Social Hostilities Index (SHI)

Key findings of the index-

• The SHI measures acts of religious hostility by private individuals, organizations or groups. 
• The index comprises 13 metrics, including religion-related armed conflict or terrorism and mob or sectarian violence. 

• According to the report, among the most populous countries, India, Nigeria, Pakistan, Egypt and Bangladesh had “very high” social hostilities involving religion.

• As per the index India was among a handful of countries that saw religious hostilities in the early stages of the covid-19 pandemic in 2020.
• Overall, the country had the highest rate of social tensions along religious lines globally in 2020, the report showed. 
• At 9.4 out of a maximum possible score of 10, India’s Social Hostilities Index (SHI) in 2020 was worse than neighbouring Pakistan and Afghanistan, and a further increase in its own index value for 2019. A higher score is worse. The report covered 198 countries.
• India fared much better on a second index: the Government Restrictions Index (GRI). This index looks at laws, policies and state actions restricting religious beliefs and practices. 
• China ranked the worst in GRI, with a score of 9.3. India’s 34th rank was enough to categorize it among countries with “high” levels of such government restrictions. 
• The GRI comprises 20 measures, including efforts by governments to ban particular faiths, prohibit conversion, limit preaching or give preferential treatment to one or more religious groups.
• The report also looked at the impact of the covid-19 pandemic on religious persecution in 2020. 
• India was one of just four countries in the world that saw pandemic-related social hostilities against religious groups involving physical violence or vandalism by private individuals or organizations. Argentina, Italy and the US were the others.
• It said that India was also among the countries in which private individuals or organizations linked the spread of the coronavirus to religious groups.

Official Data-

• By India’s own official crime statistics, the picture is more mixed. 
• According to police data, religious riots for which cases were filed rose substantially in 2020, and declined again in 2021. 
• But there have been significant variations over time, and the numbers are too low as a share of overall rioting incidents to indicate a definitive trend. 
• Moreover, the home ministry no longer provides data on “communal incidents”, and the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) now only publishes data on religious “riots”.
• Even within available data, there are large gaps between the data provided by the NCRB and the home ministry.