CASE 52-2019: Indian
Army & Security Forces
ETHICAL JUDGMENT
Dear Prosecutor, Ambassador of Peace and Jury Members
of the International Buddhist Ethics
Committee (IBEC) and Buddhist Tribunal on Human Rights (BTHR), regarding
the Case 52-2019 against the "Indian
Army", on November 25, 2019, it is hereby recorded that the trial has
concluded to analyze the violations of Human Rights and Buddhist Ethics carried
out by the accused. This case has been carried out as a karmatic consequence of
the "Major
Deepak Rao Case".
After the analysis of the presentation of the Case and
the validation of evidence, it has proceeded with the voting of 5 members of
the Jury, confirming that there were 5 votes of Responsible for the “Indian
Army” for the serious crimes of Crimes against Humanity, Genocide, Crimes
against Peace, Ethnic Cleansing, Violations of Women's Rights, Violation of
Constitutional Law, Violation of International Human Rights Law, Violation of
International Humanitarian Law, State Terrorism, Crimes against Democracy, Violation
of Buddhist Law and Crimes against the Buddhist Nation.
In addition to the fact that the “Indian Army” has not removed the honorary rank of Major from
paramilitary leader Deepak Rao and
has ignored his immoral and criminal behavior against the Buddhist Law, the Buddhist Tribunal on Human Rights has
been able to compile evidence that proves that the “Indian Army” has committed crimes in a systematic and widespread
way against unarmed civilians, forming —together
with the police and paramilitary security forces— a
true violent and genocidal illicit association that is totally unconstitutional and contrary to
international human rights conventions signed by India, occurring without any
police investigation, or judicial sanction or government prohibition since
immunity is provided to criminals and it
is simultaneously carried out an explicit institutional Denialism and implicit
tolerance or consent to these terrifying genocidal crimes and massacres.
First, the “Indian
Army” has carried out a Forced Displacement of Rohingya
refugees, considering them as illegal immigrants instead of recognizing them as
refugees fleeing the genocide carried out by Myanmar,
which violates international conventions that prohibit inhuman treatment and
expulsion of refugees and asylum seekers fleeing from countries where they are
persecuted, tortured or annihilated. The Buddhist Law confirms that this forced
deportation constitutes acts of Crimes against Humanity, Violation of
International Human Rights Law and Violation of Buddhist Law.
Second, the “Indian
Army”, together with police forces and paramilitary forces, has carried out
thousands of Mass Murders and Extrajudicial Executions as a form of
intimidation and social control against the People of Kashmir that are seeking
independence and self-determination, by constantly resorting to murder and
massacres of civilians —including children and
women— who are later wrongly accused as Pakistani terrorists in a framework of covering up and impunity for
mass killings. The Buddhist Law confirms that these Mass Murders and Extrajudicial
Executions constitute acts of Genocide, Crimes against Humanity and
State
Terrorism.
Third, the "Indian
Army" constantly performs thousands of Kidnappings and Enforced
Disappearances against the defenseless civilian population,
implementing the same genocidal techniques that have been carried out by Armies
such as that of Argentina, which is evident not only in the face of the
thousands of disappearances that have occurred for decades, but also in the
face of the macabre discovery of thousands of massive graves, incinerating or
disfiguring the bodies and then burying them in a framework of systematic and
widespread impunity for those who commit human rights violations, violating
both the right to life as well as the rights to the Truth, to justice and
reparation of the families of the victims, who are threatened with death so
that they do not make any kind of judicial claim. The Buddhist Law confirms
that these Kidnappings and Enforced Disappearances constitute
acts of Crimes against Humanity, Crimes against Peace and
Violation of International Humanitarian Law.
Fourth, the “Indian
Army” has carried out Torture and Cruel and Inhuman Treatment
to thousands of detainees in custody, including torture of children and sexual
torture of women and men, often resulting in the illegal death of detainees,
something which then it accuses people of having died by suicide or natural
causes, all of which is covered up by the judicial and governmental system
within the framework of a culture of unconstitutional
impunity through the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) that
guarantees total immunity to the Indian
Army and security forces to be able to detain, torture, shoot and kill
without being tried by local and international courts. The Buddhist Law confirms that these Tortures and Cruel and Inhuman
Treatment constitute acts of Crimes against Humanity and Violation
of International Human Rights Law.
