WASHINGTON – The constitution provides for freedom of conscience and theright of all individuals to freely profess, practice, and propagatereligion; mandates a secular state; requires the state to treat allreligions impartially; and prohibits discrimination based on religion.It also states citizens must practice their faith in a way that does notadversely affect public order, morality, or health.Out of 29 states, eight have legislation restricting religious conversion,with laws in force in five of those states. Authorities often did notprosecute violence by vigilantes against persons, mostly Muslims, suspectedof slaughtering or illegally transporting cows or trading in or consumingbeef. Members of civil society and religious minorities stated that underthe current government, religious minority communities felt increasinglyvulnerable due to Hindu nationalist groups engaging in violence againstnon-Hindu individuals and their places of worship.Representatives of religious minority communities stated that, while thenational government sometimes spoke out against incidents of violence,local political leaders often did not, and at times made public remarksindividuals could interpret as condoning violence.On April 2, Chhattisgarh’s Chief Minister Raman Singh said anyone whokilled a cow in his state would be hanged. Some longstanding legal casesinvolving religiously motivated violence and riots continued to advanceslowly. In May the Kerala High Court annulled a marriage between a Hinduwoman and a Muslim man based on third-party allegations the woman wasforcibly converted to Islam, despite her denial she was forced; the SupremeCourt’s review of the case continued at year’s end.On August 22, the Supreme Court ruled the practice through which a Muslimman could divorce his wife instantly by saying the word “talaq” (Arabic fordivorce) three times was unconstitutional. OnMay 23, the central government banned the sale of cattle for slaughterthrough animal markets; in July the Supreme Court stayed the implementationof the order across the country for three months. Following protests fromfarmers, beef consuming states, and the adverse Supreme Court ruling, thegovernment considered making certain changes to make the rules moreacceptable; however, no updates were available at year’s end. Thegovernment continued its challenge to the minority status of Muslimeducational institutions, which affords them independence in hiring andcurriculum decisions, in the Supreme Court.There were reports of religiously motivated killings, assaults, riots,discrimination, vandalism, and actions restricting the right of individualsto practice their religious beliefs and proselytize. There were severalviolent incidents by so-called “cow protection” groups against mostlyMuslim victims, including killings, mob violence, assaults, andintimidation. Authorities often failed to prosecute those committing theattacks.On June 22, assailants on a train in Haryana accused 16-year-old JunaidKhan of being a “beefeater,” fatally stabbed him, and threw him off thetrain. Authorities investigated the railway police officer’s reportedfailure to intervene. On April 1, Hindus beat a Muslim man to death forcarrying cattle in the back of a truck. Hindus threatened and assaultedMuslims and Christians and destroyed their property. In December a Hinduman posted an online video of his hacking, burning, and killing a Muslimlaborer over religious differences. On October 8, the head of the VishwaHindu Parishad (VHP), described by media as a Hindu nationalistorganization, stated Christian missionaries must leave the country, or elsewould be forced to do so. According to figures compiled by local partnersof international nongovernmental organization (NGO) Open Doors, during thefirst six months of the year, Christians were harassed, threatened, orattacked for their faith in 410 reported incidents, compared with 441incidents in all of 2016. Incidents included assaults on missionaries andattacks on churches and private property. From January through May, theMinistry of Home Affairs (MHA) reported 296 conflicts between religiouscommunities, resulting in 44 deaths and 892 injuries.Senior US government officials underscored the importance of respectingreligious freedom and promoting tolerance throughout the year. The US embassy and four consulates general continued to discuss religiousfreedom and tolerance issues with the ruling and opposition parties,religious leaders belonging to various faith communities, includingrepresentatives of the Bahai, Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Jain, Jewish,Muslim, Sikh, and Parsi communities, and with civil society and religiousfreedom activists.Embassy officials also engaged officials from the National Commission forMinorities and the National Human Rights Commission, political leaders,state and local officials, religiously affiliated organizations, and civilsociety groups from all religious communities.Section I. Religious DemographyThe US government estimates the total population at 1.28 billion (July 2017estimate). According to the 2011 national census, the most recent year forwhich disaggregated figures are available, Hindus constitute 79.8 percentof the population, Muslims 14.2 percent, Christians 2.3 percent, and Sikhs1.7 percent. Groups that together constitute less than 1 percent of thepopulation include Buddhists, Jains, Zoroastrians (Parsis), Jews, andBahais. The Ministry of Tribal Affairs officially classifies more than 104 millionmembers of Scheduled Tribes – indigenous groups historically outside thecaste system who often practice animism and indigenous religious beliefs –as Hindus in government statistics. Approximately one-third of Christiansalso are listed as part of Scheduled Tribes.According to government estimates, there are large minority Muslimpopulations in the States of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra, WestBengal, Telangana, Karnataka, and Kerala. Muslims constitute 68.3 percentof the population in the State of Jammu and Kashmir, the only state inwhich they constitute a majority. Slightly more than 85 percent of Muslimsare Sunni; most of the rest are Shia. Christian populations are foundacross the country but in greater concentrations in the northeast, as wellas in the southern States of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Goa.Three small northeastern states have large Christian majorities: Nagaland(90 percent of the population), Mizoram (87 percent), and Meghalaya (70percent). Sikhs constitute 54 percent of Punjab’s population. The DalaiLama’s office estimates there are significant resettled Tibetan Buddhistcommunities in Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Uttarakhand, and Delhi.According to a 2009 parliamentary report, the MHA estimates the totalnumber of Tibetan Buddhists to be 110,000.
US State Department raises serious concerns over religious minorities persecution in India