Hindutva nationalism fuels hate crimes, discrimination against minorities in India Article by Kashmir Media Service

The Kashmir Media Service (KMS) has released an article detailing the persecution of minorities in India. Caliber.Az offers its readers an adapted version of the piece.

India, under Hindutva Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) rule, has become a dangerous country for minorities who are being continuously targeted by Hindutva activists of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), BJP, Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and other extremist outfits.

A report by compiled by Kashmir Media Service editor, Raies Mir, said persecution of minorities, particularly Muslims, has sharply increased since the BJP came to power. Members of these communities are threatened, harassed and attacked with impunity.

The report added that anti-Muslim and anti-Dalit sentiments have heightened under the BJP government, which promotes the RSS-driven Hindutva ideology of Hindu supremacy. Muslims, Christians and Dalits are being systematically discriminated against in all spheres of life.

It said Islamophobia has taken its most lethal form in India, with Hindutva leaders openly calling for mass killings and use of weapons against Muslims. Experts have warned of an impending genocide of Muslims in India, the report lamented.

The report noted that attacks on Muslims and the confiscation of their properties, lands, schools, shrines and mosques in India and Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) pose a serious challenge to the global community. It stressed that the international community, including the United Nations, must intervene to stop hate crimes against Muslims in India.

Thousands of Muslims, including scholars, political leaders, activists, Ulema and students, have been detained by the BJP regime since 2014 under draconian laws as part of political vendetta in India and IIOJK. The BJP government is misusing the National Investigation Agency (NIA), police and other institutions to persecute minorities, while even the Indian military establishment is now promoting RSS Hindutva ideology in army training schools.

The rise of Hindutva nationalism, promoted by RSS and BJP, advocates transforming India into a Hindu Rashtra by marginalising minority groups. It pushes the “otherisation” of non-Hindus, especially Muslims and Christians, and seeks to turn India from a secular democratic republic into an authoritarian Hindu-supremacist state.

Meanwhile, a new book by India’s Chief of Defence Staff, General Anil Chauhan, titled Ready, Relevant and Resurgent, has sparked criticism for aligning the Indian military with the Hindutva agenda. Analysts argue that the book promotes ideological concordance between the army, political elite and society, blurring the traditional neutrality of the armed forces. Its emphasis on “Ancient Indian Wisdom” and portrayal of Islamic doctrines as terrorism, critics say, reflects the RSS-BJP narrative.

The report concluded that due to the BJP’s communal, hate-driven policies, the party has lost political ground across India. However, in Kashmir, the BJP continues to rely on military force, black laws, curfews and constitutional violations, including the abrogation of Articles 370 and 35A and the imposition of over 800 illegal laws without legislation.

By Vafa Guliyeva