Modi’s party stokes anti-Muslim violence in India, report says
Two rights groups say uninvestigated hate crimes, a Hindu hardliner in a key post and the prime minister’s acquiescence are all creating a ‘climate of impunity’ for angry mobs
According to official statistics, India witnessed more than 700 outbreaks of communal violence last year that killed 86 and injured 2,321 people. The actual number, however, could be higher as many cases go unreported, adds the report by the Mumbai-based Centre for Study of Society and Secularism (CSSS) and the UK-based Minority Rights Group International (MRG).
Communal violence over the last five years has taken a huge toll on minorities, including Christians and Sikhs. But Muslims – who form 15 per cent of the country’s population – have borne the brunt of these hate crimes, such as lynching, threats, attacks on places of worship and forced conversion, it says.
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“While communal violence has long been a concern for India’s religious minorities, the current situation is particularly severe,” said Claire Thomas, MRG’s deputy director.