INDIA AGAINST CURRUPTERS..........::::::::::::::::::
/////",:::,,::::::>?';>.:":"::::::::>?"::":":::::.
| Political corruption |
|---|
 |
| Concepts |
| Corruption by country |
In 2012 India has ranked 94th out of 176 countries in Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index, tied with Benin, Colombia, Djibouti, Greece, Moldova, Mongolia, and Senegal.[5]
most of the largest sources of corruption in India are entitlement programs and social spending schemes enacted by the Indian government. Examples include Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act and National Rural Health Mission.[6][7] Other daily sources of corruption include India's trucking industry which is forced to pay billions in bribes annually to numerous regulatory and police stops on its interstate highways.[8]
Indian media has widely published allegations of corrupt Indian citizens stashing trillions of dollars in Swiss banks. Swiss authorities, however, assert these allegations to be a complete fabrication and false.[9][10]
The causes of corruption in India include excessive regulations, complicated taxes and licensing systems, numerous government departments each with opaque bureaucracy and discretionary powers, monopoly by government controlled institutions on certain goods and services delivery, and the lack of transparent laws and processes.[11][12] There are significant variations in level of corruption as well as in state government efforts to reduce corruption across India.
History
The Vohra Report, submitted by the former Indian Union Home Secretary, N.N. Vohra, in October 1993, studied the problem of the criminalisation of politics and of the nexus among criminals, politicians and bureaucrats in India.[18] The report contained several observations made by official agencies on the criminal network which was virtually running a parallel government. It also discussed criminal gangs who enjoyed the patronage of politicians — of all political parties — and the protection of government functionaries.[19]
According to Jitendra Singh, "in the bad old days, particularly pre-1991, when the License Raj held sway, and by design, all kinds of free market mechanisms were hobbled or stymied, and corruption emerged almost as an illegitimate price mechanism, a shadowy quasi-market, such that scarce resources could still be allocated within the economy, and decisions could get made. ... These were largely distortions created by the politico-economic regime. While a sea change has occurred in the years following 1991, some of the distorted cultural norms that took hold during the earlier period are slowly being repaired by the sheer forces of competition. The process will be long and slow, however. It will not change overnight."[20] One of the major problems and obstacles to development in India has been endemic corruption and political inertia to change.[21]
Politics
As of December 2008, 120 of India's 523 parliament members were facing criminal charges.[22] Many of the biggest scandals since 2010 have involved very high levels of government, including Cabinet Ministers and Chief Ministers, such as in the 2G spectrum scam, the 2010 Commonwealth Games scam and the Adarsh Housing Society scam, Coal Mining Scam, mining scandal in Karnataka and cash for vote scam.Bureaucracy
A 2005 study done by Transparency International (TI) in India found that more than 50% of the people had firsthand experience of paying bribe or peddling influence to get a job done in a public office.[3] Taxes and bribes are common between state borders; Transparency International estimates that truckers pay annually
22,200 crores (US$ 4.5 billion) in bribes.[8][23]
Government regulators and police share in bribe money, each to the tune
of 43% and 45% respectively. The en route stoppages including those at
checkpoints and entry-points take up to 11 hours in a day. About 60
percent of these (forced) stoppages on road by concerned authorities
such as government regulators, police, forest, sales and excise, octroi,
weighing and measuring department are for extorting money. The loss in
productivity due to these stoppages is an important national concern.
The number of truck trips could increase by 40%, if forced delays are
avoided. According to a 2007 World Bank published report, the travel
time for a Delhi-Mumbai trip can be reduced by about 2 days per trip if
the corruption and associated regulatory stoppages to extract bribes was
eliminated.[23][24][25]A 2009 survey of the leading economies of Asia, revealed Indian bureaucracy to be not just least efficient out of Singapore, Hong Kong, Thailand, South Korea, Japan, Malaysia, Taiwan, Vietnam, China, Philippines and Indonesia; further it was also found that working with India's civil servants was a "slow and painful" process.[26]
Land and property
Officials are alleged to steal state property. In cities and villages throughout India, consisting of municipal and other government officials, elected politicians, judicial officers, real estate developers and law enforcement officials, acquire, develop and sell land in illegal ways.[27]Tendering processes and awarding contracts
A 2006 report claimed state-funded construction activities in Uttar Pradesh, such as road building, were dominated by construction mafias, which are groupings of corrupt public works officials, materials suppliers, politicians and construction contractors.[28]Corruption caused problems in government funded projects are not limited to the state of Uttar Pradesh. According to The World Bank, aid programs are beset by corruption, bad administration and under-payments. As an example, the report cites only 40% of grain handed out for the poor reaches its intended target. The World Bank study finds that the public distribution programs and social spending contracts have proven to be a waste due to corruption.[29]
As an example, India enacted the so-called Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) on August 25, 2005. The Central government outlay for this welfare scheme is
40,000 crore (US$7.28 billion) in FY 2010–2011.[30]
After 5 years of implementation, in 2011, the programme was widely
criticised as no more effective than other poverty reduction programs in
India. Despite its best intentions, MGNREGA is beset with controversy
about corrupt officials pocketing money on behalf of fake rural
employees, poor quality of infrastructure built under this program, and
unintended destructive effect on poverty.[7][31]Medicine
In Government Hospitals, corruption is associated with non availability/duplication of medicines, getting admission, consultations with doctors and availing diagnostic services.[3]National Rural Health Mission is another health care-related government program that has been subject to large scale corruption allegations. This social spending and entitlement program hoped to improve health care delivery across rural India. The program has been run since 2005 by the Ministry of Health of the Indian government. The Indian government mandated a spending of INR 27,700 crores in 2004–05, and increased it annually to be about 1% of India's gross domestic product. The National Rural Health Mission program has been clouded by a large-scale corruption scandal in which top government appointed officials were arrested, several of whom died under mysterious circumstances including one in prison. Corruption, waste and fraud-related losses from this government program has been alleged to be
10,000 crores (US$2 billion).[32][33][34][6]Income tax department
There have been several cases of collusion of officials of the income tax department of India for a favorable tax treatment and relaxed prosecutions in return for bribes.[35][36]Preferential award of mineral resources
See also: Illegal mining in India
In early August 2011, an iron ore mining scandal became a media focus
in India. In September 2011, Janardhana Reddy – an elected member of
Karnataka's legislative assembly – was arrested on charges of corruption
and illegal mining of iron ore in his home state of Karnataka. It was
alleged that his company received preferential award of resources,
organized and exported billions of dollars worth of iron ore to China in
recent years, without paying any royalty to the state government
exchequer of Karnataka or the central government of India, and these
Chinese companies made payment to shell companies controlled by Reddy
and registered in Caribbean and north Atlantic tax havens. It was also
alleged that corrupt government officials cooperated with Reddy,
starting from government officials in charge of regulating mining to
government officials in charge of regulating port facilities and
shipping. These officials received monthly bribes in exchange for
enabling illegal export of illegally mined iron ore to China. Such
scandals have led to a demand in India for consensually driven action
plan to eradicate the piracy of India's mineral resources by an
illegal-political-corrupt government officials-business nexus, removal
of incentives for illegal mining, creation of incentives for legal
mining and domestic use of iron ore and steel manufacturing.[37][38]Driver Licensing
A study conducted between 2004 and 2005 found that India’s driver licensing procedure was a hugely distorted bureaucratic process and allows drivers to get licenses despite their low driving ability through promoting the usage of agents. Individuals with high willingness to pay make a significant payment above the official fee and most of these extra payments are made to agents, who act as an intermediary between bureaucrats and applicants.[39] The average license getter paid Rs 1080, approximately 2.5 times the official fee of Rs 450, in order to obtain a license. On average, those who hired agents had a lower driving ability, with agents helping unqualified drivers obtain licenses and bypass the legally required driving examination. Among the surveyed individuals, approximately 60% of the license holders did not take the licensing exam and 54% of those license holders failed an independent driving test.[40]Agents are the channels of inefficient corruption in this bureaucratic driver licensing system, facilitating access to licenses among those who are unqualified to drive. Some of the failures of this licensing system are caused by corrupt bureaucrats who collaborate with agents by creating additional barriers within the system against those who did not hire agents.[39]
Claimed trends
In the book 'Corruption in India: The DNA and RNA' authored by Professor Bibek Debroy and Laveesh Bhandari say that the public officials in India may be cornering as much as Rs.92,122 crore ($18.42 billion), or 1.26 per cent of the GDP, through corruption.[24] The book claims most bribery is in the transport industry, real estate and government delivered services.A 2011 KPMG study reports India's real estate, telecommunications and government run social development projects as the three top most corruption plagued sectors. The study found India's defense, information technology industry and energy sectors are the most competitive and least corruption prone sectors.[11]
CMS India claims in its 2010 India Corruption Study report that socio-economically weaker section of the Indian society is most adversely affected by government corruption – these include the rural and urban poor. The study additionally claims that corruption perception nationwide has decreased between 2005 to 2010. Over the 5 year period, significantly more number of people from the middle class as well as the poorest segments of Indian society surveyed, in all parts of the India, claimed government corruption had dropped over time, and they had lesser direct experiences with demands for bribes.[41]
The table below compares the perceived anti-corruption effort across some of the major states in India.[12] A rising index implies higher anti-corruption effort and falling corruption. According to this table, the states of Bihar and Gujarat have experienced significant improvements in their anti-corruption efforts, while the conditions have worsened in the state of Assam and West Bengal. Consistent with the results in this table, in 2012, a BBC News report claimed the state of Bihar has transformed in recent years to become the least corrupt state in India.[42]
| State | 1990–95 | 1996-00 | 2001–05 | 2006–10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bihar | 0.41 | 0.30 | 0.43 | 0.88 |
| Gujarat | 0.48 | 0.57 | 0.64 | 0.69 |
| Andhra Pradesh | 0.53 | 0.73 | 0.55 | 0.61 |
| Punjab | 0.32 | 0.46 | 0.46 | 0.60 |
| Jammu & Kashmir | 0.13 | 0.32 | 0.17 | 0.40 |
| Haryana | 0.33 | 0.60 | 0.31 | 0.37 |
| Himachal Pradesh | 0.26 | 0.14 | 0.23 | 0.35 |
| Tamil Nadu | 0.19 | 0.20 | 0.24 | 0.29 |
| Madhya Pradesh | 0.23 | 0.22 | 0.31 | 0.29 |
| Karnataka | 0.24 | 0.19 | 0.20 | 0.29 |
| Rajasthan | 0.27 | 0.23 | 0.26 | 0.27 |
| Kerala | 0.16 | 0.20 | 0.22 | 0.27 |
| Maharashtra | 0.45 | 0.29 | 0.27 | 0.26 |
| Uttar Pradesh | 0.11 | 0.11 | 0.16 | 0.21 |
| Orissa | 0.22 | 0.16 | 0.15 | 0.19 |
| Assam | 0.21 | 0.02 | 0.14 | 0.17 |
| West Bengal | 0.11 | 0.08 | 0.03 | 0.01 |
Black money
Main article: Indian black money
Black money refers to money that is not fully legitimate property of
the owner. A white paper on black money in India by the Government of
India suggests two possible sources of black money in India.[9]
The first includes activities not permissible under the law, like
crime, drug trade, terrorism, and corruption, all of which are illegal
in India. The second, more likely source is that the wealth may have
been generated through a lawful activity but accumulated by failing to
declare income and pay taxes. Some of this black money ends up in
illicit financial flows across international borders, such as deposits
in tax haven countries.A November 2010 report from the Washington-based Global Financial Integrity estimates that over a 60 year period, India lost US$213 billion in illicit financial flows beginning in 1948; adjusted for inflation, this is estimated to be 462 billion in 2010 dollars, or about $8 billion per year ($7 per capita per year). The report also estimated the size of India's underground economy at approximately US$640 billion at the end of 2008 or roughly 50% of the nation's GDP.[43]
Black Money in Switzerland
According to a 2010 The Hindu article, unofficial estimates indicate that Indians had over US$1456 billion in black money stored in Swiss banks (approximately USD 1.4 trillion).[44] While some news reports claimed that data provided by the Swiss Banking Association[45] Report (2006) showed India has more black money than the rest of the world combined,[46][47] a more recent report quoted the SBA's Head of International Communications as saying that no such official Swiss Banking Association statistics exist.[48] Another report said that Indian-owned Swiss bank account assets are worth 13 times the country’s national debt. These allegations have been denied by Swiss Bankers Association. James Nason of Swiss Bankers Association in an interview about alleged black money from India, suggests "The (black money) figures were rapidly picked up in the Indian media and in Indian opposition circles, and circulated as gospel truth. However, this story was a complete fabrication. The Swiss Bankers Association never published such a report. Anyone claiming to have such figures (for India) should be forced to identify their source and explain the methodology used to produce them."[10][49]In a separate study, Dev Kar of Global Financial Integrity concludes, "media reports circulating in India that Indian nationals held around US$1.4 trillion in illicit external assets are widely off the mark compared to the estimates found by his study." Kar claims the amounts are significantly smaller, only about 1.5% of India's GDP on average per annum basis, between 1948–2008. This includes corruption, bribery and kickbacks, criminal activities, trade mispricing and efforts to shelter wealth by Indians from India's tax authorities.[43]
According to a third report, published in May 2012, Swiss National Bank estimates that the total amount of deposits in all Swiss banks, at the end of 2010, by citizens of India were CHF 1.95 billion (INR 9,295 crore, US$ 2.1 billion). The Swiss Ministry of External Affairs has confirmed these figures upon request for information by the Indian Ministry of External Affairs. This amount is about 700 fold less than the alleged $1.4 trillion in some media reports.[9] The report also provided a comparison of the deposits held by Indians and by citizens of other nations in Swiss banks. Total deposits held by citizens of India constitute only 0.13 per cent of the total bank deposits of citizens of all countries. Further, the share of Indians in the total bank deposits of citizens of all countries in Swiss banks has reduced from 0.29 per cent in 2006 to 0.13 per cent in 2010.
