Report unveils India's use of Nazi playbook to target religious minorities

As Simon Wiesenthal once said, "The Holocaust began with the Jewish. But it did not end with the Jews." The Holocaust remains one of the most tragic and horrifying events of modern history. However, it did not occur in a vacuum; it was the result of a sustained campaign of hate that included the fear-mongering and dehumanization of Jewish people. The atrocities of the Holocaust have spurred research into identifying indicators of genocide. Scholars have extensively documented and monitored patterns and stages leading up to genocidal events. Recently, Justice For All Canada, a genocide prevention organization, released a damning report titled The Nazification of India, exposing the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a paramilitary organization in India, and its political arm, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led by Narendra Modi, for actively implementing an ideology that bears striking similarities to that of the Nazi Party. While the Nazi Party's political agenda centered around anti-Semitism and the dehumanization of the Jewish population, the RSS and BJP use Islamophobia and vilification of the Muslim population to drive their political agenda. Taha Ghayyur is the executive director of Justice for All Canada, a non-profit human rights and advocacy organization based in Toronto. Photograph handout The report details how the Indian state—through its complicity in hate speech, mob violence, and discriminatory policies—is systematically targeting minority communities, including Muslims, Indian Christians, and Dalits. The threat of genocide in India has reached a critical level, with more than 200 million Muslims facing persecution at the hands of the ruling BJP party and its movement RSS, according to the report. Genocide Watch has warned that India has already reached the sixth, seventh, and eighth stages of genocide, with the situation rapidly escalating towards a potential genocide. At the core of the BJP and RSS's political ideology is Hindutva, which promotes India as a solely Hindu nation, with non-Hindus seen as outsiders or even enemies. This narrow-minded exclusionary ideology stands in stark contrast to Hinduism's inclusive nature, which has a long history of co-existing with other religions and beliefs. The report exposes how the Indian government has implemented laws and propaganda to further its discriminatory policies and impose economic exclusions on minority communities. Youth indoctrination, armed training, and the destruction of Muslim places of worship in India are tactics that closely resemble those used by Hitler and the Nazi party. Amid escalating reports of human rights violations in India, documenting these incidents is becoming increasingly challenging for human rights activists and journalists. The situation has become so dire that on World Press Freedom Day earlier this month, NGO Reporters Without Borders downgraded India's press freedom rating to 161 out of 180 countries. Despite mounting concerns over human rights abuses, Canada has continued to prioritize its economic and bilateral relations with India. India's Minister of Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal, was recently in Canada, co-chairing the Sixth India-Canada Ministerial Dialogue on Trade and Investment with International Trade Minister Mary Ng. Shockingly, human rights were not on the agenda for discussion. Even the Business Council of Canada, while encouraging Ottawa to sign a trade agreement with India, has acknowledged India’s declining human rights record. The report underscores the urgent need for countries like Canada to take action to prevent genocide from occurring against at-risk minority communities. These actions include publicly condemning the Indian government's violations and preventing the transfer of funds from Canada to Hindutva groups in India. But also the use of the Canadian Magnitsky Act to sanction officers who commit torture and fail to protect, as well as monks, religious leaders and government supporters openly calling for genocide. The Canadian government must ensure that any new trade agreements with India prioritize human rights and the protection of the fundamental rights of all Indian citizens, regardless of their religious, ethnic, or caste affiliations. Failure to do so would be a betrayal of Canada's commitment to human rights and a condemnation of religious minorities in India to the horrors of genocide. Taha Ghayyur is the executive director of Justice for All Canada, a non-profit human rights and advocacy organization based in Toronto. The Hill Times

Report unveils India’s use of Nazi playbook to target religious minorities

Canada must ensure that new trade deals with India prioritize human rights and the protection of the fundamental rights of all Indian citizens. Failure to do so would be a betrayal of our commitment to human rights, condemning religious minorities in India to genocide.

Canada should decry democratic backsliding in India

Despite global pledge to combat Islamophobia, systemic anti-Muslim hate is on the rise

As Canada recommits to ending violence against women and girls, Ottawa should stand up for Bilkis Bano

Canada should decry democratic backsliding in India

How can Ontario achieve net zero, with greater energy reliability and resilience? Roadmap to a clean energy future

Broadening access to digital services for Canadians through secure verification and authentication

Canadian news is in trouble: we can’t afford to let tech giants make its financial difficulties worse

Canada changed forever 40 years ago when Mulroney was elected party leader at Ottawa convention

This World Milk Day, thank a Canadian dairy farmer

All we have to worry about is ‘generative AI’ killing millions of white-collar jobs

Even high-wage temporary foreign workers are at risk of exploitation

Canada’s foreign policy is at odds with Trudeau’s promise to fight Islamophobia

India at 75

Jealous gods

Canada’s foreign policy needs a shift and a human rights lens

India’s ‘vaccine diplomacy’ should not be looked at through the narrow lens of Canada-India trade relations, says reader

News

Get free news updates

Opinion

Submit a guest opinion article

resources

Advertise

subscribe

get help

Report unveils India’s use of Nazi playbook to target religious minorities

Canada must ensure that new trade deals with India prioritize human rights and the protection of the fundamental rights of all Indian citizens. Failure to do so would be a betrayal of our commitment to human rights, condemning religious minorities in India to genocide.

Get The Foreign Policy and Diplomacy Newsletter