Overview:

• Restrictions are placed upon conversion and proselytism, including mandatory registration of conversion to provincial government in some states which does not correspond with the right of a person to change religion or belief, especially because violators of these types of laws face retribution.

• There exists an imbalance between requirements for local and foreign-sourced religious groups in favour of the former rather than the latter including mandatory annual reporting of activities.

• There are several persistent issues with religious recognition in India, including legislative language; state definition of groups is applied when the state groups Buddhists, Sikhs and Jains together under the banner of Hindus despite widespread acknowledgement of them as separate groups.

• Registration with the government does not equate to the same recognitory status as the six religious minorities and certain not to that of Hindus as the religious majority; attaining these existential recognised status.

Positive elements:

• Commission established to registered cases of discrimination although limited to only recognised minorities.

Recommendations:

• Establish provisions for existential recognition.

• Dismantle all forms of vertical recognition

• Remove all restrictive policies on conversion and proselytism.

Indian Kashmir:

• Communal violence between Muslims and Hindus is ongoing but should be helped in its resolution through the use of recognition tools to reaffirm a message of diversity.