Statement by India under Agenda Item 9: Interactive Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, at the 48th Session of Human Rights Council (13 September – 08 October 2021) delivered by Mr. S. Senthil Kumar, First Secretary, Permanent Mission of India (Geneva, 04 October 2021)
Madam President,
My delegation thank the Special Rapporteur for presentation of the reports.
2. We have seen the references in the reports about India and we reject it as they are baseless and sourced from unreliable information. It is clarified that India’s unique identity system Aadhaar is a tool of distributive justice and equality. It cannot be used to profile people based on race, caste, religion, income, health and geography. Aadhaar database is not linked to any other database, or to information held in other databases. SR’s reference to this digital initiative linking with discrimination and also concerns on data sharing are highly misplaced and misguided.
3. India is a Secular state, characterised by religious tolerance, equal respect for followers of all religions and respect for all faiths. All religions enjoy the same constitutional protection without favour or discrimination. The Constitution of India protects freedom of religion and conscience, and the right of all individuals to freely profess, practice and propagate religion subject to considerations of public order, morality and health.
4. It’s not acceptable that the SR should attempt to broaden the scope of the mandate. We encourage the SR to appreciate our domestic mechanisms including independent judicial system and democratic polity.
I thank you, Madam President.
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