Judiciary
According to Transparency International, judicial corruption in India is attributable to factors such as "delays in the disposal of cases, shortage of judges and complex procedures, all of which are exacerbated by a preponderance of new laws".[50]Armed forces
The Indian Armed Forces have witnessed corruption involving senior armed forces officers from the Indian Army, Indian Navy and Indian Air Force. A number of scandals in the 2000–2010 period damaged the military's reputation; such scandals included skimming of armed forces money, re-selling of government property, and faking combat missions.[51]Right to Information Act
Main article: Right to Information Act
The Right to Information Act
(2005) and equivalent acts in the states, that require government
officials to furnish information requested by citizens or face punitive
action, computerization of services and various central and state
government acts that established vigilance commissions have considerably
reduced corruption or at least have opened up avenues to redress
grievances.[3]Anti-Corruption Laws in India
Public servants in India can be penalized for corruption under the- Indian Penal Code, 1860
- Prosecution section of Income Tax Act,1961
- The Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988
- The Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Act, 1988 to prohibit benami transactions.
- Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002
The Lokpal Bill, 2011 is a bill pending before the Rajya Sabha.
India's lower house of parliament voted to pass The Whistle Blowers Protection Bill, 2011. The bill is now pending in its Rajya Sabha.[54]
Anti-corruption police and courts
The Directorate General of Income Tax Investigation, Central Vigilance Commission and Central Bureau of Investigation all deal with anti-corruption initiatives. Certain states such as Andhra Pradesh (Andhra Pradesh Anti-corruption Bureau) and Karnataka (Lokayukta) also have their own anti-corruption agencies and courts.[55][56]The Anti Corruption Bureau (ABC) has launched a large scale investigation into the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)’s involvement in the “cash-for-bail” scam.[57] CBI court judge Talluri Pattabhirama Rao was arrested on 19 June 2012 for taking a bribe to grant bail to former Karnataka Minister Gali Janardhan Reddy, who was allegedly amassing assets disproportionate to his known sources of income. Investigation revealed that India Cements – one of India's largest cement – had been investing in Reddy’s businesses in return for government contracts.[58] A case has also been opened against seven other individuals under the Indian Penal Code and the Prevention of Corruption Act.[57]
Anti-corruption organizations
A variety of organizations have been created in India to actively fight against corrupt government and business practices. Notable organizations include:- Bharat Swabhiman Trust established by well known Yog Guru Swami Ramdev running a large campaign against black money and corruption since last 10 years.
- 5th Pillar is most known for the creation of the zero rupee note, a valueless note designed to be given to corrupt officials when they request bribes.
- India Against Corruption is a movement created by a citizens from a variety of professions and statuses to work against corruption in India. It is currently headed by Anna Hazare.[59]
- Jaago Re! One Billion Votes is an organization originally founded by Tata Tea and Janaagraha to increase youth voter registration.[60] They have since expanded their work to include other social issues, including corruption.[61]
- Association for Social Transparency, Rights and Action (ASTRA) is an NGO focused on grass-roots work to fight corruption in Karnataka.
Causes of corruption in India
In a 2011 report on Corruption in India,[11] one of the world's largest audit and compliance firms KPMG notes several causes that encourage corruption in India. The report suggests high taxes and excessive regulation bureaucracy as a major cause. India has high marginal tax rates and numerous regulatory bodies with the power to stop any citizen or business from going about their daily affairs. This power to search and question creates opportunities for corrupt public officials to extract bribes; each individual or business decides if the effort required in due process and the cost of delay is worth not paying the bribe demanded. In cases of high taxes, paying off the corrupt official is cheaper than the tax. This, claims the report, is one major cause of corruption in India and 150 other countries across the world. In real estate industry, the high capital gains tax in India encourages large-scale corruption. The correlation between high real estate taxes and corruption, claims the KPMG report, is high in India as well as other countries including the developed economies; this correlation has been true in modern times as well as for centuries of human history in numerous cultures. The desire to pay lower taxes than those demanded by the state explains the demand side of corruption. The net result is that the corrupt officials collect bribes, state fails to collect taxes for its own budget, and corruption grows. The report suggests regulatory reforms, process simplification and lower taxes as means to increase tax receipts and reduce causes of corruption.[11][62]In addition to tax rates and regulatory burden, the KPMG report claims corruption results from opaque process and paperwork on the part of the government. Lack of transparency allows room for maneuver for both the demanders and suppliers of corruption. Whenever objective standards and transparent processes are missing, and subjective opinion driven regulators and opaque/hidden processes are present, the conditions encourage corruption.[11][63]
Vito Tanzi in an International Monetary Fund study suggests that in India, like other countries in the world, corruption is caused by excessive regulations and authorization requirements, complicated taxes and licensing systems, mandated spending programs, lack of competitive free markets, monopoly of certain goods and service providers by government controlled institutions, bureaucracy, lack of penalties for corrupt behavior by public officials, and lack of transparent laws and processes.[12][64] A Harvard University study finds these to be some of the causes of corruption and underground economy in India.[65]
Effects of corruption
According to a report by KPMG, "high-level corruption and scams are now threatening to derail the country's credibility and [its] economic boom".[66]Economic Concerns
Corruption may lead to further bureaucratic delay and inefficiency as corrupted bureaucrats may introduce red tape to extract more bribes.[67] Such inadequacies in institutional efficiency could affect growth indirectly by lowering the private marginal product of capital and investment rate.[68] Levine and Renelt showed that investment rate is a robust determinant of economic growth.[69] According to the neoclassical growth model, institutional variables contribute to determining steady-state per capital income levels and speed of convergence to its steady state, hence affecting its growth rate.[70]Bureaucratic inefficiency also affects growth directly, such as through misallocation of investments in the economy.[71] Additionally, corruption results in lower economic growth for a given level of income.[68]
Lower corruption, higher growth rates
If corruption levels in India were reduced to levels in the developed economies such as the United States, India's GDP growth rate could increase by an additional 4 to 5 percent, to 12 to 13 per cent each year.[citation needed] C. K. Prahalad estimates the lost opportunity caused by corruption, in terms of investment, growth and jobs for India is over US$ 50 billion a year.[1]The level of corruption varies in different parts of India. In a July 2011 report, The Economist for example, claims the state government of Gujarat has kept red tape to a minimum, does not ask for bribes, and does not interfere with entrepreneurial corporations. The state, the article claims, has less corruption, less onerous labour laws and effective bureaucracy. With growth rates matching some of the fastest growing economic regions of China, Gujarat continues to outpace growth in other Indian states.[7
Corruption Perceptions Index
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| 90–100 | 60–69 | 30–39 | 0-9 |
| 80–89 | 50–59 | 20–29 | No Information |
| 70–79 | 40–49 | 1–19 |
As of 2012, the CPI ranks 176 countries "on a scale from 100 (very clean) to 0 (highly corrupt)."[3]
Contents |
Methods
| Political corruption |
|---|
|
| Concepts |
| Corruption by country |
The 13 surveys/assessments are either business people opinion surveys or performance assessments from a group of analysts.[2] Early CPIs used public opinion surveys. Countries must be assessed by at least three sources to appear in the CPI.[7]
The CPI measures perception of corruption due to the difficulty of measuring absolute levels of corruption.[8]
Validity
A study published in 2002 found a "very strong significant correlation" between the Corruption Perceptions Index and two other proxies for corruption; Black Market activity and overabundance of regulation. All three metrics also had a highly significant correlation with real gross domestic product per capita (RGDP/Cap). The Corruption Perceptions Index correlation with RGDP/Cap was the strongest.[9]Year-to-Year Comparison Limitations
Since the set of sources changes, comparing corruption scores and ranking over time is inappropriate. Furthermore, the methodology of this index changed in 2012. However, with the new methodology, it will be possible to make year-to-year comparison after 2013.[10]Criticism
The Corruption Perceptions Index has drawn increasing criticism in the decade since its launch, leading to calls for the index to be abandoned.[11][12][13] This criticism has been directed at the quality of the index itself, and the lack of actionable insights created from a simple country ranking.[14][15] Because corruption is wilfully hidden, it is impossible to measure directly; instead proxies for corruption are used. The CPI uses an eclectic mix of third-party surveys to sample public perceptions of corruption through a variety of questions, ranging from "Do you trust the government?" to "Is corruption a big problem in your country?"The use of third-party survey data is a source of criticism. The data can vary widely in methodology and completeness from country to country. The methodology of the Index itself changes from year to year, thus making even basic better-or-worse comparisons difficult. Media outlets, meanwhile, frequently use the raw numbers as a yardstick for government performance, without clarifying what the numbers mean. A local Transparency International chapter disowned the index results after a change in methodology caused a country's scores to increase—media reported it as an "improvement".[16] Other critics point out that definitional problems with the term "corruption" makes the tool problematic for social science.
The index mainly provides a snapshot of the views of business people and country analysts. In comparison, the questions in the Eurobarometer surveys 64.3 (2005), 68.2 (2007), 72.2 (2009), and the Flash Eurobarometer 236 (2008) established by the European Commission for all of the 27 European Union members states ask the perceptions and experiences of the general public. In general, the results show a very large divergence between the perception of living in a corrupt country by the general public and the experiences of corruption in everyday life.
Aside from precision issues, a more fundamental critique is aimed at the uses of the Index. As a source of quantitative data in a field hungry for international datasets, the CPI can take on a life of its own, appearing in cross-country and year-to-year comparisons that the CPI authors themselves admit are not justified by their methodology. The authors state in 2008: "Year-to-year changes in a country's score can either result from a changed perception of a country's performance or from a change in the CPI’s sample and methodology. The only reliable way to compare a country’s score over time is to go back to individual survey sources, each of which can reflect a change in assessment." [17]
The CPI produces a single score per country, which as noted above, cannot be compared year-to-year. In the late 2000s, the field has moved towards unpackable, action-oriented indices (such as those by the International Budget Partnership or Global Integrity), which typically measure public policies that relate to corruption, rather than try to assess "corruption" as a whole via proxy measures like perceptions.[14] These alternative measures use original (often locally collected) data and so have the same non-comparability problem as the CPI and are limited in scope to specific policy practices (such as public access to parliamentary budget documents) and so they are only an indicator of visible corruption/policy corruption.
Relation to GDP growth and foreign investment
Research papers published in 2007 and 2008 examined the economic consequences of corruption perception, as defined by the CPI. The researchers found a correlation between a higher CPI and lower long-term economic growth,[18] as well as a decrease in GDP growth of 1.7% for every unit increase in a country's CPI score.[19] Also shown was a power-law dependence linking higher CPI score to lower rates of foreign investment in a country.Rankings
|
Worldwide Corruption Perceptions ranking of countries published by Transparency International |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Mafia Raj
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mafia Raj (Hindi-Urdu: माफ़िया राज, مافیا راج, mafia regime) refers to a criminalized nexus (or "mafia")
of government officials, elected politicians, business interests and
other entities (such as law-enforcement authorities, non-governmental
organizations, trade unions or criminal organizations).[1][2]In India (where the term originated) it can refer to cities, states, government departments, public sector businesses or entire sectors of the economy that are subject to these conditions. Due to the ability of these mafias to operate their illegal activities in a sustained fashion, sometimes openly and with the use of violent intimidation, terms like Goonda Raj (rule of the goons), Jungle Raj (law of the jungle) and Anarchy are used to refer to the same phenomenon.[3]
In the Indian and Pakistani media, the mafias are usually mentioned by the name of the economic sector in which they are involved. Terms such as coal mafia, timber mafia (sometimes, forest mafia), contractor mafia (sometimes, road construction mafia or road contract mafia) and land mafia are commonly used.
Contents |
Coal Mafia of Dhanbad,Jharkhand
The coal mafia has had a negative effect on Indian industry, with coal supplies and quality varying erratically. Higher quality coal is sometimes selectively diverted, and missing coal replaced with stones and boulders in railway cargo wagons. Once, even a human corpse has been discovered in a sealed coal wagon.[8]
In June 2012 , Bollywood epic Gangs of Wasseypur was released portraying the coal mafia in the area of Dhanbad , the movie received overwhelming response and was declared a Hit.
