Barack Hussein Obama, the former US President commented on the persecution of Muslim minorities in India on religious lines while conveniently forgetting about the routine rights violations of religious and ethnic minorities in the neighboring Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. This article aims to educate the likes of Obamas about the comparative status of rights position of Minorities in Pakistan and India.
Pakistan and Minorities
Pakistan, an official Islamic state which claims to be a vibrant democracy and upholding the fundamental rights for its citizens witnesses worst abuse of human rights of women, religious and ethnic minorities in the Indian subcontinent. In this context, Pakistani journalist Taha Siddiqui rightly calls Pakistan’s purported democracy “a facade” and states that “in reality, Pakistan is a hybrid regime where the military controls the government behind the scenes”.
Minorities in Pakistan are being discriminated in many ways. This discrimination against minorities in particular religious minorities dates back to the very idea of ‘Pakistan’ and subsequent the birth of a separate homeland for Muslims. Founding father of Pakistan (Jinnah) promised the equal rights and protections for minorities and Hindu leaders like Jogendranath Mondal fell for these promises and made common cause with the Muslim League. However, just after few years, return of Jogendranath back to India indicated the abysmal status of minorities in the then just born Pakistan which he had elaborately explained in his resignation letter. Dr. Ambedkar understood the real designs of Muslim League and concluded that a separate homeland of Muslims is for Muslims only and it would not entail rights protections for non-muslims. In this context, Dr. Prerna Malhotra, a human rights activist and head of CDPHR rightly calls Dr. Ambedkar a visionary for not falling for Jinnah’s designs despite his differences with Hindu Mahasabha and Congress. Further, the fact that religious minorities are not treated as equal citizens is even boasted by the constitutional heads of the country. For example, Khawaja Nazimuddin, the 2nd Prime Minister of Pakistan, had said, “I do not agree that religion is a private affair of the individual nor do I agree that in an Islamic state every citizen has identical rights, no matter what his caste, creed or faith be”.
Pakistan, being an Islamic state, its current constitution contains provisions that are discriminatory towards religious minorities. For instance, sections 298-B and 298-C of the Pakistan Penal Code impose restrictions on the religious practices of certain groups, while Clauses 295-B and 295-C concerning blasphemy pose a severe risk to the life of the accused individuals. According to a Pakistani NGO named the Center for Social Justice, in the year 2021 alone, at least 84 people were accused of blasphemy in Pakistan and three people were extra-judicially killed. These blasphemy laws perpetuate dehumanizing discrimination against minority communities, subjecting them to constant threats from Islamic vigilantism.
Legally also, Pakistan discriminates against religious minorities in many ways. For example, the “Hindu Marriage Act, 2017” provides for the constitutional recognition of Hindu Marriages. However, a major loophole in it is used in the forceful conversion of Hindu women. It is section 12 (iii) which stipulates “…the marriage may be terminated on the basis of either the husband or the wife converting to some other religion”. This section annulled any imaginary protection provided to women. Abduct a married woman, force her to convert, force her to say it is voluntary and her marriage is annulled.
The routine rights violations from both state and non-state entities have resulted in the rapid decline of religious minorities in Pakistan with Muslims make up approximately 96.47% of the total population as per 2017 census data. The Hindu community has reached its lowest representation at 1.73% of the population. However, these simple statistics elude the likes of Obamas.
In Pakistan, there is a religious incentive for converting non-Muslims to Islam, and the state machinery appears to be involved in supporting such activities against minority groups. According to a report from the country’s human rights commission, approximately one thousand young Hindus and Christians are compelled to convert to Islam annually. The mistreatment of Hindu minorities, particularly Scheduled Caste Hindus and women, is particularly severe. In recent times, there has been a rise in killings, attempted abductions, and forced conversions of Hindu and Sikh girls, highlighting the persistent state of fear endured by non-Muslims, especially Hindus and Sikhs, in Pakistan. The situation is particularly dire for Sindhi Women, who bear the brunt of violence directed at minority women. Further, religious minorities are being discriminated in the share of government welfare schemes. For example, religious minorities were denied ration meant for them during COVID-19 pandemic.
In a country plagued by Sunni Islamic radicalization, women and ethnic minorities face grave insecurity as well. The Punjab-dominated military-politician complex violates the human rights of various groups, including Balochs, Hazaras, Sindhis, Ahmadis, and people of Gilgit-Baltistan. These communities frequently experience violent attacks on their social gatherings and places of worship orchestrated by Sunni extremist groups and individuals. The targeted victims often include Shias, Ahmadi Muslims, Christians, and Hazaras. Moreover, Ahmadis were officially stripped of their legal right to be recognized as Muslims in 1974. Section 298-B of the Pakistan Penal Code restricts Ahmadis from using Islamic epithets, aiming to prevent them from being mistaken as Muslims. Furthermore, Section 298-B (2) criminalizes the use of the word “Azan” for the call to prayers by Ahmadis.
Similarly, despite being a signatory to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), Pakistan still grapples with persistent crimes against women. The United Nations Women organization emphasizes those existing laws safeguarding women’s rights suffer from inadequate enforcement. Moreover, it highlights that women belonging to religious and ethnic minorities encounter dual marginalization in the society.