Fifth, the “Indian
Army” has violated the rights of children, not only recruiting minors as
soldiers, but also carrying out criminal actions such as kidnappings,
indefinite illegal detentions under false charges, obstruction of the right to
education, and even many times resorting to the perverse and cowardly use of
torture, sexual abuse and murder of children, all of which occurs under a
framework of police cover-up and impunity. The Buddhist Law confirms that these
Violations
of Children's Rights constitute acts of Crimes against Humanity and Violation
of Constitutional Law.
Sixth, the “Indian
Army” has committed Massive Sexual Abuse of women, girls and
elderly women, entering the homes of defenseless civilians, carrying
out sexual assaults and rapes that produce irreparable psychological traumas,
and even subsequently threatening of death to the victims so that they do not
report to justice the sexual atrocities committed by the Criminal Indian Army, all of which is used as a powerful
genocidal weapon that punishes, humiliates and destroys the conscience,
honor and integrity of people and communities under a framework of total
impunity for these genocidal criminals. The Buddhist Law confirms that these Massive
Sexual Abuses of women, girls and elderly women constitute acts of Genocide,
Crimes against Humanity and Violations of Women's Rights.
Seventh, the "Indian
Army" has violated the rights of tribal peoples and minorities, including
endorsing the social system of Segregation and Apartheid against the Dalit
People, carrying out torture, forced displacement by burning
homes, temples and schools, illegal detentions of minors, sexual abuse of women
and extrajudicial executions in the framework of discriminatory,
oppressive and warlike relations of the State of India against indigenous
peoples and the Dalit people who are constantly denied their identity and
existence in a systematic and widespread way, by forcing them to live in the
worst living conditions. The Buddhist Law confirms that the Apartheid
and Violations of the Rights of tribal peoples constitute acts of Crimes
against Humanity and Ethnic Cleansing.
Eighth, the “Indian
Army” has carried out State Repression and Violations of Human
Rights, occupying and militarizing Kashmir and denying its right to
democratic self-determination, violating civil and political rights and
creating an institutional system contrary to the empire of Law and Justice in
which international crimes against the Kashmir population are carried out with
total impunity, allowing the Indian Army
full immunity to carry out kidnapping, torture, sexual abuse, disappearance and
murder of hundreds of thousands of people within the framework of a tyrannical
state contrary to Freedom, Equality and Fraternity. The Buddhist Law confirms
that this State of Repression and Violations of Human Rights are Crimes
against Democracy.
Thus, paying tribute and honor to the hundreds of
thousands of innocent victims of Kashmir (the
Holy Land of Yuzu-Asaph), who were cowardly massacred by the "Indian Army", the Buddhist Tribunal on Human Rights
confirms that the "Indian Army” of the present is repeating the same
catastrophes committed by the Indian
Armies of the past, because
hundreds of years ago under the domination of Hindu Nationalism they perpetrated Genocides and Crimes
against the Buddhist Nation.