Timber Mafias
Protected forest areas in several parts of India, such as Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka and Jharkhand, are vulnerable to illegal logging by timber mafias that have coopted or intimidated forestry officials, local politicians, businesses and citizenry.[9][10] Terrorist groups have also joined the nexus in militancy-affected areas such as Kashmir.[11] Clear-cutting is sometimes covered-up by conniving officials who report fictitious forest fires.[12]
As with coal, there have also been incidents of substitution of low-grade wood for high-quality timber when the procurement of wood is, in fact, authorized for government use. In an incident in 2005, officials determined that high-quality deodar wood meant for military and railway use had been substituted with lower-quality chir wood in Jammu and Kashmir state, and the higher quality wood was intercepted in the process of being smuggled across the state border into Punjab.[16]
Contractor Mafias
In a widely covered case, Satyendra Dubey, a project director with the National Highways Authority of India, was murdered in 2003, allegedly because he had written a letter exposing deep-seated contractor mafia involvement in the construction of a section of the prestigious Golden Quadrilateral project to the Prime Minister's office.[19] Although a CBI investigative report after the assassination stated that there was no contractor mafia involvement in Dubey's murder,[20] his family and supporters maintained that an attempt at a cover-up was being made.[21]
Attempts have been made to reduce mafia influence by making construction tendering processes more transparent, sometimes by attempting to move them online, so that a complete audit trail of bids and activity is maintained. Construction mafias are alleged to have used their political influence decisively to frustrate many such attempts, for example in the public works for which the Municipal Corporation of Delhi is responsible.[22]
Land Mafias
In the very same way, inside Pakistan and specially in the largest city of Karachi, there are different groups of Land Mafias active. Some are alleged to be supported and backed by different political parties in power. They are encroaching different areas and housing schemes in city, like Mehran Town, Bin Qasim Town, Baldia Town, Guddap Town Layari Town to name a few. These gangester groups are equipped with weapons and have got the support of government officials due to their affiliation with different political parties.
In one set of allegations in Karnataka, a lake was filled in and government buildings torn down after illegal transfers to a developer by mafia-connected officials.[25] Eminent domain laws, intended to procure private land at relatively low prices for public benefit or redistribution to poorer people under social justice programs, are abused to pressure existing landholders to sell land to a government entity, which transfers the land to developers at those low prices, and who in turn sell it back on the market at much higher prices.[26][27]
Computerization of records relating to the classification of tracts and land ownership is a key tool in countering the illegal activities of land mafias, since it creates transparency on all information relating to a given parcel of land. This approach has been effective in Bangalore,[28] but efforts to extend it elsewhere have sometimes met with strong resistance by land mafias, manifesting itself as bureaucratic inaction.[29]
Focused vigilance in specific areas by government agencies has also acted as a deterrent to land mafia activities. For example, the land mafia in the Noida area, on the outskirts of Delhi, was reported to have illegally begun carving out plots for commercial sale on land identified by the Central Zoo Authority of India as the site for India's first Night Safari park.[30] Subsequent to coverage in the press, vigorous legal action by the Greater Noida Authority reportedly led to this mafia alliance backing away from this theft, although it may have shifted its attention to illegally encroaching on land along the planned Taj Expressway, connecting Delhi and Agra, which is expected to become quite valuable once the highway is inaugurated.[31]
Organised crime in India
The term Indian mafia refers to certain[which?] criminal organizations found in some[which?] of India's major cities. The "Indian Mafia" also refer to powerful families that have criminal aspects to it.[not verified in body]
Contents |
Mumbai underworld
The first of mafia elements, or syndicates, perhaps had their origins in the gambling and bootleg liquor dens set up by a pathan Ayub Khan Pathan alias Ayub Lala. He was the founder president of Pakhtun Jirga e Hind, an association of around 13,000 Afghani nationals settled in Bombay. Although Ayub Lala was labelled a mafia don, he had not even slapped a single person during his lifetime, to show off his muscle power. He controlled the gambling clubs mostly owned by Marwaris, Muslim and Gujrati operators and drug cartel including spurious liquor dens in Mumbai. Ayub Lala also owned a few KawaKhanas (a drink made from opium served with black tea) and Chandolkhanas (somewhat like hokkah parlours). He left Bombay after the murder of his own step son Kashmiri Lala handing over the reigns of all his activities to Karim lala who was earlier a vendor selling liquor at a den at Dongri in south Mumbai.[1] in the 1940s.Varadarajan Mudaliar, who rose to be a mafia don in Bombay was most active in the 1970s with Karim Lala and Haji Mastan. He enjoyed celebrity status and there are accounts that he even helped the needy and organized religious festivals. He is also considered to be India's first celebrity criminal. The Tamil film Nayagan which is a biopic of him directed by Mani Ratnam even made it to the Time Magazine's "All-Time 100 Best Films". The film was remade in Hindi called Dayavan which was directed by Feroze Khan with Vinod Khanna in leading role as the don Varadarajan Mudaliar. Meanwhile Haji Mastan is understood to be the inspiration behind the movie Deewar which was directed by Yash Chopra with Amitabh Bachchan in the lead role as the don.varadharajan mudhaliar(varadha bhai)was one of feared gangster of 70s and 80s.he was thrown out of power by inspector pawar.
There was also a don named Rama Naik who hailed from Byculla a close associate of Bada Rajan and mentor of Arun Gavli.[2] He reigned from 70 to 1987 when he was encountered on the behest of Dawood. Currently the biggest such underworld leader is Dawood Ibrahim. During his rise, Dawood Ibrahim was initially challenged by Karim Lala who eventually surrendered due to Dawood's swift and shrewd moves that resulted in also eliminating members of Karim Lala's family and his mob. Dawood was also challenged by the powerful Dholakia brothers (Mahesh and Arvind Dholakia) who masterminded the murder of Dawood's key ally Babu Reshim in a daring raid inside a Mumbai police station where Babu Reshim was detained. Following this, Dawood had both Dholakia brothers assassinated (in separate incidents) and consequently became the supreme and unchallenged underworld king of Mumbai. Varadarajan Mudaliar and Haji Mastan quit all illegal activities by that time and maintained a low key presence.
In the illegal opium trade, the earliest dated mafia family was the Thane-based (Mumbai) Thanevale gang that was responsible for over 80% of the opium and heroin trafficking in the 1860s according to an article by Harkisondas Thanawala (1965).
Coming into the 20th century another major crime family originating from Bulandshar erupted onto the scene. Their rackets included illegal garbage contracts and real estate transactions through bribery and extortion. The Bargoti Family has notoriously used violence and illegal influence to become a dominating force in the Indian Underworld. The current Don is known as a real estate mogul and resides in the U.S (PA) underneath an unknown alias and frequents India for business. Other defining rackets for the family include prostitution, gambling, and bootlegging.
Activities
India is a major transit point for heroin coming in from the Golden Triangle and Golden Crescent to Europe. India is also the world's largest legal grower of opium, and experts estimate that 5–10% of the legal opium is converted into illegal heroin and 8–10% is consumed in high quantities as concentrated liquid. The pharmaceutical industry is also responsible for a lot of illegal production of mandrax, much of which is smuggled into South Africa. Diamond smuggling via South Africa is also a major criminal activity, and diamonds are also sometimes used to disguise shipments of heroin. Finally, a lot of money laundering takes place in the country, mostly through the use of the traditional hawala system, although India has criminalised money laundering as of 2003.[3]Bangalore underworld
Bangalore’s underworld dates back to the late 1960s, when Kodigehalli Mune Gowda became the first underworld don.In the beginning he controlled all of Bangalore, and his basic revenue source was hafta(protection money) from brothels and arrack shops. In the 1970s, Kotwal Ramachandra and Jayaraj entered the field. Wine shops, massage parlours, game parlours were added to the list. They had political affiliations.The scene changed in the 1980s and 1990s, when young Turks entered the field like Muthappa Rai, Agni Shridhar in 1990 to 1995 Boot House Kumar or Oil Kumar, Bekkina Kannu Rajendra, Srirampura Kitty, Jedarahalli Krishnappa, Pushpa, Kala Pathar, Malla family, and Ele Naga emerged.At the same time, the underworld became active, Abu Shair, Koli Fayaz, Tanvir, Ishtiyak, Sajjad, Nazir, hibbath, Tarakari Khaleel and Chappal Hamid. Bangalore was virtually a battleground, as these operators stretched their businesses to all possible revenue earning sectors.[4]
Bangalore's underworld scenario is very well depicted in blockbuster Kannada movie Om. The movie is considered controversial because of its violence and the portrayal of a lot of Bangalore underworld's incidents. Many real underworld people acted in the movie, of which some convicts had to be bailed out just to act in this movie. Some of the infamous rowdies who acted in the film are Jedarahalli Krishnappa, Bekkina Kannu (Cat Eye) Raajendra, Korangu, and Tanveer.
Indian mafia in popular culture
Crime films revolving around the Indian mafia, particularly the Mumbai underworld, have been common in Indian cinema since the 1950s, evolving into a distinct genre known as Mumbai noir in the late 1990s.[5] The genre has its origins in the 1950s, with the Raj Kapoor films Awaara (1951) and Shree 420 (1955) being some of the earliest films involving the Mumbai underworld. In the 1960s, Shakti Samanta's China Town (1962), starring Shammi Kapoor and Helen, dealt with the criminal underworld that existed in Chinatown, Kolkata, at the time. It was the earliest film to introduce the plot element of a look-alike working as an undercover agent impersonating a gangster, an idea that was used again Don (1978) and many later films inspired by it.[6]In the 1970s and early 1980s, many of the most well-known classic Bollywood movies were based around themes of fighting criminals and corruption at a time when crime was rising and authorities were powerless. Classic Amitabh Bachchan films depicted the underworld and the protagonists attempting to overcome it, including Prakash Mehra's Zanjeer (1972), Yash Chopra's Deewar (1975), Manmohan Desai's Amar Akbar Anthony (1977), Chandra Barot's Don (1978) and Vijay Anand's Ram Balram (1980). In particular, Deewar, which Danny Boyle described as being “absolutely key to Indian cinema”, was a crime film pitting "a policeman against his brother, a gang leader based on real-life smuggler Haji Mastan", portrayed by Bachchan.[7] Most Bollywood crime movies at the time were fairly unrealistic with the masala style of action and plots. In Parallel Cinema on the other hand, the Calcutta trilogies of Bengali film directors Mrinal Sen and Satyajit Ray, particularly the 1976 film Jana Aranya (The Middleman), dealt with the Calcutta underworld in a more realistic manner.
In the late 1980s, Parallel Cinema filmmakers began producing more realistic Bombay underworld films, with an early example being Mani Ratnam's Tamil film, Nayagan (1987), based on the life of the Bombay don, Varadarajan Mudaliar, portrayed by Kamal Haasan. Nayagan was included in Time Magazine's "All-Time 100 Best Films" list, issued in 2005.[8] I The Bombay underworld was also depicted in Mira Nair's Academy Award nominated Hindi film Salaam Bombay! (1988). The underworld was also depicted in several other National Film Award winning films, including Vidhu Vinod Chopra's Parinda (1989) starring Anil Kapoor, Mukul S. Anand's Agneepath (1990) starring Bachchan, and Sudhir Mishra's Dharavi (1991) starring Anil Kapoor and Om Puri.
Mahesh Manjrekar's Vaastav: The Reality (1999) is another film that depicts the Indian mafia. Anurag Kashyap's Black Friday (2004) is based on S. Hussein Zaidi's book of the same name about the 1993 Bombay bombings, which involved the underworld organization, the D-Company.[7] Vishal Bharadwaj's Maqbool (2004) and Omkara (2006) are modern-day Indian mafia interpretations of the William Shakespeare plays Macbeth and Othello, respectively. Farhan Akhtar's Don - The Chase Begins Again (2006) is a remake of Barot's original 1978 Don with Shahrukh Khan taking Bachchan's place in the title role. Apoorva Lakhia's Shootout at Lokhandwala (2007) is based on a real-life 1991 incident involving Commissioner Aftab Ahmed Khan and the Lokhandwala Complex. Waaris (2008) is an Indian television series on Zee TV with the Indian mafia as its background. The Mumbai underworld has also been depicted in Madhur Bhandarkar's Traffic Signal (2007) and Rajeev Khandelwal's Aamir (2008).
Danny Boyle's Academy Award winning film Slumdog Millionaire (2008), based on Vikas Swarup's Boeke Prize winning novel Q & A (2005), has also portrayed the Indian mafia, under the influence of earlier Mumbai noir films.[10] Boyle has cited previous Bollywood portrayals of the Mumbai underworld in Deewar, Satya, Company and Black Friday as direct influences on the film.[7][11] Indian mafia was widely portrayed in 2009 Bollywood's 2009 critically acclaimed film Kaminey.
Gregory David Roberts's Shantaram novel, also features the Indian mafia in its storyline.
Bollywood connections
The Indian mafia is notoriously heavily involved in Mumbai's Bollywood film industry, providing films with funding and using them as fronts for other activities. It is rumoured that Dawood Ibrahim controls the film industry, and actors of other religious faiths are threatened to give way for his supporters. Although in recent times police investigations have forced mobsters to make their activities more subtle, for most of Bollywood's existence stars openly displayed their mafia connections, attending parties with mafia dons and using their help to gain new roles.[12]Crime in India
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Crime is present in various forms in India. Organized crime include drug trafficking, gunrunning, money laundering, extortion, murder for hire, fraud, human trafficking and poaching. Many criminal operations engage in black marketeering, political violence, religiously motivated violence, terrorism, and abduction. Other crimes are homicide, robbery, assault etc. Property crimes include burglary, theft, motor vehicle theft, and arson. Corruption is a significant problem.
