India most inclusive nation for religious minorities: Report
India ranks first in the list of the most inclusive nations for religious minorities, as per the global minority report by the Centre for Policy Analysis (CPA). India is a country where there is no ban on any sects of any religion, unlike in many other countries, the report pointed out. Here's more about the report, which reflects India's policy of "unity in diversity."
Here's how other countries fared
South Korea ranks next to India, followed by Japan, Panama, and the United States of America. Neighboring country Nepal bags the 39th spot while China and Bangladesh are at 90 and 99, respectively. Pakistan ranks 104 and Russia 52. United Kingdom comes at 54 while UAE is at 61. Maldives, Afghanistan, and Somalia lie at the bottom of the list of 110 countries, respectively.
This is the first such international report
This is for the first time that an Indian body gave ratings to other countries based on their treatment of religious minorities. "The global minority report doesn't follow in the footsteps of other international reports on such issues which are generally prepared based on some bizarre incidents, which do not present the overall situation in a country," claims CPA in its report.
The report only takes into account macro parameters
In this report, the grading of countries has been done based on the approach of the state towards minority religions, the extent of the inclusiveness of the state towards religious minorities, and the discriminatory policies and practices of the state towards religious minorities. Durga Nand Jha, CPA executive chairman and author of the report, said their approach has been mathematical.
The parameters taken into account
"Only those parameters have been taken into account to assess the status of religious minorities which relate to Constitutional provisions, policies of a government, and other broader indicators, such as the laws of the land," said the CPA executive chairman.
The Global Minority Report is classified into three sections
The first section deals with the conceptual issues relating to human rights, minority rights, religious freedom, its loopholes, and how to balance them. The second section talks about the minority policies of various countries. The third section is the statistical segment presenting the four different indices as State Religion Neutrality Index, State Inclusive Index, State Discrimination index, and Global Minority Index.
The report also highlights the obligations of minorities
The report highlights the obligations of religious minorities towards the integrity and interest of the country they reside in. "If religious minorities challenge the sovereignty of a country, the relationship between the minorities and the State gets marked by a 'trust deficit'," the report said. "In these circumstances, the State has to take punitive steps against the minorities, resulting in their persecution," it added.
The West should look at its own shortcomings
"Some Indians have joined the bandwagon of those who have been bashing India over the years. Let there be a meaningful debate. The West gives sermons, but never looks at the situations faced by their own country," said ex-Vice President Naidu while unveiling the report.
Recommendations prepared by CPA
G20 countries are separately discussed in the report. Also, in the end, the report has made some recommendations for the United Nations (UN) and other countries based on the outcome of the study. Of the many recommendations, the report asked the UN to make it mandatory for every country to submit an annual minority rights compliance report regarding the declaration of minority rights.
