USCIRF Criticizes India in Religious Freedom Report

On 26 Jun, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom in their annual report on religious freedoms criticized India while also voicing alarm over rising bigotry worldwide against both Jews and Muslims. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken unveiled the annual report which places India in the ‘Countries of Particular Concern (CPC).’ He said, ‘In India, we see a concerning increase in anti-conversion laws, hate speech, demolitions of homes and places of worship of members of minority faith communities.’ Despite USCIRF placing India on the CPC for the last five years, the US State Department has not declared India as CPC. The report says: ‘In 2023, religious freedom conditions in India continued to deteriorate. The government, led by the BJP, reinforced discriminatory policies, perpetuated hateful rhetoric, and failed to address communal violence disproportionately affecting Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Dalits, Jews, and Adivasis (indigenous peoples)… Indian authorities also increasingly engaged in acts of transnational repression targeting religious minorities abroad. In September (2023), Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau alleged Indian authorities’ involvement in the killing of Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada, which was followed by a plot to kill Gurpatwant Singh Pannun in the United States in November (2023).’ The US ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom, Rashad Hussain, faulted efforts by Indian police, saying in India, ‘Christian communities reported that local police aided mobs that disrupted worship services over accusations of conversion activities or stood by while mobs attacked them and then arrested the victims on conversion charges.’ On 28 Jun, India responded to the report, calling it ‘deeply biased’ adding that it lacks understanding of the nation’s social fabric.