India Asks UN to Oppose Hinduphobia, Bigotry Targeting Sikhism, Buddhism

Business Standard India asks UN to oppose Hinduphobia, bigotry targeting Sikhism, Buddhism

India has called on the UN to take a direct stand against Hinduphobia and violent bigotry targeting the Sikhism and Buddhism

India has called on the UN to take a direct stand against Hinduphobia and violent bigotry targeting the Sikhism and Buddhism.

"This August body fails to acknowledge the rise of hatred and violence against Buddhism, Hinduism and Sikhism," Ashish Sharma, a First Secretary in India's UN Mission, told the General Assembly on Wednesday during a debate on the culture of peace.

"We fully agree that anti-Semitism, Islamaphobia and anti-Christian acts need to be condemned and India firmly condemns such acts," he said while referring to the draft resolution on the "Freedom of Religion or Belief".

But he said that "UN resolutions on such important issues speak only of these three Abrahamic religions" which are Judaism, Christianity and Islam that trace their origins to Jewish prophet Abraham.

"Why this selectivity?" Sharma queried.

"The shattering of the iconic Bamyan Buddha by fundamentalists, the terrorist bombing of the Sikh gurudwara in Afghanistan where 25 Sikh worshipers were killed and the destruction of Hindu and Buddhist temples and minority cleansing of these religions by countries, calls for condemning such acts against these religions also.

"The UN is not a body which should take sides when it comes to religion," he added.

The draft resolution that named only the three Abrahamic religions was sponsored by 33 European countries that are predominantly Christian, and none of the Islamic countries or Israel joined in sponsoring it.