In a Geneva-era rhythm of statements and counter-statements, the United Nations once again became a stage for an old quarrel: India's diplomats, speaking in New York during a dialogue on funeral rights in exceptional circumstances, turned a review of religious freedom into a reckoning with Pakistan. The occasion was an interactive session with the Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief, and the words came from First Secretary Bhavika Mangalanandan on October 23. Delhi's argument was that a country it considers unable to protect its own minorities, or to honour its own soldiers' re
India Accuses Pakistan at UN of Hypocrisy on Minority Rights, Citing Kargil Bodies and Terrorist Funeral Advocacy
Deriving political mileage out of people's pain and loss
Mark
Why did a discussion about funeral rights turn into an India-Pakistan exchange?
Mimi
India used its slot in the dialogue to do two things. It criticized the report's framing, and then it pointed at Pakistan over Kargil in 1999, saying Islamabad did not accept the bodies of its own fallen soldiers.
Mark
What was India's objection to the report itself?
Mimi
Two things. It said the report placed COVID-era discrimination mostly in the Global South and ignored similar tragedies in developed countries. And it objected to the report's advocacy for terrorists' funeral rights.
Luke
Worth saying plainly: these are India's characterizations of the report. We only have one diplomat's description, not the report's text.
Mark
And the Kargil claim?
Mimi
She said Pakistan did not accept its soldiers' bodies in 1999. It was the sharpest line in the statement.
Luke
It's an assertion made at the UN by India's representative. The article doesn't offer independent verification or any detail, so I'd treat it as India's position.
Mark
Has Pakistan responded?
Luke
Not in this reporting. We don't know whether it will, or how the Special Rapporteur will answer.
Mimi
The Special Rapporteur's final report is the next marker to watch.
O Pulso
- India's First Secretary Bhavika Mangalanandan opened fire at a UN dialogue on religious freedom, turning a funeral-rights session into a direct challenge to Pakistan.
- The report's COVID-19 findings drew sharp rebuke, with Delhi charging that discrimination was spotlighted in the Global South while developed nations were quietly spared.
- Terrorist funeral advocacy was branded as misplaced sympathy, with India insisting that the rights of victims must not be eclipsed by the rights of perpetrators.
- The Kargil conflict was recalled as a pointed jab, as India reminded the forum that Pakistan once refused to accept its own soldiers' bodies.
- No reply from Islamabad or the Special Rapporteur has yet surfaced, leaving the exchange hanging until the rapporteur's final report and any Pakistani rejoinder arrive.
In a Geneva-era rhythm of statements and counter-statements, the United Nations once again became a stage for an old quarrel: India's diplomats, speaking in New York during a dialogue on funeral rights in exceptional circumstances, turned a review of religious freedom into a reckoning with Pakistan. The occasion was an interactive session with the Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief, and the words came from First Secretary Bhavika Mangalanandan on October 23. Delhi's argument was that a country it considers unable to protect its own minorities, or to honour its own soldiers' remains, has little standing to lecture others on faith and burial. Whether the rebuke settles anything or simply adds another line to a long record of mutual suspicion remains an open question.
At the United Nations in New York, India's First Secretary Bhavika Mangalanandan rose during an interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief. The session concerned funeral rights in exceptional circumstances, but her statement, reported by ANI on October 23, quickly moved from the report to Pakistan.
Her first objection was to the report's account of COVID-19. She said it seemed to place discrimination and failures during the pandemic mainly on the Global South, while passing over comparable tragedies in developed nations. Reports on religious freedom, she argued, should address violations impartially rather than selecting incidents for political gain, and mandate holders should not build their relevance on the pain of others.
Her second objection concerned the report's advocacy for the funeral rights of terrorists. The rights of perpetrators, she said, should not overshadow those of victims, and it was telling that such fervent advocacy did not extend to those killed in terrorist attacks.
Then she named Pakistan directly, recalling that during the 1999 Kargil conflict it refused to accept the bodies of its own soldiers, and calling it deeply ironic that such a state now speaks with fervour about faith and burials. The source carries no response from Pakistan or the Special Rapporteur, so the exchange remains open, with the rapporteur's final report and any Islamabad reply still to come.
At the United Nations in New York, during an interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief, India's First Secretary at its Permanent Mission, Bhavika Mangalanandan, rose to deliver her country's statement. The session concerned funeral rights in exceptional circumstances. Her remarks, reported by ANI on October 23, turned quickly from the report itself to Pakistan.
The core of India's message was that Islamabad has no standing to lecture New Delhi on religious freedom, burial rights or the treatment of minorities. India accused Pakistan of failing to protect vulnerable communities within its own borders, even as it speaks about faith and burials in international forums.
Mangalanandan began, though, with the report. She said it appeared to place discriminatory practices and failings during the COVID-19 pandemic mainly on countries in the Global South, while passing over similar tragedies in developed nations. "As per the report, all discrimination and wrong practices during COVID-19 supposedly took place only in the Global South," she said, asking what benefit a report gains by leaving out comparable situations in the developed world.
She cautioned against politicising human suffering. Reports on religious freedom, she argued, should address violations impartially instead of selectively highlighting incidents for political purposes. Mandate holders, in her words, should not base their relevance on deriving political mileage out of people's pain and loss.
The second line of criticism concerned the report's advocacy for the funeral rights of terrorists. Mangalanandan argued that the rights of perpetrators should not overshadow those of victims whose lives are lost in terrorist attacks. A terrorist, she said, kills innocent people and also damages the psyche of a nation. She called it telling that fervent advocacy for the rights of those who violate the right to life does not extend in the same way to the victims of terrorism.
Then she named Pakistan directly, pointing to the 1999 Kargil conflict. It was deeply ironic, she said, that a state that did not accept the bodies of its own soldiers killed in combat in Kargil now speaks with fervour on faith, religious freedom and burials.
The exchange reflects the long India-Pakistan rivalry that regularly surfaces in UN human rights forums. The source reports only India's statement; it carries no response from Pakistan or from the Special Rapporteur. Those reactions, and the Special Rapporteur's final report, are what to watch for next.
Citações Notáveis
It is deeply ironic that a state that did not even accept the bodies of its own soldiers killed in combat in 1999 in Kargil speaks with fervour on faith, religious freedom and burials.— Bhavika Mangalanandan, First Secretary, India's Permanent Mission to the UN
Quer a matéria completa?
Leia o original em ANI (Asian News International) ↗
Health & Medicine