The "Indian Army Case"
is not only a consequence of the current actions of Major Deepak Rao, but it is also a result of the karma of the past originated from the
terrible history suffered by the Buddhist Nation of India, which was literally
extinguished due to multiple persecutions and genocides carried
out by Indian Armies. Thus, while
the Buddhist Civilization was spread to more than twenty countries in Asia and
had embassies in Europe and Africa, instead the Buddhist Civilization in India
disappeared due to a process of genocidal persecution carried out
initially by Brahmanism and then finalized by Islam, and although the latter
was the one who finally put out the torch of the Dharma, undoubtedly Brahmanism was responsible for centuries to
weaken its integrity. Indeed, Brahmanism has maintained for centuries a fascist
Apartheid
regime in which it hostilely held the supremacy of its caste over other
communities and social classes, greatly weakening the Buddhist Nation through crimes
against humanity that were the greatest disaster in the history of
India, destroying thousands of temples, altars, statues, schools and sacred
scriptures, killing thousands of Buddhist masters and practitioners, and
appropriating thousands of territories and monuments of the Buddhist Sangha as
is the case of Mahabodhi Vihara Bodh Gaya,
as described by historians Jayaprakash and Bahauddin. The Buddhist History
reveals that among the Armies of India who committed acts of Genocide,
Ethnic Cleansing and Crimes against humanity against the Buddhist
Nation, there are troops led by several kings such as Pushyamitra Sunga,
Suddhanvan, Sasanka, Mihirakula, Jalaluka, Kinnara, Nara, Simhavarma,
Trilochana, Toramana, Harsha and Kshemagupta, promoting the Extermination
of the Buddhist Nation, especially massacring helpless and peaceful
masters and mendicants (bhikkhus). The
Buddhist survivors of this massive destruction were expelled to other
countries, or were forcedly absorbed and assimilated by Brahmanism, being
marginalized from the communities of India and confined in ghettos where they were converted into the lower caste of the Untouchables as Ambedkar confirmed it in
his analysis of the history of the noble Dalit People.[1] Obviously, in these multiple Genocides against the
Buddhist Nation not only several kings who led the Armies of India participated in their crimes against peace, but
in these massacres and eradications of the Buddhist Culture several Hindu
thinkers and philosophers actively participated too, as is the case of
Sankaracharya, Kumarila Bhatta and Sambanthar, who intellectually supported Genocide,
Ethnic Cleansing and Apartheid against the Buddhist
People through discriminatory, racist, violent and malicious rhetoric against the
most peaceful and righteous Nation on Earth, fanatically instigating the Indian Army to exterminate the Buddhist Nation, even torturing and burning to
death many spiritual mendicants (bhikkhus), as Swami Vivekananda has recognized.
While the kingdoms of the Buddhist Civilization maintained relations of world
peace, social justice, advanced education and environmental health, never
persecuting the different religious traditions and nations of the world, on the
other hand, the Armies of the Hindu and
Islamic Civilizations completely destroyed the Buddhist nation of India,
erasing and exterminating thousands of years of spiritual and social tradition
of the most advanced community in the history of humankind. Indeed, the
cultural heritage of the Buddhist Civilization has historically been violated,
destroyed and usurped by the atrocities of Brahmanism in its Crusade
and anti-Buddhist holy war, showing pride in making a Holocaust
by demolishing and eradicating the leaders, traditions and cultural heritage of
the Great Buddhist Nation in a systematic and widespread way. However, Hindu
historians have deliberately concealed traces of the atrocities and cruelties
that actually happened, creating the impression that the Hindu Civilization has
been righteous and tolerant when it has rather behaved like a Criminal
and Genocidal Civilization that has desacralized, oppressed and
exterminated the Great Buddhist Nation and other spiritual communities as is
the case with Jainism. Since the Buddhist Nation is an intrinsically peaceful
people, this history of Genocide was unfortunately repeated
in other countries, such as Sri Lanka, China and Japan, among others.
In addition to having suffered centuries of persecution and destruction,
the cultural heritage of the Buddhist Nation was also appropriated and
assimilated by the Brahmanic Civilization, taking thousands of temples and
monuments, as well as assimilating and converting the sacred figure of Gautama
Buddha as one of the avatars of the Vishnu deity, which deeply betrays the
Buddhist Spirituality, since Gautama showed himself as agnostic regarding the
existence of deities. But this kind of assimilation of the Buddhist sacred
images has not only occurred in ancient times, but has also occurred with the
flag of Contemporary India, where the wheel
of Buddhist Law that symbolizes the Buddhist Civilization of Ashoka has
been incorporated, which constitutes a fundamental hypocrisy since the Indian Army is committing crimes
against the Buddhist community and also violations of the human rights of
the Kashmir People. In the event that the State of India wishes to carry the Dharma Wheel with honor then it must
possess compassionate wisdom and humanitarian ethics anytime and anywhere,
respecting the independence and sovereignty of the cultural heritage of the
Buddhist Civilization. Indeed, the Great Master Gautama Samyaksambuddha did not
believe in the fascist system of the caste division of Hinduism, as he taught a
social regime of freedom, equality and fraternity. Thus, the Path of Peace
followed by the Buddhist Nation implies the possibility that every human being
- without discrimination based on caste, color, gender and religion - can
achieve Liberation and Awakening (Bodhi). Therefore, the Great Master Gautama Samyaksambuddha
was critical of the caste system and its dominant and oppressive regime,
creating a tribe or commune (sangha) where discrimination and racism were
abolished in a revolutionary way. Therefore, the Buddhist Nation is against the
belief of racial or social supremacy of the powerful classes over the oppressed
classes, and this passion for universal fraternity has been the main reason why
hegemonic and warmongering Brahmanism committed systematic and widespread acts
of hate, persecution, genocide and apartheid against
peaceful and egalitarian spiritual communities.
