Introduction:
Religion is considered to be the base of life of every human being, each and every living individual considers religion as an important aspect for livelihood. India is a secular nation, where all the religions co-exist with each other but it is also seen that in certain occasions violence and crimes take place in the name of religion by the followers of a particular religion and these crimes are freely accepted in the modern society. Though there is coexistence of religions in India which has different religious laws governing the followers of the religion, religious violence and crimes play a crucial part in affecting the common livelihood of an individual to state affairs.
This article discusses the roots of religion and gives a basic outlet on cause and impact done by the followers of particular religions in the name of religion. And how hate towards other religion grow even though secularism is part of the constitution. The international view, constitutional, judicial framework, balance between secularism and freedom of religion on religious crimes in India are further to be discussed in this article.
Religious Laws and Crimes
Personal laws prevail for religions such as Hinduism, Christianity, and Islamism in India. Such personal laws govern each and every individual belonging or following a specific religion. It is also seen that for legitimate reasons, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism are considered as same as Hinduism and liable to be treated under Hindu Personal Law, such that the religious communities are continued to be directed by their respective personal laws.
Unlike the western culture, in Indian secularism, the state interferes if any evil rituals or ceremonies being performed in the name of religion and such practices are also being abolished. Where religious practices which are inhumane differs from religious crimes, religious practices are considered to be the activities carried out as a tradition within a religion which are morally inhumane yet religious crimes are violence and riots carried out by followers of a particular group on behalf of their religion in an offensive way.
Each and every religion has its own practices which differ from other religions, ln Hinduism rituals such as annaprashan, upanayanam, and shraadh takes place. Whereas such practices differ in Islamism which includes first bath, first shaving of the head, and whispering call to prayer. Such that every religion & religion’s practice differs from others.[1]
Legal History of Religious Laws & Crimes:
After the revolt of 1857, the divide and rule policy was forced to followed by the British such that it was easy to explore characteristics among the communities and to prevent revolts in the future. As a result, the Indian Muslims were motivated to comply with a traditional and political status which contrasts them from Hindu
After independence, millions of people belonging to the Muslim religion has migrated to Pakistan and this was mainly due to the concern of Mohammad Ali Jinnah, about the minority position of Islam in a country which is voluminously composed of Hindu superiority. But the partition had led to the massacre of people belonging to the religions throughout the nation, until now there’s been a tension which always exists among the Hindu and Muslim communities[2].
Several riots such as the Gujarat Riots, 1969, Anti Sikh riots 1984, Bhagalpur riots 1989, Kashmir violence 1989, Godhra train burning, Gujarat riots 2002, and Muzaffarnagar Riots 2013 have taken place since the Independence of India, and these riots are carried out vastly in the name of religion making it clear that they are classified as religious violence and crimes.
Basic principles of secularism are added into various provisions of the constitution, henceforth the term ‘secular’ was added to the preamble by the forty- second constitution Amendment Act of 1976 for the first time. Thus the 42nd Constitution Amendment act constitutionally made India as a secular country which has no State religion and the state shall recognize and accept all religions without any favor or patronize towards a particular religion.
Article 25 to 28 talks about the right to freedom of religion, where Article 25 constitutes ‘freedom of conscience’, where all the citizens are entitled to freedom of conscience and the right to freely profess, practice, and propagate their religion. As per Article 26, every religious group or individual has the right to establish and maintain religious institutions for religious purposes and charitable purposes and to manage its own affairs in matters of religion. Article 27 states that the state shall not compel any of its citizens to pay taxes for the promotion or maintenance of any particular religion or religious institution. Article 28 permits educational institutions maintained by different religious groups to disclose religious instruction. Article 29 and Article 30 provides cultural and educational rights to minorities.[3]
Rights and Duties Vested Over Citizens
The term religion has not been defined in the constitution and it is rarely susceptible to any rigid definition. The supreme court has specified it in several cases. Subject to certain limitations, Article 25 confers a fundamental right on every person not merely to entertain such religious beliefs as may be approved by his judgment or conscience but also to exhibit his beliefs and ideas by such overt acts and practices which are sanctioned by his religion.
The state views the individual as a citizen and not as a member of a particular religious group. Religion becomes entirely irrelevant in defining the terms of citizenship; its rights and duties are not affected by the individual’s religious beliefs. Ultimately the constitution of India empowers that each and every citizen has a right for freedom of religion such that a citizen is free to practice his religion within his religious limits[4].
International Perspective on Religious Violence in India
In 2007, Amnesty International stated, plenty of issues bothered in India while justice and reclamation sustained to evade the majority of victims of Gujarat communal violence. The United States Department of State also marked that the Indian government generally encouraged the rights of the citizens, but a cast number of issues still remained and this report has been generally rejected by the majority of political parties[5].
In 2008, human rights had reported that India alleges to comply with human rights, yet its performance is ruined by violations by counterinsurgency operation, Government’s failure to enforce laws and policies to conserve downtrodden communities.
