India Flagged as ‘Country of Particular Concern’ Over Religious Freedom Violations
WASHINGTON, DC (IANS) – A US watchdog has for the second year running recommended that the State Department should designate India as a “country of particular concern”, a category it uses for countries whose governments engage in “systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations” of religious freedoms.
The US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has recommended this designation for 15 countries in its annual report for 2022 released on April 25.
Ten of them were declared countries of particular concern by the State Department in 2021 — Myanmar, China, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan. The rest were Afghanistan, India, Nigeria, Syria and Vietnam.
The USCIRF report also recommended in the case of India that the US should impose “targeted sanctions on individuals and entities responsible for severe violations of religious freedom by freezing those individuals’ or entities’ assets and/or barring their entry into the United States”.
In 2021, the report said in its key findings, “The Indian government escalated its promotion and enforcement of policies — including those promoting a Hindu-nationalist agenda — that negatively affected Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Dalits, and other religious minorities. The government continued to systemize its ideological vision of a Hindu state at both the national and state levels through the use of both existing and new laws and structural changes hostile to the country’s religious minorities”.
The report added: “In 2021, the Indian government repressed critical voices — especially religious minorities and those reporting on and advocating for them — through harassment, investigation, detention, and prosecution under laws such as the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) and the Sedition Law.”
The USCIRF is an independent, bipartisan US federal government agency created by the 1998 International Religious Freedom Act. It monitors the state of religious freedom around the world and makes policy recommendations to the president, secretary of state and congress.
The USCIRF had made the same recommendation for India — to be declared a country of particular concern — in 2021 as well, but it was not accepted. The commission’s recommendations are not binding on the US government or the Congress. The State Department compiles its own international religious freedom report every year.
“We are disheartened by the deterioration of freedom of religion or belief in some countries, especially Afghanistan under the Taliban’s de facto government since August. Religious minorities have faced harassment, detention, and even death due to their faith or beliefs, and years of progress toward more equitable access to education and representation of women and girls have disappeared,” USCIRF Chair Nadine Maenza said in a statement announcing the release of the 2022 report.
VIJAY
/
It is beyond me as to why other countries take pleasure in criticizing India on religious freedom. Look at that yourself by going there. Minorities are not only treated equal but have been and are pampered. Now I ask all you who criticize India, how is religious freedom in Pakistan, Morocco , Saudi Arabia to mention a few!!!
April 25, 2022Bharath
/
From time immemorial Bharath has been the magnet for persecuted people – Jews, Parsis, Christians – to come thanks to its Dharmic values. Whereas it’s has been the effort of Abrahamics be it Evangelical Christians – Joshua Project, or conquering Islamists then or now – to target Bharath for mass conversions. Yet these jokers think they can label Bharath as ‘place of concern’. Laughable They conveniently forget that Bharath was the only country in the world to suffer dismemberment – in 1947 – to appease a conquering fanatical ideology.
April 25, 2022Ambalal Patel
/
State Department should look into states run by Rupublican governors/states where they are blocking BLACKS from voting by redrawing election boundaries.
April 25, 2022Look at the way BLACK people are treated at the hands of racist white police officers.
Some Rupublican Senators have a clear hatred on their face towards people of colour
Geeta Sikand
/
Strongly agree with Vijay ji. This HIndu bashing and India bashing has got to stop. The recent Carnegie Melon study conducted in India reported that all the religious groups are living in harmony. Why did USCRIF not look at this data? Shameful of USCRIF to malign India. Stop the Hinduphobia now!
April 25, 2022Amrit Lall
/
There seem to be a lobby, or lobbies, promoted by Pakistan, to denigrate India. No lobby supported by India exists to ‘neutralize the vicious Pakistani propaganda. A question to ask is: How does a bankrupt country like Pakistan fund such anti-India lobbies?
April 25, 2022RAJENDIR K SHARMA
/
Indian minorities cannot be pleased. They were pampered during colonial rule and expect those trend to continue. They should understand that they are living under local government rule. Modi’s government should move towards one law for all, elimination of noise pollution, requirement of a marriage license and only one marriage and not more than two kids. India is a small sized country and the way it can move forward is by implementing cited changes. Moreover, it is the only country were a Hindu can live freely. If minorities find it difficult to live with local Hindus, they are welcomed to move to other countries.
April 25, 2022Anu
/
I think the US should introspect and look into their own backyard. The minorities are given VIP treatment as compared to we Hindus. India is a secular country,never forget it!!
April 25, 2022Mohanan Nair
/
USCRIF, is it manned by blind, deaf and dumb people? From where do they collect information to make a report of this sort? Is it from their wild imagination? Why discredit yourself with false reports? People at large are aware of the facts. So, USCRIF, better be factual if at all credibility matters to you.
April 25, 2022