The Buddhist Nation of India is denied its most fundamental
sociocultural rights, which is evident in the Case of the Mahabodhi Temple in Bodh Gaya
created by Ashoka, which is probably the most sacred place in the history of
Buddhism for being the place where Master Gautama became an Awakened Being
(Buddha). After having annihilated the Buddhist commune (sangha) that ran the
Temple, the Brahmanic forces took over this sacred Buddhist territory,
controlling it for centuries through an unacceptable cultural domination that
violates the very Constitution of India. In this way, the Buddhist Law confirms
that the Bodh Gaya Temple Act of 1949
violates both the rights of spiritual communities as well as violates the
principle of secularism that appears in the Constitution, promoting the
cultural hegemony of Brahmanism. It also breaks and breaches the promise made
by the Indian independence movement when in 1922 it would have promised the
Buddhist People the return of the Mahabodhi Vihara in Bodh Gaya. The Bodh Gaya Temple Act of 1949 not only
does not recognize the fundamental rights of the Buddhist Nation to manage its
cultural heritage, but also legalizes the illegal occupation and usurpation of
Brahmanism over the cultural and economic affairs of the Mahabodhi Temple in Bodh Gaya, being pro-Hindu by providing a majority of five Hindu members within the
Committee governing that Buddhist institution, which means that the remaining
four Buddhist members lack any real power. These kind of infiltrations of
Hinduism in an attempt to control Buddhism from within have previously been
analyzed by the Buddhist Tribunal on
Human Rights, not only in the "Major Deepak Rao Case", but also in the "International
Buddhist Confederation Case",
since there is evidence demonstrating that this Buddhist institution sentenced
for human rights violations has allowed the Hindu governmental apparatus to
infiltrate its organization. On the other hand, although the Constitution of
India was meant as secular in an attempt to bring harmony to religious,
cultural and ethnic diversity, however, the 1949 Bodh Gaya Temple Act violates the secular principle by legalizing
Hindu dominance, then making a deep discrimination against the Buddhist Nation
for reasons of belief or faith. The Buddhist Law confirms that the government
of India, after the genocides carried out by its Armies, is legitimizing violations
of the rights to equality, non-discrimination and freedom of religion and
thought, all of which are fundamental rights in the India's own Constitution.
