New Delhi: Possibly signalling that India’s stated policy of strategic autonomy may be on weakening ground and may not be quite tenable for long, the US has brought out a damning report that indicts India on the state of religious freedom in the country.
While India has been forthcoming in aiding and supporting the US on its Indo-Pacific policy to counter China, it has refused to toe the US-led western line on categorically condemning Russia’s military action in Ukraine that began at the crack of dawn on February 24.
Reacting to the annual ‘Report on International Religious Freedom 2021’, Arindam Bagchi, Indian Foreign Ministry spokesperson, said: “As a naturally pluralistic society, India values religious freedom and human rights. In our discussions with the US, we have regularly highlighted issues of concern there, including racially and ethnically motivated attacks, hate crimes and gun violence.”
Already exacerbated by high levels of inflation, racial tensions are known to be running high in the US which is also reeling under the deadly impact of gun laws that on May 24 contributed to a school mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas, killing 19 children and two teachers.
The US State Department’s report on Thursday severely indicts India on several counts relating to the state of religious freedom. The annual report which covers about 200 countries across the world, listed specific cases of religious intolerance and violence in many states of India.
The report covers government policies violating religious beliefs and practices of groups, religious denominations and individuals, and US policies to promote religious freedom around the world.
Pointing out that the report documents how religious freedom and the rights of religious minorities are under threat in communities around the world, Antony Blinken, the US Secretary of State, cited an Indian example: “For example, in India, the world’s largest democracy and home to a great diversity of faiths, we’ve seen rising attacks on people and places of worship.”
Blinken’s cue was promptly picked up by Rashad Hussain, ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom, who said: “And as the Secretary (Blinken) stated, in India, some officials are ignoring or even supporting rising attacks on people and places of worship.”
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Calling the comments ill-informed, Bagchi said: “It is unfortunate that vote bank politics is being practised in international relations. We would urge that assessments based on motivated inputs and biased views be avoided.”
The report states that 10 of 28 states in India have laws restricting religious conversions, four state governments have laws imposing penalties against so-called forced religious conversions for the purpose of marriage “although some state high courts have dismissed cases charged under this law”.
“The states of Assam and Karnataka enacted legislation imposing strict penalties for killing cattle; 25 of 28 states now have similar restrictions.” At several places in the report, the Narendra Modi-led ruling party BJP is named.
The State Department report follows the report of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) report for 2022 that was released on April 25, 2022. The USCIRF report had listed India as a ‘Country of Particular Concern’ (CPC) placing it in a group of 15 countries which includes Russia, China, Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, Burma, Eritrea, Iran, Nigeria, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Vietnam.
On India, the report said: “In 2021, religious freedom conditions in India significantly worsened. During the year, the Indian government escalated its promotion and enforcement of policies—including those promoting a Hindu-nationalist agenda—that negatively affect 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.”
