Denial of genocide: Are you a party to

genocide of Hindus, India?

Lakshmi Kaul

 Published

 :

 June 20, 2020,

 8:41 pm

 |

 Updated

 :

 June 20, 2020,

 
 8:41 PM
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File photo of Kashmiri Pandits pouring milk into a sacred pond during an annual
festival at a shrine in Khirbhawani, east of Srinagar in June 2017. REUTERS

India has no Genocide Crime Punishment and Prevention Law. This leads to a
vacuum for criminals of such heinous crimes to get a way out, but also harbours their
intent of further carnage.

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London: Turbulent global crises, increased polarisation have made international solidarity hard
to get by. I was impressed to see India secure a jubilant landslide vote for a Non Permanent Seat
at UN Security Council; the country’s eighth term.

As an ethnic Indian, it is encouraging to note that India, from its pre-Independence times, was an
early signatory to the Declaration by United Nations on 1 January 1942. Post-Independence,
India upheld the principles of justice, liberty and equality for all its citizens, enshrined in the
Preamble to its written Constitution. It is in this light that the UN membership has been deemed
valuable by India as an important guarantee for maintenance of international peace, security and
cooperation.

The 1940s were crucial years for it. The world had witnessed enough blood and gore in the form
of the Great War, the World War II and on the soils of India, in the form of Partition. It is in the
backdrop of these global tragedies, that India became a signatory of the UN Convention on the
Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, on 29 November 1949. This was the first
time “Genocide” was defined, as were the genocidal crimes punishable by international law. The
signatories were contract bound to legislate in their domestic law, the Genocidal Crime
Punishment.

A melting pot of global cultures, India has given refuge to many persecuted communities around
the world. The Jews arrived in India, having fled persecution and lived a peaceful life here
without any instances of anti-Semitism. Refugees from Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Pakistan,
Tibet, Sri Lanka live in India in a safe haven. It is no surprise that on 20 June 2020, many
refugee communities in India would have reminded the world of their human rights infringement
as the UN commemorated the World Refugee Day; India will sympathise.

Closer home, in India, the winter of 1989-90 saw the uprooting and forced, mass exodus of
nearly 500,000 Kashmiri Hindus, at the behest of slogans shouted out from local mosques:
Ralyiv, Galyivya Tchaliv (Convert, Die or Leave). This was the seventh time the Hindus in
Kashmir (Kashmiri Pandits) were targeted and forced out of their homeland. India as a state
remained silent. Neither was there an acknowledgement of this genocidal crime, nor recognition
of Kashmiri Pandits as refugees in their own land; recognisable by UN as “Internally Displaced
Persons”.

Recorded historical evidence as well as confessions of criminals of genocidal crimes are actively
available, yet these are all viewed in isolation of one another as individual murder charges. Why
is this despite India being a signatory to the UN Convention?

The recent murder of a local Kashmiri Hindu politician, Ajay Pandita shocked the country and
was again viewed in isolation as murder. This is a continuing carnage upon the Hindus, daring to
return home or worse still, seek justice.

It may be useful, therefore, in this context, to note that India ratified the Convention on the
Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide on 27 August 1959 with a statement:
“With reference to article IX of the Convention, the Government of India declares that, for the
submission of any dispute in terms of this article to the jurisdiction of the International Court of
Justice, the consent of all the parties to the dispute is required in each case.”

What started off as a grand intent of intolerance to and punishment of genocidal crimes, adopting
the broad definition of genocide, was followed up by an afterthought—to block future course.

Countries around the world, including United Kingdom have as part of their contractual
obligation legislated Genocide Crime and Punishment Law in their Parliaments. India has no
Genocide Crime Punishment and Prevention Law. This leads to a vacuum for criminals of such
heinous crimes to get a way out, but also harbours their intent of further carnage.

That genocide was committed is now at least being recognised in occasional speeches made by
legislators in India. However, in absence of a genocide law, this makes India party to genocide
crime. Article 3 of the Convention clearly lists complicity in genocide as a punishable crime of
genocide.

We live in advanced, digital times and there are online campaigns and petitions; one such was
brought to my attention: Panun Kashmir Genocide and Atrocities Prevention Bill 2020, which I
studied and was impressed by its detail. I signed it, with the hope that the work put into the
drafting of this Bill will not go waste and Government of India will finally fulfil its international
obligation, particularly in celebration of its recent popularity at UN Security Council. I am sure
there must be at least one legislator in a country of nearly 1.2 billion who will table this Bill in
Parliament of India, seeking to adopt it as law.

We live in hope!