Social Hostilities & Government Restrictions Index

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Context:

In 2020, India has been ranked first in the Social Hostilities Index (SHI) released by US think-tank Pew Research Center.

Relevance:

GS I: Communalism, Secularism, Regionalism

Dimensions of the Article:

The SHI measures acts of religious hostility committed by private people, organisations, or groups in society. The index includes 13 indicators, such as mob or sectarian violence as well as military conflict or terrorism motivated by a particular faith.
Questions used to compute the SHI included
Whether the nation experienced violence motivated by religious hatred or bias,
whether people experienced harassment or intimidation motivated by religious hatred or bias,
whether there was mob violence against members of particular religious groups .

The statistics showed that India’s SHI in 2020, which was 9.4 out of a potential 10 points, was worse than that of its neighbours Pakistan and Afghanistan, as well as a growth in its own index value for 2019.
As a result of its crackdown on a “religious” gathering that defied the COVID decree in New Delhi, India has received harsh criticism.

On a second index, the Government Restrictions Index, India performed substantially better (GRI).
This index examines governmental restrictions on religious practises and beliefs.
China received the lowest score, 9.3.
India was ranked 34th, which was sufficient to classify it among nations with “strong” levels of these government limitations.
The GRI consists of 20 measures, including attempts by governments to forbid conversion, restrict preaching, outlaw certain faiths, or provide special treatment to one or more religious organisations.

-Source: Live Mint