Polarization in India: the Sixth Stage of Genocide

Crowd in India during electoral campaign. source: Getty Images

VI. Polarization

In part six of our Ten Stages of Genocide in India Series, we explain how the sixth stage of genocide, Polarization, is occurring in India.

To effectively organize genocidal violence, the state and hate groups amplify the differences between the target group and the majority group. This results in the “otherization” and social isolation of the targeted group.

This process takes place mainly through the dissemination of polarizing propaganda and conspiracy theories. Newspapers, radio, television and social media broadcast hate speech and dehumanizing portrayals of the targeted group as enemies and threats to the dominant group and the nation. Political leaders organize rallies that vilify the targeted group.

In polarization’s legal form, laws are passed banning social interactions and intermarriage with the targeted group. Such laws usually reinforce customary cultural divisions. They make transgression of customary boundaries into crimes. Laws are passed to silence activists and civil society organizations that defend the targeted groups.

In Germany, the Nuremberg laws prohibited intermarriage between Jewish people and those who were deemed to have "German blood." In Rwanda, while marriages between Hutus and Tutsis were not banned, they were highly stigmatized. In 1990, Kangura, a Hutu Power magazine that was supported by the government deemed any Hutu who married a Tutsi a traitor.

When Extermination, the ninth stage of genocide, was underway in Rwanda, Hutu moderates were amongst the first to be targeted. Moderates from the perpetrator group pose a special threat to the group carrying out a genocide. This threat stems from the fact that moderates are inside the perpetrators’ own group and are most able to oppose and prevent genocide.

In India, hate groups disseminate propaganda and conspiracy theories that contribute to polarization. The most notable Indian libel against Muslims is the alleged conspiracy of Love Jihad. Love Jihad is a conspiracy theory that claims that Muslim men “lure” Hindu women into marriage to convert them to Islam.

Propaganda about Love Jihad can be found in widely circulated newspapers in southern states like Kerala, as well as on X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook. As a result of this pervasive and effective propaganda, numerous interfaith couples have been attacked by Hindutva vigilante groups. The attackers are seldom held accountable for their harassment and violent crimes.

Polarization in India has been reinforced by “anti-conversion” laws adopted in many states, including Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana. The laws prohibit “forced conversion” to a religion other than the religion a person inherited from his or her parents. The criteria to decide whether a conversion is "forced" are ambiguous. The laws are mainly enforced against Christians and Muslims for attracting Hindus to worship services and against Hindus who convert to Christianity or Islam. The most common victims of anti-conversion laws are people in mixed marriages who convert to their husband’s or wife’s religion.

Punishment for convictions range from one year in prison in some states to life imprisonment in others, plus a fine between fifteen thousand rupees (around 170 US Dollars) to more than hundred thousand rupees (around 1160 US Dollars) for marriages deemed suspect.

The anti-conversion laws are direct violations of the freedom of religion guaranteed by the Indian Constitution and the International Covenants on Human Rights. In order to convert to another religion, a person must submit a detailed application to the District Magistrate, who then decides whether to allow the conversion or not. The vast majority of District Magistrates are Hindus.

Anti-conversion laws are enforced by a pervasive surveillance system that mainly monitors Hindu women who have fled their homes to marry Muslim partners.

The anti-conversion laws have emboldened vigilante groups. Family members of Hindu women who are in relationships with Muslim men often approach police to prevent their daughters’ conversions. They may also summon Hindutva vigilantes to attack the Muslim men their daughters love or marry.

These women are forcibly brought back to their families. Back under family domination, recaptured women may be murdered by members of their own families in “honor killings.” Muslim men accused of luring Hindu women to be wives or lovers may be detained without evidence and face beatings, torture, or murder by police or vigilantes.

Anti-conversion laws create legal and cultural barriers that violate the freedom of religion. They obstruct exercise of the right of individuals to be in relationships or marry any person they choose. The laws are vestiges of the patriarchal system that gives parents the power to choose marriage partners for their children. To this day, a high percentage of marriages are arranged between a couple’s parents. The laws infantilize women and treat them as the inalienable property of the religious groups into which they were born. 

A case that gained international attention was that of Arbaaz Aftab Mullah from Karnataka. He was a Muslim man who loved and intended to marry a Hindu woman. The woman’s parents asked Sri Ram Sene, an extremist Hindutva vigilante group, to kill Arbaaz Aftab Mullah. His body was found decapitated and cut into pieces. In a rare case of successful prosecution, the Hindutva murderers and the woman’s parents were convicted and imprisoned for their brutal crime.

The process of polarization is also evident in how Muslims and minority rights activists are portrayed and targeted. Politically motivated arrests and raids are common ways through which “dissidents” are targeted.

The Unlawful Activities Prevention Act of 1967 is used to prosecute dissidents and opposition groups for vague or undefined “activities directed against the integrity and sovereignty of India.” The 2019 amendments to the UAPA have been used to designate individuals as “terrorists” without any judicial process. UAPA is also known as the "anti-terror law."

Prominent activist, Umar Khalid, was booked under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) for allegedly being one of the conspirators who instigated the February 2020 riots in New Delhi. He has been incarcerated for the past two years under the UAPA, based only on the statement of an anonymous protected witness. That statement has yet to be corroborated. The UAPA has also been used to target media companies that cover perspectives against the interests of the Modi government. 

Polarization is fueled by treating dissenting individuals and organizations as criminal conspirators, simply because they express dissent or disseminate information counter to the interests of the Modi government.

 Genocide Watch recommends: 

1.     Indian states and the Indian central government should repeal all “anti-conversion” laws.

2.     Central and state governments should prosecute members of vigilante groups for their crimes.

3.     The BJP must swiftly and publicly condemn crimes committed by Hindutva vigilante groups.

3.     States must follow the directives of the Supreme Court of India in Tehseen Poonawalla (2018), which ordered states to pay compensation to victims of mob lynching and hate crimes.

4.     The US State Department’s human rights report should designate India as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) for its anti-conversion laws and its persecution of Muslims.

5.     The US should encourage India to follow the recommendations on religious freedom made in the UN Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review process. 

6.     The Indian parliament should ratify the Convention Against Torture, to which India has been a signatory since 1998.

Part 6_Polarization India report series.pdf

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Read Part One of the series here : The Ten Stages of Genocide in India - Classification

Read Part Two of the series here : The Ten Stages of Genocide in India - Symbolization

Read Part Three of the series here : The Ten Stages of Genocide in India - Discrimination

Read Part Four of the series here : The Ten Stages of Genocide in India - Dehumanization

Read Part Five of the series here: The Ten Stages of Genocide in India - Organization