Contents |
Crime over time
In 2006, 51,02,460 cognizable crimes were committed including 18,78,293 Indian Penal Code (IPC) crimes and 32,24,167 Special & Local Laws (SLL) crimes, with an increase of 1.5% over 2005 (50,26,337).[3] IPC crime rate in 2006 was 167.7 compared to 165.3 in 2005 showing an increase of 1.5% in 2006 over 2005.[3] SLL crime rate in 2006 was 287.9 compared to 290.5 in 2005 showing a decline of 0.9% in 2006 over 2005.[3]
| Year[2] | Total cog. crimes under IPC | Murder | Kidnapping | Robbery | Theft | Burglary | Riots |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1953 | 6,01,964 | 9,802 | 5,261 | 8,407 | 147,379 | 20,529 | |
| 2006 | 18,78,293 | 32,481 | 23,991 | 18,456 | 91,666 | 56,641 | |
| % Change in 2006 over 1953 | 212.0 | 231.0 | 356.0 | 120.0 | -38.0 | 176.0 |
Crime by locale
Location has a significant impact on crime in India. In 2006, the highest crime rate was reported in Pondicherry (447.7%) for crimes under Indian Penal Code which is 2.7 times the national crime rate of 167.7%.[3] Kerala reported the highest crime rate at 312.5% among states.[3] Kolkata (71.0%) and Madurai (206.2%) were the only two mega cities which reported less crime rate than their domain states West Bengal (79.0%) and Tamil Nadu (227.6%).[3] Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore have accounted for 16.2%, 9.5% and 8.1% respectively of the total IPC crimes reported from 35 mega cities.[3] Indore reported the highest crime rate (769.1%) among the mega cities in India followed by Bhopal (719.5%) and Jaipur (597.1%).[3]Jammu & Kashmir (33.7%), Manipur (33.0%), Assam (30.4%) and Daman and Diu and Pondicherry (29.4%) reported higher violent crime rate compared to 18.4% at national level.[3] Uttar Pradesh reported the highest incidence of violent crimes accounting for 12.1% of total violent crimes in India (24,851 out of 2,05,656) followed by Bihar with 11.8% (24,271 out of 2,05,6556).[3] Among 35 mega cities, Delhi reported 31.2% (533 out of 1,706) of total rape cases.[3] Madhya Pradesh has reported the highest number of rape cases (2,900) accounting for 15.0% of total such cases reported in the country.[3] Uttar Pradesh reported 10% (5,480 out of 32,481) of total murder cases in the country and 18.4% (4,997 out of 27,230) total attempt to murder cases.[3]
Crimes against women
Main article: Women in India
Police records show high incidence of crimes against women in India.
The National Crime Records Bureau reported in 1998 that the growth rate
of crimes against women would be higher than the population growth rate
by 2010.[4]
Earlier, many cases were not registered with the police due to the
social stigma attached to rape and molestation cases. Official
statistics show that there has been a dramatic increase in the number of
reported crimes against women.[4]Rape
Main article: Rape in India
Rape in India has been described by Radha Kumar as one of India's most common crimes against women.[5]. Official sources show that rape cases in India has doubled between 1990 and 2008 [6]Sexual Harassment
Half of the total number of crimes against women reported in 1990 related to molestation and harassment at the workplace.[4] Eve teasing is a euphemism used for sexual harassment or molestation of women by men. Many activists blame the rising incidents of sexual harassment against women on the influence of "Western culture". In 1987, The Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act was passed[7] to prohibit indecent representation of women through advertisements or in publications, writings, paintings, figures or in any other manner.In 1997, in a landmark judgement, the Supreme Court of India took a strong stand against sexual harassment of women in the workplace. The Court also laid down detailed guidelines for prevention and redressal of grievances. The National Commission for Women subsequently elaborated these guidelines into a Code of Conduct for employers.[4]
Dowry
Main articles: Dowry and Dowry law in IndiaIn 1961, the Government of India passed the Dowry Prohibition Act,[8] making the dowry demands in wedding arrangements illegal. However, many cases of dowry-related domestic violence, suicides and murders have been reported. In the 1980s, numerous such cases were reported. However, recent reports show that the number of these crimes have reduced drastically.[9]
In 1985, the Dowry Prohibition (maintenance of lists of presents to the bride and bridegroom) rules were framed.[10] According to these rules, a signed list of presents given at the time of the marriage to the bride and the bridegroom should be maintained. The list should contain a brief description of each present, its approximate value, the name of whoever has given the present and his/her relationship to the person.
A 1997 report[11] claimed that at least 5,000 women die each year because of dowry deaths, and at least a dozen die each day in 'kitchen fires' thought to be intentional. The term for this is "bride burning" and is criticized within India itself. Amongst the urban educated, such dowry abuse has reduced dramatically.
Child Marriage
Child marriage has been traditionally prevalent in India and continues to this day. Young girls live with their parents until they reach puberty. In the past, the child widows were condemned to a life of great agony, shaving heads, living in isolation, and shunned by the society.[12] Although child marriage was outlawed in 1860, it is still a common practice.[13]According to UNICEF’s “State of the World’s Children-2009” report, 47% of India's women aged 20–24 were married before the legal age of 18, with 56% in rural areas.[14] The report also showed that 40% of the world's child marriages occur in India.[15]
Female infanticides and sex selective abortions
Main article: Sex-selective abortion and infanticide
India has a highly masculine sex ratio, the chief reason being that many women die before reaching adulthood.[4] Tribal societies in India have a less masculine sex ratio than all other caste groups. This, in spite of the fact that tribal communities have far lower levels of income, literacy and health facilities.[4]
It is therefore suggested by many experts, that the highly masculine
sex ratio in India can be attributed to female infanticides and
sex-selective abortions.All medical tests that can be used to determine the sex of the child have been banned in India, due to incidents of these tests being used to get rid of unwanted female children before birth. Female infanticide (killing of girl infants) is still prevalent in some rural areas.[4] The abuse of the dowry tradition has been one of the main reasons for sex-selective abortions and female infanticides in India.
Domestic violence
The incidents of domestive violence are higher among the lower Socio-Economic Classes (SECs). There are various instances of an inebriated husband beating up the wife often leading to severe injuries. Domestic violence is also seen in the form of physical abuse. The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 came into force on October 26, 2006.Illegal drug trade
India is located between two major illicit opium producing centres in Asia - the Golden Crescent comprising Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran and the Golden Triangle comprising Burma, Thailand and Laos.[16] Because of such geographical location, India experiences large amount of drug trafficking through the borders.[17] India is the world's largest producer of licit opium for the pharmaceutical trade.[18] But an undetermined quantity of opium is diverted to illicit international drug markets.[18]India is a transshipment point for heroin from Southwest Asian countries like Afghanistan and Pakistan and from Southeast Asian countries like Burma, Laos, and Thailand.[19] Heroin is smuggled from Pakistan and Burma, with some quantities transshipped through Nepal.[19] Most heroin shipped from India are destined for Europe.[19] There have been reports of heroin smuggled from Mumbai to Nigeria for further export.[19]
In Maharashtra, Mumbai is an important centre for distribution of drug.[20] The most commonly used drug in Mumbai is Indian heroin (called desi mal by the local population).[20] Both public transportation (road and rail transportation) and private transportation are used for this drug trade.[20]
Drug trafficking affects the country in many ways.
- Drug abuse: Cultivation of illicit narcotic substances and drug trafficking affects the health of the individuals and destroy the economic structure of the family and society.[21]
- Organized crime: Drug trafficking results in growth of organized crime which affects social security. Organised crime connects drug trafficking with corruption and money laundering.[21]
- Political instability: Drug trafficking also aggravates the political instability in North-West and North-East India.[22]
Several measures have been taken by the Government of India to combat drug trafficking in the country. India is a party of the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs (1961), the Convention on Psychotropic Substances (1971), the Protocol Amending the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs (1972) and the United Nations Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (1988).[26] An Indo-Pakistani committee was set up in 1986 to prevent trafficking in narcotic drugs.[27] India signed a convention with the United Arab Emirates in 1994 to control drug trafficking.[27] In 1995, India signed an agreement with Egypt for investigation of drug cases and exchange of information and a Memorandum of Understanding of the Prevention of Illicit Trafficking in Drugs with Iran.[27]
Arms trafficking
According to a joint report published by Oxfam, Amnesty International and the International Action Network on Small Arms (IANSA) in 2006, there are around 40 million illegal small arms in India out of approximately 75 million in worldwide circulation.[28] Majority of the illegal small arms make its way into the states of Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Orissa and Madhya Pradesh.[28] In India, a used AK-47 costs $3,800 in black market.[29] Large amount of illegal small arms are manufactured in various illegal arms factories in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar and sold on the black market for as little as $5.08.[28]Chinese pistols are in demand in the illegal small arms market in India because they are easily available and cheaper.[28] This trend poses a significant problem for the states of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Orissa, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh which have influence of Naxalism.[28] The porous Indo-Nepal border is an entry point for Chinese pistols, AK-47 and M-16 rifles into India as these arms are used by the Naxalites who have ties to Maoists in Nepal.[28]
In North-East India, there is a huge influx of small arms due to the insurgent groups operating there.[30] The small arms in North-East India come from insurgent groups in Burma, black market in South-East Asian countries like Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka, black market in Cambodia, the People's Republic of China, insurgent groups like the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, the Communist Party of India (Maoist), the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist), Indian states like Uttar Pradesh and pilferages from legal gun factories, criminal organizations operating in India and South Asian countries and other international markets like Romania, Germany etc.[30] The small arms found in North-East India are M14 rifle, M16 rifle, AK-47, AK-56, AK-74, light machine guns, Chinese hand grenades, mines, rocket-propelled grenades, submachine guns etc.[30]
The Ministry of External Affairs and Ministry of Home Affairs drafted a joint proposal to the United Nations, seeking a global ban on small-arms sales to non-state users.[28]
Poaching and wildlife trafficking
Illegal wildlife trade in India has increased.[31] According to a report published by the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) in 2004, India is the chief target for the traders of wildlife skin.[32] Between 1994 and 2003, there have been 784 cases where the skins of tiger, leopard or otter have been seized.[32] Leopards, rhinoceros, reptiles, birds, insects, rare species of plants are being smuggled into the countries in Southeast Asia and the People's Republic of China.[31] Between 1994 and 2003, poaching and seizure of 698 otters have been documented in India.[32]Kathmandu is a key staging point for illegal skins smuggled from India bound for Tibet and PRC.[32] The report by EIA noted there has been a lack of cross-border cooperation between India, Nepal and the People's Republic of China to coordinate enforcement operations and lack of political will to treat wildlife crime effectively.[32] The poaching of the elephants is a significant problem in Southern India[33] and in the North-Eastern states of Nagaland and Mizoram.[34] The majority of tiger poaching happen in Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Orissa, West Bengal, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh.[35] Following is a comparison of reported cases of tiger and leopard poaching from 1998 to 2003:
| Year | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reported cases of tiger poaching[36] | 14 | 38 | 39 | 35 | 47 | 8 |
| Reported cases of leopard poaching[36] | 28 | 80 | 201 | 69 | 87 | 15 |
Project Tiger, a wildlife conservation project, was initiated in 1972 and was launched by Indira Gandhi on April 1, 1973.[37] With 23 tiger reserves, Project Tiger claimed to have succeeded.[37] But according to critics like conservationist Billy Arjan Singh, temporary increases in tiger population were caused by immigration due to destruction of habitat in Nepal, not because of the widely acclaimed success of wildlife policy in India.[37]
Cyber crime
Cases of spam, computer hacking, cyber stalking and email fraud are rampant in India.[38] The Information Technology Act 2000 was passed by the Parliament of India in May 2000, aiming to curb cyber crimes and provide a legal framework for e-commerce transactions.[39] However Pavan Duggal, lawyer of Supreme Court of India and cyber law expert, viewed "The IT Act, 2000, is primarily meant to be a legislation to promote e-commerce. It is not very effective in dealing with several emerging cyber crimes like cyber harassment, defamation, stalking and so on".[38] Although cyber crime cells have been set up in major cities, Duggal noted the problem is that most cases remain unreported due to a lack of awareness.[38]In 2001, India and United States had set up an India-US cyber security forum as part of a counter-terrorism dialogue.[40] In 2006, India and the US agreed to enhance cooperation between law enforcement agencies of the two countries in tackling cyber crimes as part of counter-terrorism efforts.[40] A joint US-India statement released in 2006 after talks between US President George W. Bush and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh stressed that in view of the importance of cyber security and cyber forensic research, the two countries are also carrying out discussions on a draft protocol on cyber security.[40]
Corruption and police misconduct
Main article: Corruption in India
Corruption is widespread in India. It is prevalent within every section and every level of the society.[41] Corruption has taken the role of a pervasive aspect of Indian politics.[42] In India, corruption takes the form of bribes, evasion of tax and exchange controls, embezzlement, etc.Despite state prohibitions against torture and custodial misconduct by the police, torture is widespread in police custody, which is a major reason behind deaths in custody.[43][44] The police often torture innocent people until a 'confession' is obtained to save influential and wealthy offenders.[45] G.P. Joshi, the programme coordinator of the Indian branch of the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative in New Delhi comments that the main issue at hand concerning police violence is a lack of accountability of the police.[46]
