Persecution of Minorities in India

Violence oppression and complicity
Persecution of Minorites

Mob Lynchings

A person was lynched in Uttar Pradesh after false reports he had been transporting cows for slaughter when in fact they were for dairy purposes by a cow vigilante group. India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2016 criticised the group

Students Harassed

Karnataka – Muslim students wearing hijabs stopped from entering college

Politicians Threatened

Hindutva hardliners set fire to the home of Muslim former foreign minister, Salman Khurshid, who compared violent Hindu nationalism with “extremist groups” such as ISIL

Calls for Genocide

Some religious leaders called on Hindus to arm themselves to kill Muslims during a meeting in the northern holy town of Haridwar, in Uttarakand, in December 2021

Religious Minorities Attacked

In Haryana crowds continually heckle worshippers at Jumma prayers; Christmas Day services were disrupted and churches attacked

Gujarat riots February 2002

Justice for the British citizens killed on British soil and Indian soil

That this House notes the forthcoming visit by the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, following the lifting of his ban to enter the UK; further notes that Prime Minister Modi was Governor of the state of Gujarat in 2002 when sectarian violence led to the murder of three British tourists, Sakil Dawood, Saeed Dawood and Mohammed Aswat, and the attempted murder of Imran Dawood; is deeply concerned that those responsible for those murders have not been brought to justice and that attempts to investigate the murders and bring the killers to justice have been hindered and frustrated; calls on the Government to take the opportunity presented by Prime Minister Modi’s visit to the UK to secure answers and assistance on behalf of the families of the British men who were murdered; and further calls on Ministers and Officials of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to do all they can to ensure that justice is done, the killers are brought to account and the remains of Saeed Dawood are finally repatriated and returned to his family in the UK so they can attempt to achieve some peace and closure on this tragic episode.

Early day motion in parliament by the late Jo Cox MP, dated November 2015