India: Information on whether the Shiv Sena or other Hindu groups forced Muslims to convert to Hinduism in 1993
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 1 June 1994 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | IND17523.E |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, India: Information on whether the Shiv Sena or other Hindu groups forced Muslims to convert to Hinduism in 1993, 1 June 1994, IND17523.E, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6ac6154.html [accessed 31 May 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
Sources currently available to the DIRB do not provide information on the forcible conversion of Muslims to Hinduism in 1993. However, the attached Middle East News Network article provides information on the alleged forcible conversion of Indian Muslims to Hinduism prior to 1993. This article refers to Indian Muslim expatriates in Saudi Arabia who expressed their concern over "the forcible conversion of their co-religionists to Hinduism by a rightist militant organisation [in India]" (28 July 1992). According to these expatriates, by July 1992 the fundamentalist Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) had forcibly converted a large number of Muslim villagers to Hinduism in the State of Rajasthan (ibid.).
The attached Sunday Telegraph article, which provides information on the 1993 "ethnic cleansing" campaign of the Shiv Sena in Bombay that forced an unspecified number of Muslims to pretend to be Hindus, might be useful.
This response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the DIRB within time constraints. This response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.
References
Middle East News Network. 28 July 1992. Mahmood Saberi. "Indian Muslim Expatriates Angered by Forced Conversions in Rajasthan." (NEXIS)
Sunday Telegraph [London]. 17 January 1993. Rahul Bedi. "Sectarian Spectre that Haunts India's Muslims." (NEXIS)
Attachments
Middle East News Network. 28 July 1992. Mahmood Saberi. "Indian Muslim Expatriates Angered by Forced Conversions in Rajasthan." (NEXIS)
Sunday Telegraph [London]. 17 January 1993. Rahul Bedi. "Sectarian Spectre that Haunts India's Muslims." (NEXIS)
Sources Consulted
Amnesty International country file (India).
Amnesty International Report 1993. 1993.
Amnesty International Report 1992. 1992.
Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1993. 1994.
Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1992. 1993.
DIRB country file (India).
Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS). 1992-94.
Keesing's Record of World Events [Cambridge]. 1992-94.
On-line search.