In 2006, the Supreme Court of India in a judgment in the Prakash Singh vs. Union of India case, ordered central and state governments with seven directives to begin the process of police reform. The main objectives of this set of directives was twofold, providing tenure to and streamlining the appointment/transfer processes of policemen, and increasing the accountability of the police.[47]
In 2006, seven policemen were charge sheeted and eleven were convicted[3] for custodial misconduct. Jan Lokpal Bill is being planned to reduce the corruption.[48]
Crimes against foreigners in India
There are some instances of violent crime against foreigners in India.[49] Scams involving export of jewels occur in India, which target foreign citizens.[49] Traveling alone in remote areas after dark is of particular risk to foreigners.[50]Because the American, Canadian and British citizens' purchasing power is relatively large compared to the general Indian population, they are the preferred target for robbery and other serious crime.[51]
In April 1999, Swaraj Damree, a tourist from Mauritius was befriended by a group of Indians who later held him in 25 days of captivity. They robbed him of cash amounting to US $1,500, took his travellers' cheques, wrist watch, gold chain, bracelet, two bags and suitcase.[52] In 2000, two German trekkers were shot in Himachal Pradesh. A few weeks later, two Spanish tourists were killed in Himachal Pradesh by robbers.[53] Many foreign tourists are victims of violent crime in Kolkata.[54] In September 2006, criminals robbed the wallet of a British woman in Kolkata.[54] The same month, a Japanese tourist was robbed on his way to Sudder Street.[54] In October 2006, a foreigner was robbed in daylight on Park Street.[54]
Petty crime
Petty crime, like pickpocketing, bag snatching etc. is widespread in India. Theft of foreigners' valuables from luggage on trains and buses is common. Travelers who are not in groups become easy victims of pickpockets and purse snatchers. Purse snatchers work in crowded areas.[55]Passport theft
In India, stealing passports of foreigners from their luggage on trains and buses is widespread.[49] Theft of U.S. passports is very common, especially in major tourist areas.[51][56]Confidence tricks
Many scams are perpetrated against foreign travelers, especially in Jaipur, the capital of Rajasthan.[51] Scammers usually target younger foreign tourists and suggest to them that money can be made by privately transporting gems or gold, or by taking delivery abroad of expensive carpets, avoiding customs duties.[51]Such incidents occupy the traveler for several days. The traveler is then passed to a new scam artist who offers to show the foreign traveler the sights. Scam artists also offer cheap lodgings and meals to foreign travelers so they can place him or her in the scam artist's physical custody and thus make the foreigner vulnerable to threats and physical coercion. In the process, the foreigner loses his passport.[51]
Taxi scam
There are also taxi scams present in India, whereby a foreign traveler, who is not aware of the locations around Indian airports, is taken for a ride round the whole airport and charged for full-fare taxi ride while the terminal is only few hundred yards away.[55] Overseas Security Advisory Council in a report mentioned the process about how to avoid taxi-scam.[55]Rape and sexual assault
Incidents of rape and sexual assault against foreign tourists at popular tourist spots is increasing in India. Many of the alleged perpetrators are children of senior government officials or politicians.[57][58] In September 1994, Gurkirat Singh Kotli, grandson of the then CM Beant Singh, was accused of abducting and molesting a French tourist, Katia Darnand, in Chandigarh.[59][60] In March 2006, Biti Mohanty, son of a senior police official in Orissa, raped a German tourist in Alwar, Rajasthan.[61][62] A Japanese woman was raped in Pushkar, Rajasthan on April 2, 2006.[63][64] In June 2007, a South Korean was raped near Manali.[61] In September 2007, two Japanese women were gang-raped in Agra,[61] a popular tourist-spot in India where the Taj Mahal is situated.The Indian state of Rajasthan - a popular destination among foreign tourists, with one out of every three foreign travellers visiting the state - has been rattled by rape cases of foreign tourists.[65] On December 5, 2009, a Russian woman was raped in Goa by a local politician, John Fernandes. In February 2008, Scarlett Keeling, a British national aged 15, was raped and killed in Goa.[66] In January 2010, a Russian girl aged 9 was raped in Goa;[67] referring to this and earlier cases, Russia threatened to issue an advisory asking its citizens not to travel to the coastal state.[68] The US Bureau of Consular Affairs has warned women not to travel alone in India.[56] However in contrast the British Foreign office only advise them to take normal precautions.[69]
Recently a 23 years old physiotherapist was raped and brutally beaten up by 6 Bihar citizens living in New Delhi. She is in critical condition.
Murder and manslaughter
The following are reported cases of foreigners reported missing or killed in India.| Name | Age | Sex | Nationality | Date | Circumstances | Place | State | References |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Graham Staines | 58 | Male | Australia | 1999/01/22 | Burned to death by Dara Singh & gang | Manoharpur | Orissa | Link |
| Timothy Staines | 7 | Australia | 1999/01/22 | Burned to death by Dara Singh & gang | Manoharpur | Orissa | Link | |
| Philip Staines | 9 | Male | Australia | 1999/01/22 | Burned to death by Dara Singh & gang | Manoharpur | Orissa | Link |
| Michael Blakey | 23 | Male | United Kingdom | 2006/11/28 | Stoned to death | Dharamsala | Himachal Pradesh | [70][71] |
| Stephen Bennett | 40 | Male | United Kingdom | 2006/12/11 | Hanged in a jungle | Roha | Maharashtra | [72][73] |
| Elena Sukhnova | 24 | Female | Russia | 2006/05/08 | Left dismembered on rail track | Revora | Goa | [74] |
| Browne Chapa Sherianne Maria | Female | Trinidad and Tobago | 2009/12/03 | Suspected poisoning | Agra | Uttar Pradesh | [75] | |
| Kirill Gusev | Male | Russia | 2009 | Suspected poisoning | Pernem | Goa | [76] | |
| Jean-Baptiste Talleu | 27 | Male | France | 2007/12/05 | Missing since | Bombay | Maharashtra | [77] |
| Anna Bartlett | 25 | Female | United Kingdom | 2003/10/02 | Head injuries | Manali | Himachal Pradesh | [78] |
| Daniel Mountwitten | 23 | Male | Australia Male | 2005/08/05 | Missing since | Challal | Himachal Pradesh | [79] |
| Scarlett Keeling | 15 | Female | United Kingdom | 2008/02/18 | Drugged and assaulted | Anjuna | Goa | [80] |
| Leos Klimes | Male | Czech Republic | 2007/08/07 | Missing since | Leh | Jammu and Kashmir | [81] |
Caste-related violence in India
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Caste-related violence and hate crimes in India have occurred despite the gradual reduction of casteism in the country.According to a report by Human Rights Watch, "Dalits and indigenous peoples (known as Scheduled Tribes or adivasis) continue to face discrimination, exclusion, and acts of communal violence. Laws and policies adopted by the Indian government provide a strong basis for protection, but are not being faithfully implemented by local authorities.".[1]
1981 Phoolan Devi, Uttar Pradesh
Main article: Phoolan Devi
Phoolan Devi (1963 – 2001) was an Indian dacoit (bandit), who later turned politician. Born into a traditional boatman class Mallaah family, she was kidnapped by a gang of dacoits. The Thakur leader of the gang tried to rape
her, but she was protected by the deputy leader Vikram, who belonged to
her caste. Later, an upper-caste Thakur friend of Vikram killed him,
abducted Phoolan, and locked her up in the Behmai village. Phoolan was
raped in the village by Thakur men, until she managed to escape after
three weeks.[2]Phoolan Devi then formed a gang of Mallahs, which carried out a series of violent robberies in north and central India, mainly targeting upper-caste people. Some say that Phoolan Devi targeted only the upper-caste people and shared the loot with the lower-caste people, but the Indian authorities insist this is a myth.[3] Seventeen months after her escape from Behmai, Phoolan returned to the village, to take her revenge. On February 14, 1981, her gang massacred twenty-two Thakur men in the village, only two of which were involved in her kidnapping or rape. Phoolan Devi later surrendered and served eleven years in prison, after which she became a politician. During her election campaign, she was criticized by the women widowed in the Behmai massacre. Kshatriya Swabhimaan Andolan Samanvay Committee (KSASC), a Kshatriya organization, held a statewide campaign to protest against her. She was elected a Member of Parliament twice.
On July 25, 2001, Phoolan Devi was shot dead by unknown assassins. Later, a man called Sher Singh Rana confessed to the murder, saying he was avenging the deaths of 22 Kshatriyas at Behmai. Although the police were skeptical of his claims, he was arrested. Rana escaped from Tihar Jail in 2004. In 2006, KSASC decided to honor Rana for "upholding the dignity of the Thakur community" and "drying the tears of the widows of Behmai."[4]
Ranvir Sena
Main article: Ranvir Sena
Ranvir Sena is a caste-supremacist fringe militia group based in Bihar. The group is based amongst the higher-caste landlords, and carries out actions against the outlawed naxals in rural areas. It has committed violent acts against Dalits and other members of the scheduled caste community in an effort to prevent reforms aimed at their emancipation. [5]
 |
This article needs additional citations for verification. (February 2011) |
1996 Bathani Tola Massacre, Bihar
Main article: 1996 Bathani Tola Massacre
21 Dalits were slaughtered by the Ranvir Sena in Bathani Tola, Bhojpur in Bihar in 11 July 1996.[6]
Among the dead were 11 women, six children and three infants. Ranvir
Sena mob killed Women and Children in particular as per the design so as
to demolish any future resistance which they foresaw. [5]6 members of Naimuddin Ansari's family members were slaughtered to death by Ranvir Sena as per the Naimuddin Ansari's witness statement.The FIR was lodged against 33 persons the day after the massacre. Niammuddin was a bangle-seller at the time of the carnage whose 3 month old daughter (who was not named at the time of the massacre) was killed. She was tossed in the air and thrust down the blade of a sword by Ranvir Sena aggressors. Ranvir Sena killed Women and Children by design and not because they came in their way. Naimuddin's 7 year son Saddam was attacked and his face was mutilated by sword lacerations. Though Naimuddin tried to save him, Ranvir Sena had cut his spinal cord and the child died at Patna Medical College Hospital after a week. [5]
On 17 April 2012, the Patna High Court acquitted 23 men convicted of the murders. A Division Bench of judges Navneeti Prasad Singh and Ashwani Kumar Singh cited “defective evidence” to acquit all of them.[5][6] The next day, the Bihar State SC/ST Welfare Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi stated that the NDA-led Govt (under Nitish Kumar) has decided to move to Supreme court challenging the Patna HC Order.[7]
A Ranvir Sena sympathizer, who spoke to the Hindu correspondent Shoumojit Banerjee, justified the reactionary mobilisation of the upper castes against those Naxals. "The land is ours. The crops belong to us. They (the labourers) did not want to work, and moreover, hampered our efforts by burning our machines and imposing economic blockades. So, they had it coming."[5]
Post Bathani Tola Carnage there were further attacks on Dalits and Labourers organized by the Ranvir Sena in Laxmanpur Bathe and Sankarbigha in which 81 Dalits were killed.[5]
The Counsel for the witness, Anand Vatsyayan, expressed being shocked at the High Court verdict and reportedly said that "sufficient evidence were at hand to uphold the judgement passed by the Ara sessions court. The Supreme Court guidelines in the event of a massacre are quite clear. The eyewitnesses need not remember all the names. And, of the six prime witnesses questioned in this case, all had conclusively pointed fingers at the persons convicted by the lower court.[6]
1969 Kilvenmani massacre, Tamilnadu
Main article: Kilvenmani massacre
1969 in which a group of c.42 striking Dalit (untouchable) village
labourers were murdered by a gang, allegedly sent by their landlords.1997 Laxmanpur Bathe Carnage, Bihar
On 1 December 1997, Ranvir Sena gunned down 58 Dalits at Laxmanpur Bathe. Charges were framed in the case against 46 Ranvir Sena men on December 23, 2008.[8]On 7 April 2010 sentenced 16 convicted persons to death out of the 26 convicted at Patna court. Announcing the judgement, Additional District Judge Vijay Prakash Mishra sentenced to life imprisonment the remaining 10 convicts and imposed a fine of Rs. 50,000 on each.[8]
Around 91 of 152 witnesses in the case had deposed before the court.[8]
1997 Melavalavu Massacre, Tamil Nadu
In the village of Melavalavu, in Tamil Nadu's Madurai district, following the election of a Dalit to the village council presidency, members of a higher-caste group murdered six Dalits in June 1997, including the elected council president, whom they beheaded. [9]Melavalavu panchayat, which was a general constituency, was declared a reserved constituency in 1996. This had caused resentment between Scheduled Caste people and Ambalakarar community. In the 1996 panchayat elections, Murugesan was elected president.[10]
In June 1997, a group of persons attacked Murugesan, vice-president Mookan and others with deadly weapons, resulting in the death of six persons and injuries to many others. A total of 40 persons were cited as accused in the case. The trial court convicted Alagarsamy and 16 others and sentenced them to undergo life imprisonment. On appeal, the High Court by its judgment dated April 19, 2006, confirmed the trial court’s order. Alagarsamy and others filed appeals against this judgment.[10]
2003 Muthanga Incident Kerala
On 19th Feb 2003, the Adivasis/Tribals gathered under Adivasi Gothra Mahasbha (ADMS), at Muthanga faced 18 rounds of police firing in which 2 fatal casualties were confirmed officially. The Tribals gathered in protest to the Governments delay in allotting them land, which was signed on October 2001. Later, the casualty toll had reached 5 deaths among the Tribals. Vinod, a Police Constable died was also a Dalit. [11]1999 Bant Singh case, Punjab
In January 1999 four members of the village panchayat of Bhungar Khera village in Abohar paraded a handicapped Dalit woman, Ramvati devi naked through the village. No action was taken by the police, despite local Dalit protests. It was only on July 20 that the four panchayat members and the head Ramesh lal were arrested, after the State Home Department was compelled to order an inquiry into the incident.[12]On the evening of January 5, 2006 Bant Singh, a poor Mazhabi, Dalit Sikh, was attacked by unknown assailants. His injuries necessitated medical amputation. He alleges that this was in retaliation for actively working to secure justice for his daughter, who was gang raped by upper caste members of his village in Punjab five years earlier.[13][14]
A 55-year-old Dalit Sikh woman, Sawinder Kaur has been tortured, stripped and tied to a tree in Ram Duali village of Punjab because her nephew eloped with a girl from the same community. The police arrested four persons for allegedly committing the crime on 9 September 2007.[15]
2006 Kherlanji massacre Maharashtra
Main article: Kherlanji Massacre
On September 29, 2006, four members of the Bhotmange family belonging to the Mahar Dalit underclass were slaughtered in Kherlanji, a small village in Bhandara district of Maharashtra. The women of the family, Surekha and Priyanka, were paraded naked in public, then allegedly gang-raped before being murdered [1].
