A popular but dangerously flawed narrative insists that India is secular simply because it has a Hindu majority. This claim is not only simplistic—it is historically inaccurate and strategically misleading. If a country’s majority religion were enough to ensure secularism, then we wouldn’t have witnessed the systemic, state-enabled, and often state-led violence against minorities that continues to plague India.
The RSS-BJP Agenda: A Push Toward Hindu Rashtra
India’s secular fabric is being torn apart by RSS-BJP’s ideological commitment to Hindu Rashtra—an exclusivist, majoritarian concept that seeks to redefine the republic on religious lines. This push is no longer theoretical. It’s happening on the ground—with blood, fire, and impunity.
This is not a subjective view. Global human rights organisations—including UNHRC, USCIRF, Amnesty International, and Human Rights Watch—have documented the rise of religious hate crimes, institutional bias, and vigilante violence.
Hinduism’s Historical Intolerance: A Pattern Repeating
Long before the arrival of Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, or Sikhism, Hinduism had already committed grave injustices against Adivasis, Dalits, and Shudras. Far from being tolerant, it violently resisted reformist faiths like Buddhism—pushing them out of India’s heartland. Even Sikhs, who stood firm during the Mughal era, were repeatedly betrayed: from Chandu’s role in Guru Arjan Dev Ji’s martyrdom, Gangu and Suchanand’s betrayal leading to the death of the Sahibzade, Lakhpat Rai’s massacre in the Chhota Ghallughara, to modern assaults—from Congress-backed 1984 pogrom to BJP-RSS interference in Sikh institutions today. The pattern is clear—intolerance cloaked in cultural supremacy.
Let the Data Speak: A Timeline of Targeted Hate, Pogroms & Fake Encounters
📍 1983 Nellie Massacre (Assam)
➡️ Over 3,000 Muslims slaughtered.
➡️ Incited during an election campaign by Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
📍 1984 Anti-Sikh Pogrom
➡️ Over 10,000 Sikhs killed, over 250,000 displaced.
➡️ State complicity well-documented. Not an isolated mob reaction—it was orchestrated violence.
📍 1987 Hashimpura Massacre (U.P.)
➡️ 42 Muslim men picked up by Provincial Armed Constabulary and shot dead.
➡️ Bodies dumped in a canal.
📍 1989 Bhagalpur Riots (Bihar)
➡️ Over 1,000 Muslims killed, homes looted and torched.
➡️ One of the worst riots post-independence.
📍 Mumbai Riots (1992-93)
➡️ Shiv Sena-led mobs attacked Muslims. Police watched.
➡️ Justice B.N. Srikrishna’s report ignored.
📍 2002 Gujarat Riots
➡️ Over 2,000 Muslims killed, countless raped and displaced.
➡️ Occurred under then-CM Narendra Modi.
➡️ Eyewitnesses, journalists, and SIT reports have noted police inaction and complicity.
📍 Kandhamal Pogrom (2008)
➡️ Christians burned alive. Churches razed. 300+ churches destroyed. No real justice delivered.
📍 2013 Muzaffarnagar Riots
➡️ Dozens killed, thousands displaced.
➡️ BJP leaders like Sangeet Som and Sanjeev Balyan accused of incitement.
📍 2020 Delhi Riots
➡️ Sparked after hate speeches by Kapil Mishra (BJP).
➡️ 53 killed, majority were Muslims.
👣 Dalit Massacres — From Kilvenmani to Khairlanji to Una — Dalits have been tortured, raped, and killed. Justice is rare. Social boycotts continue.
🐄 Mob Lynchings (Post-2014) — Akhlaq, Junaid, Pehlu Khan, Tabrez Ansari… lynched over cow and love jihad rumors. Killers garlanded by BJP MPs.
Fake Encounters: State-Sanctioned Murders?
⚰️ Punjab (1980s–1990s)
➡️ Thousands of Sikhs killed in fake encounters, mass graves and secret cremations exposed in CBI reports.
⚰️ Ishrat Jahan Encounter (2004, Gujarat)
➡️ Teenage college student killed in a staged encounter. Later proven innocent.
⚰️ Sohrabuddin Sheikh Encounter (2005, Gujarat)
➡️ Killed in cold blood. Whistleblowers eliminated. Case collapsed under pressure.
⚰️ Manipur (2000s–2010s)
➡️ 1,528 fake encounters listed in petitions.
➡️ Supreme Court ordered investigation into mass extrajudicial killings.
⚰️ Kashmir
➡️ Thousands of enforced disappearances.
➡️ Justice Verma Committee, SC, and even army veterans have flagged the abuse of AFSPA and denial of justice.
Conclusion: Hindu Majority ≠ Secular Republic
India’s secularism does not rest on Hindu benevolence, but on its Constitution—which is now being systematically hollowed out. The narrative that a Hindu-majority automatically ensures tolerance ignores historical facts, bloodied truths, and institutional impunity.
When justice is denied, history repeats—not as tragedy, but as state-sponsored violence.
Sources:
- Reports by Human Rights Watch, USCIRF, UNHRC, Amnesty International, and Indian Human Rights Organisations
- CBI & Supreme Court records
- Independent media investigations
- Eyewitness testimonies and tribunal reports
