Baku to host first international conference on India’s treatment of ethnic minorities

Baku is set to host its first international conference examining India’s policies towards ethnic and religious minorities, with a particular focus on the Sikh community.

The event, titled “Racism and Violence against Sikhs and Other National Minorities in India: Current Realities”, will take place on 16 January and is being organised by the Baku Initiative Group.

The conference will bring together senior officials, human rights advocates, academics and members of the Sikh diaspora. Among those expected to attend is Punjab’s Minister for Human Rights and Minorities, Ramesh Singh Arora, alongside representatives of Sikh communities from Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States. Human rights scholars, think-tank leaders and individuals who say they have been directly affected by alleged repression in India are also due to take part.

The conference aims to examine what organisers describe as a systematic pattern of discrimination, violence and repression by the Indian government against Sikhs and other ethnic minorities. Discussions will centre on alleged violations of India’s international obligations under key United Nations treaties, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, and the Convention against Torture.

Participants are expected to explore ways of keeping the situation of ethnic minorities in India on the agenda of international organisations, including the possibility of formal investigations by the UN Human Rights Committee. Topics will include allegations of extrajudicial killings, arbitrary detention and enforced disappearances, as well as the role of UN special rapporteurs in documenting and monitoring reported human rights abuses.

The role of international and local non-governmental organisations and academic institutions will also be discussed, particularly how their research, legal assessments and recommendations can influence international decision-making and accountability mechanisms.

Sikhism, which emerged in the 15th century, preaches equality regardless of caste, gender or language and explicitly rejects the Hindu caste system. India is home to more than 25 million Sikhs, most of whom live in the northern state of Punjab, widely regarded as the country’s agricultural heartland.

Human rights reports submitted to international bodies by NGOs and independent experts allege that between 8,000 and 17,000 Sikhs were killed during the violence of 1984 alone, following armed operations and crackdowns by Indian security forces. Tens of thousands are said to have fled abroad during that period. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, thousands of Sikhs in Punjab were reportedly abducted or killed without trial, often on what campaigners describe as fabricated charges.

Organisers of the conference say that arrests of Sikh activists continue today, frequently under accusations of separatism or espionage, and that police raids in Punjab have increased. They also point to alleged acts of violence against Sikh activists living overseas, noting that authorities in Canada and the United States have accused Indian intelligence agencies of involvement in such incidents.

Most members of the Sikh diaspora who left India during earlier periods of unrest are now settled in countries including Canada, the UK, the U.S. and Australia. Many continue to campaign internationally for justice and accountability.

Key demands raised by Sikh groups include official recognition by the Indian government of the 1984 anti-Sikh violence as genocide, the establishment of an independent investigation commission, accountability for those responsible, clarification of the fate of individuals who disappeared in the 1980s and 1990s, and the release of detained activists. Other calls include greater autonomy for Punjab, an end to alleged transnational repression, permission for international investigations, a formal state apology and compensation for victims.

Organisers say the Baku conference is intended to amplify these concerns on an international stage and to encourage sustained global scrutiny of the situation of ethnic minorities in India.

Copied