Although initially ascribed by the media and by the Human Rights Watch
to upper castes, the criminal act was actually carried out by Kunbi[16] caste[17] by Government of India) farmers for having opposed the requisition of the Dalit land to have a road built over it.On November 23, 2006, some members of the Dalit community in the nearby district of Chandrapur staged a protest regarding this incident. The protesters allegedly turned violent and threw stones. The police resorted to baton-charging the protestors to control the situation. Dalit leaders, however, denied that they had first resorted to violence and stated that they had been "protesting in peace".
2006 Dalit protests in Maharashtra
Main article: 2006 Dalit protests in Maharashtra
In November–December 2006, the desecration of an Ambedkar statue in Kanpur (Uttar Pradesh) triggered violent protests by Dalits in Maharashtra. Several people remarked that the protests were fueled by the Kherlanji Massacre.[18] During the violent protests, the Dalit protestors set three trains on fire, damaged over 100 buses and clashed with police[19] At least four deaths and many more injuries were reported..[20] [21] .[22]
Rajasthan
See also: 2008 caste violence in Rajasthan
In the Indian province of Rajasthan, between the years 1999 and 2002, crimes against Dalits average at about 5024 a year, with 46 killings and 138 cases of rape.[23][24]2012 Dharmapuri violence, Tamil Nadu
In December 2012 as many as 268 dwellings – huts, tiled-roof and one or two-room concrete houses of Dalits (of the Adi-Dravida community) near Naikkankottai in Dharmapuri district of western Tamil Nadu were torched by the higher-caste group. The victims have alleged that ‘systematic destruction’ of their properties and livelihood resources has taken place.[25]The Madras High Court has stated the incident as serious and instructed the state authorities to submit a status report and the counter affidavit on that date.[26]
The BJP in Tamil Nadu on Friday said that the government has failed to check increasing incidents of breakdown of law and order and the police are not given full power to deal with it.[27]
Religious violence in India
Religious violence in India includes acts of violence by followers of one religious group against followers and institutions of another religious group, often in the form of rioting.[1] Religious violence in India, especially in recent times, has generally involved Hindus and Muslims, although incidents of violence have also involved Christians, Jews, and Sikhs.Despite the secular and religiously tolerant constitution of India, broad religious representation in various aspects of society including the government, the active role played by autonomous bodies such as National Human Rights Commission of India and National Commission for Minorities, and the ground-level work being out by Non-governmental organizations, sporadic and sometimes serious acts of religious violence tend to occur as the root causes of religious violence often run deep in history, religious activities, and politics of India.[2][3][4][5]
Along with domestic organizations, international human rights organizations such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch publish reports [6] on acts of religious violence in India.
Contents[hide]
|
[edit] Ancient India
Main article: Decline of Buddhism in India
Ancient India has no history of large scale religious violence.[7] However, King Pusyamitra of Sunga Empire is linked in legend with the persecution of Buddhists. There is some doubt as to whether he did or did not persecute Buddhists actively.[8]
With the possible exception of reign of King Pusyamitra, Buddhism and Hinduism seem to have co-existed peacefully with almost all Buddhist temples, including the once at Ajanta Caves, being built under the rule and patronage of Hindu kings;[13] along with Jainism and other religions and there were no anti-religious bloodshed.
[edit] Medieval India
Main articles: Persecution of Hindus and Muslim conquest in the Indian subcontinent
[edit] Muhammad bin Qasim
After the conquest, Muhammad bin Qasim adopted a controversial policy, asking for acceptance of Islamic Sharia law, in return for non-interference in their religious practice,.[16] No further mass conversions were attempted and the destruction of temples such as the Sun Temple at Multan was forbidden.[14]
[edit] Mahmud of Ghazni
[edit] Qutb-ud-din Aibak
Historical records compiled by Muslim historian Maulana Hakim Saiyid Abdul Hai attest to the iconoclasm of Qutb-ud-din Aybak. The first mosque built in Delhi, the "Quwwat al-Islam" was built after the demolition of the Hindu temple built previously by Prithvi Raj and certain parts of the temple were left outside the mosque proper.[18] This pattern of iconoclasm was common during his reign, although an argument goes that such iconoclasm was motivated more by politics than by religion.[19][edit] Iltutmish
Another ruler of the sultanate, Shams-ud-din Iltutmish, conquered and subjugated the Hindu pilgrimage site Varanasi in the 11th century and he continued the destruction of Hindu temples and idols that had begun during the first attack in 1194.[20][edit] Firuz Shah Tughlaq
Firuz Shah Tughluq was the third ruler of the Tughlaq dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate. The "Tarikh-i-Firuz Shah" is a historical record written during his reign that attests to the systematic persecution of Hindus under his rule.[21] In particular, it records atrocities committed against Hindu Brahmin priests who refused to convert to Islam:| “ | An order was accordingly given to the Brahman and was brought before Sultan. The true faith was declared to the Brahman and the right course pointed out. but he refused to accept it. A pile was risen on which the Kaffir with his hands and legs tied was thrown into and the wooden tablet on the top. The pile was lit at two places his head and his feet. The fire first reached him in the feet and drew from him a cry and then fire completely enveloped him. Behold Sultan for his strict adherence to law and rectitude.[21] | ” |
[edit] Ulugh Khan’s expedition and the sack of Srirangam
In 1323 Ulugh Khan began his invasions of the Hindu kingdoms of South India. At Srirangam the invading army desecrated the shrine and killed 12000 ascetics, including the great scholar Sri Sundarsana Bhatta. The illustrious Vaishnava philosopher Sri Vedanta Desika, hid himself amongst the corpses together with the sole manuscript of the Srutaprakasika, the magnum opus of Sri Sudarsana, and also the latter’s two sons. When the massacre was over, Sri Vedanta Desika and his followers fled to Satyamangalam in Mysore, where Sri Vedanta Desika published the Srutaprakasika.[edit] Malik Kafur's raid of South India
The Muslim army lead by Malik Kafur, a slave turned general of Allauddin Khilji attacked the beautiful temples of Hoysalas in the 14th century. The temple of Belur was protected and saved as soon as the attack started, so it didn't incur too much of damage. However, Halebid was destroyed to a great extent and is in a pretty dilapidated state.In 1311 Malik Kafur entered the magnificent Srirangam temple massacred the Brahmin priests of the temple who resisted the invasion for three days, plundered the temple treasury and the storehouse and desecrated and destroyed numerous religious icons.
[edit] Timur's massacre of Delhi
Timur's campaigns in India were marked by systematic slaughter and other atrocities on a truly massive scale inflicted mainly on the subcontinent's Hindu population. In Timur's own words in Tuzk-i-Timuri -"About the year 800 A.H. (1398 A.D.), there arose in my heart the desire to lead an expedition against the infidels and to become a Champion of the Faith, for it had reached my ears that the slayer of infidels is a Champion and that, if he is slain, he becomes a martyr. It was for this reason that I formed my resolution, but I was undetermined in my mind whether I should direct my expedition against the infidels of China or against the infidels and polytheists of India. In this matter I sought an omen from the Koran, and the verse to which I opened was this: “O Prophet, make war upon infidels and unbelievers, and treat them with severity."
Timur stormed the fort of Kator on the border of Kashmir and ordered his soldiers "to kill all the men, to make prisoners of women and children, and to plunder and lay waste all their property". Next, he "directed towers to be built on the mountain of the skulls of those obstinate unbelievers". Soon after, he laid siege to Bhatnir defended by Rajputs. They surrendered after some fight, and were pardoned. But Islam did not bind Timur to keep his word given to the "unbelievers". His Tuzk-i-Timuri records:
"In a short space of time all the people in the fort were put to the sword, and in the course of one hour the heads of 10,000 infidels were cut off. The sword of Islam was washed in the blood of the infidels, and all the goods and effects, the treasure and the grain which for many a long year had been stored in the fort became the spoil of my soldiers. They set fire to the houses and reduced them to ashes, and they razed the buildings and the fort to the ground."
At Sarsuti, the next city to be sacked, "all these infidel Hindus were slain, their wives and children were made prisoners and their property and goods became the spoil of the victors". Timur was now moving through (modern day) Haryana, the land of the Jats. He directed his soldiers to "plunder and destroy and kill every one whom they met". And so the soldiers "plundered every village, killed the men, and carried a number of Hindu prisoners, both male and female".
Loni which was captured before he arrived at Delhi was predominantly a Hindu town. But some Muslim inhabitants were also taken prisoners. Timur ordered that "the Musulman prisoners should be separated and saved, but the infidels should all be dispatched to hell with the proselytizing sword".
By now Timur had captured 100,000 Hindus. As he prepared for battle against the Tughlaq army after crossing the Yamuna, his Amirs advised him "that on the great day of battle these 100,000 prisoners could not be left with the baggage, and that it would be entirely opposed to the rules of war to set these idolators and enemies of Islam at liberty". Therefore, "no other course remained but that of making them all food for the sword".
Tuzk-i-Timuri continues:
"I proclaimed throughout the camp that every man who had infidel prisoners should put them to death, and whoever neglected to do so should himself be executed and his property given to the informer. When this order became known to the ghazis of Islam, they drew their swords and put their prisoners to death. One hundred thousand infidels, impious idolators, were on that day slain. Maulana Nasiruddin Umar, a counselor and man of learning, who, in all his life, had never killed a sparrow, now, in execution of my order, slew with his sword fifteen idolatrous Hindus, who were his captives."
The Tughlaq army was defeated in the battle that ensued next day. Timur entered Delhi and learnt that a "great number of Hindus with their wives and children, and goods and valuables, had come into the city from all the country round".
[edit] Bahmani sack of Vijayanagara
When Ramaraya of the Vijayanagara Empire was captured during the battle of Talikota he was dragged to the Muslim camp and the Sultan Adil Shah asked him to acknowledge Allah as the only god. Ramaraya instead cried "Narayana Krishna Bhagavanta", and Nizam Shah slit the Hindu king's throat and declared himself a Ghazi in Jihad. Ramaraya's severed head was then fixed to a pole and waved before the Hindu troops. The Hindus panicked at the death of their commander and chaos broke out in their midst. After the defeat of the Vijayanagara dynasty by the Bahmani Sultanates at the battle of Talikota, the Muslim armies of Adil Shah ransacked the great city of Hampi, massacred its denizens and destroyed its temples and palaces and looted aways its riches.De Couto writes - "The third day saw the beginning of the end. The victorious Mussulmans had halted on the field of battle for rest and refreshment, but now they had reached the capital, and from that time forward for a space of five months Vijayanagar knew no rest. The enemy had come to destroy, and they carried out their object relentlessly. They slaughtered the people without mercy, broke down the temples and palaces; and wreaked such savage vengeance on the abode of the kings, that, with the exception of a few great stone-built temples and walls, nothing now remains but a heap of ruins to mark the spot where once the stately buildings stood. They demolished the statues, and even succeeded in breaking the limbs of the huge Narasimha monolith. Nothing seemed to escape them. They broke up the pavilions standing on the huge platform from which the kings used to watch the festivals, and overthrew all the carved work. They lit huge fires in the magnificently decorated buildings forming the temple of Vitthalasvami near the river, and smashed its exquisite stone sculptures. With fire and sword, with crowbars and axes, they carried on day after day their work of destruction. Never perhaps in the history of the world has such havoc been wrought, and wrought so suddenly, on so splendid a city; teeming with a wealthy and industrious population in the full plenitude of prosperity one day, and on the next seized, pillaged, and reduced to ruins, amid scenes of savage massacre and horrors beggaring description." Couto also states that amongst other treasures was found a diamond as large as a hen's egg, which was kept by the Adil Shah.
