HRW raises concerns over BJP Govt’s continuing stigmatizing of minorities

In a scathing report released on Thursday, international non-governmental organization Human Rights Watch (HRW) accused the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Central government in India of persisting with policies that stigmatize and discriminate against religious and other minorities.

The annual report highlighted a disturbing trend of increasing communal violence across the country, with Manipur state facing deadly ethnic clashes that claimed hundreds of lives.

According to HRW, the government's discriminatory practices were marked by insufficient investigations into crimes against minorities, especially in states ruled by the BJP. The report alleged that instead of addressing the root causes, officials in these states responded by summarily punishing victim communities, including those protesting against abuse.

One of the cited examples was the communal violence that erupted in Haryana’s Nuh on July 31 during the Brij Mandal Jalabhishek Yatra, a procession organized by the Bajrang Dal and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad.

The violence quickly escalated, leading to Hindu mobs attacking Muslims in Gurugram, resulting in deaths, mosque torching, and destruction of Muslim properties. The authorities, in a concerning pattern, retaliated against Muslim residents by illegally demolishing hundreds of properties and detaining scores of individuals, prompting the Punjab and Haryana High Court to question whether it amounted to 'ethnic cleansing.'

HRW also shed light on Manipur, where ethnic violence between the Meitei and Kuki communities had gripped the state since early May. The report accused Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh of fuelling divisions by providing political patronage to violent groups in the Hindu-majority Meitei community and stigmatizing the Kukis.

The government's slow and inadequate response drew criticism from over a dozen United Nations experts.

Media freedom in India also came under scrutiny in the report, which highlighted Delhi Police raids on journalists associated with NewsClick and income tax authorities' raids on BBC offices, seemingly in reprisal for a documentary critical of Prime Minister Modi's handling of Muslim protection.

The government had previously blocked the BBC documentary in January, using emergency powers under the Information Technology Rules.

HRW expressed concern over the Indian government's rampant use of internet shutdowns despite promoting digital public infrastructure. The report emphasized that India imposed the largest number of internet shutdowns globally in 2022, violating human rights standards and disproportionately affecting marginalized communities.

These shutdowns hindered access to free or subsidized food rations and livelihoods, particularly in rural areas, where uneven internet access impeded efforts to expand social and economic services.

Furthermore, the report criticized amendments made in April to the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021. These amendments were said to weaken safeguards around encryption and seriously undermine media freedom, privacy rights, and freedom of expression online.

The accusations against the BJP-led government raise questions about the commitment to protecting minority rights and fostering a climate of inclusivity and tolerance in the world's largest democracy.