Thus, every basic norm of human rights is being grossly violated in Pakistan by legal institutions, society and non-state actors. These rights violations are intentionally ignored by international institutions, media and civil society members like Obamas. These institutions and people perpetuate false propaganda of minority persecution in India where rights positions of minorities groups presents a totally different picture.
India and Minorities
Indian civilizations values uphold the pluralistic and democratic ideals in its true spirit. In continuation of this tradition of tolerance and pluralism, Indian Constitution provides a comprehensive account of the rights of minorities.
The Indian Constitution guarantees the right to religious freedom explicitly in articles 25-28, which also interpret the rights of minorities under other fundamental rights provisions. Further, article 29 and 30 of the Constitution provide for the protection of the interests of minorities. Article 29 guarantees the right of any section of citizens to conserve their distinct language, script, or culture. Article 30 provides minorities with the right to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice. In addition to these constitutional safeguards, there are many statutory and non-statutory bodies and special acts have been constituted from time to time to protect the minority rights in India. In this context, National Commission for Minorities (NCM) established under the article 338-A is mandated to safeguard the constitutional rights of minorities and address their grievances. Further, establishment of Ministry of Minority Affairs for formulation and implementation of policies for the welfare of minorities in the year 2006 is a significant step for the empowerment of minorities. Its different schemes have led in the betterment of socio-economic and educational status of minority communities. These various constitutional provisions and bodies ensure that minority communities can preserve their cultural identity and have access to education that aligns with their values and beliefs.
Minorities and the BJP Government
Modi government has initiated several programmes and policies for the welfare and empowerment of religious minorities on the lines of the ‘Antyodaya’ and the motto of ‘Sab ka Saath, Sab ka Vikas, Sab ka Vishwas’.
To start with, on lines of India’s civilizational values of equality and dignity to ‘Nari-Shakti’, the courageous move to abolish the practice of Triple Talaq by passing the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill 2019 will go a long way in ensuring the gender justice and gender equality to Muslim women.
For educational empowerment of minorities, as far as educational scholarships at various levels are concerned, 20 lakh more minority students received these scholarships under this government’s first term as compared to the previous regime and also 3.14 crore minority students secured government scholarships between 2014 and 2019. Similarly, schemes like ‘Naya Savera’ and ‘Nai Udaan’ which assist students with free coaching for various government exams have been instrumental for increasing the representation of minority students in government services. The fact that pre 2014, minority representation was at 5 per cent and there was 70 per cent dropout rate among minority girls, these statistics have reversed with minorities constituting around 10 per cent in government jobs and girls dropout rate being reduced to 30 per cent. Also, skill development schemes like ‘Seekho aur Kamao’ and ‘USTTAD’ Scheme have been instrumental in improving the employability of minority youths. In this context, pre 2014 statistics points towards the figure of 20 thousand skill trained youths and post 2014, this touches the figure of two million minority people as skill trained.
As far as economic empowerment of minorities is concerned, the role of National Minorities Development & Finance Corporation (NMDFC) is important. It offers subsidized loans to support self-employment and income-generating endeavours aimed at fostering the socio-economic progress of the marginalized segments minority communities. The current BJP government has raised the Authorized Share Capital of NMDFC from Rs.1500.00 crore to Rs.3000.00 crore in 2015 and has significantly increased the budgetary allocation for its various schemes.
Similarly, to enhance the socio-economic status of minority populated regions and to address the specific needs of the communities residing within these areas, the Pradhan Mantri Jan Vikas Karyakram has been a major success in developing infrastructure in designated Minority Concentration Areas, with a specific emphasis on education, healthcare, skill development, and women’s empowerment. A total budgetary allocation of whopping Rs. 9559.67 crore has been made available for implementation of the programme since 2014-15. Also, schemes like ‘Padho Pardesh’ for interest subsidy on educational loans for overseas studies for the students belonging to the minority communities, ‘Nai Roshni’ for leadership development of minority women and ‘Jiyo Parsi’ to arrest the decline of Parsi population in India have contributed immensely in the socio-economic and educational betterment of minority population.
Further, the propaganda fuelled perception of minority persecution under the present regime falls flat with some simple statistics of economic empowerment of minorities. For example, out of the 2.31 crore houses built under the ‘Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana’, 31 per cent were allocated in 25 minority-dominated areas. Also, 33 per cent beneficiaries of the ‘Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi’ are minorities. Out of the nine crore beneficiaries of the ‘Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana’, 37 per cent are from the minority communities.
Lastly, 36 per cent of beneficiaries of the ‘Pradhan Mantri MUDRA Yojana’ are from minority communities.
Thus India being a civilizational country, its traditions, culture and constitution entails comprehensive rights for religious minorities. The fact that religious minorities in India have grown to nearly 22 per cent from eight per cent in 1947 demolishes the false propaganda of minority persecution in India. On the other hand, civilizational tragedy is taking place where minorities in Pakistan where minorities who were about 24 per cent of total population in 1947, has now been reduced to below two per cent. Hence, it’s a mandate for the international community to see through false propaganda and look at the real oppression happening in Pakistan and take necessary measures and impose severe legal and financial costs on Pakistan for its acts of rights violations of religious and ethnic minorities.
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