Caesaro Federici, an Italian traveller writes - "The Citie of BEZENEGER is not altogether destroyed, yet the houses stand still, but emptie, and there is dwelling in them nothing, as is reported, but Tygres and other wild beasts."
[edit] Aurangzeb
Aurangzeb cherished the ambition of converting India into a land of Islam and his reign was particularly brutal. Aurangzeb banned Hindu festival of Diwali, placed a jizya (tax) on non-Muslims and killed the ninth Sikh guru Tegh Bahadur.
During his reign, tens of thousands of temples were desecrated: their facades and interiors were defaced and their murtis (divine images) looted.[22] In many cases, temples were destroyed entirely; in numerous instances mosques were built on their foundations, sometimes using the same stones. Among the temples Aurangzeb destroyed were two that are most sacred to Hindus, in Varanasi and Mathura.[23] In both cases, he had large mosques built on the sites.[22]
The Kesava Deo temple in Mathura, marked the place that Hindus believe was the birthplace of Shri Krishna.[23] In 1661 Aurangzeb ordered the demolition of the temple, and constructed the Katra Masjid mosque. Traces of the ancient Hindu temple can be seen from the back of the mosque. Aurangzeb also destroyed what was the most famous temple in Varanasi- the Vishwanath Temple.[23] The temple had changed its location over the years, but in 1585 Akbar had authorized its location at Gyan Vapi. Aurangzeb ordered its demolition in 1669 and constructed a mosque on the site, whose minarets stand 71 metres above the Ganges. Traces of the old temple can be seen behind the mosque. Centuries later, emotional debate about these wanton acts of cultural desecration continues. Aurangzeb also destroyed the Somnath temple in 1706.[23]
Hindu nationalists claim that Mughals destroyed the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya, located at the birthplace of Rama, and built the Babri Masjid on the holy site, which has since been a source of tension between the Hindu and Muslim communities.
Writer Fernand Braudel wrote in A History of Civilizations (Penguin 1988/1963, p. 232-236), Islamic rule in India as a "colonial experiment" was "extremely violent", and "the Muslims could not rule the country except by systematic terror. Cruelty was the norm – burnings, summary executions, crucifixions or impalements, inventive tortures. Hindu temples were destroyed to make way for mosques. On occasion there were forced conversions. If ever there were an uprising, it was instantly and savagely repressed: houses were burned, the countryside was laid waste, men were slaughtered and women were taken as slaves."
[edit] Nadir Shah's massacre and plunder of Delhi
Nadir Shah's invasion of IndiaEmperor Nadir Shah, the Shah of Iran (1736–47) and founder of the Afsharid dynasty, invaded India with a fifty-five thousand strong army, eventually attacking Delhi in March 1739 where he sacked the city, after issuing orders for a general massacre to take place. His brutal and bloody actions gave rise to the word nadirshahi, meaning holocaust.
On the 22 March 1739 within six hours somewhere around 20,000 to 30,000 Indian men, women and children were slaughtered by the Persian troops in the city. All across the city, gunshots were heard, explosions were set off, shops were looted and houses were set on fire. Persian troops stood outside the burning buildings and then slaughtered the Indians as they made their way out, trying to escape from the fire, smoke and flames. Men were chased down alleyways and killed. Women were assaulted, raped and abducted, some had their breasts hacked off whilst others chose to commit suicide. Children had their bellies ripped open whilst babies were torn from their mothers' arms, swung by their ankles and had their heads smashed against walls. The screams of those being killed, chilled everyone who heard them.
An enormous fine of 20 million rupees was levied on the people of Delhi. Muhammad Shah handed over the keys to the royal treasury, and lost the Peacock Throne, to Nadir Shah, which thereafter served as a symbol of Persian imperial might. Amongst a treasure trove of other fabulous jewels, Nadir also gained the Koh-i-Noor and Darya-ye Noor diamonds; they are now part of the British and Iranian Crown Jewels, respectively. Persian troops left Delhi at the beginning of May 1739. Nadir's soldiers also took with them thousands of elephants, horses and camels that were laden with the booty that they had seized.
[edit] Tipu Sultan
Main article: Mysore invasion of Kerala
See also: Captivity of Mangalorean Catholics at Seringapatam, Captivity of Kodavas at Seringapatam, and Captivity of Nairs at Seringapatam
The Bakur Manuscript reports him as having said: "All Musalmans should unite together, and considering the annihilation of infidels as a sacred duty, labor to the utmost of their power, to accomplish that subject."[28] Soon after the Treaty of Mangalore in 1784, Tipu gained control of Canara.[29] He issued orders to seize the Christians in Canara, confiscate their estates,[30] and deport them to Seringapatam, the capital of his empire, through the Jamalabad fort route.[31] However, there were no priests among the captives. Together with Father Miranda, all the 21 arrested priests were issued orders of expulsion to Goa, fined Rupees 2 lakhs, and threatened death by hanging if they ever returned.[28]
Tipu ordered the destruction of 27 Catholic churches, all beautifully carved with statues depicting various saints. Among them included the Church of Nossa Senhora de Rosario Milagres at Mangalore, Fr Miranda's Seminary at Monte Mariano, Church of Jesu Marie Jose at Omzoor, Chapel at Bolar, Church of Merces at Ullal, Imaculata Conceiciao at Mulki, San Jose at Perar, Nossa Senhora dos Remedios at Kirem, Sao Lawrence at Karkal, Rosario at Barkur, Immaculata Conceciao at Baidnur.[28] All were razed to the ground, with the exception of The Church of Holy Cross at Hospet, owing to the friendly offices of the Chauta Raja of Moodbidri.[32]
According to Thomas Munro, a Scottish soldier and the first collector of Canara, around 60,000 people,[33] nearly 92 percent of the entire Mangalorean Catholic community, were captured; only 7,000 escaped. Francis Buchanan gives the numbers as 70,000 captured, from a population of 80,000, with 10,000 escaping. They were forced to climb nearly 4,000 feet (1,200 m) through the jungles of the Western Ghat mountain ranges. It was 210 miles (340 km) from Mangalore to Seringapatam, and the journey took six weeks. According to British Government records, 20,000 of them died on the march to Seringapatam. According to James Scurry, a British officer, who was held captive along with Mangalorean Catholics, 30,000 of them were forcibly converted to Islam. The young women and girls were forcibly made wives of the Muslims living there.[34] The young men who offered resistance were disfigured by cutting their noses, upper lips, and ears.[35] According to Mr. Silva of Gangolim, a survivor of the captivity, if a person who had escaped from Seringapatam was found, the punishment under the orders of Tipu was the cutting off of the ears, nose, the feet and one hand.[36]
The Archbishop of Goa wrote in 1800, "It is notoriously known in all Asia and all other parts of the globe of the oppression and sufferings experienced by the Christians in the Dominion of the King of Kanara, during the usurpation of that country by Tipu Sultan from an implacable hatred he had against them who professed Christianity."[28]
Tipu's persecution of Christians even extended to captured British soldiers. For instance, there were a significant number of forced conversions of British captives between 1780 and 1784. Following their disastrous defeat at the 1780 Battle of Pollilur, 7,000 British men along with an unknown number of women were held captive by Tipu in the fortress of Seringapatnam. Of these, over 300 were circumcised and given Muslim names and clothes and several British regimental drummer boys were made to wear ghagra cholis and entertain the court as nautch girls or dancing girls. After the 10 year long captivity ended, James Scurry, one of those prisoners, recounted that he had forgotten how to sit in a chair and use a knife and fork. His English was broken and stilted, having lost all his vernacular idiom. His skin had darkened to the swarthy complexion of negroes, and moreover, he had developed an aversion to wearing European clothes.[38]
During the surrender of the Mangalore fort which was delivered in an armistice by the British and their subsequent withdrawal, all the Mestizos and remaining non-British foreigners were killed, together with 5,600 Mangalorean Catholics. Those condemned by Tipu Sultan for treachery were hanged instantly, the gibbets being weighed down by the number of bodies they carried. The Netravati River was so putrid with the stench of dying bodies, that the local residents were forced to leave their riverside homes.[28]
Hindus, particularly the Nair and Kodava communities were also persecuted by Tipu Sultan. They were subjected to forcible conversions to Islam, death, and torture.[39][40] The Nairs were treated with extreme brutality by the Muslims due to their strong adherence to the Hindu faith and martial tradition.[41][42][43] The captivity ended when Nair troops from Travancore, with the help of the East India Company defeated Tippu Sultan in the Third Anglo-Mysore War.[44][45] It is estimated that out of the 30,000 Nairs put to captivity (including women and children), only a few hundred returned to Malabar alive.[45][46]
In 1783, the Kodavas erupted in revolt against Tippu Sultan and threw their forces out of Kodagu. In 1785, Tippu declared the Kodava of being guilty of polyandry.[47] He threatened the Kodavas that he would not revile or molest a single individual among them and instead make Ahmadis (Muslims) out of the whole of them, transplanting them from their homeland in the Coorg to Seringapatam.[48]
Tippu gave the task of implementing the orders to Runmust Khan, the Nawab of Kurool. This task was accomplished when in a surprise attack, the Kodavas were besieged by the invading Muslim army. 500 were killed and over 40,000 Kodavas fled to the woods and concealed themselves in the mountains.[48] Thousands of Kodava Hindus were seized along with the Raja, Dodda Vira-Rajendra, and held them captive at Seringapatam. They were also subjected to forcible conversions to Islam, death, and torture.[47]
[edit] Colonial Era
Main articles: Goa Inquisition and Indian Rebellion of 1857
[edit] Goa Inquisition
Main article: Goa Inquisition
The first inquisitors, Aleixo Dias Falcão and Francisco Marques, established themselves in what was formerly the king of Goa's palace, forcing the Portuguese viceroy
to relocate to a smaller residence. The inquisitor's first act was
forbidding Hindus from the public practice of their faith through fear
of death. Sephardic Jews living in Goa, many of whom had fled the Iberian Peninsula to escape the excesses of the Spanish Inquisition to begin with, were also persecuted. During the Goa Inquisition, described as "contrary to humanity" by Voltaire,[49] conversions to Catholicism occurred by force and 57 Goans were executed by the Portuguese between 1561 and 1774.[50][51] The adverse effects of the inquisition were tempered somewhat by the fact that Hindus were able to escape Portuguese hegemony by migrating to other parts of the subcontinent.[52] Though officially repressed in 1774, it was reinstated by Queen Maria I in 1778. The last vestiges of the Goa Inquisition were finally swept away when the British occupied the city in 1812.[edit] Indian Rebellion of 1857
In 1813, East India Company charter was amended to allow for government sponsored missionary activity across British India.[53] The missionaries soon spread almost everywhere and started denigrating Hinduism and Islam, besides promoting Christianity, in order to seek converts.[54] Many officers of the British East India Company, such as Herbert Edwardes and Colonel S.G. Wheeler, openly preached to the Sepoys.[55] Such activities caused a great deal of resentment and fear of forced conversions among Indian soldiers of the Company and civilians alike.[54] The perception that the company was trying to convert Hindus and Muslims to Christianity is often cited as one of the causes of the revolt. The revolt is considered by some historians as a semi-national and religious war seeking freedom from English bondage [56][57] though Saul David questions this interpretation.[58] The revolt started, among the Indian soldiers of British East India Company, when the British introduced new rifle cartridges, rumored to be greased with pig and cow fat - an abhorrent concept to Muslim and Hindu soldiers, respectively, for religious reasons. However, in the aftermath of the revolt, British reprisals were particularly severe with hundreds of thousands being killed. While the death toll is often debated by historians with figures ranging between one hundred thousand and one million, it is usually agreed that several hundred thousands were killed.[59][edit] Moplah Rebellion
Main article: Moplah Rebellion
Moplah Rebellion was an Anti Hindu rebellion conducted by the Muslim Mappila community (Moplah is a British spelling) of Kerala in 1921. Inspired by the Khilafat movement and the Karachi resolution; Moplahs murdered, pillaged, and forcibly converted thousands of Hindus.[60][61] 100,000 Hindus[62]
were driven away from their homes forcing to leave their property
behind, which were later took over by Mappilas. This greatly changed the
demographics of the area, being the major cause behind today's Malappuram district
being a Muslim majority district in Kerala. According to one view, the
reasons for the Moplah rebellion was religious revivalism among the
Muslim Mappilas, and hostility towards the landlord Hindu Nair, Nambudiri Jenmi community and the British administration that supported the latter. Adhering to view, British records call it a British-Muslim
revolt. The initial focus was on the government, but when the limited
presence of the government was eliminated, Moplahs turned their full
attention on attacking Hindus. Mohommed Haji was proclaimed the Caliph
of the Moplah Khilafat and flags of Islamic Caliphate were flown. Ernad
and Walluvanad were declared Khilafat kingdoms.[63]Annie Besant wrote about the riots: "They Moplahs murdered and plundered abundantly, and killed or drove away all Hindus who would not apostatise. Somewhere about a lakh (100,000) of people were driven from their homes with nothing but their clothes they had on, stripped of everything. Malabar has taught us what Islamic rule still means, and we do not want to see another specimen of the Khilafat Raj in India."[62]
[edit] Partition of British India