As observed by J.S. Verma on the Case of
M. Ismail Faruqui v. Union of India, the constitutional framework clearly
guarantees the right to religious equality for all individuals and groups,
while emphasizing the secular view that there is no state religion. In fact,
the Constitution of India declares as void any law that is inconsistent with
fundamental rights, among which is found under article 14 the right to equality
that prohibits any arbitrary classification by the State, which is why the
Buddhist Law confirms that the Bodh Gaya
Temple Act of 1949 is both a violation of the human rights of the Buddhist
Nation as well as is also an unconstitutional law that violates the spirit of
article 14. Indeed, the majority dominance of the Hindu members of the Bodh Gaya Temple Management Committee violates the principles of
secularism and the equal provisions of the Constitution of India, which is part
of a pattern of unconstitutionality on the part of Hinduism as many of its
temples also mention the requirement that their executive members be part of a
particular caste, thus violating article 15 of the Constitution of India that prohibits discrimination against any citizen
on grounds of religion, race, caste, gender or birth place. The Buddhist Tribunal on Human Rights confirms that clearly the Buddhist
Nation is being discriminated by the genocidal
State of India, violating articles 25 and 26 of the Constitution of the
country where the fundamental rights to freedom of religion and conscience are
recognized, rights that allow to practice, manage and spread Spirituality with
total freedom. In accordance with Buddhist Law, the Supreme Court of India confirmed that the right to administer a governing council in
religious institutions is a fundamental right guaranteed by article 26 of the
Constitution and that no legislation of India could nullify or transmit it to
another religious or secular authority. Ergo, the Bodh Gaya Temple Act of 1949 is one of many examples in which the
dominant Hindu Power violates the structural principles of the Constitution of
India in order to oppress the Buddhist Nation, taking away its right to handle
spiritual affairs of the Sangha to hand over its control to Hindu authorities. This
Hinduization of Buddhism by the Indian State implies a violation of the
collective cultural heritage of the Buddhist Nation, and also means a violation
of the right to religious tolerance and equal treatment of all spiritual
groups, all of which deserve that their lives, properties and temples are protected,
as Judge Sawant states in his analysis on the secularism of the Constitution of
India.
In addition, while there are internal laws that correctly define
Buddhist people as non-Hindus, as is the case of Karnataka Hindu Religious Institutions and Charitable Endowment Act of
1997, paradoxically there are other internal laws of India where the
attempt to forcibly dominate and assimilate the Buddhist people by denying them
their cultural identity is evident, as is the case of the Bihar Hindu Trust Act of 1950, where the Buddhist person is defined
as Hindu and it is shown that Bihar's political and legal institutions
deliberately deny Buddhist people their right to administer their temples and
freely practice their Spirituality. In fact, this kind of thirst for dominance
by Hinduism against the Buddhist Nation not only contradicts the Constitution
of India, but also one of its laws, such as Places
of Worship (Special Provisions) Act of 1991 where it is prohibited that a
religious place belonging to a religious group is converted by someone into a
religious place of a different religion. The Buddhist Law confirms that the
Indian State is violating its own laws with total impudence, which is evident
since the Hindu forces would have illegally built a Shiva temple inside the Mahabodhi Temple of Bodh Gaya,
hegemonically invading and usurping the Buddhist cultural heritage in order to
destroy the spiritual identity that Master Gautama Samyaksambuddha has provided
as a legacy to the entire Buddhist Nation, being an opportunity to steal
thousands of ancient artifacts that are property of the Buddhist Temple.
The Buddhist Tribunal on Human
Rights confirms that it is a misconception the fact that Master Gautama
Buddha has been an incarnation of a Hindu deity, which would legitimize a
fascist ideology of caste division, since actually Master Gautama was a Liberator, deeply opposing the
oppressive Hindu regime since he sought Liberty, Equality and Fraternity for
all sentient beings. In short, like the Buddhist Law, the National Commission for Minorities has also confirmed that the Bodh Gaya Temple Act of 1949 does not
comply with the fundamental right framed in article 26 of the Constitution of
India that guarantees the right of all spiritual community to freely manage
their religious affairs, so the public requirement that all members of the Bodh
Gaya Temple Management Committee must be Buddhist was made.
The Buddhist Law demonstrates that while the Constitution of India
theoretically protects the rights of all citizens, on the other hand, the daily
practice of the State clearly shows discrimination in favor of Hinduism and
against Buddhism (and Islam as well), which violates International Human Rights
Law in the same way that the Indian Army
also violates it through its genocidal acts in the Holy Land of Kashmir. Therefore, the Buddhist Tribunal on Human Rights not
only repudiates the criminal actions of the Indian Army, but also shows full support and solidarity toward the
Buddhist Nation of India and its struggle for Independence in the face of the
domination and oppression of Brahmanism, which not only destroyed and illegally
appropriated thousands of Buddhist temples but also continues to destroy
cultural heritage through illogical measures such as stop teaching Pali
Buddhist language as a classical language of India, which would surely be a
discriminatory measure against the Dalits and against the spread of the
Buddhist message in the world, as confirmed by Venerable Athuraliye Rathana
Thera.
