Govt says US report on religious freedom of minorities in India "biased"
This story was originally published at 22:00 IST on 3 October 2024
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NEW DELHI – The government on Thursday rejected a report by the US agency, which flagged the violation of minority communities' freedom to religious practices, and called the findings of the report biased.
On Wednesday, a report by the US Commission on International Religious Freedom recommended that the US Department of State should designate India as a "country of particular concern," for "engaging in systematic, ongoing and egregious violations of religious freedom”. The report highlighted the alleged killing and lynching of individuals by vigilante groups and also stated that the homes and places of worship minorities were demolished.
The Indian government, however, termed the report "malicious" and called the US Commission a "biased organisation with a political agenda". The Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement that the US Commission peddles a "motivated narrative" about India.
"We would urge USCIRF (US Commission) to desist from such agenda-driven efforts. The USCIRF (US Commisssion) would also be well advised to utilise its time more productively on addressing human rights issues in the US," the ministry said.
The report had alleged that throughout 2024, individuals from minority communities in India have been killed, beaten, and lynched by vigilante groups, religious leaders have been arbitrarily arrested, and homes and places of worship have been demolished. "These events constitute particularly severe violations of religious freedom," the report stated. It described the use of misinformation and disinformation, including hate speech, by government officials to incite violent attacks against religious minorities and their places of worship.
It further described amendments and enforcement of India’s legal framework to target and disenfranchise religious minorities, including the Citizenship Amendment Act, Uniform Civil Code, and several state-level anti-conversion and cow slaughter laws.
It recommended imposing targeted sanctions on individuals and entities responsible for severe violations of religious freedom by freezing those individuals’ assets and barring their entry into the US. End
Reported by Kuldeep Singh
Edited by Akul Nishant Akhoury
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