After the Indian Rebellion of 1857, the British followed a divide-and-rule policy, exploiting differences between communities, in order to prevent similar revolts from taking place. In that respect, Indian Muslims were encouraged to forge a cultural and political identity separate from the Hindus.[65] In the years leading up to Independence, Mohammad Ali Jinnah became increasingly concerned about minority position of Islam in an independent India largely composed of a Hindu majority. Although a partition plan was accepted, no large population movements were contemplated. As India and Pakistan become independent, 14.5 million people crossed borders to ensure their safety in an increasingly lawless and communal environment. While the British authority was gone, the newly formed governments were completely unequipped to deal with migrations of such staggering magnitude, and massive violence and slaughter occurred on both sides of the border along communal lines. Estimates of the number of deaths range around roughly 500,000, with low estimates at 200,000 and high estimates at 1,000,000.[66]
[edit] Modern India
Constitutionally India is a secular state, [67] but large-scale violence has periodically occurred in India since independence. In recent decades, communal tensions and religion-based politics have become more prominent.[edit] 1984 Anti-Sikh Riots
Main article: 1984 anti-Sikh riots
In later elections she supported the politics Jarnail Bhindranwale, a religious conservative, in an effort to undermine the Akali Dal, the largest Sikh political party. However, Bhindranwale began to oppose the central government and moved his political base to the environs of the Darbar Sahib in Amritsar, Punjab. While there he gained considerable political power and disrupted the local state machinery. In June 1984, under orders from Indira Gandhi, the Indian army attacked the Darbar Sahib with tanks and armoured vehicles.[71] Although the operation was militarily successful, it aroused tremendous controversy, and the government's justification for the timing and style of the attack are highly debated.[72] In response, some Sikhs and some Punjabi Hindus began a separatist campaign to free Punjab from the Indian Government.[73]
Indira Gandhi was assassinated on 31 October 1984 by two of her bodyguards in retaliation for the storming of the Golden temple. After the assassination the 1984 anti-Sikh pogroms took place in Delhi, where government and police officials aided Congress party worker gangs in "methodically and systematically" targeting Sikhs and Sikh homes.[74] As a result of the pogroms 10,000-17,000 were burned alive or otherwise killed, Sikh people suffered massive property damage, and "at least 50,000" Sikhs became displaced persons.[75] To date, the Government of India has not prosecuted any of the assailants.[74] The attack on the Harmandir Sahib and the 1984 Anti-Sikh pogroms led to the increasing popularity of the Khalistan movement. From 1987 until 1992, the Indian government dismissed the elected government of the state, banned elections and imposed direct rule.[76]
In the peak years of the insurgency, religious violence by separatists, government-sponsored groups, and the paramilitary arms of the government was endemic on all sides. Human Rights Watch reports that separatists were responsible for "massacre of civilians, attacks upon Hindu minorities in the state, indiscriminate bomb attacks in crowded places, and the assassination of a number of political leaders".[77] According to Human Rights Watch, the Indian Government's response "led to the arbitrary detention, torture, extrajudicial execution, and enforced disappearance of thousands of Sikhs".[77] The government generally targeted "young Sikh men on suspicion that they were involved in the militancy" but would later deny having them in custody, as a result, many of the victims of enforced disappearances are believed to have been killed.[77] The insurgency resulted in the paralyzation of Punjab's economy until normalization in 1993.[77]
[edit] Ethnic cleansing of Kashmiri Hindus
In the Kashmir region, approximately 300 Kashmiri Pandits were killed between September 1989 to 1990 in various incidents.[78] In early 1990, local Urdu newspapers Aftab and Al Safa called upon Kashmiris to wage jihad against India and ordered the expulsion of all Hindus choosing to remain in Kashmir.[78] In the following days masked men ran in the streets with AK-47 shooting to kill Hindus who would not leave.[78] Notices were placed on the houses of all Hindus, telling them to leave within 24 hours or die.[78]Since March 1990, estimates of between 500,000 to 750,000 pandits have migrated outside Kashmir[citation needed] due to persecution by Islamic fundamentalists in the largest case of ethnic cleansing since the partition of India.[79] The proportion of Kashmiri Pandits in the Kashmir valley has declined from about 15% in 1947 to, by some estimates, less than 0.1% since the insurgency in Kashmir took on a religious and sectarian flavor.[80]
Many Kashmiri Pandits have been killed by Islamist militants in incidents such as the Wandhama massacre and the 2000 Amarnath pilgrimage massacre.[81][82][83][84][85] The incidents of massacring and forced eviction have been termed ethnic cleansing by some observers.[78]
[edit] Religious involvement in North-East India Militancy
See also: Insurgency in Northeast India and Christian terrorism in India
Religion has begun to play an increasing role in reinforcing ethnic
divides among the decades old militant separatist movements in
north-east India.[86][87][88]The separatist group National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT) seeks to convert all tribals in the state of Tripura, who are mostly Hindu or Buddhist, to Christianity. It has proclaimed bans on Hindu worship and has attacked animist Reangs and Hindu Jamatia tribesmen who resisted. Some resisting tribal leaders have been killed and their womenfolk raped. The RSS has attempted to counter Christian separatist groups by backing Reang and Jamatia tribals, and has called for the central government to help arm and fund them.[87]
Hindu nationalists, upset with the rapid spread of Chistianity in the region, link the overt Christian religiosity of the groups and the local churches' liberation theology-based doctrine to allege church support for ethnic separatism.[87] Vatsala Vedantam identifies statements from the American Baptist Churches USA as endorsing the Naga separatist cause.[89]
According to The Government of Tripura, the Baptist Church of Tripura is involved in supporting the NLFT and arrested two church officials in 2000, one of them for possessing explosives.[90] In late 2004, the National Liberation Front of Tripura banned all Hindu celebrations of Durga Puja and Saraswati Puja.[91] The Naga insurgency, ethnic separtism reinforced in their identity by Christianity, has been repeatedly involved in violence against Hindus in the region.[92][93][94][95]
The United States does not designate as terrorist organizations most of those groups that continue violent separatist struggles in India’s northeastern states.[96]
[edit] Anti Muslim Violence
On 6 December 1992, members of the Vishva Hindu Parishad and the Bajrang Dal destroyed the 430 year old Babri Mosque in Ayodhya,[97] it was claimed by the rioting Hindus that the mosque was built over the birthplace of the Hindu deity Rama. This action caused great anger in the Muslim community. The resulting religious riots caused at least 1200 deaths.[99][100] Reprisals against Hindu minorities also occurred in Pakistan and Bangladesh. Since then the Government of India has blocked off or heavily increased security at these disputed sites while encouraging attempts to resolve these disputes through court cases and negotiations.[101]
In the aftermatch of the destruction of the Babri Mosque in Ayodhya by Hindu nationalists on 6 December 1992, riots took place between Hindus and Muslims in the city of Mumbai. 500 Muslims died in the resulting violence. Four people died in a fire in the Asalpha timber mart at Ghatkopar, five were killed in the burning of Bainganwadi; shacks along the harbor line track between Sewri and Cotton Green stations were gutted; and a couple was pulled out of a rickshaw in Asalpha village and burnt to death.[102] The riots changed the demographics of Mumbai greatly, as Hindus moved to Hindu-majority areas and Muslims moved to Muslim-majority areas.
[edit] Anti-Christian violence
Main article: Anti-Christian violence in India
In recent years, there has been a sharp increase in violent attacks on Christians in India, often perpetrated by Hindu Nationalists.[118] Between 1964 and 1996, thirty-eight incidents of violence against Christians were reported.[119] In 1997, twenty-four such incidents were reported.[120] In 1998, it went up to ninety.[119]
Between January 1998 and February 1999 alone, one hundred and sixteen
attacks against Christians in India were reported by church.[121] Between 1 January and 30 July 2000, more than fifty-seven attacks on Christians were reported.[122]
These acts of violence include forcible reconversion of converted
Christians to Hinduism, distribution of threatening literature and
destruction of Christian cemeteries.[118][119][122]In some cases, anti-Christian violence has been co-ordinated, involving multiple attacks. In Orissa, starting December 2007, Christians have been attacked in Kandhamal and other districts, resulting in the deaths of two Hindus and one Christian, and the destruction of houses and churches. Hindu Extremists claim that, Christians first killed a Hindu saint Laxmananand. So the attacks on Christians supposedly were in retaliation. However there was no conclusive proof to support this claim. [123][124][125][126][127] Twenty people were arrested following the attacks on churches.[126] Similarly, starting 14 September 2008, there were numerous incidents of violence against the Christian community in Karnataka.
Foreign Christian missionaries have mostly been targets of attacks.[128] In a well-publicised case Graham Staines, an Australian missionary, was burnt to death while he was sleeping with his two sons Timothy (aged 9) and Philip (aged 7) in his station wagon at Manoharpur village in Keonjhar district in Orissa in January 1999.[118][128][129][130] In 2003, Dara Singh was convicted of leading the gang responsible.[131][132][133]
In its annual human rights reports for 1999, the United States Department of State criticised India for "increasing societal violence against Christians."[134] The report listed over 90 incidents of anti-Christian violence, ranging from damage of religious property to violence against Christian pilgrims.[134]
In 2007 and 2008 there was a further flare up of tensions in Orissa. Another church was attacked in BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh, where unidentified persons set two Statues inside St Peter and Paul Church in Jabalpur on fire,[135] and more attacks in Karnataka,.[136] The archbishop, Bernard Moras, met the BJP CM BS Yeddyurappa after he had taken a decision to invoke the provisions of Goonda Act against those nabbed for vandalising churches as part of its strategy to salvage its image and to instill confidence. The Bajrang Dal convenor was arrested after the incidents of church burning in Mangalore.[137][138] In light of these events NDTV asked to ban the Bajrang Dal.[139]
[edit] Anti-Hindu violence
In August 2000, Swami Shanti Kali, a popular Hindu priest, was shot to death inside his ashram in the Indian state of Tripura. Police reports regarding the incident identified ten members of the Christian militant organization, NLFT, as being responsible for the murder. On Dec 4, 2000, nearly three months after his death, an ashram set up by Shanti Kali at Chachu Bazar near the Sidhai police station was raided by Christian militants belonging to the NLFT. Eleven of the priest's ashrams, schools, and orphanages around the state were closed down by the NLFT.
In September 2008, Swami Laxmanananda, a popular regional Hindu Guru was murdered along with four of his disciples by unknown assailants (though a Maoist organization later claimed responsibility for that[141][142]), allegedly due to the Guru's provocative opposition of Christians' conversion activities and Missionary propaganda[citation needed]. Later the police arrested three Christians in connection with the murder.[143] Congress MP Radhakant Nayak has also been named as a suspected person in the murder, with some Hindu leaders calling for his arrest.[144]
Lesser incidents of religious violence happen in many towns and villages in India. In October 2005, five people were killed in Mau in Uttar Pradesh during Hindu-Muslim rioting, which was triggered by the proposed celebration of a Hindu festival.[145]
On 3 and 4 January 2002, three Hindus and two Muslims were killed in Marad, near Calicut due to scuffles between two groups that began after a dispute over drinking water.[146][147]
On 2 May 2003, eight Hindus were killed by a Muslim mob, in what is believed to be a sequel to the earlier incident.[147][148] One of the attackers, Mohammed Ashker was killed during the chaos. The National Development Front (NDF), a right-wing militant Islamist organization, was suspected as the perpetrator of the Marad Massacre.[149]
In the 2010 Deganga riots after hundreds of Hindu business establishments and residences were looted, destroyed and burnt, dozens of Hindus were severely injured and several Hindu temples desecrated and vandalized by the Islamist mobs led by Trinamul Congress MP Haji Nurul Islam.[150]
[edit] International Human Rights Reports
- The 2007 United States Department of State International Religious Freedom Report noted The Constitution provides for freedom of religion, and the National Government generally respected this right in practice. However, some state and local governments limited this freedom in practice. [151]
- The 2008 Human Rights Watch report notes: India claims an abiding commitment to human rights, but its record is marred by continuing violations by security forces in counterinsurgency operations and by government failure to rigorously implement laws and policies to protect marginalized communities. A vibrant media and civil society continue to press for improvements, but without tangible signs of success in 2007. [6]
- The 2007 Amnesty International report listed several issues concern in India and noted Justice and rehabilitation continued to evade most victims of the 2002 Gujarat communal violence.[152]
- The 2007 United States Department of State Human Rights Report [153] noted that the government generally respected the rights of its citizens; however, numerous serious problems remained. The report which has received a lot of controversy internationally,[154][155][156][157] as it does not include human rights violations of United States and its allies, has generally been rejected by political parties in India as interference in internal affairs,[158] including in the Lower House of Parliament.[159]
- The End.............
ReplyDeleteSatta DailyGet Your Perfect Guessing By Top Satta Matka Online Results Platform.Get More Accurate Information on Satta matka 143 Charts Kalyan Matka with Great Tips and Results. Get Results from Mumbai, Maharashtra, Jabalpur.Matka Mumbai