Growing extremism in India and the recent incidents of religious and linguistic riots in its state of Manipur have not only shaken the members of the European Parliament but also damaged its democratic and pluralistic image.
This can be estimated from the text of the resolution passed against India in the European Parliament 2 days ago.
The important thing about this resolution passed in the Parliament is that it was supported by all the groups in the European Parliament and it was advanced by more than 40 members of all the groups with their signatures.
Another important aspect of the resolution is that it urges parliamentarians to take into account India’s human rights record while entering into trade agreements with all member states.
In this resolution, addressing all the responsible European leadership, all the points were explained separately.
The preamble of the resolution states that the European Parliament has adopted a joint resolution on the situation of human rights in India. Following the recent violent clashes in the Indian state of Manipur, in which at least 120 people have been killed since May 2023, 50,000 have been displaced and more than 1,700 houses and 250 churches have been destroyed.
Parliament has urged the Indian authorities to take all necessary steps in this regard. This includes immediately stopping ethnic and religious violence and providing protection to all religious minorities.
The resolution noted that ‘intolerance towards minority communities has contributed to the current violence and that there is concern about politically motivated, divisive policies promoting Hindu majoritarianism in the region’. .
Discussing the further details of the events taking place there, it has been said that the state government of Manipur has suspended the internet service while severely hampering media reporting.
Security forces have been implicated in the recent killings, which has further increased mistrust in the authorities.
Members of the European Parliament have called on Indian authorities to allow an independent investigation to look into the violence, take steps to tackle impunity and lift the internet ban as soon as possible.
He urges all warring parties to stop making inflammatory statements, restore confidence and play a neutral role to mediate tensions.
In the resolution, “Parliament reiterated its call for the integration of human rights into all areas of the EU-India partnership, including trade”.
The MEPs said they would work with the Indian side at the highest level to ‘strengthen the EU-India human rights dialogue and to coordinate human rights protections for the EU and its member states, in particular freedom of expression, religion and civil rights’. The shrinking space of society and also advocates encouraging public lifting’.
It should be noted that the text of this resolution was approved by a show of hands in the Parliament.