The United Nations Human Rights in 2018 expressed consideration of violence against minority communities and Dalits in India. The council also further stated that there’s a potential criticism of policies made by the government which poses a threat to national security.[6]
Recent Incidents
The state of Maharashtra has exposed the most overwhelming every religious unfair practice related brutality over 2005 to 2009 period, the Madhya Pradesh also had the most aggravated casualty rate every year (100000 per year) in between the period 2005 and 2009.
The pew research in the year 2015 criticized that India has a high level of restrictions over religions, interference in religious practices, bitterness towards minority religions, and dormancy on issues relating to discrimination. “Non-Hindus were particularly impacted by government restrictions in India in 2015,” Kishi addressed in Chhattisgarh high court ruling that the ban on non-Hindu religious practices was not a violation of the non-Hindus constitutional right to preach & proliferate their religion. Kishi also stated “Officials of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at both the central and state government levels made statements that India should be exclusively Hindu,” and “Minority communities, including Muslims, Christians and Sikhs, complained of numerous incidents of harassment by Hindu nationalist groups.”[7]
Cases Relating
Ramji Lal Modi v. State of UP[8], wherein the Apex Court while holding the constitutionality of 3 the said section laid down that insults to religion offered unwittingly or carelessly or without any deliberate or malicious intention to outrage the religious feelings of that class do not come within the section, Therefore, insult or attempt to insult the religion or religious belief when made with an intention, which must be deliberate or malicious, of outraging the religious feelings of a class of citizens of India, then only the provisions of Section 295A would be attracted.
Jayamala vs State of Kerala[9] Section 468 of the Code prescribes a period of O.P(Crl.)No.1332 4 of 2011 limitation for certain offenses mentioned therein. Offense under Sec.295A of the IPC is punishable with imprisonment up to three years (while offense under Sec.295 of the IPC is punishable with imprisonment up to two years). Since conspiracy is alleged in the commission of an offense under Sec.295A of the IPC, punishment for an offence under Sec.120B must be the same as the main offense i.e, Sec.295A of the IPC. Hence punishment that could be awarded for an offence under Sec.120B is imprisonment for up to three years.
Some of the Religious Crimes Taken Place in India
The exodus of Kashmiri Hindus
300 Kashmiri pandits were in the Kashmir region between 1989 to 1990 in several incidents, during those days masked men carrying AK-47 shot Hindu’s who were refusing to leave Kashmir and they’ve posted a notice on their houses as a threat. Over 400000 people who were Hindu Pandits migrated outside Kashmir, this is a result of the partition of India done by the Islamic fundamentalists as an act of cleansing[10].
Gujarat Communal Riots, 1969
In between September and October of 1969, religious violence burst out among Hindus and Muslims and it was crueler compared to the massacre that took place during the partition of India. This brutality continued more than a week, and a month later they started to riot again. More than 45000 people lost their land, over 600 people were massacred and 1100 people were injured[11].
Anti-atheist Violence
Kalanathan, secretary of the Kerala Yukthivadi Sangham suggested on TV that the treasures of Padmanabhaswamy Temple should be used for public welfare, soon after his house which is in Vallikunnu was under attack on 16th February 2015.
M.M. Kalburgi, scholar and rationalist got murdered at his house as he criticized idol-worshipping on 30th august 2015.
An Indian Muslim named Farooq, who’s a rationalist and atheist got murdered by a group of Muslims in March 2017 in Coimbatore.
Conclusion
Moreover, this article vaguely shows how religious laws and religious crimes play a vital role even in a country that is declared as a secular nation at a constitutional level. Though there are several cases, riots, violence takes place within the country the citizens are still thriving to live their lives in a peaceful way, far from all the dilemmas. It is also seen that most of these communal riots have an impact on the political area, and some of these riots were also a result to make a change or force the people’s hand with matters regarding the state affairs.
The Article also shows how minority communities are being mistreated, harassed, and restricted to practice their religion in a country that is Hindu dominant. I also would like to question about the part of Secularism, Is India really a Secular nation? if so, why the people are bragging about removing the word Secular from its constitution. Even the current government is actively trying to change the name of the country which absolutely marks up for a single motive- to declare India as a Hindu country. The pre-primary social books of children define that “one of the unique features of India is its multi-lateral, multi-religious, multi-cultural coexistence” so there is no valid thought to disrupt such beautiful features for the sake of Politics.
Such that I would like to conclude my article.
References:
[1] (Nolan et al., 2011)
[2]– ((PDF) Reality of “Divide and Rule” in British India, n.d.)
[3] (Mahmood, n.d.)
[4] (The Freedom of Religion Under The Indian Constitution CHAPTER: IV The Freedom of Religion under the Indian Constitution 4. 1 Right to Freedom Religion, n.d.)
[5] (Amnesty International, 2005)
[6] (2018-03-12T19:51:47+00:00March 12th et al., 2018)
[7] https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/06/29/5-facts-about-religion-in-india/
[8] 1957 AIR 620, 1957 SCR 860
[9] OP(Crl.).No. 1332 of 2011(Q)
[10] https://www.efsas.org/publications/study-papers/the-exodus-of-kashmiri-pandits/
[11] https://www.outlookindia.com/website/story/history-of-communal-violence-in-gujarat/217988
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