In this case, instead of pushing back, India’s Supreme Court has actively instigated and aided the process. It now watches as the BJP government builds detention camps across the country, in preparation for the programme’s nationwide implementation – a process that is likely to be even more aggressively anti-Muslim.
While the NRC implicitly targeted Muslims, some Hindus were caught in the crossfire. That's one reason the government was so keen to pass its new Citizenship Amendment Act, which makes Hindu, Jain, Buddhist, Sikh, Parsi, or Christian refugees from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan eligible for Indian citizenship. Muslims are excluded.
Constitution under fire
Though the bill was blatantly unconstitutional, it had no problem clearing Parliament – both the Lok Sabha (the lower house of Parliament) and the Rajya Sabha (the upper house) – to become law. The Act, which defines citizenship on the basis of religion, has since sparked protests across India.
Yet Muslims are not the only group facing discrimination and violence in India today. Hindu nationalists have also targeted the long-marginalised Dalits, the lowest-ranked group in India’s rigid caste hierarchy. In 2016 alone, more than 40,000 crimes against members of lower castes were reported. And yet last year, the Supreme Court triggered major protests by weakening the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, designed to protect lower-caste communities.
Moreover, India continues to fail its women, who face high rates of sexual violence. Victims who report the crimes committed against them often suffer far harsher punishments – including harassment, job losses, further violence and even death – than the perpetrators. Legal processes are slow; authorities often treat victims poorly; and justice is rarely served, especially if the accused is powerful or well connected.
Just this month in Uttar Pradesh, a 23-year-old woman who had reported being gang-raped last year was set on fire while heading to a court hearing. Among the attackers were two of the five accused men, who had been released on bail. She died a few days later. Since then, two more rape survivors have been killed in Uttar Pradesh.
Mob justice on the rise
Even when perpetrators are punished, it may look more like mob justice than the impersonal application of the rule of law. The recent gang rape and murder of a young veterinarian near the southern city of Hyderabad is a case in point. Initially, local police failed the victim through apathy. When her family attempted to file a missing person’s report, they resisted taking action at all, before sending the family to another police station, because the victim’s last known location was in that jurisdiction. Several hours passed before the search began.
Such extrajudicial killings are being widely hailed in India. Due process and the rule of law are not nearly as satisfying, it seems, as quick revenge. Meanwhile, no one is addressing women’s lack of safety, or the impunity of other acknowledged rapists who have more political power.
India’s rapid descent into xenophobia, violence and irrationality – much like support for populist leaders and causes elsewhere – has an important economic dimension. Declining demand, employment and consumption have left many feeling insecure and frustrated. But it takes politicians to channel these emotions into nationalism and to embolden the nationalists to commit violence. Now that the BJP has done so, is it able – or willing – to exorcise the many demons it has unleashed?
Jayati Ghosh
Jayati Ghosh is Professor of Economics at Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi, Executive Secretary of International Development Economics Associates, and a member of the Independent Commission for the Reform of International Corporate Taxation.
