Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The witnesses are very welcome. We need to acknowledge that we do not have to go far to note the rise in sectarianism. We only have to look in our own country and what is happening in Ireland today. It is the 21st century, yet discrimination in class, colour or creed continues in many countries across the world. The witnesses referred to 24 of 29 states. It is clearly a huge problem which India needs to address. I wonder about the seeds of the sectarianism. Some say it goes back to British rule which fomented sectarianism, and set different religions against each other in an effort to control the population. We have seen that in other countries too. I agree that the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade should contact his Indian counterpart to state his deep concern about the attacks on religious freedom by the right-wing sectarian Hindu militias, not only against Christians but also against Muslims and Sikhs and other religious minorities.

According to the witnesses, 20% of all reported attacks took place in the state of Uttar Pradesh. Why is there such a high percentage of attacks in that particular area? What are the triggers? From our own history, we know that there have been attacks on minority populations as a consequence of inflammatory speeches by political parties or their leaders. Is that a common factor? In areas where attacks occur, do people of different religions live cheek by jowl or do they reside in separate areas? Are there economic reasons behind the attacks? Is there a perception that one group is better off than the other? The witnesses mentioned people of the Muslim faith may be involved in a particular trade. Is that a trigger? That has been something used as a reason for religious attacks across the world. Is it stoked by people of wealth, privilege or power?

I return to asking about the role played by political parties. The witnesses referred to the role of social media. Is this being used to stoke these attacks? There is a growing middle class in India and there is increasing wealth and an increased use of social media. Have companies such as Facebook or Google been approached on this matter?

On the issue of complaints being made to the police but not being followed up on, is there need for a separate structure within the policing service in India? What demands should we be making of the Indian Government? On the anti-conversion laws, perhaps the witnesses would elaborate on what is involved.

Like many of my colleagues, I have a good relationship with the Indian community in Ireland. We attend many of the Indian festivals and so on. What is being done to make the Indian community here more aware of these attacks on the religious minority groups? The people from India who I meet in Ireland would be horrified to hear what is going on in their country. Perhaps this voice needs to be used to garner support for what we are trying to do to stop these attacks on religious groups.