Statement by India under Agenda Item 3 : Interactive Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief at the 49th Session of the Human Rights Council (28 February – 1 April 2022), delivered by Mr. Pawankumar Badhe, First Secretary, Permanent Mission of India, [Geneva, 10th March, 2022] Statement by India under Agenda Item 3 : Interactive Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on Freedo..
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Statement by India under Agenda Item 3 : Interactive Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief at the 49th Session of the Human Rights Council (28 February – 1 April 2022), delivered by Mr. Pawankumar Badhe, First Secretary, Permanent Mission of India, [Geneva, 10th March, 2022]

Madam Vice President,

We reject the Report of the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, which is full of unfounded, unjustified, irresponsible and presumptuous allegations against my country based on unverified information and far-fetched conclusions. We reject these references in a report whose primary focus is on conflict situations.  Let me make it very clear that there is no situation of conflict in India.

Madam Vice President,

  1. The Report makes several unwarranted references to India, based on media reports. It only reflects a clear lack of understanding on part of the Special Rapporteur about India, including its multi-cultural, multi-religious and multi-lingual secular polity and pluralistic society, our constitution and our laws. We also find that there is a complete disregard of information provided by us, which is, unacceptable and undesirable. It’s a matter of serious concern and brings into disrepute the institution of Special Rapporteur.
  1.  The SR should be aware that India is a functional and vibrant democracy, based on the principles of rule of law and equality before law. India has a robust grievance redressal mechanism to deal with the violations of human rights, including our proactive and independent judiciary and our ‘category A’ National Human Rights Commission, compliant with the Paris Principles. The National Commission for Minorities was set-up to safeguard and protect the interests of minorities as provided in the Constitution of India and laws enacted by the Parliament and the State Legislatures.
  1. The Constitution of India has guaranteed justiciable fundamental rights to all Indian citizens without any discrimination on the basis of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth.
  1. When the rights guaranteed under the Constitution for the welfare of the minorities are violated, the right to Constitutional Remedies allows the aggrieved citizens or others on their behalf to approach the Supreme Court of India or the concerned High Court directly. In addition, there are various penal laws in India that provide for punishment for discriminating against or victimization of minorities.
  1. India remains committed to guarantee all rights to its minorities in line with its contributions and international commitments.

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(Full Version of the Statement)