approximately 40 Jews living
in Delhi. Small but active communities remain in Mumbai, estimated at around 1,500.
Most Mumbai Jews are known as Baghdadi Jews who came from Iraq, Iran, Syria, and
Afghanistan possibly 250 years ago. In Northeastern India, an estimated 9,000 Indians
started practicing Judaism in the 1970s, saying they were a lost tribe and descendants
of the tribe of Manasseh. In recent years over 1,400 members of the community emigrated
to Israel. During the November 26 attacks in Mumbai, terrorists allegedly belonging
to LeT attacked the Jewish Chabad-Lubavitch center located at the Nariman House,
as part of several coordinated attacks on high profile civilian targets in the city.
The attackers killed six Jewish persons of United States, Israeli, and Mexican nationality
before being killed by security forces.
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2008 International Religious Freedom Report
at www.state.gov/g/drl/irf/rpt.
The Scripture Seeds Foundation is concerned with the Missionaries
and Martrys that suffer and struggle while bringing the Word of God
to the Indian People. We believe that all Christians, World-Wide,
need to be made more aware of the sacrifice, dedication and determination of the
Missionaries and People of India to freely worship our Lord and Savior
Jesus Christ. We hope that you will support the missions and organizations
listed above so that they may continue their important works. Remember what a source
of comfort and inspiration your Bible is to you and support the Bibles Unbound project.