Kashmiris, India’s religious minorities face relentless repression under BJP rule: Report
#MinoritiesUnderAttackInIndia | #HindutvaExtremism
Islamabad: As the world is observing International Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief, today, atrocities against Kashmiris in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir and religious minorities across India continue unabated.
A report released by the Research Section of Kashmir Media Service on the occasion said that Indian forces were even denying the Kashmiri people their right to freely observe religious practices, including preventing senior APHC leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq from attending Friday prayers and other religious gatherings in the territory. It said New Delhi had snatched every right including political and religious rights of people of in IIOJK, while demographic changes in the territory reflected a broader policy of marginalization.
It said Muslims in India were increasingly subjected to killings, arbitrary arrests, torture and intimidation, including violence carried out in the name of cow protection and coercion to chant Hindutva slogans. The 2002 Gujarat massacre, communal killings, and demolitions of Muslim homes and religious sites were cited as examples of the persecution of minorities.
The report said Hindutva groups, including the RSS, BJP, VHP and Bajrang Dal, had contributed to an atmosphere of hostility against Muslims, Dalits, Christians, Sikhs and other minority communities through hate campaigns and communal mobilization.
It noted that the BJP’s longstanding ideological association with the RSS had shaped its policies, citing the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), National Register of Citizens (NRC), Uniform Civil Code, construction of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya and abrogation of Article 370 as examples of measures pursued under the party’s Hindutva agenda.
The report said concerns over anti-minority sentiment had intensified since Narendra Modi-led BJP came to power in 2014, with domestic and international rights monitors documenting increased hate speech, communal violence, attacks on places of worship and discriminatory measures, particularly against Muslims and Christians in states governed by the BJP.
Citing Human Rights Watch, it said Indian authorities have normalized violence agains religious minorities, marginalized groups and critics through discriminatory policies, inflammatory rhetoric and politically motivated prosecutions. It also highlighted unlawful demolitions of Muslim-owned homes and properties, often following communal clashes.
The report referred to the September 2025 protests in Ladakh, where four people were killed in Indian forces’ action during peaceful demonstrations demanding greater autonomy. It said authorities also suspended mobile internet and detained activists, including educator and climate campaigner Sonam Wangchuk, under the draconian National Security Act, while several others remained imprisoned without charge.
It further said that foreign-funding laws, fabricated financial investigations and other restrictive legislation had been used to pressure activists, civil society organizations and political opponents. Cow-protection vigilantism and disruptions of Christian prayer meetings and Christmas celebrations were also reported in several BJP-ruled states, including Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.
“Anti-Muslim riots in Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pardash, West Bangal, Uttarakhand, Madya Pradesh, and Indian Supreme Court’s Babri Masjid verdict were ample proofs that India is becoming increasingly intolerable for Muslims,” the report said. The report also cited the demolition of properties belonging disproportionately to Muslims under what critics describe as “bulldozer justice.”
The report referred to anti-Christian violence in Manipur, where more than 260 people, mostly Christians, have been killed and thousands displaced in ethnic violence between the Hindu-dominated Meitei and Christian-dominated Kuki-Zo communities since May 2023.
It said discriminatory measures such as the CAA, NPR and NRC had deepened fears among Muslims, while the UAPA had been used to keep numerous Muslim activists and academics, including Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam, in prolonged detention since 2020. The report also said that authorities had taken control of Al-Falah University in Faridabad, Haryana, including its medical wing, under the pretext of fake charges.
Calling for international action, the report urged the global community to ensure that the voices of victims in IIOJK and India were heard and that effective measures were taken to safeguard their rights. “The world must take practical steps to protect the rights of people in IIOJK and India’s religious minorities,” the report said, urging accountability for those responsible for violations.
It warned that Muslims, Christians and Sikhs continued to face serious insecurity because of their faith and called on the international community to address growing religious intolerance and violence in India.
It is to mention here that the International Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief is a day designated by the UN for states to step up their efforts to combat intolerance, discrimination and violence against persons based on religion or belief.