Master Gautama Samyaksambuddha assumed the historic duty and universal
responsibility to eliminate the caste system and to create a better world where
all beings can reach Liberation, which is why the Buddhist Law must spread its
internationalist voice to denounce and condemn these acts of Discrimination,
Apartheid and Genocide that happened in the past
and continue to happen in contemporary India. The Indian Army, along with the rest of the Hindu rulers, should learn
from the democratic and libertarian spirit of the teachings of Master Gautama
Samyaksambuddha, who showed the way to world peace, social justice, advanced
education and environmental health. Instead, if the civic-military forces of
the Hindu Hegemonic Power continue to oppress and marginalize the minorities of
India, as is the case of tribal peoples, the Dalit People, the Kashmir People
and the Islamic People, then a repetition (karma) of the most terrible crimes
and exterminations in history will continue to occur. In order for India to
regain its adequate leadership in the world, it must then follow the paths of
its great spiritual leaders, such as the struggle of Mahatma Gandhi for peace
and freedom, the struggle of Ambedkar for justice and equality, and the
struggle of Master Gautama for fraternity and reconciliation. Accordingly, just
as the Buddhist Nation knew how to forgive Ashoka and Angulimala, who redeemed
themselves from their crimes and assumed the Buddhist Path to live righteously,
the Buddhist Tribunal on Human Rights
uses compassionate wisdom (karuna-prajña) and grants forgiveness to Gandhi's
figure, since although he showed little determination for the elimination of
the caste system of Hinduism, he certainly gave his life to the path of World
Peace, which obviously deserves to be appreciated. However, the Buddhist Law
cannot forgive the Indian Army
because it has not shown any regrets for its international crimes, not only for
refusing to apologize for the genocides committed
against the Buddhist Nation or for the criminal actions of Major Deepak Rao, but also because the Indian Army is currently
violating the human rights of minorities such as the Dalit People and the
Kashmir People, betraying not only the Buddhist Law but also the very
Constitution of India, and converting the Holy
Land of Gautama into a genocidal
kingdom of terror and blood. Finally, the Buddhist Tribunal on Human Rights requires that the Indian Army and the rest of the
government comply with the preamble of the 1949 Constitution, which
demonstrates the country's socialist orientation toward Social Justice,
Liberty, Dignity, Unity and Fraternity, which are the fundamental values of
Maitriyana.
In conclusion, the Buddhist Tribunal on Human Rights has the Purpose (Dharma) to
protect the spiritual and cultural legacy of the Buddhist Civilization,
developing ethics that always complies with the Human Right to Peace. The
Buddhist Law protects the fundamental values of peace and justice, judging and
ethically sentencing those who commit international crimes against the
sacredness of life. Following Master Gautama, who in India developed the most
peaceful Civilization in the history of the world, the Buddhist Tribunal on Human Rights oversees that countries do not
violate ethics, human rights and Buddhist teachings, and that is the reason why
the “Indian Army” has been sentenced
as Responsible for Genocide,
Crimes against Humanity, Crimes against Peace, Ethnic Cleansing, Violations of
Women's Rights, Violation of Constitutional Law, Violation of International
Human Rights Law, Violation of International Humanitarian Law, State Terrorism,
Crimes against Democracy, Violation of Buddhist Law and
Crimes against the Buddhist Nation.
Within the spirit
of Maitriyana the Spirituality of the Bhagavad
Gita of India is preserved, so it is stated that the Maitriyana will be
manifested whenever there is a weakening
of the Law and whenever there is a growth of injustice in the world, working
for the Salvation of justice and the evanescence of evil, resurging again and
again to achieve the firm establishment of the Dharma.
With Spirit of reconciliation (maitri),
H.E. Master Maitreya Samyaksambuddha
President and Spiritual Judge of the Buddhist Tribunal on Human Rights
